And there's a castle

 And there's a castle. October 17-28.

  It's time to visit Czechia again. The knee caused a minor problem at Newcastle Airport, setting off the alarm as I walked through the magic door. Asked to remove shoes and empty my already empty pockets I was scanned, patted down and allowed to proceed.The NHS walking stick was X rayed too.  The plane  was an hour late, I was met by Helena and John at Prague airport and driven through the foggy darkness until we reached Bilina, about 11.30 pm.

The Hotel Lion in the town square has been closed for some time, although it houses a few Ukrainian refugees and there are signs that at some point in the future it will open again. Instead, home for the next ten nights is Bezovka, restaurant, bar and bowling alley about three quarters of a mile from the town square. Basic accommodation, the beds seem slightly smaller than a single but there is a good shower room and a TV which shows only Czech and German programmes. For reasons beyond me it does not provide a breakfast so every morning I have to walk 0.75 mile to the Patkove household for tea and muesli and banana.

Bezovka in the morning mist. My room is on the top floor, above the letter N.

                                Home for ten days.

The next four days I spent in school. The English teachers had decided that I should try asking some of the younger pupils to tell me their name, age and hobbies, a bit like Pointless in a way but it worked well. Small classes meant going round the room did not take up too much time. Not surprisingly the boys followed Manchester United or Liverpool, apart from one who had obviously done his homework and claimed to be a Newcastle United fan. He knew the recent scores and the players' names so 10/10 young man. One class included three Ukrainian refugees, all desperate to go home but grateful to the Czechs.

The girls, like girls all over liked pop music, dancing and horses. After introductions they were invited to ask questions. Mostly they were interested in the death of the Queen, had I seen her (no), when would the coronation be, would I be there (no). A good way to practice their English, and fun.

Those in the sixth form were far more interested in UK problems. Why had we left the EU? What effect had leaving the EU had? What changes had it made at a personal level? (I am an Alien, I can't go through the EU passport controls, technically I should report to the police on my arrival, my medical card will no longer be valid in the near future.)

                              At the chalk face.

For the days I was in school I ate in the school dining hall which served the Gymnasium I was in and a local primary school. Soup, main course and fruit everyday. Tasty too.

On the one morning I was free I walked alongside the River Bilina to Kyselka, once a thriving health spa visited by kings and Kaisers, now an empty building waiting for investment. Next to it the bottling plant for the famous Bilina spa water.

             Spa building at the top, bottling plant in the middle and there's a castle. (Built on the site of a medieval castle owned by the Lobkovitz family)

Wallking back I took the Bilina "car park " photo, snapped every visit, as is the school.

                          Boren, local basalt pile

                               Bilina Gymnasium. Ony a few hundred pupils, ideal

One afternoon when school had finished (about 1.30 but they start at 8am) We went for a drive with Helena's brother and his wife to a town called Kadan. Anothe central European town with a large and lovely square, and a monastery originating with the Franciscans. We took the guided tour, the church maintained some of the medieval wall paintings, the monks dining room and library were both well worth the visit. The monastery had remained in use from ancient times until 1949 when the "old regime" closed it. I was told the last monk was still alive. The monastery is now a museum.

                                                            Monastery in Kadan.

We stopped in the town for coffee. The cafe/bar was very busy. A pub quiz was about to start. Should have stayed. The town hall had been built on the site of the town castle and amazingly the distance from the town hall to the monastery was the exact distance that Christ walked from Jerusalem to Calvary.

But the highlight of the school week was undoubtedly the leavers ball, to which I was invited, given an invitation card and a wrist band. I had to wear a suit and not having brought one the school kindly rummaged through the dressing up box and provided me with a light coloured two piece. The jacket fitted well but the trousers were too long and had turnups!. I sent a photo to my wife, she thought I looked like the king, well we are a similar age.

The evening was nothing like anything I had seen before for pupils who were leaving. (They leave in June next year but partly because of Covid the ceremony was held early)

Families were invited, parents in suits and dresses, small children looking smart. Tables were full of plates of sandwiches and cakes and there was a bar.

The celebration started with the cohort of leavers putting on a dance, modern style, well coordinated and "conducted" by a lady who squatted on the floor at the front.

When the student dance was over there were performances by several other groups, a short ballet, a solo show and ladies with illuminated, large wings.

                                    Lords and ladies of the dance.

The show gave the leavers chance to change. They walked back into the hall, made two lines facing each other and then, one at a time, were presented with a single rose, a glass of champagne and a sash with the year, the school and a badge. The headmaster made a speech and then the first dance: it seemed to me that the girls danced with fathers and boys with mothers.

                                               Presentation time.

At this point most staff left, leaving families to enjoy themselves. It was a great night, never mind the suit.

                                Next time I will bring a suit.

School over for another year. Next day, Saturday Daria and I, one of the English teachers, had a trip to Teplice, a town about 10 miles away. The large shopping centre had a display of model aircraft and a large plaque reminding people of the days when the town had coal mines. I was also introduced to KFC. Much to their surprise I had never visited before. A few years ago they were surprised I had never been to Starbucks!.

                                       A trip to Teplice.

Sunday was defined as a day of rest. In the morning I watched Laura Kuensberg on BBC World News. So now I knew who was the latest Prime Minister of the UK.

In the afternoon we went for tea with Blanka, daughter of Helena and Pavel, and John and their two young cats.

                 Pavel, me, Helena with cat, Blanka.

On Sunday evening I got a message from Mary, one of the teachers of English, to take my passport with me on Monday. I did, I was picked up by Mary and her husband and off we went to Germany. On the way we went through Litomerice, a town looking a bit like Middlesbrough with several miles of chemical works. Originally the plants were called Joseph Goebells, then renamed Joseph Stalin. Now they have a Czech name. We soon crossed the border into Germany, both sides having similar architecture. (No need to stop thanks to Schengen). On we went to a town called Kurort Seiffen and visited the museum of wooden toys and artefacts. The area had been a mining district but several hundred years ago the metals ran out and the locals took up making beautiful toys. Some in matchboxes, many much larger and also a collection of Christmas chandeliers and Nativity scenes. 

Driving back to Czechia we stopped at a ski resort for lunch. No snow at the moment and the zip wire was closed. After coffee in Most I was taken home.

Still find it weird just crossing into another country!

On Tuesday Helena, Zdena and I headed off on a long drive to South Bohemia. On the way we stopped in a town which was the home of Bernard the brewer. The brewery had a restaurant on the top floor giving a grand view of the town.

                                                          Bernard Brewery in Humpolec.

With lunch I had a "cut " beer. Similar to what we call a half and half but the darker beer was obviously heavier and stayed in the bottom half, even after a sip. Tasted good of course.

Lunch over we headed south to a hotel just outside the town of Pocatky. Interesting hotel set in an area of almost English parkland. Looked a bit Bates Motel from the outside and unusual on the inside. Providing an atmosphere of 1920s hunting weekends the walls were decorated with the skins of bear and boar. Ducks and hares hung from the door posts, the music was a continuous offering of Glenn Miller type swing and there were no TVs or radios. having said that my room was, compared to Bezovka, luxurious. A super king sized bed,  and a bathroom with a wet room to shower in .

                    Hotel Letohradek

                       And from the outside

We walked into town to find a restaurant for dinner but discovered the town did not have one that was currently open so we returned for supper in the hotel. It was  a nice little town and it had a castle.

Close to the hotel  is a spa so next morning we visited. Quite modern with facilities for tennis golf and meditation. At my insistence we visited the modern day Stone Henge.

      In the centre is a large stone block. Not for the sacrifice of virgins: you lie on it, legs pointing east, arms in grooves, meditate and feel the spirit move you. No I didn't try.

After coffee we drove on for lunch in a small town called Dacice which is famous for inventing the sugar cube.

                        Meditation stone

                                       The dancers at the spa

                                   Dacice sugar cube.

Having admired the sugar cube we set off for the town of Telc. There is a castle, but more interesting a very large square. Sadly the tourist season is just about over so most places, including the castle, were closed but there was a lovely coffee and cake shop.

                                    Telc town square.

The following day we said farewell to the hunters' hotel and set off for Bilina. On the way we stopped in the town where Jaroslav Hasek lived and wrote "Th e Good Soldier Svejk". (I think the town is Lipnice nad Sazavou but could be wrong). Again the end of the season meant his house was closed but we did visit his grave and statue and there is a castle.

                                       Hasek statue.

                                        Hasek's house

                                         Castle above the Hasek house.

Then we headed home, through Prague where we were held up for an hour because of a bad looking traffic accident. Back in Bezovka for the night, but very early next morning I set off to Vaclav Havel airport and home.

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