Reminiscing about the Czech Republic

It's Sunday evening and a week ago today we were flying home. It's time to put down my thoughts about what we saw while my memory is still fresh. You may be daunted by the length of this post and I don't blame you. I'm not including photos here but you can see the ones I took on my Flickr account. I've included additional information on some of the photos but if you use the slideshow option you won't see those comments.

More than a year ago we started thinking about a trip to the Czech Republic including the area where Ray's great grandparents were born and lived until they married and moved to the United States. Family folklore says that Veronika lived in a castle and fell in love with the gardener. The family didn't approve of the marriage and thus they left for America. Other family members have researched the archives and the date of their arrival in the U.S. eventually settling in Wisconsin.

Last spring we purchased airline tickets and reserved a rental car and a room in the Hotel U Kapličky in Písek. We also purchased carry-on luggage for the trip as we had sold our luggage when we downsized and moved to Copper Chase.

On Monday, September 9 our adventure began as we drove to the Indianapolis airport for a 3 p.m. flight to Philadelphia. We made our way to the international departure terminal in Philly and were airborne shortly after 6:30 for the flight to Prague. I watched two or three movies on the flight and tried to get some sleep. We landed at 9:15 a.m. and after picking up our luggage found the Hertz rental where we signed the papers for a Škoda, a car manufactured in the Czech Republic.

The drive to Písek was easy on a four-lane highway most of the way. As we neared the city, we realized we didn't have directions to the hotel and only had an address. After asking for directions twice, we reached the hotel and checked in. The weather was beautiful as it was during our entire stay. Not having had much sleep we had to keep moving or we'd fall asleep so we walked to the city center of Písek which was about a 10-15 minute walk.

As we approached the river we recognized the Old Stone Bridge which is for pedestrians only. Ray stopped in a bank and changed dollars into the local currency. During our walk, we noticed children with backpacks and young mothers pushing strollers. We returned to the hotel for an early evening meal. Visa cards are welcome most anywhere but we learned that only cash can be used for tipping. We finally succumbed to the lack of sleep and had lights out at 7 p.m.

The next morning we enjoyed the first of complimentary breakfasts at the hotel. Several options were available: scrambled egg with pieces of bacon and ham, omelet, fried egg, or waffle (more like a crepe). In addition cereal, yogurt, bread, and sausages were part of the buffet.

We drove to Orlik using Google Maps as our navigation device. We asked once and then finally spotted the sign for Orlik Castle. The tour was narrated in the Czech language but we were given English transcripts to follow as we walked the halls of the castle. In one hallway there were several dozen or more rifles on display. No photos allowed to my chagrin. There was also a large display of antlers with the name of the hunter, the weight of the deer and date.

Next, we planned to drive to nearby Třešnĕ but an hour later we realized we had gone in the wrong direction. We stopped at a gasoline station and purchased sandwiches enjoying them on the picnic table behind the station. As navigator, I was responsible for the error but we decided to return to the hotel rather than retrace our route. We had several more days and would find the little town on another day.

On Thursday we headed for another castle. As we neared Hluboká Castle, we paid for parking as we also had at Orlik Castle and walked a good distance up the hill to the castle. Hluboká Castle is a National Cultural Monument and is considered one of the most beautiful castles in the Czech Republic. We realized there were several large tour groups ahead of us but the wait wasn't long before our tour commenced. As the day before, we had transcripts in English. We learned from the script that Princess Eleonora influenced much of the castle's appearance and decorations. She and her husband, Prince Jan Adolph II Schwarzenberg, had traveled to the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1838. The walls and ceilings of the interior rooms are decorated with woodcarvings and special wood. We saw many large portraits on the walls, beautiful chandeliers, stained glass, pottery, and furnishings. Quite impressive. Also, many antlers decorated the outside walls and it seems that hunting was quite the sport.

We left the castle and headed to Borovany listed as Matthias Cihlar's birthplace. He's Ray's great grandfather. It is a small village or hamlet with a population of about 225 and is built on a hill with narrow streets that were hard to traverse. We didn't stay and drove to Bernatice where we stopped to spend some time walking the streets and visiting two grocery stores. Bernatice has about 1,300 residents (2008) and is listed on Matthias Cihlar's 1870 passport as his hometown.

On our drive back to Písek we stopped at a roadside restaurant where we ordered a chicken meal that was delicious. When it was time to pay with our Visa card, we learned that they only accepted cash, but the waitress walked Ray to the attached service station to scan our card there and pay for our meal. A nice arrangement for us and for them too.

On Friday we started out for the little village where Ray's great grandmother was born. Google maps gave us the direction but when we neared the road leading off the highway, there was no highway sign for the little town less than a mile off the main highway but we made the turn and found the little village. Třešně according to one source had about 125 residents in 2006. We drove a short distance and were soon outside the village. Turning around we took a different fork in the road and found ourselves at a Holstein dairy operation. Ray spoke to a woman who was working there but she couldn't speak English and went to find a colleague. He tried to help especially when we had the number of the farm where Veronika Hradek grew up. However, we weren't successful in locating any reference to where Veronika might have lived in the 1800s. As we left we noticed a small playground for the children of the community and a small chapel. We saw many similar chapels or maybe they are better classified as shrines. They aren't used for worship services as there are no benches but often have a sculpture, altar or other decoration.

Back again in Písek, we decided to walk to the city center in search of something for lunch and enjoyed our meal in an outdoor cafe. After wandering for a while and taking more pictures, we were on the road again to another castle. Actually, there are quite a few in the surrounding area. We relied on Google maps again and were directed pretty close to the castle, but there was no way to enter the castle as it was on the opposite side of a river with no bridges nearby. Not to be daunted we finally figured out how to get to the site of Castle Zvíkov. This castle is located about 9 miles north of Písek at the junction of two rivers. According to one source, this castle is one of the most important early Gothic castles and its earliest written mention is in the year 1234. Located on a high point above the two rivers we had fantastic views and enjoyed a self-guided tour. The castle is remarkably well preserved. It was easily defended and survived assaults because of its thick walls and location high above the rivers.

Saturday would be our last day in the Republic and we decided to find overnight accommodations nearer the airport rather than stay in Písek which was about a 90-minute drive. With a few extra hours available for touring we decided to make our way to Kuntá Hora, a bit more than a 2-hour drive from Písek with plenty of time to get to the hotel we had booked. I didn't do a great job of navigation because the estimated 2-hour trip took more than three hours. We stopped at least once for directions but eventually found the church and parked on the street about a block or two away. The afternoon was beautiful and many others were also visiting. We purchased tickets and entered the Ossuary and were told we could take photos as long as we didn't use flash.

I gleaned some of the following commentaries from a website. The Sedlec Ossuary is not spectacular. It is a small chapel located in Sedlec in the suburbs of Kuntá Hora. You would think that it is just an average old medieval gothic church.

When entering you soon realize why it is amazing and unique. The Sedlec Ossuary is artistically decorated with more than 40,000 human skeletons and why it is known as the Church of Bones or the Bone Church.

There is a big chandelier of bones that contains at least one of every human bone. Another impressive artwork is the coat-of-arms of the Schwarzenberg family that is also made of human bones. [Note: we heard about the Schwarzenberg family multiple times during our trip.]

How did all the bones end up in a small chapel? It goes back to 1278 when the King of Bohemia sent the abbot of the Sedlec Cistercian Monastery to Jerusalem. When the abbot came back he brought a jar of soil from Golgotha (known as the "Holy Soil"). Soon people desired to be buried in Sedlec and the cemetery was expanded.

Many of the bones are of 40,000 people who died of the plague in 1318 and during the Hussite wars in the 15th century. They were originally buried at the church cemetery. The cemetery was closed at the end of the 15th century and the exhumed bones were transferred to the chapel and piled into pyramids. In 1870, František Rint of Česká Skalice arranged the bones and skulls into creative decorations that include bells, the above-mentioned Schwarzenberg coat-of-arms, and a chandelier.

I took quite a few photos and then we were on our way to our overnight stay in Hotel Fontana about  40-minutes from Prague's airport. We managed to find our way there with at least one stop to ask directions. We checked in and then looked for a restaurant and found Milano Pizzeria and ordered what we thought was a pepperoni pizza. It was actually a pepper pizza with lots of green, red and yellow peppers. The word "pepperoni" didn't translate!

With still some time to spare I looked up the possibility of finding a geocache if there was one nearby. There were two within walking distance and we strolled to the site but didn't find the cache. Clues were not in English but I'm pretty sure we were in the right area. The same for the second one which was not much further away. The area we stayed in was mostly residential and quiet for a Saturday night.

On Sunday morning without much traffic on the major highways, we headed toward the airport. For some odd reason, the GPS wasn't working and Ray kept heading north and west. We knew we had to cross the Vltava River and were successful. We stopped one time and a local lady indicated we were heading in the right direction and said to keep going "Up, Up, Up" and eventually we saw a road sign for the airport. I think we witnessed a miracle. When we started out in the morning we had no directions to the airport, but we made it with plenty of time to spare.

Our departure was delayed by a problem with the cargo door, but eventually, we were on our way enjoying a nice meal, finishing a book, and watching more movies on the 10-hour flight. We landed in Philly and showed our passports, standing in a long line that moved rather quickly and then in another line to go through security for our flight to Indy. We arrived back home at about 9:30 p.m. (3:30 a.m. in Prague) and were happy to be home in our own bed.

September 1

I just checked the calendars for 2019 and 2020 there are only two months each year when the first day of the month begins on Sunday. I bet you didn't know that. How important is it? Not very important but I thought it was interesting.

This post is mostly about trivial things that happened in the past week. For one thing, the TV channel that went off the air on July 4 because of a dispute with DirecTV is back! We don't have to use the antenna anymore. I guess we'll keep the antenna for the next occasion when we can't get a local channel by satellite. This channel broadcasts quite a few Cub games so it's good that we don't have to rely on the antenna and they broadcast lots of local news since they aren't affiliated with a major network.

Speaking of the Cubs, they seem to have lost their mojo and can't win while the St. Louis Cardinals are doing quite well and widening the gap in the division race. All season, the division has been one of the most competitive in the major leagues.

On Wednesday I visited the Greenwood Police Department to report two small dirt bikes spotted on the edge of the trail when I was out on a run. I passed by the spot on my return and they were still there. There didn't seem to be a good reason for bicycles to be there. The next day, as we drove by, I noticed the bikes were still there but had been moved a short distance. Then on Friday as I was running again in the same area, a Parks Department pickup truck stopped next to the bikes. I'll never know how or why they were there. There are all kinds of stories in the city!

We have a new amenity at Copper Chase. Valet garbage collection. Ray no longer has to carry our garbage to the dumpster. Each resident is given a kitchen-size trash bin. Five days a week we set out our trash bin between the hours of 6-8 p.m. and pick-up begins at 8 p.m. Right now we don't pay anything additional for the service but when our lease renews the garbage fee will increase almost 100%. This will be especially nice this winter but better yet, we can now recycle. When the local recycling bins were closed we couldn't recycle except for paper and cardboard. Glad and Hefty offer clear plastic bags but so far I can't find a local store that carries them. The valet crew can recognize recyclables when they are in a clear plastic bag.

Yesterday we enjoyed an afternoon and evening out. A fellow church member had an Open House inviting their friends and acquaintance to come and see their new home. We enjoyed seeing the house and visiting with other guests and snacking on an assortment of goodies. We said our farewell and then headed to Joe & Nancy's house to wish Joe a "Happy Birthday."

Nancy's friend Vicki has been helping since her back surgery on May 17. While we were there Vicki left to visit another friend elsewhere in Indiana. Hugs all around as she left. Nancy is doing much better and still has several sessions of physical therapy and probably will need to wear her back brace for some time when driving or riding in the car.

Other people arrived to also wish Joe well and a neighbor several doors away brought over two ice cream cakes decorated with large strawberries. Joe likes to have "Sloppy Joe's" on his birthday and we enjoyed that and a huge piece of cake. I've been trying to eat better today. Yesterday was an overload of calories. I'm not sure when I'll step on the scales to see how much damage was done.