Oświęcim (Auschwitz)

Geez...

What can I write about this? On one hand I want to eviscerate my memory of the experience and leave it all here, but I also don't want to trivialize the absoluteness of the place itself by relating my personal feelings as they could never scratch the surface of the pain, suffering and inhumanity dispensed at the hands of ideological zealots some 60 years ago.

Everything from the twisted quote (Arbeit Macht Frei) that hovers above the one and only entrance to this and most of these complexes was pulsing and vibrating in an eerie and unsettling way.

I can, however, say that the museums are arranged in a manner that leaves visitors with no doubt about the degree of mental instability necessary to carry out the largest 'experiment' in genocide ever known to humanity.

Strange way to end the year.....

Craców

So, we left for Craców on the morning of the 26th. With 7 hours of train travel ahead of us we settled into our reserved seats by the windows and stared at the fields and trees as they flew by.

In complete defiance of all documented weather trends for the area, the sun guided us through the Bohemian countryside safely into the Moravian hills and across the Polish border. We changed trains in Katowice by literally jumping off our old horse and strutting across the platform towards the closing doors of our new horse.

A handful of travelers, upon hearing me get confirmation from the railman, piled into the car behind us. With the sun now disappearing, we yawned and stretched out for the final hour and a half of our journey.

As we pulled into Craców's main station (Glówny), we could feel the biting cold through the cracks in the windows. The cold air darting in through the open doors removed all feelings of exhaustion and propelled me into a dizzying scramble towards the lights and sounds of the Old Town.

We confronted an ATM and left with money in our pockets. Luckily our hostel was just inside the original 14th-century gate which is a stones throw from the train station. Eager to lose our bags and hit the streets, we sped through the check-in process and did just that.

Craców was noticeably colder than Prague had been all year and while we had enough clothing it was still difficult to face the sharp menacing winds. Perhaps it was that fact that lent to the emptiness of the dark narrow streets that night. Although, I suppose folks could have been spending time with their families as well since it was literally the day after Christmas.

Regardless, we found an open restaurant and ducked in for some warm food...and cold beer. It was a Brazilian restaurant so I had some 'Brazilian' food and washed it down with a Polish beer called Zywiec. Not a great beer, but all shortcomings in taste were more than excused by the wicked label which depicted a Polish couple dancing a traditional dance in traditional clothing.

We crashed relatively early after a looong day traveling and this was the scene around 9am as I walked out of the hostel.

In the distance is the lovely St. Mary's Church in Craców's main square (Rynek Glówny). The square is the largest medieval square in all of Europe. Every hour a bugle call rings out from the highest tower of the church.

I was surprised to see how perfectly rebuilt Craców's Old Town was. I was quickly reminded, however, that the late Pope John Paul II called Craców home until he became the Pope. The castle (Wawel), Old Town and the Catholic churches are in superior condition these days.

This is in stark contrast to the old Jewish Quarter called Kazimierz, where many buildings are in disrepair. The handful of synagogues scattered throughout the area seemed uncomfortable, sort of on edge. As if they're waiting for something awful to happen. To my chagrin, anti-Semitic graffiti stained many walls in the area.

It wasn’t all bleak and gloomy, though, as this sign proves:

X-Mas in Prague - Pt.2

We may not have snow, but we have copious amounts of big, ugly, funky fish!

OK, I've been saving this until the last minute to make sure I understood it completely.

In the Czech Republic, and some neighboring countries, they eat CARP for Christmas. These guys catch carp by the hundreds out of all the nearby rivers and sell them at strategic points throughout Prague and the rest of the country.

They cost about 70 Crowns a kilogram and most carp are between 2 and 6 kilos depending on the age of the fish of course. They keep them in these little outdoor kid pools. Probably 40 or so fish in each. Each little setup has three pools and they run the water between all three while constantly switching the fish around.
People buy them and keep them in their bathtub for a few days...I guess to laugh at them and taunt the helpless creatures until they eventually pull 'em out, crack 'em on the head, gut 'em, scale 'em, cut 'em into proper size pieces...and then they fry 'em! This is the story that all my students told me. They all had the same story, they only argued about what size fish was the better option. Jiří argued for the younger fish as they were fresher and Ondra said bigger was better as you only had to buy one and it would all taste the same.

Sounds great eh!

I don't know if you guys know what carp look like (I seem to remember Dad and Grandpa talking about catching carp...maybe not in Illinois...maybe Minnesota or something), but these guys are odd-looking! They have what looks like fish-net stockings for scales. It looks like plastic netting and they constantly open their mouths and make a sucking motion like when you exaggerate a kiss.

BUT, the guys who sell them are quite the characters!
Myself and the guy in the background were taking pictures, so the guy just pulls out a fish and shows it off to us. He starts laughing and making some kind of joke...possibly about us, who knows!

Český Krumlov

Prague has been unseasonably warm recently. Friday and Saturday brought flawless sunshine and the chirping of birds who’d already written the year off. We decided to rent a car and head into southern Bohemia to the wee town of Český Krumlov. The iPod kept us in high spirits even as the sun set prior to our arrival. Despite pulling in in complete darkness, the charm of the town was emanating from all corners. However, it was freezing.

Český Krumlov is a fairytale town nestled in a valley between mountains and clinging to rocky bluffs, built around an exaggerated ‘s’ shaped section of the same river that flows through Prague, the Vltava. It’s complete with castle, church, monastery, square, and brewery. Because it is so close to Austria and Germany, many places have signs in German and tourists from the neighboring countries spill in at a heavy rate. Due to the time of year, there were very few tourists. This is a place that in the summer is mobbed with tourists, so I felt lucky to see it now.

Now, our lodging for the evening was a bastion from the original town wall, situated directly across (20 ft) from the brewery. It has been converted into a 4-room pension. The woman who owns/runs the place is charming, magnetic really. She welcomed us, gave us the key, asked what time we wanted breakfast (we took it at 8:30am) and then left with a smile that seemed too big for the little town.

Incidentally, the Eggenberg brewery has been pouring beer since 1560 and the space it occupies on the edge of town is vast. Barrels and barrels of beer sit waiting to be consumed on premises at the massive beer hall or shuttled across town to several restaurants that proudly serve one of the various brews. We drank both the Černy (black) and Světlý (lager). Both are quite nice!

We were staying on the edge of the Old Town, and as you walked toward the city you passed the brewery and the monastery. The monastery was in utter disrepair and evoked thoughts of long gone times when monks roamed this massive complex drinking Eggenberg beer. The brick in the walls was brittle and crumbling, but refused to give out completely. As we walked around this cold, dark, littered area we were by far the only people around. I suppose it should have been eerie, but it was comforting somehow.

We curled through the cobblestone streets and into the main road opposite the castle. Next to the castle is a massive round tower painted with ornate images and myriad different colors. Rising above the town as a substantial reminder of the power of the lords of Rozmberk who owned much of the land in southern Bohemia. In high season the tower is open for superior views of the town.

With that option closed, we walked through the castle for commanding views nonetheless. The castle is literally carved from the rocky bluff it’s perched upon. It sits well above the town. From it, all the bridges are visible as well as the twisting Vltava river as it winds abruptly through town. This morning was pretty special as the bone-chilling weather was obvious with clouds of smoke escaping from every other building’s chimney and into the crisp morning air making a blanket over the town until a strong wind swept through and carried it all away.

As we exited the castle to the west, still climbing higher above the town, the view expanded and we could then see the castle as well as the tower, town, church and surrounding countryside. This walkway lead to a beautiful deserted and secluded garden with tree-lined trails stretching for days and days. The handful of trees within the garden were massive and their leafless limbs extended out for miles making them look quite imposing in the noon day sun as their shadows crept towards me in silence while I walked past.
Then we sauntered down a steep quiet lane and across the bridge into the Old Town at the stroke of noon. The town came alive instantly as a small stand with Punč, Grog, and Svařené Víno sat waiting for intrepid weekenders to spice up the day. We skipped it, the night before was enough with Eggenberg and Becherovka.

We walked toward the square in search of pizza. After a young guy in the bookshop pointed us in the right direction we accomplished our goal. Then walked south of the square into the church of St. Vitus, which is also the name of the awe-inspiring church within the castle complex in Prague. This church was not a close second to its cousin! But, the park 50m away opposite the Radnice (City Hall) did give the castle quite a run for its money in the spectacular view department!
In fact, the sagging rooftops of the old houses on the main drag along the river made for a spell-binding glimpse into the history of this town. The houses were all painted brilliantly and some had ivy crawling up the front. Crossing the bridge back into the other side of town we had a classic view of real life as the old houses were all displaying drying clothes and scattered plants on their river-front porches.
Then, ducking down an alleyway towards a very strange art gallery we popped out onto the riverfront itself. The St. Vitus cathedral sat calmly looking over the town to the south as the castle guarded the north. The alley lead to another alley, which crept along the old town walls and into a derelict deserted desolate dead end.

However, the alley held a special power over me. One side of the wall was the monastery and the other was the river. At the start of this alley was a discarded, dilapidated, deserted, decaying domicile left to the mercy of time. Time had been an unkind ally to this place as it stood shakily in this forgotten corner of Cesky Krumlov. The number 9 sat weary and worn out above the door while the stairwell leaned and bent from exhaustion and sadness at the town’s disassociation with it and its surroundings.
A forbidding gate stood at the end of the alley with two sturdy iron rods hanging from it, which were used at some point to pull the gate open. A big building in the corner sat in quiet solitude and crumbled slowly away. Though, the place was austere, it had an air of dignity of days of yore.

Contented that we had seen as much as we could in the off-season, we headed back to our end of town and the beautiful bastion that kept us warm the night before, got into the car, plugged in the iPod and hit the road.

I recommend this town to anyone who might find themselves in the Czech Republic!

Hee-hee!

X-Mas in Prague

I figured I should throw some seasonal photos up. Dig it!

Notice the Pecene Kastany stand on the right...roasted chestnuts, baby!