Sort out your paperwork, book your flights, pack your bags, and get your phone ready. Your to-do list for moving to a new country may be something along those lines. And the last item on it – which includes downloading mobile applications – is becoming just as important as the other three.
Below, you will find a list of applications that will make your life in Brno easier. You can download them for free from the links provided.
Are you no longer new to Brno? Read the suggestions anyway: I bet you’ll start wishing you had known about some of these sooner!
Getting around
Czech Public Transport IDOS
Trams, buses, trains; local or international. IDOS has it all. For most mobile users in the CR, this little app has become a daily necessity. It’s easy to use and shows the best routes, delays and disruptions.
It doesn’t happen very often that you need a different app for your travels, but we’ll show you some anyway.
Be even more prepared:
Travelling on trains Můj vlak
The majority of trains in the CR are organised by a state-owned company: České Drahy (Czech Railways). You can purchase your ticket through their app.
Small tip: if you buy your ticket online, you can reserve a seat for free (for inland journeys). This can be a good idea if travelling during rush hour. Up-to-date schedules including real-time delays for all trains are available as well.
Photo: Pixabay
Train & Bus tickets with Regio Jet
The private company Regio Jet (formerly Student Agency) is known for their yellow buses connecting Europe’s biggest cities. In Brno, they stop in front of the Grand Hotel. The company also have trains, servicing the main cities in the CR. You can reserve/buy their tickets through this app.
Familiar with Uber? We don’t have it in Brno yet (or anymore). Liftago works on a similar principle, but their drivers are certified taxi drivers.
Food & Groceries
Food delivery from Brno restaurants Damejidlo.cz
Would you love to have a meal from your favourite restaurant, but are feeling too lazy to go out? You are not the only one. That’s why many citizens of Brno use the website damejidlo.cz. Browse their database of the restaurants they deliver from and hope yours is there.
The app is only available in Czech at the moment, but their website is in English as well.
Online grocery shopping Rohlik.cz
You can do your grocery shopping easily through this app in a matter of minutes. They can deliver to your flat/office at any time you request and even within two hours from your order.
Their app and website are only available in Czech for now. However, there are loads of pictures.
Photo: Pixabay
Look for a restaurant with Zomato
This is a location based map of restaurants, bars, pubs and cafes. Hungry? Search the nearest places and find out what their lunch menu is for the day.
Just Plain Useful
Must-haves:
This app can translate multiple forms of text and media, including written text, speech, images, sites, or real-time video, from one language to another. Yes, Czech too.
If you are often offline, you can also download this CZ/EN dictionary with an installed database.
Emergency Záchranka
Save a life! The Záchranka mobile app is an easy way to contact the Emergency Medical Services when you need them most. It sends your exact location and other practical information to be used for your rescue.
Be even more prepared:
Weather forecast Meteoradar
Where is it raining and where are the clouds moving to? Get this app so the weather will not surprise you. The application displays rainfall recorded every ten minutes by meteorological radar on a map background.
Post office Pošta online
Search for the nearest post offices and zip codes, track your packages and find another post related information.
Sorting waste: SAKO
Sorting waste is not compulsory in the CR. However, the municipality invites you to do so, trying to make it as easy as possible for you. This app will help you find the closest paper/plastic/glass disposal containers. If you see them overflowing, the app asks you to take a picture and send it along- they’ll come and empty it ahead of their normal schedule.
Photo: Brno Daily
Shopping in Brno
Online shopping search Heureka.cz
Shopping in the CR can be a bit confusing at the start: what’s expensive, what’s not? Even locals are not sure about the value of some goods. This search engine will retrieve prices from many online shops, compare them and offer reviews for the shops in question.
Highly popular and used frequently by Czechs, although it is not translated.
A simple app: it keeps all of your customer loyalty cards in your mobile. No need to carry them in your wallet anymore.
Leisure
Cinemas programme ČSFD.cz
Find out what is playing at the cinema at any point for any location (big ones and small ones alike).
Plan your trips with Kudy z nudy
This app, loosely translated as “Out of boredom”, will suggest trips and routes for your trips, giving you all the important information you need: what to see, how to get there, where to stop, where to snack. It is only in Czech, though.
Would you like to go mushroom picking like every other proper Czech but don’t trust your mushroom knowledge? This app will solve that for you; take a picture of the mushroom and the app will tell you whether you can eat it or not.
Fripito photo guides
Photo guides made for photographers by local photographers. Available for hundreds of destinations around the world, but the special local place is Moravian Tuscany – extraordinary scenery and just a one-hour drive from Brno. While the guides include information about food and transport, they focus on providing tips on where to find interesting spots, local light conditions, recommended equipment, and camera settings. Fripito was made by a successful Czech startup.
If you have a car
Location based map of city traffic conditions including parking, cameras, accidents, roadwork, etc. Available in English.
Be aware of the street cleaning: Brněnské komunikace
When is your street cleaning planned? It is good to know so you can park elsewhere on that day. Otherwise, your car will be towed and you will have to pay a fine.
We hope that these apps will help guide you around the city of Brno and make your stay here just a little easier. Do you use any other Brno or Czech-based applications that are missing from the list above? Tell us about them!
This article was first published on Brno Expat Centre website on March 5, 2018.
