Right now, our plan is to be on the road around June 20th! Before that, however, there are lot of boxes to pack, items to be tossed and slew of other things to be able to hit the road. So, stay tuned as we head out on our ‘gap year’ adventure.
4-10-18 – It all starts in July 2017
Starting in July we head out for our ‘gap year’ adventure which includes spending time in Oregon, driving across the country to Virginia, flying to Portugal for a river cruise, flying to Sttutgart Germany to pick up a new Mercedes-Benz and driving south throughout Italy before dropping the car of for shipment to Virginia. Tag along via this blog to see what happens.
06-27-16 & 6-28-16 The end….
The 27th was a relaxing day of doing just about nothing. We did spend some time visiting a couple of shops and packing but beyond that nothing major for sure. Nice to have a relaxing day prior to flying home.
On the 28th, our driver picked us up and we headed to the airport. After departing Prague we flew via Amsterdam back to LAX – resulting in being ‘awake’ for 24 hours. It was a great trip and there are parts I can certainly see going back to for more adventures. If you have followed along throughout our trip – I hope you enjoyed it. We had a great time and are already looking forward to our next trip in September 2017!
David & Janeen
06-26-16 Kutna Hora, The Ossuary and several Castles and Churches
In 1278, Henry, the abbot of the Cistercian monastery in Sedlec, was sent to the Holy Land by King Otakar II of Bohemia. He returned with him a small amount of earth he had removed from Golgotha and sprinkled it over the abbey cemetery. The word of this pious act soon spread and the cemetery in Sedlec became a desirable burial site throughout Central Europe. In the mid 14th century, during the Black Death, and after the Hussite Wars in the early 15th century, many thousands were buried in the abbey cemetery, so it had to be greatly enlarged. Around 1400, a Gothic church was built in the center of the cemetery with a vaulted upper level and a lower chapel to be used as an ossuary for the mass graves unearthed during construction, or simply slated for demolition to make room for new burials. In 1870, František Rint, a woodcarver, was employed by the Schwarzenberg family to put the bone heaps into order, yielding a macabre result.
A visit to this Ossuary is a bit macabre what with all the bones around – many in piles, many in decorative forms – actually a little creepy.
After our visit, we walked over to the Sedlec – the first Cisterican monastery in Bohemia – founded in 1142. An unusual feature is the ability to walk above the vaulted ceilings in the attic and see some of the construction required.
On either side of the Alter were two glass cases hold the Relics of two saints – on the left is St. Vincent – Martyr of ancient room donated by Pope Benedict XIV on the occasion of the 600th anniversary of monastery foundation.
Another church in town is the Cathedral of St. Barbora. Around the courtyard of the church was a medieval style fair happening with people in costume and period games and entertainment being performed. We didn’t join in as it was rather cool and looking like rain. However, we did venture into the Cathedral for a look around.
After a delightful lunch with Ilona, 
we heading out for more Castle visits.
One more stop for the day was to was to Konopiste. This Castle had been modified many times ultimately being purchased by Franz Ferdinand d’Este in 1887. At the time, he was the richest member of the Habsburg family at the time and at 21 started to make over this Castle to his liking. Franz was not considered to be a candidate for succession to the throne but that all changed when the King’s brother died of typhus in 1896. Even with this possibility, he married Sophie Chotek – who was not considered of high enough birth to be present at the court of the King. Regardless, Franz was in love and they married and lived mostly in Konopiste only visiting Vienna when required to do so. The castle was modernized during the early 1900’s with electricity and additional bathrooms being installed.
The Castle had a large park around it – all the result of Franz buying up everything around and tearing down all the buildings including a small village. Within the grounds he established various hunting areas, a pond, gardens and all related items to support his luxury lifestyle.
At the moat, just around the Castle, there were kept several bears – still to this day they are present.
We didn’t tour the Castle as the last tour was being done in the Czeck language – didn’t think we could following along.
After walking around a bit, Janeen went to the Gardens of course.
This Castle is significant as the Seat of power for Franz Ferdinand, the successor to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and his wife Sophie. When they were assassinated in 1914 it participated the start of World War I.
06-25-16 A guided Tour outside of town
Prior to leaving for this trip, I had arranged a guide to take us out of Prague and into some of the historical sites. We were picked up by Ilona and her husband, Peter, who acted as the driver and off we went.
The first stop was to Český Krumlov Castle located about 2 ½ hours outside of Prague. The Castle dates back to 1240 when the first castle was built by the Witigonen family, the main branch of the powerful Rosenberg family. For the next several hundred years it pass through a number of Noble families ultimately passing to the Schwarzenbergs. After WW II it ultimately became a property of the Czech government. The entire area, castle, village and surround areas, were declared a national monument in 1989 and in 1992 it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
We started our tour in the gardens of the castle at the top of the hill 
and walked through several squares ultimately getting to the main gate of the castle and into the town. Along the way we had beautiful views of the river, the village and the surround buildings.
With each square there were interesting sites to see – faux windows and doors on the walls, 
representations of the coat of arms of the Rosenberg family and historical objects like rock cannon balls. Interior shots of the Castle show how richly appointed all the rooms are.
After leaving the castle we walked through a portion of the village and across a bridge to the main section.
The village has winding small cobblestone streets lined with shops, restaurants and open areas – squares. We walked to an over look to look back at the castle and through the church. 
Note the stones at the corner of the buildings. This was to protect them from horse and carriage impacts.
After a lunch of local fare 
we headed back to the car to continue our adventure. 
This view of the castle shows the walkways created to separate various levels of society. The top level was for the Noble’s to walk from the Castle to the gardens, the middle level was for servants and the lower level was for access to the Theatre from the Castle.
After connecting with Peter, we drove to České Budějovice for a quick tour around the square with it’s impressive buildings. 
Budějovice has long been well known for the beer brewed there since the 13th century. For a time, the town was the imperial brewery for the Holy Roman Emperor, and Budweiser Bier (i.e. beer from Budweis) became, along with Pilsner from Plzeň, one of the best-known lagers. Brewing remains a major industry. This is the town that the American brewer took the name for Budweiser Beer
From here we went on to Hluboka Castle. This historic chateau and is considered to be one of the most beautiful castles in the Czech Republic. In the second half of the 13th century, a castle was built at this location and rebult several times over the years. Finally being modified into it’s current form by Adam Franz von Schwarzenberg in the beginning of the 18th century. It is in the romantic style of England’s Windsor Castle. The owner fled the country in 1939 to escape from the Nazis. 
Today’s adventures were all south of Prague. Tomorrow we head east to see other sites not normally on the common tour route.