And Back to Marburg

Surprisingly there were no trains connecting Prague with Germany.  To get back to Marburg overland would have taken over 7 and a half hours by busing from Prague to Nuremburg and then getting the train from there.  So it was definitely better to fly which took only about an hour from Prague to Frankfurt.
After awaking to 3 cell phone alarms going off simultaneously and a massive thunderstorm right over head, it was an early breakfast and then off to the airport.  Saturday morning is very quiet in Prague so it was a quick trip through the cobbled streets alongside the tramlines.

Temperatures were definitely lower in Frankfurt - less than 20 degrees after mid 30's in Prague. Quite a relief really! And nice to be back in Marburg - it is such a pretty town.

And now for the final few days and it is back to winter in the land of the Long White Cloud.

Farewell Marburg!!!

Medieval Send Off

We were dragged kicking and struggling (yeah right) down to the bowels of Prague to a medieval dinner. Skulls adorned the dark cellar roofs and candles lit the way down the dark stone steps. We were entertained with dancers, fire eaters, sword fighters and minstrels. Desert included a shared smoke

"Czech Switzerland"

A wonderful day walking through the National Park climbing up 300m to view fabulous limestone formations arch and restaurant wedged between the rocks. Then down to a river gorge and punting 2 sections. Just beautiful. A fabulous day to end our tour before heading back to Prague tomorrow.

Wasp Attack

From the sobering Terezin transit camp we headed into the trees and hills of limestone country on the Elba river. A couple of nasty wasps at morning coffee break zeroed in on Vladka's mum which has made us all very wary of wasps. A swarm of so called bot flies (looked different to ours) caused Dot and I to beat a hasty retreat from the top of a tower with magnificent 360 degree views where we had walked up onto the top of a hill.

A wander round the rose and terraced gardens of a castle on the Elbe (Laber river in Czech) and on to our renovated farmhouse for our next nights stay and a magnificent electrical storm to send us off to sleep!

Horse stud to WWII transit camp

Terezin Fortress, originally built in the 19th century to protect the Czech's from the Prussians but taken over by the Nazi's as a police prison and later a transit camp where over 2500 died. Perhaps the height of nazi depravity was to turn the larger section of the fortress into a model town with actors to show to the world via Red Cross and film how well the Jews were being looked after. The actors were then moved on to Auschwitz.

A less traumatic part of Czech history is the saving of the Kladruby horse line. Originally bred for nobility the herds were confiscated after WWII although a small herd of whites was maintained it was intended to liquidate the blacks. However in the 1930's a small remnant of blacks was rediscovered and the breed was revitalised.

40,000 plus skeletons

40 to 70,000 human skeletons decorating the inside of a chapel as chandeliers, coat of arms, crosses, and in mounds of skulls and femurs perfectly arranged make a fascinating and macabre spectacle in the Kutná Hora (unesco) ossuary/chapel. Kutná Hora is wealthy from its silver mines so we supported the silver industry by 'investing' in some silver jewellery.

Before leaving Znojmo for Kutná Hora we checked out the wonderful acoustics in a simple little 11th century chapel next to the church of St Nicholas.

Mmmmmm that Moravian wine tasting

Wine tasting Moravian style is quite a different experience to kiwi wine tasting. After a couple of tastings we explored the wine cellar then were taken to a cosier cellar where a table was set up for 6 with a variety of meat, cheeses, bread and pickles. As we nibbled we were treated to some more tastings including a smokey Chardonnay (which had been mellowed in a burnt cask) and some reds made from imported French grapes.

This was a very relaxed evening after a visit to the unesco heritage castle of Českÿ Krumlow which was hot and crowded but beautiful with its mixture of baroque and Renaissance painted walls followed by a long drive.