Highclere Castle

This was one of the days I was most looking forward too on this trip. I was almost giddy with excitement as Kim and I got close to the castle. I was concerned that I may not make it to Kim's on Wednesday due to the event in the Brussels train station Tuesday night. However, travel on Wednesday was very easy and smooth. I was so happy to be off a train for a while when I finally arrived in Dorking. Wednesday evening we went to dinner at a restaurant around the corner from her house then to the local pub for a drink before returning to her house to meet the neighbors, pick berries in her garden, and, thankfully, do some laundry! 

Thursday we got up and planned our weekend in Cornwall before making our way to Highclere. We arrived about 30 minutes before our tour and walked around the property close to the house. We were both really surprised by the poor condition of the building. The castle is not considered one of the older ones in the area, it's only a few hundred years old, but like many of these large estates the owners have struggled with financially supporting the house. In fact, the current owners of Highclere were at risk of losing the property prior to Downton Abbey and it looks as if they still have a lot of work to do restore it. Regardless, it's beautiful and is mostly decorated exactly as it is in the show. They did bring in a few lamps and tables for filming, and of course removed the more modern art and photos, but the furniture and decor is mostly the same. This is an estate that is passed through the generations along with an aristocratic title. One of the previous Earls to own the estate was an explorer who found King Tut's tomb only to die a few days later from a mosquito bite. The current Earl and Countess still live in the house. 

They broke us into three groups to tour the house and we all began in the center salon near the grand staircase. We toured the bedrooms upstairs learning the historical aspects of the family and house as well as which rooms were used in filming Downtown Abbey before moving on to the main rooms downstairs. There were large photos of Downton scenes in some of the rooms showing how things were changed or left the same and allowing you an idea of the orientation of the set. I'm always surprised when I visit something that I've seen on tv by how much smaller it seems in person. The house is just as grand as I had imagined, but the rooms were much smaller. There is one piece of furniture in the show that has always been of interest to me and I was very excited to see it and touch it and figure it out. There are two red velvet sofas in the drawing room, one that looks more like a regular sofa, the other appears to be held together at the top by rope. I've always loved this piece and was curious about the rope - did the ends come off? While we weren't allowed to take photos inside or sit on the furniture we were allowed to touch it and get close enough to study it. This sofa has hinges along the back and instead of the sides coming off, the back lays flat to make a double sided sofa or day bed. I really wished we were allowed to take a photos of this piece of furniture. 

Our tour also included a very nice tea and a large, coffee table book about the castle's history, it's current residents, photos, and even recipes. I haven't spent much time looking at this book yet but look forward to doing so when I get home. 

After our tea we walked the gardens and took some photos before going back to Kim's, ordering in Indian food, and packing for our weekend in Cornwall. 

Bruges

Kim is working this morning so I've gone to the cafe around the corner to do some writing and have a latte before she comes home at noon. This afternoon we are going to a winery and tomorrow she goes home! 

I'm running even further behind on my writing so this post is for last Monday-Wednesday in Bruges. After my morning in Brussels on Monday I took a train to Bruges and then a taxi to the hotel. I'm so glad I booked a hotel with air conditioning because it was an extremely hot few days. After getting settled I took a walk and went to dinner at the one restaurant I had preselected for this part of my trip, Cafedraal. Cafedraal has a great courtyard that is mostly in the shade and the food was incredible. I have enjoyed simply saying "yes" when offered something even if I don't really think it's what I want. For example, on our hike in the Czech Republic the guide would ask if we wanted to taste the clover and wild blueberries along the trail. Normally I would be too worried about not being able to wash it first but instead I just said yes. He asked if we wanted an ice cream at a time I really didn't but instead I said yes and it was great. Of course, if he had asked if I wanted to hold one of the frogs that were hopping around I would have emphatically said no so the yes motto does have some strong boundaries :-) Cafedraal was the same - I had researched the menu prior to my visit and thought I had already made my selection. However, when I ordered the waiter said that was a good choice but the other option was better. So I said ok each time and essentially let them choose my meal and am very happy I did. 

After dinner I walked back to the hotel taking a few photos along the way. Bruges is a beautiful town with canals running through. My room overlooked one of the canals and was a very short walk to the heart of town. 

Tuesday I had breakfast at the hotel before heading out for the day. The museum in Bruges holds its exhibits in various locations around the city. Currently they have a Dalí exhibit, a Picasso exhibit, a Miro exhibit, and a da Vinci exhibit and I visited all four. Even though the da Vinci exhibit was primarily reconstructions of his inventions it was the only exhibit of the four I really enjoyed. After spending last school year studying da Vinci with my students it was fun the see the drawings and sketches come to life in these models. Some of them you could manipulate and move in order to gain a better understanding of how they work. The other three exhibits were a disappointment primarily because I have been to the Picasso museum and the Miro museum in Barcelona, and the Dalí museum in Figueres and his house in Cadaques. After visiting large museums dedicated to each of these artists the smaller exhibits in Bruges were not as interesting, and the buildings were incredibly hot. 

I spent the rest of the day and the next morning walking around, taking, photos, sampling Belgian chocolates, and cruising on the canals before leaving on Wednesday for Kim's!

Brussels

I had about 24 hours in Brussels but I think that may have been enough. There is definitely much more to see but I haven't really wanted to spend much time in museums, and it was incredibly hot. When I arrived on Sunday my room wasn't ready so I visited a museum near the hotel and had lunch in the Grand Place. This is an incredibly beautiful square and is also where my hotel was located. It may not have been the type of hotel I prefer, but for only one night it was fine and the view was amazing. In fact, I specifically booked this room to have a great view of the Grand Place in order to see it at night without having to leave my room. I was concerned about the noise but I had triple pane windows that blocked almost all of it out. Later Sunday evening I took a walk along one of the pedestrian streets coming off of the Grand Place to buy some chocolate, visit the Mannaquin Pis, and have dinner. The Mannaquin Pis may be the most famous statue in Brussels - he even has a museum housing his wardrobe. 

All the photos below were taken from my hotel room. 

Monday morning I walked to the Grand Sablon square for breakfast and to visit some of the city's more well known chocolate shops. The heat really did interfere with this part of my trip, but I did have some great chocolate and visited a beautiful church. 

Before catching the train to Bruges I visited a Steve McCurry photography exhibit. Not only is his work amazing, the exhibit itself was beautiful. The photos were hung from the ceiling in front of sheer white fabric and were arranged almost in a labyrinth. Most people have seen his work; he has had at least two photos on the cover of National Geographic. His most famous photo is of a young Afgan girl he met at a refugee camp, in fact, some consider this to be the most famous photo in the world. The overwhelming response to this photo encouraged National Geographic to set up an Afgan Childrens' Fund. This exhibit not only showed his photos, but also had videos talking about his work, mostly narrated by him, and talking about how his work has changed the life of those in his photos. For example, he went back years later to find the girl in the photo and even had experts in the US and other countries working to verify this was the same person. Once he found her, he was able to provide for her family by giving them a house and helping them with food and healthcare. It was unbelievable to me that the girl whose face almost everyone in the western world knows grew up to live in a small house with dirt floors and was barely able to provide for her family. She has lived a very hard and sad life. Because of the impact McCurry has had on the people in Afganistan he has never been charged for a taxi ride while in this country.  He has many stories like this one and I found his work to be very inspirational. 

I haven't taken many candid photos on this trip, however, there was one in Brussels I couldn't refuse. I'm really glad he didn't wake up and catch me!

Last Two Days in Prague

Friday and Saturday were my last two days in Prague and I spent them exploring the city and its wine bars. Both mornings were rainy which gave me a great excuse to not get out until very late in the morning. I slept in, took long baths, and had brunch in the hotel. 

After the rain cleared in Friday I explored the area behind my hotel. This is a quieter section since there aren't as many tourist attractions but there were a couple of churches I wanted to see. Also Valdemar, my guide from the day before, grew up in a family that owns an herbal tea business and they had a shop very close to the hotel so I visited the shop and bought some tea. 

After dropping my tea off at the hotel I headed across the river to the Mala Strana neighborhood. There were so many people. I navigated my way through the crowd and visited St. Vitus Cathedral. This is the largest church in Prague and has a massive dome. It's not the black church at the top of the hill - it's just below and to the left of that one and has a green roof. The inside of this church was beautiful, especially the ceiling. It was the primary project of three generations of architects in the same family. There is a guide pointing out the differences in their architectural styles but I found it most interesting that this church had been a family business for that many years. 

From here I tried to avoid the crowds by taking side streets to a wine bar that had been recommende by several people. Along the way I went into another church that was also beautiful but was a bit creepy. These churches always contain tombs of well known or important religious or government officials. This one, however, had glass caskets with the remains propped up in full dress. Definitely a little odd to see. 

Next stop was Vinograph, the wine bar known to be the best in Prague for learning about Czech wines. I spent several hours here learning about the wines and regions of the area and found all the wines to be great. The man working the bar had so much knowledge about the specifics of each wine. I tasted two Pinot Noirs, both were from the same region, the same year, and had the same amount of alcohol. However, one tasted like it had much more alcohol. After tasting each glass he would ask what it thought about it so I told him this. He said it was because of the amount of time the second had in contact with the grape seeds. To explain further he brought me some grape seed oil, which is another popular product of the Czech Republic, and the taste was the same. It's this type of learning that I love when studying wine and will now know how to recognize when a wine has had longer contact with the seeds. Even though I wasn't able to go into the vineyards and explore the region I do feel like I got a really strong introduction to Czech wines. Then it was just a short walk across the Charles Bridge to the hotel.

Saturday I had orignally planned to go to the Prague Castle but didn't feel like fighting the crowds so I went to the Strahov Monastery instead. This place is known not only for its amazing views of the city but also for the monastery library which is very ornate. You're not allowed beyond the door of the library with out prearranged permission but you could still see the entire room. It reminded me of the library at Trinity College in Dublin that I visited th GPS, only smaller. 

After the library I explored the grounds of the monastery and then began the walk down to the city. The is one vineyard within Prague and its located along this path. Along the way I came across a very investing marionette puppet shop. I could see how some people would find this shop creepy but I loved it. All the puppets were handmade by Czech artists and ranged from tiny enough to wear as earrings to huge ones for puppet shows. The workmanship was incredible and the guy working the shop demonstrated how some of them worked. I loved them so much I chose a tiny one for our Christmas tree. If I didn't have so much traveling left to do I may have been tempted to purchase one a little larger. 

As I approached the area that was packed with tourists I found a taxi and went to another wine bar, called Bokovka (which translates to Sideways in honor of the movie), recommended by Chris. This one was very unique. I only had about an hour before my dinner reservation but could have easily spent more time here. They don't have a wine list, instead they have two walls of wine and you can chose the bottle you want. Or, if you want to order by the glass, you can go to the bar and tell them the type of wine you want and they will give you a few options, explaining each one. Ryan and I are always interested in exploring orange wines since they are still relatively new for us. The Czech Republic does have several producers who make orange wines but I hadn't had any yet and I knew Bokovka had several on the list. They had two open by the glass but as we talked they opened a third. Again, these were small pours so I probably had the equivalent of one glass of wine. Each wine was from a different producer, was a different mixture of grapes, and had varying levels of skin contact making the tastes (and color) range from mild to really intense. This is definitely a place it hope to return with Ryan. 

After Bokovka I returned to Wine O'Clock for another fantastic meal and then back to the hotel for cheesecake, to pack up, and to sleep early since my plane left at 6:00 the following morning! 

Bohemian/Saxon Switzerland National Park

After seeing photos of this park and reading the reviews of this tour I knew this was something I wanted to do but of course the idea of booking a hiking tour was uncomfortable for me. I booked what they called "the easy tour," however, after doing "easy" hikes with Ryan I've become cautious of what other people consider easy. We did end up hiking about 6 miles, but it was relatively flat and I would consider it easier than the hike I did in Wales the week before. 

Our guide, Valdemer, picked me up at my hotel at 8:00 and from there we picked up a family of three at another hotel. We were a small group, but they never take more than 7 people on each tour. The drive to the park was about two hours from Prague mostly along the same route I had traveled the day before to Dresden. Valdemer is from the area of the park so he was able to give us a lot of history throughout the day. 

The name of the park is definitely misleading; none of it is actually in Switzerland. Instead, two Swiss painters "discovered" the park and loved it so much they decided to call it Little Switzerland. The Bohemian part of the name refers to the side of the park that is in the Bohemian region of the Czech Republic and the Saxon part refers to the section of the park in the Saxon region of Germany. We visited both sides on this tour. 

Our first stop was in the Bohemian side and was our primary hike.  We walked along the water in the Gorges of Kamenice to a place where the trail ends and a boat is needed to continue on. From there we took a dinghy ride through the gorge and spent some time at the other end before returning the way we came. You could continue to hike from there but the trail becomes steep and rugged as it exits the gorge. Along the way Valdemer picked wild clover and blueberries for us to eat. This area only became a national park within the last decade and before was an area where he and a his friends would play and explore in the summer as children. It was a beautiful area that reminded me a lot of the Nantahala Gorge in North Carolina. 

After our hike we drove to a traditional Czech restaurant for lunch. While we were there another group led by the same company arrived. They were not doing the easy tour and they looked exhausted! After lunch we drove to the Saxon part of the park in Germany to see the Bastei Bridge and Neurathen ruins. The sandstone structures in this part of the park are massive. Photos can't give justice to the scale of this area. Although this wasn't considered hiking it was the most challenging part of the day for me as it was much hotter and there were a lot of stairs. There once was a wooden structure or fortress here but the origin or history of that structure is unknown. You can see steps carved into the side of the rock and places where the wooden bridges and buildings were supported. Now there's a beautiful stone bridge replacing the wooden one allowing access to the archeological site. One of the first people noted to visit this area was a photographer who is remembered by a quote etched into the side of the rock saying he "painted here with light." This area also has fantastic views of the Elbe River valley. 

Once back in Prague it was dinner at the hotel, shower, and bed for me! It was a long, tiring, but very fun day!