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.