Brno is a beautiful European city

Summer in Tokyo is a hot and humid experience. In addition, Japanese business etiquette requires to attend meetings in suits and tie. Last Wednesday at 3 PM we arrived to the Shinjuku station together with my Japanese colleagues Naoko and Terukazu, both employees of Brno-based Moravia IT, but working at the Tokyo office of Moravia.

We headed to a meeting with a new customer in Tokyo. In my mind however, I was thinking about what should be my first contribution to Brnopolis as we went up in the elevator, my intention was to see how to bring ideas for Brno to become a better city.

Then, as the elevator doors opened on the 40th floor, the government buildings of the Shinjuku district appeared in front of us. These twin towers, state-of-the art buildings that house the local government, are a symbol of Tokyo and a landmark of the district, proud of using the latest construction technology and particularly adapted to a city already so crowded and hit by frequent earthquakes.

As we walk along the walls with this magnificent view, I asked my colleagues Naoko and Terukazu, when do you think Brno will have such magnificent government offices? They looked at me puzzled, they have been many times in Brno and know the city well. Then Terukazu responded, Brno is a beautiful European city, it will never need a building like these. His words echoed very well what in mind was the first message I wanted to convey to Brnopolis readers.

Brno is a beautiful European city.

I think there are many initiatives that we can take to make Brno a better city and I hope to bring my ideas to Brnopolis in the coming contributions, but the main message is that Brno is beautiful and it is European. Its geography gives it its unique history, potential and challenges, and its beauty, less visible to Brno*dwellers than to foreigners, is something I hope to emphasize as well.

I originally wanted to address my impressions of the Brno, then, about why I see this is as my home place, despite being born in Mexico City and having lived in many other cities in different parts of the world. Then I though of writing about the potential of Brno and one vision for its future. But today I had a very refreshing and pleasant moment with one of my colleagues in Japan and I think it captures the essence of why I want to participate in Brnopolis.