Following our journey into the mountains of Saxon Switzerland, we crossed the border into the Czech Republic by coach, before reuniting with our boat at the royal city of Litomerice.
After dinner we enjoyed a twilight walking tour of the historical centre of the city, known for its fine Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance buildings.
The wonderful Town Hall
In the City Square
The tiny cobbled streets were so narrow I had to lean hard against a wall on the opposite side of the street to take this picture!
Next day we sailed through Bohemian country on the upper reaches of the Elbe River before entering the Vlatava River
Along the lush green river banks we saw many rustic caravans, so very old-fashioned they looked like those in the old Enid Blyton books we read as children...
Mr Red Cardinal relaxes on the Upper Deck...
Sweet little chapels in the landscape..
A beautiful old lock
After an overnight mooring at Kralupy, 35km from Prague, we set off to visit the Nelahozeves Castle and the home of the great Czech composer Anton Dvorak.
Located high above the Vltava River the 16c Nelahozeves Castle owned historically by a Bohemian noble family, the Lobkowicz, was confiscated by the Communist government in 1948. It was restored to the family in 1993, in a remarkable story of which we heard more in Prague.
Now restored, it has been opened to the public as a museum, it features an exhibition 'Private Spaces: A Noble Family at Home', showing the lifestyle of the family in the 19c. The Lobkowicz family has played a major role in the history of Central Europe for over 600 years.
The Gun Room was astonishing:
And at the bottom of the hill, this simple garden leads into the birthplace and childhood home of Dvorak..
The home has been turned into a small museum, with memorabilia of his life and career..
His violin..
We returned to our boat thinking of the life of the great composer, and his journey to America where he was director of the National Conservatory of Music of America from 1892 to 1895. It was at this time he composed the Symphony No 9 in E minor 'From the New World'...popularly known as the New World Symphony.
On a rainy afternoon, we sailed into the Prague City Centre and our last mooring, to the accompaniment of the Fourth Movement of the New World, and an excellent kirsch cocktail!
It was quite the Triumph..
It was quite the Triumph..
XXXX
Looks and sounds like a wonderful trip...that gun room looks well stocked! The dining table looks amazing too...so much history in these old cities and castles.
ReplyDeleteI have just added another picture which I missed, of the silver centrepiece on the dining table. The gun room with dozens of guns and hunting trophies was so not politically correct these days, it took our breath away! The history fascinates, and the Litomerice family are doing their best to share with future generations.
ReplyDeleteWow! Just fantastic Trish....so much wonderful history and the beautiful buildings...amazing!
ReplyDeleteThank you Michelle. I really loved the buildings, everywhere we went. The architecture component of our tour was excellent, with our architectural historian Thomas guiding us all the way.
DeleteA wonderful trip you are having - quite envious!
ReplyDeleteIt was the trip of a lifetime for us Sarah Liz. We have been home a couple of weeks, and I am still dreaming about and processing it all as I go through the photos. Unfortunately Mr C fell and broke a hip the day after we returned, so life has changed abruptly for us. You never know what is around the corner!
DeleteGreat photography Patricia - what an amazing trip - you have me inspired to look for something similar ex Auckland. My concern is my husband needs a walking stick now and cannot walk far. (he had a major back op 7 years ago and has a large titanium plate and 6 screws holding his spine in place) Not fair. Anyhoo it’s fun to dream!
ReplyDeleteShane xx
Thank you Shane. As you know we are not fast on our feet either, but we were not the slowest in our tour group. There were several with walking sticks. Renaissance Tours looked after everyone very well, and helped with taxis or a special car when needed. Some people missed some things, but generally everyone coped really well including us. They do cultural tours in lots of places including Australia, from a few days to several weeks. You might like to Google them. Meantime, keep dreaming :) xx
DeleteThe whole trip sounds as if it was a joy to experience both visually and musically from beginning to end.
ReplyDeleteI just love the idea of your triumphal entry into Prague, Dvorak's music playing and a kirsch cocktail to hand.
It was a great joy Rosemary, the type of tour I had always dreamed of, and am so glad I found it in a small paragraph in a magazine. It was a one-off trip - this company do one each year in different places. The entry to Prague was so much fun, and our weekend there did not disappoint.
DeleteWhat a charming city, Trish. I know little about Czech history and did not know of the Lobkowicz family. How interesting. With communism having been a presence for about 40 years, I wonder how the family managed to stay viable in the country and how they maintained their lives and wealth. Sounds like they did not go into exile since they regained their castle in 1993. Most fascinating! Thanks for taking us along.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I knew almost nothing of the Czech history, just a few composers!. I am planning my next post about Prague, and will try to remember the story of the Lobkowicz family. They did in fact go into exile, which makes it more fascinating. I will start work on it tonight :)
DeleteOh goody! :)
DeleteMy husband was born in Czechoslovakia, but we wanted to wait until after the government changed (in 1990) to visit his home etc. It was the last trip Joe's mother made abroad but it was the best trip of her post-war life. An elderly lady back then, she literally ran from place to beloved place in excitement.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite quarter of the city was Josefov and my favourite musicians were Smetana, Dvorak and Janacek. Thank you for the excellent photos of the music museum.
Welcome to my blog, Hels. How lovely that you all were able to visit your husband's Czech homeland after 1990. I can imagine how exciting it was for your mother-in-law. There must be many heart-warming stories after the fall of the USSR. I love the Czech musicians too, and enjoyed visiting Smetana Hall very much. Unfortunately time was against us and I ran out of time to explore the Josefov area when I walked up to the Charles Bridge on our last morning in Prague. I do hope we return one day.
DeleteLooks so relaxing on the boat! I have been to Slovakia but not the Czech republic, and one of these days I must go! I think it must be marvellous to be in the kind of countryside where you come across castles on steep crags, but then I always like things that seem to have come from story books.
ReplyDeleteIt was indeed peaceful floating along the Elbe, with not another tourist boat in sight! It was really pretty country, and I loved seeing those buildings up on high. Definitely was story book territory :)
DeleteUse shorter, quicker articles for traffic generation. satta king As you get deeper into article marketing you will get a feel for all the different purposes you can use articles for.
ReplyDelete