Days 10 South Bohemia visit Part 1

Hello all!
Let me tell you this blogging thing is like homework. I have to do the research (you should see the desk here with all the tourist guides on it) and the review and re labling of all the pictures (lost count how many) and the thoughts and things I'd like to say.

As I post this it is Tuesday April 26, 2011 at 12 noon Czech time. I have been reviewing the past few days for the past few hours. It's interesting to see what pictures I took and I am trying to keep the memories of what and why I took them so in years to come I won't go, "why did I take THAT?"
The weather is condusive for working away at all of this as it is much cooler than it's been and it's raining (finally) so my touristy type wanderings will have to wait until later in the day. Vlasta and Mirek are at work and I am happy taking some time alone to go over everything I've seen and done. There's been so much!

On Saturday the 23rd of April we left Prague for the of Budejovice (Bood-eh-yo-vich-eh). This is the birthplace of Budweiser beer. Though the beer is NOTHING like the Budwieser we know in Canada this is a clear lager with a little bit of bite to it. It is very good (okay, what beer really isn't good?) and it is sold everywhere and Tomas drinks the non alcoholic type when we are out as he is driving. Even that is very good too. This town is one of the centres of south Bohemia and has a fantastic town centre, exquisite architechture and NO people. Very strange. We were there on a Saturday of a major holiday and I thought there would be thousands of people. Nope. No one. Strange.

Tomas and I hiked up 255 steps to the top of the Black Tower (pictured above to the left side) and though it was a challenge (think very steep wooded steps) it was fantastic. The bells of the tower are RIGHT THERE (thankfully the clock bells are higher up) and it was quite a thrill to be touching distance to a bell founded in the 1600. The Tower was completed in 1577! What! Wow. I had to take a picture of the door with the year 1553 on it. That blew my mind.

Tomas and Jana were lovely hosts for the visit around and about South Bohemia. We drove past the nuclear plant that supplies 40% of power to the Czech Republic and I am still somewhat freaked out by the sight of the cooling towers. As there is no water here to cool the units (they have two) they use the cooling tower method. I guess with all the alarms of nuclear power and the challenges that have happened in the past when I see a picture like the one below it gives me the creeps. This facility is gigantic and can be seen for hundreds of kilometers away.

Our journey continued to the castle town of Trebon. This small town was founded in the mid 12th century! There is so much history here it is unbelievable. Sometimes my mind wanders to what it would have been like to be part of the "beginning" of such a small town. The town is a hub for visiting cyclists and there is a market in the square each weekend. As this area is known for it's lakes and canals that have fish in them, mainly Czech carp which I have heard is good eating. It is no wonder that Dad was disappointed to find out the huge carp we have in Lake Huron were no where near like this fish. Czech carp looks more like a small mouth bass and it is a very popular thing to go fishing here. Jana bought me a little carp ornament to commemorate my stay. There was so much to see. As this is an area that Dad competed in rowing as well Milena told me that when he and his squad won an important race they all jumped in the fountain pictured below.

For some reason I believe her! The fountain pond was deep and I can only imagine. This also brought to light that Dad know of this area and would have been familiar with it's closeness to Austria. Was this something that he would use later on? Hmmmm

Trebon, as it has been here in the Czech Republic, very hot and with the market and all the things to see Tomas decided it was time for icecream. Okay! I'm there! A little shop at the end of the square served the most delicious frozen treat! As in all small Czech towns there is so much to see and I understand why many people cycle from small place to small place. There are small cycling inns everywhere in this area and many folks are able to help out when a little lost.

Our final destination was the cottage that Vlasta and Tomas' father built on the shores of the Podrezansky lake. This little place was built by hand, with no power tools over a series of years. It was a family and friend project. During the time of communism there was little opportunity to spend on a project of this nature and is was lovingly built to house a family that would escape the rigors of the main city. It's setting is very relaxing and, though there is no water in the lake at present, the pictures that Milena showed me, indicate a fun summer home for family and what both Tomas and Vlasta remember as a great place to grow up. Tomas loves it dearly and not much of it has changed from those early days. There is hydro now but no running water, that comes from the rain or the lake. As there had been little of either lately we relied on the stored rain water in a down spout barrel to "flush" the toilet. Bottled water was used for everything else.

The cottage is a room with a loft above for sleeping. Due to the lovely weather I opted for sleeping under the stars. This was also a way that I could connect with how my father must have slept when he left the Czech Republic. I guess I felt like I was connecting with him at that time. Looking up at the stars all snuggled in a down sleeping bag and Scout bivy bag I was to enjoy a lovely sleep.

There are birds here which I call "cuck-oo" birds. They sound JUST like the cuck-oo clock that The Mother has in the house. Each hour the bird comes out and crows. The bird here does the same thing, just beginning at 5 am. It was the weirdest thing to hear that bird early in the morning and I had a short thought that I was in the house on Yonge Blvd. Trust me it was very strange to hear this in the wild.

Tomas loves to "grill" while at the cottage. We call it BBQ'ing. Either way it's great and the chicken that Jana had prepared was fantastic. So, a nice chair (which I have found out was Tomas' father's, Gustav) and a lovely view, despite no water and a beverage and the birds and the sunshine and ahhhhh it was great. To escape the craziness and heat of the city in the summer this would have been heaven.

On to part 2!

Cottage built by Uncle Gustav Kuchar



Tomas on cottage veranda preparing for our next tour