Swimming in the Bio habitat at Radotin and going underground at Koneprusy

Oh my good lord guys, suddenly it was 35 degrees in the shade today and so I said I was going to go jump in the river, but Helena said that we should go for a little drive to the bio habitat in a neighbouring little town.Bio habitat?I'm in!This is such a cool place!This is a great, big, man-made pond where the water is filtered thru a large bio habitat.No chemicals are used, the water is tested daily and is perfectly clean and fresh.Here is the bio habitat which cleans the pool.There are frogs and fish in it!And beautiful waterlilies.The filtered water is trickled back into the swimming pool. It is further equipped with the best pool heater.All the little children had the best fun in among the pebbles.The pool has a part where people can walk in, a part to dive from, a ledge around the rest of the area to swim up to and comfortably haul yourself out, a safe ramp for wheelchairs and the elderly who need a little help getting in and out of the water, a gentle shallow area for the littlest ones, a small slide and god knows what else. And it's beautifully deep in the middle. Cool and deep. As you can see pool surfaces looks like natural bed, so it is like swimming in a pond.And you know what else I love? All sorts of people in all sorts of sizes comfortably walking around. No judgement. And naked little children. Loads of naked little children and no one cares a hoot. Just a natural and normal and ordinary European life. Just what I'm used to.Here is that ledge I was telling you about. Oh, and another thing, children are running around the pool! In Canada the authorities would be having fits! And teens are horsing around pushing each other in! And little guys are paddling around the deeps in floaty inner tubes and little water wings and no one is freaking out that they'll drown and trying to tether them to the shallow end.Summer as it should be.Except the bio habitat includes grass which has clover in it and that means bees.Helena, poor girl, stepped on a bee and it stung her foot.But I pulled the stinger out and she jumped into the cool water and all was well.By lunchtime the pool got very crowded and it was still very hot, so we decided to have a little underground adventure at the Koneprusy caves.It took a little driving to get there, but we were heading away of Prague so the highway wasn't too packed and, before we knew it, we were in the beautiful countryside.Up the hill is a limestone mine and opposite the mine in the cliffs are the caves.There are some beautiful sedums growing there loving this dry heat.I walked up to the cliffs in my shorts and t shirt but took a bag of warmer clothes because it's a constant 10 degrees underground.And, as soon as we walked in and the big door was closed behind us, I needed the extra clothes.I just love these amazing natural structures.On lady in our small tour group started to sing a mantra and her beautiful voice carried on thru the caves. It was one of the loveliest things I've heard in the longest time.This cave had a lot of natural chimneys for fresh air and so there are some signs of habitation here.There is a skull of a 40 yr old woman here form the ice age. She was ceremoniously buried by being lowered down one of the chimneys. her burial included ornaments and tools she might need for the after life. Over the centuries her bones slipped from the first layer of caves to the third.There you go my dears, that's what my day was like, and, for an extra bonus, I drove back towards Prague beside the little village of Liten where my grandmother and great grandmother lived.Off to Prague tomorrow for a few days.

A slow meander thru Southern Bohemia back to Prague

Hi guys,I'm back just outside Prague this morning with my friends Helena and Zdenek.I've also taken a lovely, slow zig-zaggy miander thru Southern Bohemia, following the Vltava river all the way back here, stopping at various places I felt like stopping at.My first place was Cesky Krumlov.This is an amazing 13C castle and town and a UNESCO world heritage site, but it's also an amazing summer playground for all the folks because of how the Vltava wraps around the town. The river is slow and gentle and so shallow that people can walk right thru it and, on a hot day like today, they do!Here is a giant bridge built between two cliffs to connect the castle to the garden.Underneath the castle is a beautiful Medieval town,I walked thru the town looking into doorways and exploring the streets.Then I stopped to have a little lunch by the river and had a visitor; a hawk moth.Then I walked out of the town......while the happy people enjoyed their summer day.My next stop was the Trebon pond system.This is more like a lake system...lolBut it originates from the 14C when this method of farming carp was invented.Each pond is capable of draining in to the next, and, over the course of the year, the ponds were drained, fish harvested and the ponds were filled up again.Carp are a very important food source here, and, as much as I SUFFER thru the horrible, bony, muddy tasting meal at Christmas time, I do have a certain affection for the slimy creature.Then out of Trebon and no end of trouble navigating around road closures and finding one of my favourite castles Hluboka.The castle name translates as Deep, but it isn't deep, it's HIGH! So up the hill we go again!First glimpse.Around the armaments and walls,And there it is!Isn't it glorious?Now, today is Monday and Monday all the castles in the Czech Republic are closed, and so Hluboka was sleeping away with the shutters down,but the gardens are open and I've seen the interior so many times, that I don;t really mind.Actually, there was a film being shot on location and some photos of the castle were tricky because of filming vans and people milling around,but I did spy a princess walking about in her tiara and shades.I always wonder what life was like here for the kings and princely people.This started out in the 13C as a Gothic hunting lodge and then was rebuilt into this Baroque beauty.This is the back patio,And a view down to the Vltava below.A few more looks,And down I go.So how's this for bizarre?I'm driving thru the beautiful Bohemian countryside of ancient villages and red roofs......and suddenly the road turns and I drive right underneath a nuclear reactor!!!I mean right under it, under those towers. This is the first safe place I could pull off the road to take a photo.Yikes. Felt very uneasy, and maybe because Vancouver is a nuclear free zone...not sure...but yikes!Anyway, drove far enough away...actually, in a country with a nuclear reactor you can never be far enough away...and got to the little town of Tabor.The word tabor means camp, and this is where a movement of Protestantism and reformation began way before Henry the 8th decided he wanted a new wife.There was a clergyman named Jan Hus who led the revolt for reformation against the Catholic clergy under the Austrian Empire.I walked into the town square and into the museum to learn more.Here is Jan Hus on the right and Jan Zizka on the left.I'm afraid it didn't end well for poor old Hus who was eventually burned at the stake for heresy, but his death in 1415 led to a partial overthrow of power in a way that his idealisms became the new order of the day. The partial overthrow of power was accomplished by Jan Zizka who led the battle of Kutna Hora and defeated the army of the Holy Roman Empire and of Hungary.One more treasure to discover: cellars!Under the whole town are cool, stone cellars, many of which connect to each other and some of which are three, very generous, stories deep!.These cellars were used as safe storage places and even as a small prison.In the Middle Ages, it was possible for a man to lock his wife in one of the cellar rooms for a 24 hour period if she were being disobedient. This apparently backfired quite often because suddenly there was no wife to cook, take care of the children and warm the bed!But the most important function of the cellars for this town was as a safeguard against fire.In those days, the buildings were made of wood, and high up on hills towns were particularly susceptible.This town was built here because of mining. Garnets, opals and other semi-precious stones came out of these hills, so lots of employment for folks. however, a particularly brutal fire, which burned 2/3 of the town to the ground, started the trend to build these cellars.So there you go guys, a slow meander up here to the outskirts of Prague. I'll hang here for a few days and possibly go for a swim. It's hot here, perfect swimming weather, and I need a break.

Salzburg and aunt Vera

A little continuation from yesterday.Like I said, I've driven all over Austria searching for the perfect place for my aunt Vera to rest.I've never had a responsibility like this before. I've never laid anyone to rest anywhere before.This has been really hard.I considered the family crypt in Prague but felt my aunt wouldn't ever want to be underground.I considered a lot of beautiful sites and beautiful places I know, but nothing felt right. Except Austria.This is the place where my aunt spent the happiest years of her life and so I decided she had to be here for eternity.I looked at Vienna, didn't feel right, then I thought Linz, but no. Linz is too industrial and too dirty. So I drove the extra 100K down here to Salzburg and suddenly everything felt right.On a whim, I got a room at the Hotel Sachre; a beautiful old world hotel.Julie Andrews stayed here so I feel I'm on the right path...lolComing without reservations meant there was a little fuss about getting a room ready for me....lol. Three people to make a bed!And then, early evening I walked into the town.Hello Fraulein dirndl.I love dirndls, don't you? So cute.The Salzberg shops were all closed but the restaurants were busy.I just walked all over the town all afternoon.I walked past the river and noticed the beautiful wildflowers.Then I looked up and saw the alpine meadows.Then I knew. That's where I needed to take my aunt's ashes.So, feeling much better about everything, I stopped at the Lidls store for a little something to eat and went to the room, had a bit of supper...... had a bath, and lights out.This morning, Sunday morning, I walked out of the hotel......and walked on beautifully empty streets!I walked over to the nearest, (and probably only) Sbux...And got myself a nice, hot tea, got directions for the meadows, checked out of the hotel, and headed for the hills.And I found it guys!The perfect meadow.Yes I dressed in a dirndl!When in Austria!Here is a 360 view of my aunt's meadow:I said my goodbyes to my aunt.I opened the urn and scattered her ashes on this perfect meadow, in the gentle breeze, under the warm, European sky.And then I placed a single white rose in the center.There you are auntie Vera.You're where you belong on this lush meadow overlooking Salzburg.You will have the sound of birds and children's laughter near by. You will have people walking past. Happy people wandering on these hills and in the winter, you will have crisp white days and crystal snowflakes, and at night you will have twinkling stars.This has not been the easiest, most relaxing trip so far, but the big emotional decisions are done.I'm heading out of Austria now and back towards Prague.

Found family Bratislava and Budmerice, and took a couple days for myself

Hello my darling friends.I'm in Salzburg Austria tonight catching up on life.Life has been so fast these last two days that I really had to stop a minute and take a breath.It's been so emotional for me that's it's very hard to write this post...to keep going on...You see this next photo? It's of the tiny Budmerice village flower shop where I stopped to buy some flowers for my cousin Kveta who I have't seen for 47 years. I came to visit her with my cousin Zdenka, who so very graciously invited me to come stay with her.I have two cousins in Slovakia who I knew about and had vague glimpses of memories of but haven't seen since my very young childhood. You see, we escaped the occupied Czechoslovakia without being to tell anyone when I was very young, then we were banned from coming back until communism fell apart, then life and children and deaths...and there you have it. A life time passed.Anyway, to make this incredibly emotional story short, I found my girls. Both of them.And I love them and their families, and am so happy I have them in my life again.Oh long story, long story. A life time story.I am retracing my roots here.Kveta still lives in my grandparent's home, where she and Zdenka grew up with my grandparents after their parents both died (my father's sister and her husband).This home.I remember this home; which the girls inherited.I can't explain the feeling of walking thru the gates.You'll have to pardon my tears.The feeling of a loss in childhood regained, a feeling of family found, a feeling of belonging. I'm loosing all words. Anyone who has lost family and found them might understand, so I'll just describe and let you feel with me.Those hydrangeas.Those hydrangeas were there when I was a tot walking down the garden.That attic space.That attic space is where we played dress up and dug thru trunks of old dresses.These kittens.These kittens are new but there were always kittens here.This stall area.This is where the Christmas pig was which was meant to be slaughtered.I have a glimpse of some men being here with grandfather and one of them fell in and there was panic for his safety.I remember that.The garden where we used to run around and play.My girls.Kveta on the left and Zdenka on the right.Pardon our red eyes.We were very weepy.There you have it guys.What a couple of emotional days.I can't believe I found my cousins and finally have a chance to connect in person.I'm so happy.This gate!This is the very gate which leads form the courtyard to the orchard and garden.This is the same walnut tree.Some Polaroid photos for my journal.This path behind the village.I have glimpses of us running thru the field.There is the most amazing field here edged with poplars and cherry trees.We ate cherries till we couldn't eat any more.And then this! The girls prepared some photos for me.Would you like me to describe?I could but I can't explain what I feel in my heart.That large photo of that handsome man in the middle. That's my father who I never knew. Wasn't he handsome? Just like a movie star.That photo on the right hand side of the babe and the old lady. That's me and my grandmother, and it's a copy of the only photo I have of her.That photo of the young child, bottom right. That's me at about the time that we left the old Czechoslovakia knowing we would quite probably never be able to return.My cousins carefully kept and preserved all these photos never knowing if they'd ever see me again or even if I was even alive!And here: a family tree of sorts.From the left: Family portrait with an aunt, both of my grandmothers (dad's on the left and mom's on the right), and my grandfather, my father, my grandfather, my grandmother and me.That's one half of where I come from.One half is the grand and noble von Alemann family; who started the whole German race in 1218, and one half is the Miscovic family, who lived their own stormy lives I never knew about. Till now.So there you have it guys.I've left Slovakia now and had to leave my family for a while, (I will so be back).And now for another emotional and personal journey.I've driven all over the place. Thru Vienna and thru Linz, and now am in Salzburg.I'm searching Austria for the perfect spot for my aunt's ashes.I think I found the right spot.In the mean time, much love to all of us who search and strive to connect.And even if you don't, hug your family a little tighter for me tonight.Whew emotional roller coaster.Those of you who like the merry-go-round, this ride is a little too turbulent!

That question when a tree falls in a forest...but what about when a tree falls in a spa?

Hi guys,here I am in the middle of my stay at this glorious spa, and today I had several procedures and one was called the Mirror Pool.Spoke to my Robbie this morning who asked what the Mirror Pool was, and I said I didn't know. Possibly a pool where one gets naked and stands in front of mirrors and realise what they actually look like!!!!Actually what it was was a long soak in a still, hot thermal pool.It was really lovely.There was little ol' me and a pretty Parisian lady of Lebanese origin.Parisian lady was not impressed that we were asked to disrobe and enter the thermal pool naked. Oooo-la-la, she said. The spa lady said, "we're all girls here." and dismissed her uncomfortable-ness.I felt sorry for her and so channeled my best corporate wife persona and started a happy, friendly convo with her, and in a few minutes we were fast friend, fast naked friends, and soaking happily in the thermal pool. :)Anyway, the whole point of my naked thermal soaking story is to say nothing happened today.I had the soak, I had a massage and then I planned have a swim, take an evening walk, take some boring for you photos, tell you nothing much happened, show you my journal so far... you know, make some content for you......and then!!!All hell broke loose.Just as I finished having my massage and got ready to go for a swim, a large and ancient chestnut tree fell over at the pool.Just crash!Just like that.Two second warning.It crushed several metal pool chairs.It shocked the hell out of everyone there and in the resort.Thank the gods there was no one under the path of the fall or in the chairs at the time.Just sheer stupid luck because there were people all over the pool area.The whole resort sprung into action.The pool area was closed "Due to technical difficulties". No kidding!The pool was immediately drained and a crew was immediately on site removing the bits of the tree.I must say that for a shocking and potentially horrific situation, the staff at this spa were clear and level headed and got everyone and everything out of harm's way in just a few minutes.Here is what's left of the fallen tree this evening.Here is a close up of the root...or lack there of.So that was it guys, no swimming this evening for your's truly shark girl.Instead I went for a long afternoon-evening walk along the river Vah.Look at this guys, the first peacock butterfly I've seen this season.This is all you get get to see of no make up, no Visene, no antihistamine me today!The cotton wood aspens and in full cotton wood mode, the lindens are fragrant in the air and, combine that with mineral water and pool water earlier, various massage oils, and three showers before supper, and my eyes are red like a proper allergic person!But that's OK, I'll sleep it off. In the meantime, look at this amazing European river.I love these wide, slow rivers, the sparkling rivers of my childhood.I don;t even mind not having a swim this evening as long as I can stay here till sunset.

Happily ever after at the spa

Hi everyone,I think this might be a pretty boring post!No castles, no cathedrals, just little old me here at the spa being immersed in mud and swimming in thermal pools.Today I had two of my prescribed therapeutic procedures and a foot massage.First I had an exercise class in a very warm thermal mineral pool in strong jets of bubbles. And then I had a mud wrap, but nothing like you've ever seen!I was asked to strip naked (this is Europe, everyone's naked all over the place and it's very normal) and then about four inches of hot (40-42 degrees) clay mineral mud was slathered on a sheet, then I was sat in it and more mud was slathered, and then I lay in it and then more of the mud was dolloped all over my body from my feet to my stomach to about four inches in depth everywhere. Like a Veronica cake. And then, totally immobile with my hands by my side in this thick, goopy, hot mineral goodness, I was wrapped in blankets to sweat.For 30 minutes!!!! Thank goodness I didn't get an itchy nose.They kept checking in on me and wiped my face with a cool cloth, and then, 30 minutes later, I was unwrapped, some of the mud was scrapped off, and I was helped into a shower. The mud was very slippery.It took ages to shower all the mud off and I still have some under my fingernails. And that's after three showers and two swims in the pool!Well, those procedures took till lunch time and I had a lovely lunch sitting in the dining room catching up on my journal.Each day I try to paint or collage or even just stick in a photograph into my journal this month and a couple days went by so fast that I just stuck ephemera into my journal and moved on. It was great to finally get some pages finished.Then, after lunch, another swim, massage (the best one I had at Whistler Spa) after and then I hung up my bathing suit on the balcony and walked into town.This is the view from my balcony. The spa is on a "spa island".Seriously, there are several spas here, but all relatively modern. This is the only one which dates to 1912.It's amazing to see old photographs of sick people being wheeled in here for their health. I hope some of them recovered. I bet they did.This is the river Vah which this town is built on. There are multiple mineral springs rich in sulfuric mud here and they all feed this river.Just across the river is the little town of Piestany.It's a very pretty and bucolic place with those beautiful ocher buildings, red roofs and lots of gardens.And everywhere in town you see reproductions of this sculpture. This has been here since the 1920s. It represents a man who couldn't walk breaking his crutches over his knee once he became cured by the miracle mud of this special place.Well that's all I have for you guys today. There might be two or three more boring for you (heaven for me) days still.But don't worry, there are lots more castle in the future.

A morning stop at Trencin castle on my way to the Piestany spa

Today I crossed into Slovakia.This felt very emotional for me guys, because, although I rarely talk about it, my birth father...who I never knew...was from here.It felt odd and it felt cold and just not right to cross the border and to head straight to the spa, so I decided to have a bit of an explore on the way.I saw a castle on a hill in the distance, Trencin Castle, and thought that might be a good place to start.There are two types of castles all around these parts. There is the castle translation as zamek, which is a castle inside a town, on the same town level, and castle translated as hrad, which is a castle on a hilltop above the town.This was a hrad, and boy was it up high!There were hundreds of stairs and little walks straight up the hill and 30 minutes later I was barely above the town roofs.But finally I reached the first guard turrets.Look how far below me the town was now!But the castle was still miles up on the hill!Finally I reached the inner courtyard. What a maze of towers and courtyards and wind-around passages this place is.And I walked around the bottom of the tower and had a look.Amazing! I'll show you in a minute, but first, it was time for my tour to start.This castle is a typical structure which was built up on itself since god knows when in the prehistoric neolithic time. Once it was the seat of Matthew III Lord of the region, but before that it was a stone age settlement, bronze age settlement, an important, guarded tower for the Roman Empire, and the bedrock for probably the oldest building in the whole Bohemian region.Here are bits of medieval pipes.Here is bronze age ware.Here are ancient castle keys and swords.This is the remains of a Roman Empire tower. Under it were buried some important people of that age complete with jewels and arms.And this is an ancient Roman stone inscription about the tower and burial site.Amazing right?Bohemia was built up on its own self.The tour wound down to the freezer...the castle kitchens.Walls 7 ft thick, it took a lot to heat the place up. But then I imagine there were tons and tons of people to cook for and probably several ovens and fires going.Now the old kitchens serve as a stone museum. These rooms hold some of the larger artifacts found on this site.And this! This is a secret, 4 ft high passage from the kitchens to the lady of the castle's bed chamber!Then it was time to go to the tower and the more formal tower rooms.And then, just because I haven't done enough climbing for one day, I decided to get to the very tippy top of this castle.And I looked down.And then I looked up and out to the whole, wide world.WowThen I went back down.Four hours later! After walking back down from that height, I set off X Slovakia to Piestany to my spa.Well then, isn't this a beautiful surprise!A beautiful, thermal Art Deco, Old Worlde spa on spa island right beside a river.Ok, I must admit that it wasn't all a surprise. I did choose this spa knowing a little something about it, but still..Here is my robe and slippers waiting for me on my bed. There is also a plate full of fruit and three litters of water on the bedside table.There is also a little letter personally welcoming me here sealed with a red sealing wax seal.I've had my appointment with the spa nurse and doctor, who both declared me fairly healthy (except for a touch of the old osteoarthritis and the old wonky cell business), and prescribed four days of treatment.(this is a beautiful 1952 painting in the clinic area)And so here I've finally landed for a few days. Here in this Art Deco loveliness.And apart form my room and the clinic, the only other place I've explored this evening is the dining room.Isn't it just the grandest?Look at the series of chandeliers in the main part.This is the area I like, this back little alcove looking out onto the gardens.So here I am for the evening, back in my room, on the top floor, overlooking the lovely grounds.And this is the last view I will leave you with.Time for a little rest.

This time a palace! And a war memorial.

Hi everyone,look what I found!Continuing on my way touring thru Bohemia, I'm almost on the Slovak border.This is because tomorrow and the next four days I'm planning to spend at Piestany Spa.But before I cross into Slovakia, I visited Lednice Castle; a sort of mini palace/grand estate/mansion, home to the very rich Lichtenstein family.I loved the Gothic architecture and the gargoyles.Some look like strange dragon creatures and others look like animals.There is a lovely and large park to walk thru and a conservatory built right next to the house which I absolutely had to check out.On the patio beside the conservatory were these strange little glass roofs and I guessed it used to the the windows for the filtered light for a fernery.I was right!!!Now being repaired, I hope it will one day be a grand space with hunderds of ferns.Then into the greenhouse.It's beautifully lush and tropical.And, oh the flowers were so bountiful! How come I can't get my houseplants to bloom like this?Made a new friend too!I bought a ticket for a tour at noon, and so into the castle I went.The first thing which struck me was the beautiful light coming thru every window.The whole castle seems to be more glass than walls.The second thing were the gorgeous brass chandeliers. Everywhere!I have one in my dining room, but it's about 1/10 the size of some of these.The castle has a trophy unicorn head on display.There you go. Proof. Sorry, no rainbows.I fell in love with a room which was papered in a beautiful hand painted wallpaper. Here is a little fragment but I took about 50K photos so I would remember it all.Then the tour went into the grand rooms and each were a beautiful jewel colour. Robbie is going to love this.Here is a turquoise dining room.And see that door in the middle of the photo?That leads to a library.Now look at this amazing thing guys: the stairs, which go up 40 ft, and carved from one piece of oak. No nails, no glue, no joints.Out of the dining room and into a red reception room.And see the doors int he middle of this picture? They lead to the greenhouse! How amazing is that?Then from the red reception room to a blue music room with Murano glass chandeliers.Well, there you go one more beautiful landmark down and off I went x country close to the Slovak border.I drove over hill and thru dale and came upon a war memorial on top of a hill.It was so beautiful here in the warm Czech meadows tat it seems almost impossible anything could have ever been wrong here,But there was.This memorial is the Cairn of Peace.A dedication to the battle of Austerlitz. a bloody battle between three forces. Those of Napoleon, Czar Alexander, and Emperor Franz I.Poppies were blooming at one of the walls.I left that place a little somber and headed east and finally, at about 5pm came to the charming little town Uherske Hradiste.Yeah I know, let's just call it UH.So here I am for the night in a charming old world hotel room, and here is my view out into the world.I went for a walk thru the little streets this evening and watched the people enjoying the sun.Off to Slovakia tomorrow where more adventure, long lost relatives, the continuing journey with my aunt's ashes, and a little pampering and much needed detox, await.

It's been a high and low day; from the mountain top Perstejn Castle to the 460ft underground Macocha abyss. It's a long post!

OMG I just realised that this is a hell of a long post!It's been another beautiful day here at home guys, but I woke up at 5am with a migraine hallucination.How unfair is that!!!I mean I could totally understand if I drank wine or ate chocolate all day long, but I don't!Thanks a lot universe.There was nothing else to do for it but go under ground.Underground for me was the Macocha abyss at over 460ft under the warm, summer surface of the Earth.A most fantastic more than 21,000 ft of caverns, cool 8 degrees, see my breath, migraine busting morning.Look at this amazing sight.On the left is a stalagmite, stalactite formation which took millions of years to get to this point, and now, it is said, that they will never meet because the Earth has gently shifted stopping the drip, drip, dripping which feeds the process.The one on the left though is the curtain stalactite which is about 50ft high and continuing to grow.Behind the curtain stalactite is the angel. Do you see him?Here is some detail so you can see the beauty of it all.It's breathtaking.Walking from the 10,000 ft of underground trails, we come out to a gorge.This is about 400ft deep.It has two pools on either side.One pool leads to an amethyst cave, OMG!!! Which you can only see if you're a spelunker and a diver. The entrance is down the gorge and 100ft underground thru one of the pools.After the cavern crawl, the way out is by water.The way out is via a 20 minute boat ride where the whole tour group had to duck left and right as the river narrowed and the walls closed it.Oh my gosh, I was actually cold in this hot summer here in Europe.What an amazing way to get rid of a migraine.So, feeling much better, I decided to get inside that castle I couldn't visit yesterday because of the 3 hour road blocks/detours/crazy traffic.And guess what! Approaching the other way, there was still an hour long out of my way detour because of a road block!!!But finally I made it.Hooray, here it finally is, the 13C Perstejn Castle.You know what I love? I love those wooden fly-over bridges from tower to tower. So practical because if an invasion happens, you just hold down in the tower and burn the bridge down! No one can get to you!There used to be two bridges, one above the other, and with the 30 year war, the bridges were burned and only one was rebuilt.This is the entrance thru the gates.And here is the family Meldov crest.Here are the kitchen rooms.And one of the dining rooms with a typical dress of the day.This is the ghost of the castle, Elishka. It's said that she was a vain girl and wouldn't come away from her mirror to pray. One day the priest cursed her for her vanity and the Earth opened up underneath her feet and she was swallowed up and no one ever saw her again...except as the white lady, the ghost of the castle.There is 14C graffiti all over the back stairs of the castle. I wonder what it says.Here is one of the towers.It has four alcoves each with a coloured glass windows.Here is a photo showing you the reflection from the blue window.And these are photos of the view thru the windows.they're meant to give you the feeling of spring, summer, autumn and winter.Kind of cool...huh?The view from the tower.Then, back inside and to the grand hall where important feasts were held.This family was a very rich family and they had chairs made with the names of all the important noble people of the day.The men's names were written as is, and the women's names were written married, as in belonging to (married family) name, followed by maiden family name.Guess who I found!!!One of my family ancestors.Yes, that's an ancient ancestor Anna, born to the family Von Alemann (Spelled Allemagne at that time)Hi great, great, great....grandma.We did get around since 1218!This is the portrait room. Wonder if Anna was ever here.When I get back to Van I'll look her up in my family book.Anyway, I may never find out what Anna looked like, but this is a portrait of the family who last held the castle; the Lobkovicz family.One more photo; and unexpected visit to the grand library. Unexpected because this tour wasn't supposed to include the library, but it was a very small group and so the lovely tour guide included this amazing space.On the way down from the castle I picked some wildflowers and, as I write this, they are fragrant and beautiful on my hotel bedside table.If you're not completely fed up to the teeth with my castle overload and humongously long posts, stay tuned. I plan to hit up another one or two castle tomorrow on my way out of Brno and into Slovakia for a few glorious days at a mineral spa. :)

On my way out of Prague I visited Konopiste Castle. As beautiful as it is horrifying.

Yesterday I spent the day in Prague with my cousin.I met him in front of the church that my late aunt was married in.Look at this beautiful ceiling.Can you imagine being married in such a beautiful place?My cousin Marian is actually the son of my first cousin and we had fun trying to figure out how that whole second cousin twice removed thing works and in the end gave up.Instead we peeked into art galleries and saw Warhol, Dali and Mucha,we toured cathedrals and churches and then stopped for supper in a little restaurant where beer gets served via a train which drives it to your table. And then I headed back to Zdenek and Helena's.This morning I left Z and H and drove towards Brno, (on my way to Bratislava to visit more family and eventually to Austria with my aunt's ashes.)I really wanted to stop at two castles along the way, but road construction and detours meant I only made it to one. Perhaps I may stay an extra day.This castle is Konopiste (pronounced Konopishtje) and is a weird mix of beautiful and horrific.You approach it via this lush, green forest......right beside this lake.It has beautiful statues on the grounds,and tame peacocks are wandering around.The first glimpse, and it looks beautiful enough from the outside.This castle was the family home of the archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the the Austro-Hungarian throne.And this man was a hunter.The tour guide said that eh killed over 300,000 animals for trophies.And the castle is literally littered with their corpses.OMG!It was seriously hard for me to walk down the halls.But then we got into the formal living rooms and, apart from the occasional animal skin rug, the formal rooms were blissfully free of trophies.Again with the rule of no photos inside the castle.Yeah, like that's going to happen.So, after I heard all about how the GREAT HUNTER shot animals from all over the world and had them imported to his home here,I must say I felt a bit just rights when the guide showed us a bullet in a case.That was the bullet which assassinated the archduke in Sarajevo in 1914.I thought that for about a split second, until I realised that that one bullet, the final one of his life, started WWI.Wow.Wrap your heads around that one.