Sep 21 – What else is there to see in this city?
More from Plzen, Czechia
Plzen, Czechia
Sep 19 – Another travel day, as we returned to Prague by bus and then went on to Plzen by train. After the fairytale experience of Česky Krumlov, Plzen looks like a big, noisy, gritty city. Why are we here? Beer!
You might not recognize it without the vowels, so I will tell you that this city is better known by its German name, Pilsen. It is the home of Pilsner , the light lager on which many other beers from all over the world are patterned.
The Bird Castle, Česky Krumlov, Czechia
Sep 17 – I bet you know that rich nobles back in the day kept nightingales and song birds around just to hear them sing. But did you ever wonder whose job it was to catch those birds? They were called fowlers, and today we’re climbing the Fowlers Hill.
At the top of the hill is a monument, called the Little Castle or Bird Castle, that was originally intended as a memorial to commemorate the victory over Napoleon Bonaparte in the Battle of Leipzig of 1813. The troops there were commanded by a brother of the Duke of Česky Krumlov.
Mount Klet, Česky Krumlov, Czechia
Sep 15 – Today you get a story, told at length to tickle my dear friend Tom. It’s a beautiful fall day, and we are going to the top of the mountain! Jim found directions online: take a local train to a nearby town with a ski lift, take the lift to the top of Mount Klet, and enjoy the gentle wooded walk back to town. Sounds lovely – let’s go!
In the fairytale town of Česky Krumlov there are no intercity trams, trolleys or buses – if you want to go somewhere, be prepared to walk! The walk to the train station took 45 minutes, all uphill.
When we arrived, there was no one to sell us a ticket, and Google didn’t know anything about this train. Luckily, a lone student was sitting outside, and he said we would be going on the same train as him and could buy a ticket onboard. Nice person of Czechia!
Twenty minutes later we hopped off the train at the Holubov station, and started to walk. And walk. How far was this ski lift? Another 45 minute walk! Now it was midday and getting warmer. After a while, Jim stuck out his thumb and a young man pulled over and drove us to the ski lift. Another nice person of Czechia!
We encountered a couple at the ski lift office, knocking on the door and then calling on their phone. The ski lift is closed today. The man said according to the internet it should be open, but the internet is often wrong.
Now what? Back the way we came? Who knows when there will be another train? We asked Google Maps for the shortest way home and, you guessed it, it told us shortest route was up and over the mountain.
A young lady jogging down said yes, there was a path straight up the mountain. Just follow the ski lift towers. She assured us it was doable. From the lips of a twenty year old!
The path started off gently, but the higher we climbed, the bigger the rocks got, until we were scrabbling instead of hiking. Three hours later, we scrabbled to the top. The restaurant? Closed. The observation tower? Closed, of course, so no scenic view. Luckily, Jim had packed sandwiches. What we thought was a soda vending machine turned out to be a beer dispenser, so at least we weren’t thirsty!
The Castle, Česky Krumlov, Czechia
Sep 13 – This little fairytale town was built around a medieval castle on the bank of the Vitava River. No battles were fought here – it’s just a castle that was owned by one rich family after another, and is now the property of the state.
The Industrial Revolution passed by this place. Since becoming a World Heritage site in 1992, the town has revolved around tourism. Bus loads of tourists arrive every day to wander the cobblestone streets and take selfies with the castle tower in the background.
Česky Krumlov, Czechia
Sep 11 – When Jim planned this trip, he booked us into cities in a circle around Prague, and we figured we would travel around the circle. Turns out that you can’t get anywhere in this country without going through Prague, so our travel days will be like spokes of a wheel, going back to Prague every time before advancing to the next place.
So we spent this whole day traveling from Olomouc back to Prague by train, then onward to Česky Krumlov by bus. (The little karat above the Č indicates a Ch sound, so CHESky.) We met a young family in the train station who said they shared our sadness on this anniversary of 9/11, which we thought was so sweet. Nice people of Czechia!
From Medieval to Modern, Olomouc, Czechia
Sep 10 – For our last day in Olomouc, we went back to the historic square.
Basilica of the Visitation, Olomouc Czechia
Sep 9 – Today we traveled an hour by bus out of the city and up to the top of a hill. We are visiting the Basilica of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary, a pilgrimage site and Czech beginning of the Way of St James that goes to Santiago. We’re not hiking this time, just paying a visit.
Here’s the story. In the early 1600s, Jan Andrýsek, a wine merchant, vowed that if he ever became wealthy, he would build a chapel to the Virgin Mary near Olomouc.
When he inherited a fortune, and didn’t follow through on his promise, the Virgin Mary appeared to him twice in dreams, reminding him of the vow. The dreams showed a radiant forest and the Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child.
In 1629, Jan was riding east of Olomouc in a blizzard. He suddenly saw a brilliant light, in exactly the place he had seen in his dreams. Thus reminded, he built a chapel, which was enlarged several times as more pilgrims visited each year.
Horni Namesti, Olomouc, Czechia
Sep 7 – Olomouc advertises itself as the place that has everything that Prague has, except the crowds. It has a huge historical central square. The Czech word for square is Namesti, so wherever we go, we are reminded that the light in me honors the light in you (this is a yoga joke).
There are so many things to see here!
Olomouc, Czechia
Sep 5 – Time for a Nice Person story. Today is a travel day as we set out for the city of Olomouc (OH lo mootz) about three hours away. Google Maps has been giving us fits, telling us to walk 5 minutes to the bus stop, then changing it to 15 minutes. As Jim and I sat side by side this morning, it gave us totally different routes!
Following one of Google’s suggestions, we walked not to a bus stop, but to an old train station we didn’t even know was there. We bought tickets to the next town, where we could get a train to Olomouc. Waiting with us in the nearly deserted station was a young woman named Klara, who was going to Olomouc as well. What luck! We rode with her to the main station at Kolin.
Klara showed us where to buy tickets at the big station, then told us she’d be waiting up on Track 2. The ticket seller had no English, but wrote on a piece of paper 2 – 11:32. We thanked her and went up the stairs to sit with Klara at Track 2. A minute later the ticket seller rushed up the stairs, waving another piece of paper on which she had written 2 – 11:38. It turns out that the 11:32 train was going to Poland, and she was afraid we’d get on the wrong train! Two Nice People of Czechia in one day!
We rode in fine style in our half-price-for-old-people seats and enjoyed the spicy chicken sandwiches we had purchased for our lunch. When we got off the train in Olomouc, Klara found us again, handing us a piece of paper containing the trolley number and the name of the stop closest to our hotel. Thank you Klara and train lady!
So now we are in Olomouc, staying at the historic Lafayette Hotel (yes, our Lafayette, from the Revolutionary War, and, of course, Hamilton!)
