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!
On the (free!) trolley in Olomouc going to the train station Our very comfy 2nd class seats on the train – half price for seniorsLooking out the window of the bus to Česky KrumlovSo now we are in Česky Krumlov, high in the hills and away from the city – the weather is a little cooler hereThis town is full of pensions attached to private homes. We are staying at Pension Klima, in an efficiency studio with a full kitchen. Our host has a face collection at our door that made me smile. Jim has some hiking planned for us this week – oh boy!I think we’re going to like it here!
Sep 10 – For our last day in Olomouc, we went back to the historic square.
Part of the castle walls that once surrounded the cityWe ducked into Our Lady of the Snows, which was closed the other day.You don’t often see angels giving communion A docent let us into the sacristy behind the sanctuary From there we moved on to Olomouc Castle, where we saw ruins of the original foundation A chalice made of an ostrich egg…and lots more Madonnas…including one carved in ivory He’s got the whole world in his hands A precocious readerI like this one the best – very peaceful and natural looking A marvelously embellished rococo carriage…and the ornate outfit of the horse who pulled itOutside the Modern Art Museum hangs (literally) another work by David Cerny, this one depicting a thief making off with an artwork hanging out of his backpack. The robber inches along the balcony, trying to escape.The featured artist was Maria Bartuszova, who worked mainly in white…and a collection of photographs by Jindřich Streit that reminded me of the American Appalachian photos from the 1930s, although these are of Czechs in the 1980sThank you Olomouc – we had a great time!
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.
The bus let us off a short walk from the basilicaNothing but farmland for miles aroundIn we go!The Virgin wanted a chapel right hereThe light during the blizzardThe altarpiece contains some bones of St Pauline, the patron saint of Olomouc. The small stone relief of Mary in the silver frame survived a fire in the original chapel in the 1600s and is considered miraculous.Fancy organ pipes So baroque Is that a camel?Is that a dragon?An angel holding dice – referring perhaps to the soldiers who cast lots for Jesus’ cloak?More Madonnas for my collection …including two Black Madonnas This one reminds me of Our Lady of Guadalupe Whoa! Isn’t this the best reaction of St Thomas that you’ve ever seen?The basilica is also part of the Camino Santiago, and we looked at several pics of locals walking the Way of St James. I don’t think this bunch is going all the way to Spain.On our walk home we spied some wall artVery colorful And even some sidewalk chalk art!
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!
The Holy Trinity Column is the tallest monument in Czechia and the biggest group of statues in Central Europe The top depicts the Holy Trinity, accompanied by the Archangel Gabriel and the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. Looks pretty crowded up thereLike Prague, there is also an astronomical clock! Instead of apostles, this one shows working people.Unlike the clock in Prague, these figures aren’t rotating, ( I think it is in need of repair?) but we can see musicians, miners, athletes……nurses, businessmen, and blacksmithsNot only can you see the time, but also the current astrological sign …and the current constellations in the night skyThere are also many fountains – here is the fountain of CaesarThe fountain of Hercules, holding his cudgel and smiting the hydraThe Triton fountain The fountain of Mercury And the Arion fountain There is the Marian column, erected in the 1700s to thank the Virgin Mary for saving the city from the plagueThere is a (temporary) sculpture of Mozart here, made of sand. When Mozart was performing in Europe as a 5 year old prodigy, his father brought him here to Olomouc to escape the plague.Unfortunately, Mozart contracted the plague anyway, but he recovered right here in this palaceA modern artist with something to say to the popeThe Opera HouseSt Maurice Cathedral – too big to see in one photoInside, we heard the most beautiful organ music. There was a concert that evening, and we got to hear the world famous organist Jean Baptiste Robin practicing! A fine day.
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!)
It turns out that after Lafayette returned to France, he was captured by the Prussians and imprisoned right here in Olomouc from 1794 – 1797. He is a hero of this place.We are staying in the room called Virginie, Lafayette’s youngest daughter. His wife and two young daughters were imprisoned with him here for two years.George Washington presides over our breakfast buffetLafayette’s pretty wife Adrienne in the courtyard. They fell in love when he was 14 and she was 12.Weddings are held in the courtyard, and the happy couples exchange vows under the likenesses of Lafayette and Adrienne. What a love story!
Sep 3 – Today we bade farewell to our modern apartment in Prague, and set out to see more of Czechia.
About an hour’s train ride east of Prague is the lovely village of Kutna Hora. We are only here for a short time, and we are here to see one thing: the Sedlec Ossuary, otherwise known as the Church of the Bones.
Legend says that in the 1100s, a monk brought back some soil from Golgotha in the Holy Land, and spread the soil in the church cemetery. That made this cemetery a very desirable place to be buried, and people brought their family corpses from all over Europe to be buried here.
During the Black Death and the Hussite Wars of the 1400s, the church was overwhelmed with bodies, and devised an ossuary system of temporarily burying, then exhuming and stacking up the bones. It is estimated that between 40,000 to 70,000 bodies were interred here.
In the 1600s a monk was tasked with finding creative uses for the bones. Hence, the Church of All Saints became the Church of the Bones.
The Church of All SaintsDown we go into the ossuary, beneath the churchThe space is not large, and you get to spend no more than 30 minutes Jim managed to sneak a few photos, but most of the pix below are courtesy of the Internet. The church decided a few years ago that people were not being sufficiently respectful of the bones, and banned photo-taking.This chandelier is said to contain every bone in the human bodyThe coat of arms of the Schwartzenbergs, the rich family in the regionSo many bonesWorth the trip? You decide!The ossuary theme carried over to the Lego Museum next door with this Lego skeletonThey also had a sleepy Lego tourist…and a moving Lego tigerWe also visited the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception It was pretty empty inside, but filled with lightWall art!Soviet wall art?A Soviet era statueA pretty downtown For lunch Jim had a meat sandwich (shredded beef covered with cheddar, and I had the veggie sandwich (little tomatoes and white cheese). Very yummy. Cheese is a big thing here!In the afternoon we spotted the Church of Saint James,, and went in to visit our favorite apostle Over the altar was a painting of the slaying of the Moors, which we thought was an odd choice. See the shells over the heads of St Peter on the left and St Paul on the right?We all have our burdens to carry. A fine day.
Sep 2 – For our last day in Prague, we treated ourselves to a quiet day at the botanical gardens, the Botanicka Zahrada Praha.
The plants were arranged by continentThere was also an aquatic displayThe tropical plants in the greenhouse were lush…and even included a waterfallSheep on the hillside Jim chased down this bird that made much more noise than its size would indicate Clustered plantings near the beehivesThe bees looked happyRudbeckia – Duncan’s favorite flowerDid you know that the oldest land plant, Cooksonia, was discovered right here in Czechia? Wow!The gardens adjoin a winery…with lots of varieties A lovely day!
Sep 1 – No trip to Prague is complete without a visit to the Dancing House, a modern construct erected in 1996 on the site of a building destroyed by US bombing in 1945.
The building has a hotel and a restaurant on top. The ball on top is called Medusa.We paid dearly for a cup of coffee so we could enjoy the viewA lovely view!Here’s the building from the other side. See how the windows are not in straight rows?We walked back along the Vitava River What is this? A sign attached explained that this statue was used as a battering ram during a protest in the Soviet era.What’s this? You know how Jim likes to climb!So we went up and up some more until we reached ……the Vysehrad Fortress! Instead of finding armaments and cannon inside, we found……the Basilica of St Peter and St Paul. For a non-religious country, there sure are lots of churches here.A colorful entryMore lovely decorated ceilingsA particularly sweet painting of baby Jesus in the loving arms of JosephAdjoining the basilica was a cemetary that featured busts of the deceased…some nattily attired!You know I kept looking until I found a woman. Thanks for representing, Milada!More Czech food today – I just had pasta and chicken, while Jim stepped up and ordered fried meat ball with sweet pickles and mashed potatoes. A fine repast!
Aug 31 –When Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from troubled dreams, he found himself changed into an monstrous cockroach in his bed.
I start today with the opening line from Kafka’s Metamorphosis, as today we will see the head of Franz Kafka. Spinning. Slowly.
On a downtown cul-de-sac is a big shiny head of Franz Kafka, a work by Czech artist David Cerny in 2014.At the top of every hour, it rotates slowly, in horizontal slicesSome say Kafka should not be portrayed as a bright, shiny figure. Others say he was multidimensional, so this work is apt.The crowd is appreciative Finally, all the slices come back together, and the head is restored until the next hour.Here is another Kafka statue by Jaroslav Rona, depicting Kafka sitting atop an empty suit. I hope you appreciate all the art education you’re getting today!Down the street is another work by David Cerny, installed in 1996 high up over the street, dangling from a flagpole. Do you see it? When this work was on tour, people sometimes called the police to report a possible suicide.This is Sigmund Freud, hanging nonchalantly by one hand with his other hand in his pocket, as if contemplating whether one should hang on for the new millennium.Now for something completely different, we took a trolley across town to the Strahov Monastery and LibraryA beautiful space to gaze into, although we weren’t allowed inside I’m a fan of gorgeous ceilingsA collection of old globes…and natural specimens in cases that look like books The Church of Our Lady, attached to the monastery, was equally ornate.Once again, we couldn’t go in, so made use of our zoom lens to see the altar.On our way home, we stopped to see one more work by David Cerny; King Wenceslaus astride his upside down dead horse, that mocks the statue of him astride his horse in the square. A day of contrasts!
Aug 30 – Today we walked over to check out the Prague National Museum, just down the road from our apartment.
A very impressive exterior…and interior The skylight in the lobby, with murals all around It is a natural history museum with rooms dedicated to all manner of creatures…terrestrial and aquatic …as well as an extensive anthropology and evolutionary area that Jim really likedThere was also King Wenceslaus …and King Wenceslaus …and St. Wenceslaus with St. Vitus. There were seriously too many kings named Wenceslaus – I haven’t been able to get that Christmas carol out of my head all week!There were also lots of Madonnas, my personal favorite …very old, from the 1300 – 1400sA sad Madonna with a very crabby-old-man-looking Jesus…and a very old wooden Madonna who lost her headA fun day!We treated ourselves to a Sunday meal at our favorite Turkish restaurant, where the entrees change every day. Today they offered roasted aubergine (eggplant) which reminded us of our time in Istanbul. Heavenly!
Taking Our Time 