By Caitlin
I cannot fail to write a blog about the Czech Republic, not just because we loved Prague and the quaint towns of Cesky Krumlov and Kutna Hora but mainly because my family came to meet us!
Gordon and Pat (dad and stepmom) braved the travel itinerary from hell, consisting of 3 or 4 connections to meet us in Vienna. While Vienna is beautiful and has some of the most impressive architecture in Europe, the weather really affected our ability to explore it properly. It gave us the chance to check out some classic Vienna cafes in our attempts to avoid the rain. We were lucky that our last day was beautiful and we enjoyed walking to the outdoor market, Naschmarkt, where we had lunch and to some of Vienna's beautiful parks.
The real adventure began as many an adventure has in my lifetime: with my dad behind the wheel of a car--in this case our rental car. The plan seemed easy enough, we would drive from Vienna to Prague and possibly stop at a small town along the way. However, driving in a new country is more challenging than you might guess. Road symbols, exit and entry ramps, and availability of gas stations are no longer familiarly predictable. Not to mention the road signs are in a foreign language! Coupled with a GPS and a father who had differing opinions on the best route to take, our first few hours were stressful. I was taken back to meandering road trips from childhood,and I think Jed was taken back to various moments in our trip when I was similarly stubborn about navigating. At one point, the GPS was seriously confused and took us down what appeared to be a farmers driveway in the middle of nowhere. The Czech farmer and his sheep were as confused as us. We continued this way and that and concluded the must be no major roads in rural Czech Republic.
Gordon and Pat (dad and stepmom) braved the travel itinerary from hell, consisting of 3 or 4 connections to meet us in Vienna. While Vienna is beautiful and has some of the most impressive architecture in Europe, the weather really affected our ability to explore it properly. It gave us the chance to check out some classic Vienna cafes in our attempts to avoid the rain. We were lucky that our last day was beautiful and we enjoyed walking to the outdoor market, Naschmarkt, where we had lunch and to some of Vienna's beautiful parks.
The real adventure began as many an adventure has in my lifetime: with my dad behind the wheel of a car--in this case our rental car. The plan seemed easy enough, we would drive from Vienna to Prague and possibly stop at a small town along the way. However, driving in a new country is more challenging than you might guess. Road symbols, exit and entry ramps, and availability of gas stations are no longer familiarly predictable. Not to mention the road signs are in a foreign language! Coupled with a GPS and a father who had differing opinions on the best route to take, our first few hours were stressful. I was taken back to meandering road trips from childhood,and I think Jed was taken back to various moments in our trip when I was similarly stubborn about navigating. At one point, the GPS was seriously confused and took us down what appeared to be a farmers driveway in the middle of nowhere. The Czech farmer and his sheep were as confused as us. We continued this way and that and concluded the must be no major roads in rural Czech Republic.
 Despite the confusion and stress we eventually ended up in Cesky Krumlov, a medieval walled city that was so interesting and charming, we were baffled that we had never heard of it. The heart of the town is nestled in a river bend while a large defensive castle, protected by two sad looking black bears since the Middle Ages, sits atop the hill on the other river bank. It really was like a step back in time.  |   |
Next up with the fam: Prague! With the help of Givi, our charming, yet aloof tour guide we fell in love with Prague. This was Jed's third time in Prague, but really his first time appreciating it due to his prior visits as an angsty teenager and tired mid-20s male. The beautiful architecture and previously unknown history of old Prague, and the Jewish quarter drew us in and hooked us. One of the best things we learned about Prague was the story of how Prague's famous icon, Prague Castle, came to be so beautifully illuminated.
After the fall of communism in Prague, the newly elected president Vaclav Havel invited the Rolling Stones to give a huge celebratory concert. After a long night of carousing and hard drinking with Havel, Mick Jagger asked why the beautiful castle, symbol of Prague, was not lit up at night. Havel responded that as a new democracy, they hardly had money or time to do such frivolous things. To that, ole Mick left £100,000 and his best lighting crew to the president, to work on illuminating the castle. (Note: I did not fact check this because I like the story too much and am afraid of Wikipedia dashing my romanticized rock n roll version from Givi).
After the fall of communism in Prague, the newly elected president Vaclav Havel invited the Rolling Stones to give a huge celebratory concert. After a long night of carousing and hard drinking with Havel, Mick Jagger asked why the beautiful castle, symbol of Prague, was not lit up at night. Havel responded that as a new democracy, they hardly had money or time to do such frivolous things. To that, ole Mick left £100,000 and his best lighting crew to the president, to work on illuminating the castle. (Note: I did not fact check this because I like the story too much and am afraid of Wikipedia dashing my romanticized rock n roll version from Givi).
  At a local brewpub. Czechs consume more beer per person than any other country! |   Prague's famous astronomical clock. |   Gordon enjoying some shopping just in time for Halloween back home! |
Lastly, Jed and I took a day trip to Kutna Hora, a small town where the main attraction is a church decorated with human bones. It all started in the middle ages when a Czech noble man brought back some fertile earth from the holy land and promised that those buried under it would decompose quickly and have a straight shot to heaven. Well, there was little holy land real estate and heavy demand, so after a short time, the dead would be dug back up and their bones stored in the nearby church to make room for the newly dead. The bones really started to pile up during the Bubonic Plague and a blind monk started making weird pyramid structures with the heaps of bones hanging around. The nobility liked the idea of doing something with these bones and commissioned an artist to make something with the rest of the bones in the 1700s. So he decorated the church with the bones, creating interesting structures, including a chandelier. Apparently it is not exactly what the nobility had in mind, but it stuck and now is one of the oddest churches around.
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Thanks to G&P for visiting and for their generosity! It was so awesome to see them and made us a little homesick in their wake. (Luckily we saw them a week later for an encore in Switzerland, as they headed back to Vienna to fly home.)
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