This could be the last time. April 13-24th
It's Czechia time again, my annual visit to Bilina in Bohemia and to places unknown.
I arrived at Prague airport at 8pm local time to meet the new EEL system for aliens entering the EU. Confronted by a screen and two "slots" I had to have my passport scanned first. Then the machine wanted a fingerprint of my right hand, then my left. Next stand infant of a camera for a face photo. Finally a questionnaire, mostly with multi choice answers such as "What is the reason for your visit?" " Have you booked a hotel" , " Have you paid for the hotel stay" "What day do you leave" and so on. All successfully answered I was then allowed to passport control. I think three aircraft from the UK had arrived almost at the same time so several hundred aliens queued to be allowed in as EU citizens sped through.
Eventually, my passport stamped I went for my case. This process, from getting off the plane to getting out of arrivals took an hour and a half. This is one of the irritating things Brexit voters voted for.
Well after 11pm I finally arrived at Bilina's new cosy hotel and restaurant, Basta.
Rooms given names, in Czech, mine was Chocolate, another was Forget me not, another Little mouse.
Super King Size bed and a good sleep.
The Basta. This buiolding is all that is left of the town's walls. Built in the 15th century it houses the bar and restaurant. The rooms are in an annex behind it, and there is a beer garden.
Tuesday 14th Back in school again.
The hotel wa deserted. At 8.40 a young lady arrived and provided me with tea and bread, cheese and ham. Then I went to school. They trust me, I have keys for the office, the main door and the entrance to the canteen.
I spent the morning with three classes, chatting, answering questions and asking them too. As usual their English is very good.
Lunch in the canteen was a nov elty. What looked like a thick soup was, I was told, made from peas, boiled, and mashed. Mushy peas! Tasted good too. And there was soup and fruit juice.
After school Helena and I went to a new cafe in the square to meet her friend, a doctor specialising in allergies who simply wanted to practise speaking English. She brought her son who seemed to be about 6foot 4 inches, made me feel tiny. Over cake and coffee we chatted on a range of subjects.
Bilina town hall and the square, Mirove Namesti. The cafe is just about where I stood to take the photo.
More of the town square with the cstle in the background. Built in the 17th century to replace a real Gothic castle.Boden, the basalt extrusion that dominates the town.Dinner in the Basta and off to read the British newspapers, thank goodness for IT and the Internet Wednesday15th On the rails again.
If you visit Czechia you have to spend some time in Prague, the capital. Having seen most of it over the years I still enjoy going there. This year a slightly different experience, an exhibition of relics and reliquaries in a hall near the Palace.
The train from Bilina to Prague takes about two hours for the journey. As my Geography teacher told us, the line follows rivers. From Bilina to Usti nad Laben it runs alongside the Bilina river. At Usti the engine shuffles from one end of the train to the other and once coupled goes by the River Laben (Elbe in Germany) before turning to the Vlatava (Maldau) for the last stretch. For two pensioners the return fare was just under £10! Much to my delight I had to prove I was over 65.
The metro and trams in Prague are free for old folks, we took two trams to reach the castle. We walked through the castle grounds to the exhibition building. The display of relics was interesting, the reliquaries were mostly made of gold and beautifully constructed. The items that interested me were a piece of the table cloth from the last supper, a small piece of wood from the staff of St. Peter and a palm, rescued from the ride to Jerusalem. There was a short film, mainly small people dressed in white walking through dunes and in another section dancing.
St Vitus cathedral in Prague.
On the way back to the centre we paused to admire the winged lion:
The winged lion. Given by the British to commemorate the men of Czechoslovakia who joined the RAF in WW2. They are all listed on the metal sheets that go round the memorial.
Back in the centre we went for lunch in the Louvre, a restaurant once the dining place of Kafka, Einstein and Capel. Capek was the writer who gave us the word "robot".
Unfortunately the magnificent Wenceslas Square is in the process ofhaving pipework replaced so it looked like a building site. It is well worth a visit normally and the bookshop there is amazing.
Back to Bilina, back to the Basta.
Thursday 16th. Just another working day
The hotel made breakfast! Bacon, egg, a ham sandwich, bread and cheese. Set up for the day I set off for school. After several classes, losing my voice a bit but enjoying the chat with the pupils, their English is so good, we went for lunch in the school canteen. Meat and dumpligs, m Czech favourite. The dumplings come in a loaf and you are given slices, not like British dumplings at all.
Later we went to Teplice for dinner in a restaurant called The Goat. Burger and chips with a glass of beer. And what a burger too almost a foot high, couldn't get your teeth round that. Knife and fork job.
Friday 17th. The New World Symphony.
Taken by teacher Mary and her cousin we drove to the village of Nelahozeves. Dvarjak, (1841 - 1904) Czech composer was born in the village. All I knew about him was that he wrote the music for the famous Hovis advert, The house had been turned into a museum, not just about him but a social history illustrating village life in the 19th century. Visitors were given head sets and a hand held device that explained everything. On or near each object was a red and white circle like a tiny target, Touch it with the device and listen to an explanation. Village life seemed fun, much drinking of beer for the men, coffee for the women, in a separate room of course. Regular dances in the tavern, a band made up of local men. And the biggest celebrations were for weddings. Then the railway came.
Maison Dvorjak, but he didn't have bifold doors. Although his dad hoped Antonin would follow the family trade the budding musician had other ideas and left for Prague with his violin. As an established composer he visited and gave concerts in Europe and America, the latter inspiring his New World Symphony, a tape of which was taken on Apollo 11 by Neil Armstrong.
After the museum visit we crossed the road and toured the castle. Like many a Czech castle it looks more like a chateau or country house. The young guide gave me a booklet in English, he gave the tour in Czech.
The dining room. 
The castle courtyard.
We toured the library, the bedrooms, the drawing rooms, the gun room and the trophy room. Must have been a hard life.
After the visit we crossed the road to a restaurant. Wild Boar was on the menu and as I have never knowingly eaten it before I opted for it. Very tough.
Back in Bilina we went to visit Blanka, Helena's daughter and her partner John for tea, and an appreciation of their cats.
Saturday 18th. A Free Day.
In the morning with nothing arranged I went for a walk round the town, I know it well.
This is the "car park" shot. Taken from a bridge, the lines head for the station, Beyond is the power plant, fuelled by coal from the nearby mine. Within a few years power must be generated by cleaner means. Bilina Gymnasium. A grammar school with about 200 pupils. This year I'm trusted with keys! Saturday 18th
I don't often get much time to myself on these trips but this year things are a little different. I started the day with a lone walk round the town, admiring the buildings in the centre, nosing in the shop windows.
When noon arrived, announced by the town hall clock I went to the Patkove flat for lunch, meat and dumplings. Hard to beat, Czech dumplings.
After lunch the three of us set off for a walk to Kyselka, the town spa. Pavel walked a short way then decided to spend the afternoon in the sun. Helena and i continued on the river bank.
At one point we watched a family feeding a family of coypus.
On e friendly coypu. Not native to Czechia, like some in UK they escaped and adapted.walked on to Kyselka, Bilina's Spa. Currently being renovated. One small section was open allowing visitors to sample the spring water.
Top. It's that hill again looking over Kyselka spa building.
Middle Cafe near Kyselka
Bottom. Not what it looks like. It's a tap giving a sample of the spa water. Tastes a bit sulphury.
We had a beer in the wooden cafe and walked back to Bilina along the river.
Sunday 19th Well, well, well your're feeling fine
A convoy of five cars set out from Bilina on a Wellness adventure. Twenty two people, mostly ladies, but with two men.
We drove to a restaurant called Chadovar, a large establishment in a cave. Lunch was gouklash and dumplings, the meal had been prebooked and there was no choice. No vegetarians around.
Welcome to Chadovar, dining in a cave.
Lunch consumed we set to a spa area , Marianske Lazne.
The park had a number of models of famous Czech buildings, very carefully made, scaled down to a 25th of the real size.
The bottom one is St.Barbara's Cathedral in Kutna Hora.
We also saw a stork's nest, built as tradition insists on a chimney top.
After coffee we drove on to the village of Vilsteyn where theparty was to spend the next two nights.
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Vilsteyn has a chimney with a stork's nest, an interesting ceiling in the dining room and the castle is a hotel.
A slight change; chicken for dinner and although it was cold we went for a walk round the village.
.Monday 20th. On the board walk
After a buffet breakfast we drove to a place called Soos. Soos sits fairly centrally in the spa area and has a large, fascinating nature park. Visitors are advised not to leave the board walks as it is an area of wetlands, peatlands salt marshes and reed swamps. Plus the frequent pools of bubbling water where gases emerge from the depth of the earth. Mostly smelling of sulphur. An abundance of bird life, marsh harriers, snipe and others. But we didn't spot any of the promised wild boars.
Board walk at Soos. The name is originally German for barren area
Having walked the boards we set off for the town of Cheb and had meat and dumplings in a very busy pub.
I find Cheb a difficult word to pronounce, sounds a bit like Xheb,
Town square in Cheb.
After coffee and cake, a fine European habit, we returned to Vilstejn for dinner and wine tasting.
Offering five white wines and one red to taste, a man gave a talk on each one. They were of course Czech wines. He was assisted by a young lady who has a Czech mother and Mexican father, They live in California and have their own vinyard. The young lady is following a business studies course in Czechia and will then return to help the family business. Slept well.
Tuesday 21st Karlovy Vary.
After breakfast the car convoy set off for the spa town of Karlovy Vary. There are several spa buildings and a large bottle of herbal drink.
Czech herbal drink, very pleasant One of the spa buildings. Once popular with the aristocracy of several countries.We had lunch in a large pub, meat and dumplings and then drove back to Bilina. Arriving quite early I had a lone walk up Zizkova Valley before returning to Basta.
Wednesday 22nd. School again.
The second lesson in school starts at 9am, thankfully I wasn't in for the first. The pupils were as chatty as ever, asking the usual questions. Boys want to know if you follow Manchester Utd, girls are interested in music. But they all have hobbies too, horse riding, athletics, handball, ice hockey, painting and so on.
After a late lunch in the school canteen, meat and potatoes we met Eva and her husband John who took us to a nearby town Duchov. Duchov has an old monastery, but it was in Philadelphia mood so all we saw was the courtyard, impressive it was too.
Don't misbehave in Duchov. Rather like an English gibbet.
Leaving the monastery we headed for Teplice, a town between Bilina and Usti. Originally a spa town too and a centre for music, visited by no less a person than Beethoven.
Coffee (and cake) in a lovely little coffee shop we went to the nearby hall to listen to a concert given by three ladies playing flutes and a man playing a bassoon. On occasion a lady swapped her flute for a piccolo.
They played pieces by Handel, Smetana, Grieg and one of the Strauss family and although not my sort of music it was enjoyable, and the hall was magnificent. The entrance hall was festoned with glass too.
Teplice concert hall.
Thursday 23rd. Madness
Last day in school and advised to arrive early to watch the fun. Although it is only April it is leaving day for the oldest students. It was explained that although leaving today they have exams to sit later before they are offered a place at University or a job.
The leavers dress up, cowboys, the scream, a horse to name but three. The rest of the school are allowed to attend in facial make up. The leavers visit all the other classes, draw a heart on hands and collect for charity. Then they prepare the madness. Out in the yard a series of forfeits is set up, a jump, a body to carry and a table to bounce a ball round. Each member of the next year's leavers must then run the course, even the form teacher, brave young lady she was too. And of course their is water involved.
The madness. The madness meant the first lesson was scrapped so my timetable was reduced to sessions with the younger ones, followed by lunch in the canteen. Meat and rice.
After an eearly tea at the Patkove household we went to the local community hall for line dancing. Having a bad knee is useful at times, I watched, enjoying a beer. Mostly ladies but a few men and they danced to country music.
And back to Basta for the last time.
Friday 24th Going Home.
Taken to the airport by Eva. Leaving the EU is easier than entering. One finger print, one photograph and have a nice flight.
It may be the last time, I don't know, but I enjoyed it.
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