OCTOBER DAYS

 Hello from the Red Cardinal nest - as Summer really begins to bite..

The tinder dry countryside has seen bush fires these past few days.

We enjoyed our recent Symphony Orchestra concert very much indeed..

 We had dinner at the theatre restaurant, the Lyrebird.

I do love Tiramisu...

Small garden entrance to the Dvorak home

As well as the fabulous Mendelssohn Concerto for Violin & Orchestra, definitely a family favourite, we loved the Symphony No. 7 in D minor by Antonin Dvorak.  My mind went back five years to our wonderful European cruise on the River Elbe, from Berlin to Prague.

As we approached Prague, we visited the town of Nelahozeves, birthplace of Dvorak, whose music I always loved...

Birthplace of Dvorak

The house has been converted to a small museum, full of fascinating memorabilia:

Late in the day, we listened to music by the great composer as we cruised into Prague.  What a magical moment!

Today I went to my second meeting with my new Book Club.

As mentioned in a previous post, we read 'A Terrible Kindness' by Jo Browning Wroe.  Everyone rated it very highly, and enjoyed the complex layers of the story, and unusual subject and motifs.

Our November book is the popular 'Lessons in Chemistry' by Bonnie Garmus.  Have you read it?

Three small children we know very well, are Very Excited about next week's Halloween festivities.

I am even tasked with a little sewing job on a Princess Dress (how I have longed for a little granddaughter to stitch for).  I would, of course, sew anything she wished!

Halloween is also the birthday of Mr. Red Cardinal.

Some years we greet the rather alarming number of Trick or Treaters around our area, and hand out treats.  Other times, we turn off the lights, go down to our basement at the back of the house, have a quiet birthday drink and supper and ignore the whole business.

Time will tell what the birthday boy wants for 2023!

Stay cool, or warm, whatever suits.

XXXXX

AND SO TO PRAGUE

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..

XXXX