Beautiful Day for Golf in Benešov

Today was a perfect Day for golf. My friend Michal picked me up from Haje, the last metro stop on the "C" line at noon-thirty, and we were on our way to Golf Resort Konopiště in Benešov, about 27 km south of Prague. Perfect sky with lots of fluffy clouds to cover the sun from time to time(but too often) and a perfect temperature: 75F.

The club house, doubles as a Hotel, or vice-versa, and it used to be a Chateau of some famous dude. It is THE only golf course I have ever seen with statutes of saints here and there and the 18th hole is quite a water hazard!(last picture). ;-)

Jan Hus In Old Town Square as the sun sets

Veltrusy

Veltrusy is a really small town 20km north-west of Prague, but what makes it special is its large Chateau of the same name. I have been wanting to see it for the past year. This afternoon a friend and I took the 40 minute bus ride from Kobylisy to this town to explore the Zamek(Chateau), gardens and its associated Park. It is one of the most remarkable examples of the high Baroque style to be found in Bohemia.

This estate was the Summer seat of Count Rudolf Chotek and his family. It is built on a large island on the right bank of the Vltava river. The island(read: estate) was transformed into a 300 hectar park dotted with small Empire, Neoclassical and Romantic figures/artwork/structures. There is also a fallow deer preserve adjacent to the estate.

This Baroque "Castle", actually a Chateau, was built in 1734 by Count Chotek. The ground plan of the castle is interesting – four wings create a cross and meet under a tall cupola. The estate holds fenced in pastures, sculptures, pavilions, gardens, fruit tree groves and a farm.

The Chateau itself was heavily damaged in the 2002 floods(8 years ago) which immersed the entire island and flooded the entire first floor to the ceiling of the Chateau and all of its buildings. It is painfully slowly being restored.

on Narodní Třida

Cibulka Park - Činský Pavilon

This is The 18th-century Chinese Pavilion in Cibulka Park, not from the dilapidated Cibulka chateau. It is a small octogon building from 1822, with an oriental design. Originally it had a rotatable iron-plate figure of a Chinese man with an umbrella on the roof which was replaced by a non-rotatable copy.

This Pavilion is in tough shape, looks to have been home to the homeless recently and it on the verge of falling down. Perhaps Prague has it in its sight to renovate it. Not sure. It must have been quite striking when it was first built.

On Guard...

The door and its guard at the Lichtenstein embassy in Kampa

Rozhledna Cibulka - Cibulka tower and ruins

I went for a walk in Cibulka Park in the Košíře district of Prague. It is a large park on the slopes of the Košíře valley.

It apparently used to be a tidy park built to resemble an English Park and was built by The Bishop of Passau, Leopold Thun-Hohenstein, but now is actually quite overgrown and resembles a true forest preserve, all within Prague city limits, but on the outskirts. It was really like walking in a ancient forest.

I happened upon these ruins, which was cool. The tower is 13 metres high, but you can only see forest and tree tops from the top of it. I am sure at one time you could see all of the park and perhaps for miles around. I will come back in the Fall when the leaves have fallen to see what there is to see.

I could not find much about this tower and ruins, but here are some shots from this afternoon.

Ever See this?

Cigarettes And Cigars
...ON A MENU!

wonder how they are cooked?

NOTE: click on photo to enlarge it. ;-))
82 czk is $4.24

A Stained Glass Window

The Stained Glass window on the Kostel sv. Filipa a Jakuba na Smíchov (The Church of Saints Philip and James (at Zlíchov, in Smichov) ;-)

Would really enjoying this from the inside.

Svatého Filipa and Jakuba Kostel

"Church of Saints Philip and James (Zlíchov)" in Prague 5, in a small section of Prague called Zlichov. Just a tram stop on the way to Barrandov on Tram 12 or 20.

This small church sits at the top of a hill, overlooking the Vltava and the southern most parts of Prague 4 & Prague 5. It was built in 1737, which is quite amazing. It looks long since abandoned and not well taken care of, with Graffiti on most of it's walls.

It has an striking stain glass window....>> Above^

NOTE: the top picture was taken from the Train on the way to Beroun.

Medieval Festival in Klamovka (Park)

Happened upon this festival on a recent weekend. Klamovka Park was overflowing with families, children, food, craft vendors and events, all with a medieval flair. Different. Cool.

A Village in Southern Bohemia

A Face in Petřín

Door in Okoř

Sunday Morning Coffee

on Ujezd... seems to becoming a Sunday morning routine

Sunday

Stairs into the past

Speaking of reading.... and Castles

...I just finished reading this really great Book >

Title: The Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follet.

Written in 1989, it is 983 pages of historical medieval fiction about a man, and his family, searching to complete his dream; of building a Cathedral in England in the period 1135-1174. The Time of Henry I, 4th son of William the Conqueror and his successor, King Stephen the grandson of William the conqueror. A tumultuous time in English History.

A fascinating read, especially if you want to get pointers on how to build a cathedral and to get a better understanding of how life was back then living under Kings, and THE church, about living in and around castles, surrounded by monks, priories and Earls. Was Hard to put this book down. 983 pages!!

Nice Summer eve...

An enjoyable summer evening. Comfortable conversations. A flower that will never die and that will always have a smile. Red cable car for 12 but without ski's. Water from Australia? Good wine from old vines, fine dinner, a warm Smichov evening and very nice company. Diky.

A nice summer eve... wonder what that pear zmrzlina would have tasted like?.

Reading on a summer day

...just like I do (and many others) on a summer day. Find some sun and shade is easy.
Hope you are enjoying your summer and reading some good books.

Village of Okoř

This town was tiny. Just a dot on a narrow winding lane; in fact the road was about 1.5 car widths wide. The census in 2006 showed 76 people living here. Now, people are fixing up many of the old buildings and one can tell it is coming into its own. It is only 17 km from Prague. Not really far at all.

As I always try to do, I easily found this really nice cafe/restaurant. It was actually a small Hotel called Family Hotel Okoř. I sat outside, along side a rambling brook, adjacent to a nice park, with the remnants of an old Mill. It was a beautiful 75 degree afternoon. The place also had outdoor seating in its own garden, and the inside was nice as well. It would be quite a romantic place to stay.

So here are some pictures of it and some other houses in Okor.

Okoř Castle

This place was really Cool! A really large Castle ruin, only 17 km northwest of Prague. I had some time today so, so caught a bus and only 45 minutes later I arrived in the very small village of Okoř. (pronounced: Oh-kor-zha)

The Village of Okoř is located in a small valley carved out by the Zákolany brook located near to the small town of Buštehrád. Okoř is first mentioned in 1227 as a property of the St George Monastery(in Prague). Now days, it is a town of just under 100 inhabitants, but what a great Castle Ruin.

The castle was built in here in 1359 in Gothic style by Franitšek Rokycansky, a wealthy burgher of Prague's Old Town. This was highly unusual since most castles in those times were built by noblemen.

In the 15th and 16th centuries The Okoř Castle was expanded and rebuilt twice; in 1494 into late Gothic and then in 1590 into Renaissance style. In the 17th century the castle reverted to ownership by The Jesuits. During the Thirty Year’s War it was heavily damaged but once again restored, this time in the Baroque style. In the late 18th Century, the Castle was left deserted when the Jesuit order was discontinued in Bohemia.