The Third Day (:
Well guys sorry for the late post. I actually posted something last night but for some reason or other it didn't post. So here goes nothing. . .again.
The day started off with a bus. And an extremely long ride. But the scenery outside the bus window made it WELL worth it! It's so beautiful here. The fields are a green that reminds me of Tennessee but with a velvety texture that we will never have. It looks like a green carpet rolled out across the land that is being ruffled ever so slightly by the wind. It's absolutely stunning.
Our bus "tour" was led by Jan and began at a world war 2 monument. It was in honor of the last battle fought in Europe.
After getting out and peering at it we went on down the road, but seemed to leave 2012 behind. The small small village of Sledice seems to be lost in time, providing a perfect resting place for it's longest memory: the last shell fired in world war two. It landed in the bell tower of the church, completely destroying it. They built it back, putting in a marker that reads May 11, 1945.
Surrounding the church was the perfect complement to this tragic story - a cemetery. The beauty and perfection of the flowers combine with the persistence and height of the weeds in a bittersweet way, celebrating the life of the dead but never letting you forget that it is over. It was beautiful.
The graves themselves were so interesting to me, for each represented an entire family with a small garden on top.
We left Slevice and drove on to our first real destination, the Budweiser Budvar factory. It was cool, haha. But in the end it was really just another factory. Below is a picture of where they make the mash in stainless steel vats before they actually added hops and fermented it to make the beer. This company is also different from the American one. In America this beer is called Czechvar.
After eating lunch at the factory's restaurant (that had wonderful beef goulash) we traveled toone of the most INCREDIBLE places is have EVER seen. It's a village called Cesky Krumlov, and is still fully functioniong. The only difference between it and many of the other Czech villages is the fact that it holds a castle (: The castle was entirely original looking like it did when it was built in 1255. You were able to walk through the courtyards and bridges, seeing such amazing views. I was truly blown away by its beauty. It was another place you could forget the century we live in and just go back a few. The worn cobbled streets coupled with the flowing river beneath the bridge that connected the palace to the village in such a splendid way. It was actually magical, I could just see some princesses and kings walking along the bridge gazing down on their kingdom. However, there was no royalty that lived her, only nobles. The Rosenberg family was one of the 5 different owners its had. I can't remember the others, or pronounce their names
Lol. Before we left, we ate at a restaurant just off the town square. It was so old that the stones on the floor were worn together making a smooth walking surface down the traveled path. It seemed almost like a dungeon with the low arched ceilings and low light, but they made some wonderful fire smoked pork chops.
This is the view from the top of the palace.
This is one of the palace (which is much larger with some towers) from the bridge.
The streets of Cesky Krumlov! :)
We returned to the campus after a 3 hour drive through the countryside and before I went to bed I sat up listening to the Czech students celebrating finals. It so different here. Aside from drinking to late in the night during finals week (only for the ones graduating) they sing along to various instruments. That nights chosen one was the accordion. Yep. And they were dang good too!
Well we are a leaving soon for the train station,going to Poland for the weekend so if I don't post again today and tomorrow do not fret (: I may just not have wifi. Love you all! :)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
The day started off with a bus. And an extremely long ride. But the scenery outside the bus window made it WELL worth it! It's so beautiful here. The fields are a green that reminds me of Tennessee but with a velvety texture that we will never have. It looks like a green carpet rolled out across the land that is being ruffled ever so slightly by the wind. It's absolutely stunning.
Our bus "tour" was led by Jan and began at a world war 2 monument. It was in honor of the last battle fought in Europe.
After getting out and peering at it we went on down the road, but seemed to leave 2012 behind. The small small village of Sledice seems to be lost in time, providing a perfect resting place for it's longest memory: the last shell fired in world war two. It landed in the bell tower of the church, completely destroying it. They built it back, putting in a marker that reads May 11, 1945.
Surrounding the church was the perfect complement to this tragic story - a cemetery. The beauty and perfection of the flowers combine with the persistence and height of the weeds in a bittersweet way, celebrating the life of the dead but never letting you forget that it is over. It was beautiful.
The graves themselves were so interesting to me, for each represented an entire family with a small garden on top.
We left Slevice and drove on to our first real destination, the Budweiser Budvar factory. It was cool, haha. But in the end it was really just another factory. Below is a picture of where they make the mash in stainless steel vats before they actually added hops and fermented it to make the beer. This company is also different from the American one. In America this beer is called Czechvar.
After eating lunch at the factory's restaurant (that had wonderful beef goulash) we traveled toone of the most INCREDIBLE places is have EVER seen. It's a village called Cesky Krumlov, and is still fully functioniong. The only difference between it and many of the other Czech villages is the fact that it holds a castle (: The castle was entirely original looking like it did when it was built in 1255. You were able to walk through the courtyards and bridges, seeing such amazing views. I was truly blown away by its beauty. It was another place you could forget the century we live in and just go back a few. The worn cobbled streets coupled with the flowing river beneath the bridge that connected the palace to the village in such a splendid way. It was actually magical, I could just see some princesses and kings walking along the bridge gazing down on their kingdom. However, there was no royalty that lived her, only nobles. The Rosenberg family was one of the 5 different owners its had. I can't remember the others, or pronounce their names
Lol. Before we left, we ate at a restaurant just off the town square. It was so old that the stones on the floor were worn together making a smooth walking surface down the traveled path. It seemed almost like a dungeon with the low arched ceilings and low light, but they made some wonderful fire smoked pork chops.
This is the view from the top of the palace.
This is one of the palace (which is much larger with some towers) from the bridge.
The streets of Cesky Krumlov! :)
We returned to the campus after a 3 hour drive through the countryside and before I went to bed I sat up listening to the Czech students celebrating finals. It so different here. Aside from drinking to late in the night during finals week (only for the ones graduating) they sing along to various instruments. That nights chosen one was the accordion. Yep. And they were dang good too!
Well we are a leaving soon for the train station,going to Poland for the weekend so if I don't post again today and tomorrow do not fret (: I may just not have wifi. Love you all! :)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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