Today was full of amazing scenery and architecture.
We started earlier today with breakfast at 7am. We met our tour guide and boarded the bus at 8:30am from the hotel lower lobby. On our way out of the city, our tour guide, Margaret, told us about the world’s ugliest tower.
This was a tower built and used by the Soviets to interrupt TV and radio signals from the west until the collapse of the USSR in 1989. It is easy to forget that the modern day Czech Republic is only 36 years old and many Czechs still have very vivid memories of their lives under Soviet rule. Margaret was just 21 when the Soviet Union collapsed. She shared many interesting experiences she and her Czech counterparts had during and after the Soviets.
On our way out of Prague we passed the location where Reinhard Heydrich was assassinated. Here is the monument to the Czechs that participated in that operation (Operation Anthropoid) that we learned about in yesterday’s tour.
We enjoyed seeing Czech farmland and more rural areas along the drive. About two hours after leaving our hotel, we made our first stop. We walked by the Sedlec Abbey. Weirdly, a Philip Morris tobacco museum is directly attached to it, the yellow building on the left.
We did not visit inside this church as it was not the primary reason for our stop. We were on our way to the Church of All Saints.
We walked by the Lego shop with a skeleton made of Legos sitting on the building sign. This was a hint at what we were going to see.
A short stroll beyond the Lego shop, we reached the Sedlec Ossuary.
In 1278, Henry, the abbot of the Cistercianmonastery in Sedlec, was sent to the Holy Land by King Ottokar II of Bohemia. He returned with a small amount of earth he had removed from Golgotha and sprinkled it over the cemetery. The word of this pious act soon spread and the cemetery in Sedlec became a desirable burial site throughout Central Europe.
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. It is estimated that between 40k - 70k people were unearthed.
In 1870, FrantiĊĦek Rint, a woodcarver, was employed by the Schwarzenberg family to put the bone heaps into order, yielding a macabre result.
No pictures were allowed inside so here is one from a google search to give you an idea of the strange decorations.
After, Michele heard a few people comment on this strange place, feeling a bit disturbed by it. Back on the bus, we had a short ride to the town of Kutna Hora. Kutna Hora’s early claim to fame in the 1200’s was silver. The mining of this metal brought significant wealth to the town. Here is a map of the town that was on the sidewalk.
The main structure in this town is St. Barbara’s Church.
Construction on the church began in 1388 and would not be completed until 1905! (That makes Rob’s progress on our bathroom very speedy in comparison!)
The church is a gothic or neo-gothic style. The inside is as spectacular as the outside, especially the vaulted ceiling and the huge pipe organ.
Our lunch spot at #1 rated Dacicky Restaurant started around 1:00pm.
Rob was deeply reflecting on something here while we waited for our food. We had a choice of a chicken dish, pork with plum sauce, or vegetarian. Our guide said the chef has a pate unique to the restaurant and asked her to tell everyone how special it is so we’d try it. We did try it, some enjoyed more than others. We all enjoyed our main meal choices and had apple strudel for dessert.
Lunch was over by 1:45pm and we continued our walk through town.
We took the bus back to our hotel where we arrived around 4:45pm. Rob and Michele rested and got a margherita pizza in the hotel cafe for dinner. We met Roy for the Prague by Night tour at 7:45pm. Gwyn opted to rest after the long walk earlier today. Our tour guide was a different Margaret who was one of the best guides we’ve ever had. Her english was strong, she was very knowledgeable about everything in sight, and quite funny. A short bus ride into the city and up the hill, we arrived at the Strahov Monastery, founded in 1143, and enjoyed views of the city.
Next we walked nearby to a beer hall to sample local beer. Margaret all told us how to say “beer” in Czech, “Pivo”. She said you can use it as a general greeting since beer is so loved in the Czech Republic! Michele does not like the taste of beer, but in an effort to join in, she told the waiter “Pivo Mi”, which means “beer me!”. She recieved the Nectar of Happiness beer.
A few minutes after our beers were delivered, Margaret explained to us that we would have to drink our beers like Czechs, very fast, as we had to move along in the next few minutes. Beers consumed, we got back on the bus for a short ride over to the entrance of the famous Charles Bridge and the scenic neighborhood at the end of it. The bridge has a 20-year renovation underway.
We saw Little Venice named for being the only canal in the city, and the Waterwheel.
Next we walked to the Lennon Wall. This wall represents non-violent resistance.
We finished the tour with views of the Church of the Virgin Mary under the Chain, built by the Knights of Malta in the 12th century. The name derives from the knights using chains to block boats from proceeding on the river before paying customs duties.
A quick ride back to the hotel and we said our goodbyes for the night. Tomorrow we have a half day tour of other city sights.
