Ron and Sally Jo Blog

On to Slavonice. Our visit stopped in Ceske Budejovice to tour the Budweiser Budvar Brewery (no connection to the US Budweiser brand). The history of brewing here dates back to the 13th century and Budweiser Budvar was founded here in 1895. We saw the whole process from the artisan wells where the water is drawn, to the adding of malt, heating and cooling, adding hops and yeast, to bottling and packing. The mechanization was fascinating. Beer is considered Czech’s national drink; they drink 300 gallons/person/year, including children in the count. What we have observed makes this fact seem accurate! (Apparently, beer is high in vitamin B.)

We stopped in Trebon, an ancient walled village with fish “ponds” (small man-made lakes). Fish farming has been going on here since the middle ages. We had a fish lunch here; after we ate, we learned we had actually eaten eel! Jindrichuv Hradec is a 13th-century town where we visited the castle museum which features the world’s largest working mechanical Nativity scene. It was completed in 1756 by a burgher after 60 years of labor. There are 1398 human and animal figures, of which 133 are movable. The figurines are made of wood and laminate materials. It was very interesting, but unfortunately photos of the large Nativity were not allowed. We also visited the Gobelin tapestry museum. Two women were repairing a 300-year-old tapestry which will take them and others about 1 ½ years to complete.

We spent the next two nights in Slavonice, a small village of about 20,000. Our group filled the family-run hotel which also has an extensive wine cellar. During supper at a nearby restaurant, a music group of 4 men played traditional Moravian music as well as Irish, blues, U.S. folk, and more. It was great fun.

Slavonice sgraffito

Slavonice’s peak history was the 14th-16th century. The town is known for its “sgraffito” exterior wall designs. Dark stucco is applied first, then white stucco over it. Designs are then scratched through the white layer.

We visited Mariz, a small arts village near Slavonice. In 1945, a 10 km-wide area along the borders with Austria, Germany, and Poland were “forbidden” areas and everyone was moved out. In the mid-60’s the area was again opened up but no one came until 1989. (For history buffs, there is fascinating history, but I’ll leave it for now.) Mariz ceramics are famous as each piece is original—no two are alike. We were given a chance to decorate our own mugs.

We explored the 13th-century ruins of Landstejn Fortress, climbing to the top where we were told we could see Austria 5 km away. We visited concrete bunkers built in 1935-38. They were meant to guard the Czech border against an invasion by Hitler but it didn’t help. In the Cold War, they were used to prevent Czech citizens from escaping to the West. We stopped to see part of the barbed wire fence built by the Russians to “keep the capitalists out.”

In the evening we were invited to a local home where we were shown how potato dumplings are made and were served a traditional meal of pork, sauerkraut, and dumplings. Our host also showed us around her herb and vegetable garden.

We were able to visit a small kindergarten in Slavonice and the village cemetery before departing for Bratislava.

On our route to Ceský Krumlov we visited the Vojna Memorial near Pribram. This former prison camp was set up in 1947-49 for German war prisoners, later it served as a labor camp in 1949-1951, and then converted to a prison for political opponents of the Communist regime in 1951-1961. Inmates were forced to work in the uranium mines. In 1950, 530 people were working here but by 1956 there were 1517 prisoners. It is sobering to see the inhumane treatment during that period while at the same time realizing that today humans still treat others in the most barbaric way.

We stopped for lunch in the small town of Pisek. It was the last day of the town festival featuring sand sculptures. (Pisek means sand in the Czech language.)
Ceský Krumlov is a picturesque town nestled inside a narrow loop of the Vltava River with a hilltop castle. Celts first settled here a century before Christ. Then German tribes, and then Slavic tribes in the ninth century. The Rozmberks ran the city from 1302 to 1602. The Habsburgs followed bringing in the Germanic period until 1945 when the Germans were expelled. The town is a mix of Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque buildings. After settling into our hotel on the town square, we enjoyed dinner and an introduction to traditional Czech dances.

Street view of castle tower

The Krumlov Castle is immense and includes bear pits, a rare Baroque theater (which we could not visit), and groomed gardens. The Round Tower marks the location of the first castle; Sally Jo climbed its 162 steps to see the town from the top.. The Castle Gardens are large with the lower part geometrical and the upper part rougher. There is a modern outdoor theater with a rotating seating area. The Museum has many exhibits of the life of nobility.

In the afternoon we took a rafting excursion along the Vltava River. We paddled about three miles along the gentle waters and through three weirs that went around shallow rapids.

We visited Zlata Koruna (Golden Crown) Monastery, a former abbey founded in 1263 and is Czech Republic’s best preserved Cistercian monastery located a short distance from Ceský Krumlov. At one point it was used as a factory but has been/is being restored. Beautiful frescos, gold images, Rococo paintings. We continued on to see where there had been a Celtic settlement in the 6th century. And from there we hiked about 2 ½ mile round trip to explore Hrad Divci Kamen, a ruined 13th century castle.

One afternoon we went on an hour horseback ride through the forest and meadows surrounding Klet Moutain, the tallest mountain nearby. We ended the ride with a picnic, roasting sausages over a bonfire.

We ended our time in Ceský Krumlov by visiting a home where the family is trying to live simply. They have no TV or radio and use very little electricity. They have a wood stove in the kitchen and use wood for heating their living space. They are slowly renovating their 1614 property which had originally been a mill. They grow much of their food.

Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral

From a youth hostel in Istanbul to a 5 –star hotel in Prague was quite a jump. Both places were good but very different!

The city of Prague is dominated by the Prague Castle, set on a hill overlooking the city and considered one of the biggest castles in Europe. It was begun in the 12th century and added to throughout the following centuries. It has been used as the seat of government almost ever since. It is vast; it is beautiful; it is full of tourists. The St. Vitus Cathedral, on the castle grounds, is seen towering above the castle walls. The windows were especially beautiful. We walked around a number of the buildings and heard outdoor music groups.

We visited the Jewish Quarter. The first Jews came to this area in the 10th century. During the 12th century the pope declared that Jews and Christians should not live together so their quarter was walled in and became a ghetto. In the 1780’s the Jews were given more freedom and the walls came down. Of the 120,000 Jews living in the area in 1939, just 10,000 survived the Holocaust. The various sites were quite moving and educational. One former synagogue had the names of 77,297 Czech Jews sent from here to the gas chambers. There was an exhibition of art drawn by Jewish children who were imprisoned at a concentration camp and later perished. Several other former synagogues had exhibits on Jewish traditions of death, religious practices, festivals, etc. We were not allowed to take photos in any of these synagogues. We did take photos at the Cemetery. We wandered through 12,000 tombstones. This area was the only burial ground allowed for the Jews of Prague. It is said that tombs are layered 7 or 8 deep.

One evening we attended an organ and trumpet concert in Church of St Nicholas in Old Town Square. We heard beautiful music of Purcell, Buxtehude, Bach, Telemann, Franck, and Handel. Afterwards we got some soup at a local pub where cartoons by a local artist are displayed on the wall.

We had several walking tours of different sections of the town, including walking across the Charles Bridge built in the 14th century. We had an hour boat ride under the Charles Bridge. We had an hour lecture on the history of Czech Republic; we won’t bore you with the details but for us, it helped us understand what we saw and what we heard.

We watched the Astronomical Clock strike on the hour. This clock was built in the 1400s. The clock shows both 24-hour time and modern time; it indicates times of sunrise and sunset; it shows the signs of the zodiac. At the top of the hour, two statues move, 12 apostles parade by, the rooster crows, and finally the hour is rung. We then enjoyed the traditional sausage, mustard, and bread for a lunch in the rain.

We took a tour outside of Prague to the Skoda Auto Museum and to the Sychrov Castle. Skoda cars, symbol of Czech pride, have been produced since 1895. The historic autos were quite interesting. The company reminded us of Ford in that it was begun to build cars cheap enough for the average person. They also produce/d bicycles, including fancy electric ones. Again they wanted the average person to be able to afford one so in the early years, they provided an option for the buyer to have the bicycle delivered to a pawn shop where the seller could get his money and the buyer could pay for it over time.

Sychrov Castle is a Neo-gothic manor owned for 125 years by the Rohans, a family of aristocrats who fled the French Revolution. It was confiscated by the Russians when they took over the country in 1948. We heard a lovely organ recital of Handel, Bach, and Dvorak in the manor chapel. Dvorak was a friend of the family and often came and played on this organ. We toured the lavish manor and ended with a good dinner in a restaurant on the grounds.