České Budějovice & Český Krumlov (19/09/2018)

I decided to leave for home in Italy by doing a two-day trip and stopping over in a few towns on the way south. The first day I decided to visit two Czech cities and sleep there before heading on the following day. So after saying goodbye to my brother I headed to the bus station and took a ride which brought me to the town of České Budějovice. Once there I headed towards the old town and reached the first main attraction of the city: the Cathedral of St Nicholas. Originally built in the 13th century it now appears in the Baroque form from its refurbishment during the 17th century. It also holds a 16th-century bell tower known as the Black Tower due to its dark stone. I entered the building and admired the nice and lavish Baroque interiors. Right outside, I then walked through the large central Ottokar II Square, surrounded by beautiful buildings. At its center stands a well-sculpted Baroque fountain representing Samson. Of particular interest around the square's perimeter is the nice Baroque town hall, colored in blue and crowned with three towers the central of which is the clock tower. I then decided to walk around the old town, passing through the pretty streets lined with typical baroque and neoclassical colored buildings. I then reached a particularly picturesque street which holds the last surviving towers which were once part of the city walls, the Rabenštejnská věž. Further on I then reached a small square, Piaristicke Namesti, which is sided to the south by the Dominican Monastery. I thus entered the complex after paying a small fee and visited the church's interior. Consisting of a mostly gothic structure dating to the 13th and 14th centuries, the church received some additional refurbishments particularly in its bell tower and interior decorations. As I entered, I admired the large nave with a few traces of medieval frescoes particularly on the walls of the southern transept. Right below them, a small door led to the monastery's cloister, probably the most beautiful and emblematic part of the complex. In fact, this part largely suffered no modifications and retains an incredible Gothic character. Particularly worthy to see are its Gothic windows and portals with interesting decorations and motifs. After the visit to the church, I then headed out and across the river Malse, from where I had a nice view of the western end of the complex. I then returned inside the old town and headed back through the main square. Further on I then reached the Museum of South Bohemia which I decided to visit. After buying the ticket I explore the building, starting from a really peculiar temporary exhibition dedicated to, guess what, mushrooms. Czechs, in fact, love mushrooms, so much so to have a whole exhibition dedicated to them in the city's main museum. A whole room was filled with tables covered in all kinds of mushrooms, colorful, edible, and poisonous ones. People were coming in, observing, touching, smelling them and then discussing them over with their friends and partners. I was quite ignorant in the matter but enjoyed the exhibition nonetheless. After that, I head up to the permanent exhibition which featured objects from the region's history, ranging from old coins and books to medieval weaponry and paintings and finishing with objects from more recent time. Once I toured the museum I decided to head out and direct myself to the bus station to get the ride to the next city. Despite Ceske Budejovice is famous for its beer, I had decided to skip the visit to the brewery as it would have taken a whole half day and was located outside of the city center. So after reaching the station and waiting for my bus, I decided to have a quick late lunch at one of the food places inside the station's food court. Then, after just 30 minutes ride, I had reached the next destination: Český Krumlov. A world-famous small town, it is inscribed in the Unesco list due to its historical old town which survived history and the world wars unscathed. After arrival, I decided to head to my hostel first and drop off my bag before heading into town. I reached my accommodation, hostel Havana, and self-checked in as no-one was there. I took my assigned room and left my stuff in a locker as I thought someone else might come later being it a triple room. I was lucky enough, in the end, to find out nobody else would come and I would be having the whole room for myself. So after walking back towards the city center, I crossed the Vltava river, which snakes its way through the old town. Here I walked along the riverside and reached a nice open spot with a view towards the old town sitting right in front of me on top of a hill. I could see the southern side of the church of St Vitus right above a cliff overlooking the river. I continued on, crossed once more the river, and walked uphill to reach the aforementioned church. I, unfortunately, found it closed which meant turning around and heading on further. I reached the Svornosti Namesti, the town's main square with beautiful buildings all around its perimeter. At its center was also the typical baroque Plague column. I walked further, passing through some pretty streets and reached another bridge over another bend of the river. This spot was particularly picturesque as I was standing right below the impressive castle complex built on top of a cliff overlooking the river. As I crossed over, I then walked under an outstanding work of ancient engineering: the Plastovy most, or Cloak Bridge. Consisting of several levels of arches, this impressive construction dating to the 18th century presents a beautiful Baroque style and connects the castle on one side to the gardens on the other. The latter ones were my next destination. I climbed uphill and reached what used to be the private park of the castle residence and which now have been turned in an amazing and peaceful oasis of nature. As I strolled around I enjoyed the wide alleyways sided by large trees and after reaching the western end turned around and walked back once more towards the town. As I continued I stopped to look at a few people gathering around a hot air balloon which was later released over the city and watched it hover by imagining the incredible view those lucky ones up there had. Then, after crossing the Plastovy most, this time on top of it, I reached and entered the castle complex. Built during the 13th century, it was modified several times throughout its history and appears now thanks to the immense Baroque remodeling which involved it during the 17th and 18th centuries. As it was already over opening hours the visit to the castle was not possible anymore however I still managed to walk through it by passing the several interesting courtyards. An opening halfway through also enabled me to have an incredible view over the old town from an incredible vantage point and during a beautiful sunset. I was then a bit surprised to see a board suggesting visitors not to feed the bears which were apparently kept in the castle's eastern moat. I could not see them from here so assumed they were already asleep however found out that the castle did indeed possess a few bears and was keeping them there in the small confines of the moat. As I continued on I then reached a small garden which surrounded the Minorite Monastery of the Poor Clares. In a beautiful setting, a series of vineyards and fruit trees were grown overlooking the old town. As I walked around I saw that some, particularly the pear and apple trees, had some juicy fruit growing on them which prompted me to take one of each to try. They were very tasty and provided a nice snack to quench the hunger temporarily. After that, I went back down through the old town, crossed the river and then walked back up along Horni street to reach a large terrace right in front of a former Jesuit 16th century monastery. The view from here was great and gave me another perspective of the castle. The sun had nearly disappeared in the distance so that prompted me to head back down through the old town and in the direction of my accommodation to look for a place to eat. I found a bar located on the top floor of a supermarket which at first sight did not look so welcoming but after ordering a local beer and breaded cutlet with mashed potatoes I felt really full and satisfied particularly after finding how cheap the dinner was. I then headed to the hostel and went to sleep ready to leave the following morning. The next day I woke up early, checked out and then walked back through the old town admiring the city center by day and checking out the main monuments quickly once again. I then reached the bus station where I took the next ride taking me towards Austria.

The Cathedral of St Nicholas in České Budějovice

The Ottokar II Square

View of the town hall

A street in the city center

Another view of the same street

The Gothic cloister of the Dominican Monastery

View of the Dominican Monastery

A dog laying on the sidewalm

Buildings on the Vltava river in Český Krumlov

The main square Svornosti Namesti

A street of the old town

View of the castle complex

The impressive Plastovy most

View of the old town from the castle gardens

One of the courtyards of the castle

A street in the old town

View of the old town from the terrace in Horni street

The castle's tower

Bohemian Paradise (18/09/2018)

My brother managed to take a day off so we decided to head out of Prague and enjoy a day trip in nature together. We took a regional train from the main station and reached the small town of Turnov located in the northern part of the country. As we headed out of the station and into the town we crossed the railway once again and headed south towards the nearby hills. This is where the Bohemian Paradise began, a protected landscape area and the first nature reserve of the Czech Republic. After starting our ascent of the hills, we first reached a lookout point built on top of a rock jutting out called Hlavatice. After climbing it we had an impressive view over the treetops and the surrounding landscape and we could easily see the way we had walked from Turnov in the distance. Once back down and walking further through the forest we then reached Valdštejn Castle, a lonely fortress surrounded by a thick forest. Before heading to visit it, we decided to have lunch at a hut which sat right outside the entrance which served traditional food. The food was ok and relatively cheap, but I had expected a little better. Nonetheless, after eating, we decided to head and tour the castle crossing a nice bridge lined with Baroque statues leading up to the entrance. After buying the ticket, we entered the premises of the fortress. Originally built in the Gothic style it then received additions throughout the centuries particularly during the 18th century. The first building we approached was built during the latter period of the castle and hold some rooms which were used for events. Right below it a stair leading inside the rock gave way to two rooms filled with objects from the archaeological findings in the castle premises. Then back up we reached the small church dedicated to St John Nepomuk and featuring a Baroque interior. Next to it, on another rocky outcrop was the remains of the Gothic castle which now consist of just a few stone walls covered by a terrace providing a nice view of the area. After the tour of the complex, we then headed out and back on the trail walking further among beautiful trees and peaceful nature sounds. At one point we reached another point of interest: an observation deck over a rocky geological formation called the Rock Town of Hruba Skala. The sight was impressive, with a large group of sandstone rocks shaped by all kinds of erosion jutting out from among the trees and literally forming a kind of city. We admired the view for a while and then continued on, stopping at several other observation points which provided more views of different rock formations and panoramas of the surrounding countryside. After a little while we reached another castle, the Hruba Skala castle, originally built during the middle ages it was then rebuilt during the 16th century in a Renaissance style and finally in 1859 further rebuilt in a neo-gothic style. Due to its history, it remained well preserved and now hosts a hotel and restaurant. We entered ins courtyard which featured a little café and a terrace opening up to a wonderful view of the surrounding landscape. From here we even managed to spot far in the distance another castle standing on top of a hill. We then headed forward and walked down the hill through a beautiful valley sided by rocky cliffs and impressively tall trees. The way was peaceful and relaxing and we reached some field which led up another hill. After a bit, we reached the top where the castle we had previously seen in the distance, Hrad Trosky, was located. We walked a little further up and reached the castle entrance; unfortunately, though the place had just closed and so we just had to enjoy the view from the outside. Consisting of a main central walled structure, it is flanked by two towers built on the summit of two basalt volcanic plugs. Despite in a state of ruin, suffered mostly during the Thirty Years' War of 1648,  it is a wonderful example of a 14th-century fortified structure. It was now time to go so we headed back downhill and reached a super tiny rural train station, where a train was supposed to take us back to Turnov. We were a bit worried the train would never pass, but in the end, 5 minutes later than the actual hour it stopped and we got on to reach Turnov and switch trains finally heading back to Prague.

Entrance to the Valdštejn Castle

The chapel of St John the Nepomuk in the Valdštejn Castle

The Rock Town of Hruba Skala

More rock formations

Pillars of rock

View from the Hruba Skala castle

The Hruba Skala castle

The valley sided by rocky formations

A small lake on the way

Hrad Troskyon top of two volcanic plugs

The view of the surrounding landscape

Kutna Hora (16/09/2018)

After arriving in Prague I hung out with my brother for the rest of the afternoon and night and the following day, as he had to work I decided to do a day trip to the town of Kutna Hora. After heading to the train station I took a regional and reached the station of the intended destination. As it was a bit far away from the city center I decided to visit first the nearby world-famous Sedlec Ossuary, known for its macabre display of bones. As I approached the church a line had already formed to buy tickets, so I decided to stand and wait for my turn. Luckily it didn't take long and I was now inside the ossuary marveling as all other visitors. I had already seen other ossuaries, particularly those in Evora, Milan, and Naples; this one was rather particular as it featured an artistic arrangement of the bones rather than a normal religious one like in the other cases. Particularly interesting was the arrangement of the bones to form the coat of arms of the House of Schwarzenberg, and an enormous chandelier hanging from the ceiling which is probably the best known of the whole attraction. Once out I then decided to visit the Cathedral of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist, which was strangely set so far out of the main town in this part of the city called Sedlec. Entry was included with the ticket to the ossuary and enable me to visit the interior of this huge monument. Gothic from the outside, it featured a simple yet elegant yellow Baroque interior with a huge nave and decorated side altars. A view from the top was possible through a stair leading to where the organ was located. The church was included in the Unesco list together with the town's city center. So after exiting the Cathedral, I started to head in the direction of the core of the old located quite a bit further and slightly uphill. After reaching the main square, Palackeho Namesti, I directed myself to see the so-called Italian Court, a large palace which was modified throughout its history. It was named so because of the Florentine bankers who were summoned here after the town became famous for silver extraction during the middle ages. A reform enacted by King Wenceslaus II set this to be the only royal mint, thus terminating all others around the country and elevating the city to an extreme position of importance. As the interior featured a museum I decided to just give a look at the nice inner courtyard and admire the rest from the outside. Right outside from the palace, a large terrace provided a beautiful view of the southern part of the old town set up above a gorge formed by the Vrchlice river. From there I walked further and passed by the church of St James, which was unfortunately closed, eventually reaching a small square with the typical plague column. Not far ahead I passed by the nice Baroque facade of the church of St John the Nepomuk and entered yet another small square with an interesting Gothic stone fountain at its center. Though now open roof, it used to be covered and served as a reservoir and has some beautiful stone decorations all around it. As I continued on I then approached the immense structure of the Jesuit College, built in the Baroque style during the 17th and 18th centuries to convert the population who had previously turned to Utraquism. A terrace was built in front of it and adorned by baroque statues, this had become a nice alleyway with views over the Vrchlice valley and the vineyards covering the northern slope from which grapes a wine was produced was sold all over the town. At the end of the terrace, a low construction pops out: it is the Chapel of Corpus Christi. Originally intended as an ossuary chapel consisting of two floors, only the lower floor was completed with the rest remaining as it looks now for unknown reasons. Right next to it stands the impressive and beautiful church of St Barbara, included in the Unesco site. Despite its size and opulence, it is not the cathedral, whose seat was actually in the once I had visited in Sedlec the same morning. Its construction started at the end of the 14th century and involved an outstanding plan due to the city's richness coming in from its silver deposits. However, due to the Hussite wars and the later decline of the mines the structure never reached its intended size. Nonetheless, as I entered the monument, I marveled at its rich interior consisting of a high and extremely light gothic nave with additional Baroque features. I was also able to climb up a set of stairs which brought me up to the matroneum, right above the huge organ. From here I had an interesting perspective of the church and a small terrace granted also a view outside of the facade. After touring the building I then went out to a small yet nicely kept garden and had a great view of the church and its impressive facade. After that, it was time to go, I directed myself through the old town once more and finally reached the train station back in Sedlec from where I took the next ride to Prague.

The bones of the Sedlec Ossuary

The creepy yet interesting chandelier

The coat of arms of House of Schwarzenberg made out of bones

The interior of the Sedlec Cathedral of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist

The view from the terrace next to the Italian Court

The Italian Court Palace

The church of St John the Nepomuk

The Gothic fountain

View of the vineayrds and the old town

The interior of the church of St Barbara

View from the church's matroneum

The beautiful gothic structure of the church of St Barabra

Třebíč, Telč & Jihlava (15/09/2018)

After attending Ania's master defense in Krakow, I decided to visit my brother who had recently started working in Prague. After seeing Ania to the bus station in Krakow, headed to Hamburg, I took a bus in the direction of Brno. As expected my bus was late, and even though I had two hours time to catch my transfer, I was barely able to run from the bus station to the train station once in Brno and manage just in time to catch the last train to Třebíč. After a late arrival, I headed to the accommodation which was a room right above a bar in a not so busy street. The funny thing was the owner, both of the bar and the rooms upstairs was already drunk and fumbled to show me the keys and the place and then going back to serving and drinking with the locals in the bar downstairs. Luckily, the sound was not hearable and nonetheless stopped completely after a while. The following morning, after a good night sleep I left the place and headed out to explore the town. I had chosen it because its Jewish neighborhood and its basilica are inscribed in the Unesco list. So as I headed towards the city center, I first reached a nearby hill where an observation deck granting a great view of the old town. The weather was not the best and several clouds had decided to cover up most of the sky, but that didn't demoralize me from continuing on. From there I walked downhill and reached the aforementioned Jewish neighborhood which comprises a large part of the old town and set on the northern bank of the Jihlava river. As most Jewish areas in Europe, it was set apart from the rest of the city and usually enclosed by a wall which would be closed from dusk till dawn. Specifically, this one is considered as one of the best preserved in Europe having survived quite unscathed throughout history, particularly during the violence of World War 2. Sadly as it went with other places, of the original Jewish inhabitants who were deported to concentration camps only about ten made it back to their houses. As I walked through the old streets I admired the nice architecture and the synagogue which once served the local community and is now a museum. Then continuing on, I reached the other site included in the Unesco list, the Basilica of St Procopius. Originally built during the 13th century and dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, it was dedicated to its current saint just in the 18th century. As I approached the monument, I first walked under a nice Baroque gate which marks the entrance to the city's castle to which the basilica is annexed. As I entered the premises I was able to admire the whole structure of the church. Despite the facade and bell towers having been reconstructed in the Baroque form, the rest of the church presented its beautiful original Romanesque/Gothic structure. In fact, as I visited its interior, I marveled at the huge main nave and the elegant arches leading up to the vaulted dome. One of the side chapels also contained some well-preserved traces of medieval frescoes representing religious scenes. After visiting the interior, I then headed out and made a circle of the structure, passing through a nice botanical garden set behind the church's apse. As I still had time to spare and it was not too far of a walk I decided to head out of the town and see the Jewish cemetery. Once I reached the place, the gate was unlocked so I decided to head and walk among the graves of a once large community that inhabited the city. It was well maintained which meant that, despite the change of community, those who had died were not forgotten. Then, once back in the old town, I walked through the core of the city, represented by the Karlovo Namesti, the main square. At its southwestern end, I passed by a nicely painted house and then slightly uphill reached the church of St Martin with a nice Baroque interior. At that point, I directed myself to the bus station from where I took a ride to the next town: Telč. As I reached the destination I immediately headed towards the old town which was located close by. Founded in the 13th century as a royal water fort on busy merchant routes it is in fact sided to the north and south by two lakes. It is also a Unesco world heritage site since 1992 due to its impressive old town. As I approached, in fact, I entered the immense main square, which occupies nearly the whole city center, and marveled at the perimeter beautifully lined with multicolor Renaissance and Baroque houses with high gables and arcades. At the center, a plague column and a nice fountain dating to the 17th century give an elegant addition. As I continued on, the triangular shaped square, started to slowly get tighter until it became a larger street. As I admired the beautiful facade of the houses I then reached the church of the Name of Jesus built in the Baroque style. Right next to it was the castle, the city's main attraction. Built over a pre-existing Gothic structure, the present one dates to the 17th century. After entering the premises I decided to skip the visit to the museum, as that would take long, and instead visit the parts open to the public. First the chapel with a beautiful stucco decoration from the 16th century and the tomb of Zacharias of Hradec, ruler of the city, and his wife at the center.  Then through the courtyard, I admired the clearly Italian influenced architecture which was in fact commissioned to artists coming from Italy. A small garden then opened up behind the chapel's apse and was surrounded by more arcaded buildings. After the visit to the complex, I then exited through the walls and visited the English landscape park which was set out at the time of the Renaissance castle. After walking around the castle perimeter I entered once again the old town and visited the church of St James, located right next to the palace complex and featuring a nice gothic interior. Further on I crossed a bridge across the southern lake and admired the old town from a nice viewpoint. There was a bit of sun shining through the clouds which made the sight even more impressive. It was then time to head back to the train station and catch a ride to the final town: Jihlava. As I reached the destination, I headed into the city center which I reached in no time. The main square, known as Masarykovo Namesti, was the core of it all, surrounded by old buildings and with two fountains, one of Neptune and one of his wife Amphitrite.  There were a lot of people around and a stage had been set up for a kind of festival. As I headed out of the square I reached the large church of St James the Greater with a nice Gothic exterior. It was unfortunately closed by a glass door enabled visitors to peek inside and admire the Baroque interior. Right behind it, a path led on top of the city's fortifications; I followed it all the way around and reached the western end of town. Here, a nice street lined with old buildings was characterized by the only surviving city gate, the Gate of the Holy Mother. From there I headed back to the main square where even more people had gathered as some pavilions were set up hosting street food from all over the area. I tried some Slovak specialties including Bryndzové halušky, potato dumplings with sheep's milk cheese. After eating, I hung out on the square for a little bit and then headed towards the bus station stopping on the way to admire the nice Baroque church of the Holy Spirit. From there I finally took the final ride to Prague where I met up with my brother.

View of Trebice

One of the streets in the Jewish neighborhood

The catle's baroque gate

The portal of the Basilica of St Procopius

Interior of St Procopius

The facade of the St Procopius

The Jewish cemetery

The beautiful Renaissance houses in Telc

The main square in Telc

More houses

Inner courtyard of the castle

The castle chapel

View of Telc from across the southern lake

The main square in Jihlava

The church of St James the Greater

Walking along the walls

The gate of the Holy Mother

One of the streets in the old town