Längerer Beitrag – schneller Überblick:
Yes, we are fast. We cross the Czech Republic in a rush. To the left and right of the path lie beautiful castles, great destinations and, above all, dense, green and, it seems, healthy forests.
But we want to go further east. Slovakia is our destination for this autumn.
Trosky Castle
So we make a short stop for the night and work at the Trosky Castlewhich looks much more interesting in the guidebooks than it is in reality. Somehow, all this castle business here reminds us of England and Scotland last year: every old collection of stones, no matter how small, is designated a castle and from now on belongs to the cultural heritage of the state.
When the visitors' car park empties in the early evening and we have the castle to ourselves, it is already much more pleasant. So we briefly explore the "old stones".
Trosky Castle was founded by the Lords of Vartenberk at the end of the 14th century. It has become a symbol of the Bohemian Paradise and is one of the most visited castles in the Czech Republic. And yes, during the day, while we set up our home office, there is a lot of coming and going in "our" car park.
The castle was built on two steeply rising basalt rocks, which made it almost impregnable.
Even the Hussites could not take it. The castle has two towers, Baba (old woman) and Panna (virgin), from which you have a breathtaking view of the surroundings.
Olomouc
At the end of the day we drive on, we want to make it - depending on the traffic - as far as Olomouc create. I remember this city (I think, but on the spot I realise that I remember Ostrava), after all, I went to the children's holiday camp in this area a few times as a child.
Arrived much too late - "Always look for parking spaces in the light!" didn't work again - we parked directly in front of the police, nicely lit, 5 minutes to the old town. Romanticism again tomorrow!
After days of sitting, we want to move around and stroll through the small old town, which, how could it be otherwise, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Olomouc (pronounced Olomutz) is a cute student town with many restaurants and cafés, historic alleys and a huge market square around the town hall. The city's landmark is the baroque Holy Trinity Column on the Upper Market Square, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001.
There is also an impressive town hall clock, six baroque fountains and the majestic Olomouc Castle (which we don't visit because we are tired of castles).
So we stroll through the summery city in the evening, are treated to another small concert in a beer garden (yes, the Czech Republic and beer, I'd forgotten!) and fall into bed late in the evening under camera surveillance in front of "our" police station.
The whole of the next day we stroll through the alleys, see (almost) all the sights, admire Wenceslas Cathedral and do one thing above all: we drift from café to café in a holiday mood.
Because after long days of work and travel, we also need some cosy rest days. And we are enjoying one of them today!
Merci for "travelling with us
We are thinking about taking another break from travelling in the summer and visiting our families in Germany and Switzerland. One of the ideas is to organise a Lecture about our long journey to the Persian Gulf to prepare. If you would like to, what would interest you the most? We will also tell stories here that don't find a place here on the blog. We're thinking of the Bern and Berlin area - simply because we have family there. But other places are also conceivable. Feel free to write to us.
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