We werenˋt quite done yet with the sandstone and therefore spent two more days around Broumov, not far at all from Adrspach.
From a hiker´s car park my human went off on a 20km hike connecting three look outs - you can´t call them summits - , two of them really nice, the third one more or less overgrown.
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| Have you ever looked at moss closely? Quite fascinating! |
Not long ago she collected wild strawberries along the way, in this area there are blueberry bushes literally everywhere. They are obviously a lot smaller than the ones you buy in the shop and are a pain to pick, growing low to the ground as they do, but that makes them all the sweeter!
To finish off she did another hike up to Ostas, a hill with lots more sandstone formations and pillars, building a little labyrinth.
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| Seems quite misplaced in the summer |
Trotting up that hill she came across an elderly lady who was obviously keen to practice her little used German and so, after having complained about it just last week, here was one of those conversations she had been missing so far on this trip.
Since the thermometer had climbed to 35 degrees by midday, the only sensible thing to do was to let Google Maps guide us to the next best lake en route and hang out there for the rest of the day. Which is exactly what we did, after having some ice cream, obviously.
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| Sunset with cow, very idillic |
After all this “forest bathing” as it is called these days, we made our way into a more populous region and visited Kutna Hora, a UNESCO World Heritage City.
After coming across large silver veins in the small miner´s settlement in the 13th Century, it quickly became a royal city and a rival to Prague.
Today it is a small city with an astounding number of churches and chapels, a small historic center and a few small vineyards.
The must sees are the Ossuarium, a 14th Century church which holds the bones of an estimated 60.000 people. That´s a lot of bones! And they were creative, too. There is a fascinating chandalier and other interesting “artworks”.
Unfortunately you will have to google the photos, since it is not allowed to take any in there. I believe that if you pay entrance for something, you should be allowed to take photos. No flash, of course!
And since my human believes the same thing, she took at least one sneaky pic.
Also the St. Barbara Cathedral. Although I have to admit, I really donˋt know why.
It´s a church. The exteriour is quite impressive, sure, but inside... Itˋs not very grand, not full of art, …
Maybe it´s because it took them 500 years to finish it.
Or itˋs because we have just seen too many churches already.
All in all we were not all that smitten with Kutna Hora, UNESCO world heritage or no.
But we had a nice place to stay for the night in an Autokemp. These are more or less camp grounds, but a bit more basic, often run by private people, sometimes in their backyards.
Our Kemp that night had everything one might need, including showers and toilets, a little kitchen area, a nice owner and a very cute and cuddly puppy running around.
After giving me an all over the next morning, cleaning and scrubbing, we were on our way to Brno, the Republics second largest city, lying in the region of Moravia.
Since we like to stay well away from the traffic in big cities, we found a spot on a lake, some 15km outside. This lake is actually a huge dam with lots of water activities on offer at various locations, even a ferry servicing a few stops around the lake.
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| Some art work around the lake |
And because it was another scorcher of a day, this is where we spent the afternoon, swimming and chilling.
Using the tram, my human went into the city the next day, exploring the Old Town, the Freedom Square, the Vegetable Market, situated on a 13th Century square, some statues and churches.
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| View from Castle Hill |
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| Cathedral of St. Peter & Paul |
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| Carmelo enjoying the breeze on the church tower |
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| Nice idea! These chairs are all over the city |
"The Clock", meant to remind you of a bullet to commemorate the defence of the city against the Swedish army during the 30 Yearsˋ war
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| Fountain on the Vegetable Market |
Entrance to the Old Town Hall
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| And this is the Brno Dragon; yes, itˋs a crocodile with wings. There are many legends ranking around this beast. |
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| This is the Reduta Theater, one of the oldest in Europe. 11 year old Mozart once performed here. Never mind the super expensive car in front of it. |
You can visit an old fall out shelter here which has the capacity of housing up to 600 people for 3 days. Obviously the privilege during war times was reserved for the cities elite, politicians and aristocrats.
It's an eerie feeling walking through the tunnels, hearing an air raid siren going off once in a while, imagining what it must have been like...
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Just read the last line. Might have been funny at the time, right now maybe not so much
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| Part of the ventilation system |
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| Check out the brand of this TV |
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| Communications |
Danicing of Swing forbidden
To counter these gloomy feelings, my human got herself a beer from a little café next to a large fountain where dozens of little kids where playing in the water. Reminded her of her own childhood when her family had visited the Hirschgarten once in a while, a large beer garden in Munich, which at the time had a cool little water playground.
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| Our spot that night, besides a small dam |
Just an hour down the road is Olomouc, a city of 100.000, full of churches and baroque fountains.
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| St. Mauriceˋs Church |
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| Cesarˋs Fountain |
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| Arion Fountain, a particularly interesting one |
If you are familiar with the works of Stephen King, this image will mean something to you
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| Wenceslas´Church |
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| Very artistic little tunnel |
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| The old town ramparts |
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| Another bunker |
A very neat astronomical clock is displayed next to the town hall. Itˋs not quite as elaborate as the one in Prague, how could it dare to be, but very beautiful nevertheless.
The center is very pretty with it's cobbled streets, small shops and outdoor seating, very inviting to have a meal or a beer, or possibly both?
And one mistery of the Republic has finally been cleared up. Almost all houses here have two numbers. Obviously we were wondering why. Well, the lower number (99% of the time) is the number of the house in the street. The higher is the number of the house in the city!
To finish off our time in he Czech Republic, we stopped one more time at the edge of the small town of Spytihnev, right next to a watergate.
From there my human went on a bike ride along the canal and through the landscapes of Moravia, open fields, waterways and forest.
She got within 10km of the border to Slovakia before turning around.
And now, we will go and cross that border to see whatˋs behind it.
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