It's springtime for Czechia and Bilina
Suite Karolina
Friday April 12th
Taxi at 6am. Flight at 8.20. Arrival 11.30. Met by Helena and John. Lunch at POP the discount shopping mall, watching planes land, then off to Bilina and the Pension Karolyn.
Home for the next 9 nights. Basic: no breakfast and if you leave early please lock the front door behind you as there are no members of staff in the building.
The shower is hot though but the plastic curtain blows about.
After an early supper at the Patkove flat and a long chat I retired to my room, half a mile away. TV has Czech and German stations. I have abook and an ipod.
Saturday April 13 The lone stranger.
After breakfast at the Patkove flat, Pavel. Helena and I went for a walk up a valley behind the town church. Heavily wooded but with many detached houses either side of a stream we saw buzzards, heard woodpeckers and glimpsed a squirrel. Towards the end we saw a large garden, home to goats, a donkey and an alpaca.
After lunch I was taken by one of the teachers, Darina, and her daughter Lucy, to a farm some miles from Bilina and near the village of Rehlovice for the first horse ride I have probably had for 70 years. Before being allowed to struggle to board the animal I had to brush it down, clean the hooves and help put the saddle on. Then, aided by a large block I was on Zeleznik (Horse of Iron). A young lady led the horse, fortunately, and we walked along the road, through the village, through a wood and back on the road. Forty five fairly comfortable minutes.
Chief Wounded Knee and the Iron Horse. Getting off was quite a struggle. Difficult to get my leg over the saddle as Darina said. She did not understand why I laughed at her comment.
I survived, and Lucy gave me a signed copy of her book which is about a girl and her horse. It's in Czech.
Sunday April 14th. Teplice or not Teplice.
With the promised sore backside and hips from the horse ride I walked uncomfortably from Karolina to the Patkove flat for breakfast.
A walk to the recently renovated station for a trip to Teplice, about twenty minutes away in a comfortable commuter train. The three of us walked round the older part of the town, passing some splendid old town houses, now mostly offices or hotels.
On one street we walked past three memorials to men of Teplice who had served in WW2. Two of them had got to Britain and joined the RAF, the third had fought with the Russians in Ukraine. They all had Jewish backgrounds. On the same street was a memorial to a synagogue that had been destroyed.
We headed for the theatre which is also used as a cinema, and had lunch in the restaurant.
After lunch we met up with Mary, one of the English teachers, and her husband Milos. (spelling?). The Patkove went home and I went off up into the Ore Mountains to visit the castle of Jezeri.
The area is rich in coal. like much of the whole region. However it was thought that mining could cause the hills to collapse, taking the castle with them and the idea was abandoned. The castle, more like a chateau than an English stronghold, was neglected during what is usually referred to as "the old regime" but has been partially restored and is now open to visitors. The short tour we took was realy for children with some rather gruesome looking witches and dwarves illustrating traditional fairy tales.
On the way back we stopped in the town of Most for cake and coffee. Across from the cafe is a statue of two cosmonauts, one being a Czech. The third nation to have a man in space, he went on a Soviet rocket in 1978.
One is Vladimir Remek a Czech citizen and politician.
After supper in Bilina I retired to Karolina.
Monday April 15th Back in school again.
I spent the morning in school, talking to the pupils, mostly aged 18 and in their last year. Their English puts me to shame, it is very good, a compulsory subject. How different from the attitude of most English pupils who have little interest in any foreign language. "Why learn it, everybody speaks English"
After lunch in the school canteen I had another lesson and then went for a walk along the Bilina River to Kyselka, the spa that remains closed, another shame as it is a beautiful building. A slow worm wriggled across the footpath and there were several coypus in the river or on the bank.
Kyselka spa, Bilina
Tuesday April 16th Allergies, allergies, something living on my skin!
Spent the morning in school. One pupil told me all about her favourite sport which was "Fire Fighting". Usually the contestants are the children of fire fighters but this is not essential. The sport consists of running out hoses and then, the real fun bit, turning them on. There are straight races, races with hurdles and relays. Sounds fun and the video she showed me looked even better.
After lunch in the school canteen Helena and I walked to the pub close to Kyselka to meet Petra.
Petra is a doctor, specialising in the treatment of allergies. Apparently an-increasing number of children in Czechia are developing an allergy to peanuts, mainly because of the growth of the consumption of peanut butter. The real purpose of the meeting though was a chance for Petra to improve her English.
Early dinner and early retire to room in Karolina!!!
Wednesday April 17th. The good tourist Mike
Helena and I caught the 8.37 train to Prague, except it was half an hour late. The single fair for pensioners was an amazing £5 for a two hour journey.
Once in the capital we took a tram (free for pensioners and you don't have to have a pass, just some identity with your date of birth.)
The tram wandered the streets, very busy with tourists. Eventually we got off, walked down the street where the two young Czechs had been killed in a church after they had assassinated Heydrich. On we went to The Dancing House, an interesting modern building so named because it looked, vaguely, like a couple dancing. The restaurant was called Ginger and Fred after a couple of well known American stars.
The Dancing House.
After lunch we climbed the stairs to the viewing gallery. The entrance fee was a drink, alcoholic or otherwise. The view of the city was worth the price of a coffee.
The classic view of castle and cathedral from the top of the Dancing House.
Having admired the view we walked along the river (Vlatava) to a long boat moored against the quay. The Admiral doubled as a hotel and cafe, we had tea and cake. Later we walked back through the streets, full of tourists as usual, to Wenceslas Square, visited the wonderful Palace of Books (books in just about all languages) and headed for the station.
Supper at the Patkove and back to Karolina.
The Admiral cafe.
Thursday April 18th On the road again.
Some years ago, on holiday in Austria, we were offered a choice of two day trips. Either Salzburg or Cesky Krumlov. We chose the wrong one. In Salzburg it rained all day. Had we gone to Cesky Krumlov it might have rained there too but we could have sheltered in a beautiful castle and a town that appears unchanged for centuries.
Mary, her cousin and his daughter were planning to take me to a spa town (Karlovy Vary) but on the spur of the moment had a change of mind and off we went for 253km(157 miles) to Cesky Krumlov. A long trip but worth it.
The town is dominated by a massive castle, again not like an English one but old, preserved and open.
After a lunch in a log cabin and a stroll round the castle courtyards we took a guided tour of one section of the buildings. The young guide explained everything in the first room in Czech, not surprisingly, but when she noticed Mary telling me about the place she gave two talks. First in Czech then in excellent English. Wouldn't happen in UK! (no headphone sets with commentary on offer.)
We stopped at a motorway service station on the way home for burgers, The Czech version beat McDonalds.
A long day but we'll worth it. Shall go again someday.
Friday 19th. Ladies, horses, carriages and castles.
Up at six, out by 6.45, in car by 7.30 and off we went to Pardubice, best part of 100 miles (160 km) from Bilina and east of Prague.
First stop on the way was to visit a castle and have a tour.
Being renovated. Built round a "central hall of pillars.
There were 24 ladies and 2 men in a small fleet of cars and one minibus. We stopped at a small town for lunch, pork and dumplings, a traditional Czech dish. The meal was prebooked in the Grand Hotel. No choice, pork and dumplings or nothing.
Further on we stopped at a small cafe for cake and coffee, a fine habit in Eastern Europe. Finally we arrived in Pardubice late afternoon and found our rooms in The Golden Angel hotel. Originally a coaching inn the walls were so thick they blocked the wifi..
The Golden Angel, Pardubice.
Free for a couple of hours before dinner we walked round the old town. Dinner was fixed again, like school lunches of old, that's your dinner, eat it, there's nothing else. But drink was available, sharp Czech lager.
Saturday April 20th Pardubice II
In the morning we walked round the old town. Some beautiful 16th century houses and a large square.
The town hall.
Naturally we visited the castle but didn't have a tour. There were several peacocks parading in the yard.
After lunch in a Mexican restaurant serving tortillas or fajitas and Czech lager we drove out of the town to a castle! More like an English castle we reached it by riding in a small road train before walking up a short hill in the rain.
Back down the hill we went to the Gingerbread cottage.
The Gingerbread cottage.
Inside is a large room with a display of cottages made from gingerbread. We had to take care not to be caught by the witch. In the second room a bearded witch demonstrated moulding gingerbread, he also fought with a broomstick. And he gave us a sample of gingerbread.
Dinner in the Angel hotel, schnitzel and rice but the hotel had run out of beer!.
Sunday April 21st Horses for courses.
After a morning stroll round the town again, including coffee in the cat cafe, (eight happy cats and kittens) we drove off, stopping in the town of Simen for fixed lunch of spicey beef and rice. Simen (not sure about the spelling) is the home of Semtex explosive. Lunch over we continued on to the town of Kladbury nad Leben. The town is famous for horse breeding and at the moment there are about 500 of the animals in the area. More exciting was the Carriage Driving competition being held. Teams from Czechia, Poland, Netherlands, Germany, Austria and the UK were taking part, driving a teams of four horses which pulled a carriage with a driver and two passengers. The commentary was in English, but of course it is the International language.
Carriage driving at Kladruby.
Then we went back to Bilina, with a coffee stop.
Monday April 22nd. Please come again.
I spent the morning in school with a couple of classes. Lunch in the school canteen and a short walk round the town before I was taken to Prague Airport, named Vaclav Havel. A two hour flight and home having promised to return to the town I've visited for years now. So here's a few pictures:
School
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