Çesky Krumlov was mentioned almost every time we mentioned we were going to Prague. I would hear “it’s delightful” and I would say “interesting, what is so delightful about Çesky Krumlov?” Almost no one answered, but now when I recommend it, I can tell you why it is the second most visited village in Czechoslovakia. This medieval village is seriously photogenic, historic, arty and the food was wonderful. It is the village you have to plan to visit and it takes more than just jumping on a train to get here. We left Prague on one bus, then another, travelled for over two hours and just managed to get the bus driver to let us off at the correct spot.
View from the Castle
After a wander around the town, it was wonderful to go through the castle. Not all three hundred rooms but enough to see what splendour the former royalty lived in. The water coloured tower is the beginning of the castle.
There is a splendid archway to link the Castle and the Theatre.
Archway between Castle and Theatre in Çesky Krumlov
This UNESCO World Heritage site is so picturesque and so green. The medieval towers, buildings and bridges are quite lovely. We also love the idea of local ales and wines. Our favourite sign was Fairy Tale House Puppets and Wine.
There were art galleries on every corner and several types of art. So if you find yourself in Prague, add a brief interlude in Çesky Krumlov, enjoy the meandering River Vltava and trust that you will have a delightful time.
The Charles Bridge is beautiful with numerous grand religious statues on its edges. I have used this photo of the bridge because so many of the people on the bridge are taking selfies and others have photographers doing glamour shoots. These are mainly young women with boyfriends looking on. It is quite remarkable. In fact, for some, it isn’t a photo of the Charles Bridge or the Stare Mesto or a cathedral unless you are posed in front of it. Prague is such a fairy tale setting, they have come to a wonderful spot. The bridge was built in 1357 for Charles IV, the first bridge to cross the River Vltava.
James, Pavla and Pari in Old Town Prague
One of the best ways to see Prague is to do a tour and we were so lucky to have Pavla from Premiant tours to take three of us up hills and on the river giving us history, sharing information and answering questions. Prague is a University town and if Pavla’s passion and knowledge about Prague, history and art were generated with free university, than I think that affordable education is very worthwhile.
We started in the Old Town and wandered through the Jewish Quarter and had a cruise on the river, then we went up to Prague Castle and further up to gardens and the Strahov Monastery. The monks are back and they seem to have brought back a sense of humour with them. If you didn’t know Czech people are very fond of an ale or beer. In fact, Budweiser beer was first brewed here. But the monks of St Norbert have their own take on drinking. Does anyone else see a zombie theme with the Autumn Dark Lager?
Delivery van in front of the monastery.
Once you pass through a narrow lane, you walk down the to the walls of the monastery and there is a wonderful outlook back over Old Town, red tile roofs fill the foreground and the dome and belfry of Church of St Nicholas are easy to spot. Further on I can see the spires of the Tyn Church and to its right, Stare Mesto. There are other spires and churches but I can’t name them all. The architecture in Prague is easy to see and ranges from Gothic to Renaissance and Romanesque to Baroque and Modern.
Red tiles roofs with the Church of St Nicholas with its dome and belfry
St Vitus’s Cathedral and the Tyn Church are probably the easiest Gothic architecture to discover. You possibly couldn’t miss them. The Royal Garden takes more investigation to find and has a building with Renaissance sgraffito which is magnificent.
Isn’t this sublime, like a fine piece of lace. Tulips came here before they came to Holland. I think that would be another story all together.
These aren’t philosophical thoughts or even educated thoughts, they are the thoughts that popped into my head when we walked around Prague.
Thought number one: Because Berlin was bombed in the War, it is now modern and fresh. Prague is simply, beautifully magical because it wasn’t bombed. It looks like the set to a movie, it looks like the set to Disneyland. Perhaps because the Communists didn’t change or improve Prague, we have much of the vision of Charles IV to enjoy.
Prague and the Vltava River
Thought number two: Did Walt Disney visit Prague and base the Disney Logo on Prague Castle? No, but it did reference the Tyn Church in Prague. The chief designer of the Disney Castle, Herbert Ryman took the best of half a dozen Chateaus and Castles and the Tyn Church to create the magic castles in Disney parks and movies. (Thanks Wikipedia)
Prague is so bewitching, so alluring, it is a city of bridges and spires.
The Tyn Church Spires inspired Disney
Thought number three: How can you read this clock?
The Prague Astronomical clock from medieval times, gives not just the time but the position of the planets. Is Mercury in retrograde? It is also the number one spot for pickpockets, so watch your wallet.
Prague Astronomical Clock
I am all out of thoughts but we visited some incredible cafes, including the Black Madonna and the wonderful Cafe Slavia with a baby grand.
Cafe Slavia, paradise for writers, music lovers and pastry aficionados.The Marionette Theatre
I might as well start with a Mea Culpa. Even with the best advice, from three friends, we managed not to be organised enough to go to the Reichstag, the German Parliament building and see the amazing glass dome. The best advice is to do a detailed registration early perhaps online, have breakfast or coffee at the Kafer, the rooftop restaurant and beat the crowds. Visit the official website for information: bundestag.de The Reichstag books out early, plan ahead.
One other mea culpa was not leaving at least one day for Potsdam. As it turned out, our last day in Berlin, James wasn’t well and so we stayed close to the hotel. Four days for Berlin is not enough. Potsdam is a worthy place to visit by all accounts.
Berlin is a city of museums, galleries, history, music and culture. Museum Island was incredible with several museums of sterling quality on the northern half of this small island.
The Ishtar Gate
My favourite was definitely the Pergamon Museum, with the Pergamon Altar, the Hittite carvings and the Ishtar Gate. As a young student, we read about Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the king had his 8th magnificent Gate made out of glazed brick. Saying I was overwhelmed seems fairly prosaic but this gate is beautiful and beyond what I had imagined. What do you think? Now I try to imagine what the Hanging Gardens looked like.
Eastside Gallery, Berlin
Near the centre of Berlin, we visited the Eastside Gallery, over a kilometre of the Wall is here and much of it is covered in graffiti and essentially it is a monument to freedom. It wasn’t just a wall but several parallel walls, with glass and barbed wire to keep people in. Visiting the East Side Gallery did let me feel like I was in East Berlin.
Violinist at the Konzerthaus
After visiting several museums and going out to CheckPoint Charlie and the Eastside Gallery, we decided to go to the Konzerthaus and have a look. There was a tremendous outdoor cafe and buskers performing wonderful music. This was my favourite with his violin, his music immersed us into this scene of Berlin life.
Berlin is turning on its best blue skies for us. The Brandenburg Tor was magnificent, with the blue sky framing the city.
Most of Berlin seems to hide behind a bit of scaffolding and bollards. The Brandenburg Gate was no different. We stroll back down the boulevard, flanked by Consulates, five star hotels and a Starbucks.
Construction in Berlin
The views above were not the views that President Reagan saw when he gave his inspired speech to “Tear down this wall, Mr Gorbachev”. He was looking from the Western side and saw the rear of the chariot. A potent message, for the past 30 years, that walls aren’t the answer.
Several people asked if we stayed in East Berlin or West Berlin and it is hard to answer. We stayed in Mitte, Mitte meaning central or middle, was definitely split in the middle. But you can’t see the lines of East and West in this area today. It is so fresh and rebuilt so beautifully it is hard to pinpoint. Now there are quite a few embassies near the Brandenburg Tor and we went for coffee at Einsteins, we found out it was formerly the preferred coffee house for Russian spies and their friends.
The Spree River running past Museum Island in Mitte
We walked to Museum Island, looking up at Humboldt’s statue then passing through a Pinch gut of a lane near the German Historical museum or Zeughaus. Stencilled onto the footpath, BEWARE PICKPOCKETS, three more steps and we are descended on by a swarm of people with clipboards, wanting to interview us. “Sign our petition”.
We said No and continued walking, but they corned a Chinese man going the other way who screamed “No, No, No” in English and they swarmed him. Feral. Quite frightening.
I hope he had his hand on his wallet and phone. You can’t intervene because part of the scam is that a “tourist” might come your aid and then as soon as you relax, he is off with your wallet.
Everyone was enjoying the sunshine
We spent several hours on Museum Island, a blog post in itself, but as the jetlag pressed in, we decided to go on a river trip on the River Spree. We needed the sunshine and views, after our thirty two hour flight and Berlin offered it in Spades.
We had two wonderful weeks camping on Mercier in Cowan Creek, we met up with so many friends, shared wine and food and played with a wonderful new two-man kayak. We ate Sue’s Duck Curry, Debbie’s lasagna and Michele’s peeled prawns. Geoff, James and Dave Hats excelled on their respective barbecues.
Our New Year’s Eve photo by Sue Vincent
For all that food and wine, something was definitely missing. Where were Richard and Rene and the party boat, NAND V? Thanks to Frosty, we did know. We were getting frequent updates from Frosty complete with photos as they motored to Tasmania.
Let me assure my Northern hemisphere readers, Tasmania is not our summertime Med. It is more like the Med in the middle of winter; rough, fierce and changeable. But the M/Y NAND V crew picked their weather and beat south along the coast, into Bass Straight and finally into the Derwent River. The NAND and crew had arrived at Hobart.
After our two weeks (without the party boat), we sailed home Saturday and moored Mercier. The phone rang on Sunday afternoon, it was Richard and the conversation was brief, meet Jane at the airport on Monday morning and fly down for several days of cruising the D’Entrecasteaux Canal and visit some of the ports in that vicinity. Off we went.
We landed in Hobart, jumped in a cab and within minutes of being met by Rene at the entrance of the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania, we were on the NAND and motoring out of the marina. Ever wonderful hosts, there were scallop pies in the oven.
We were reminded very quickly, that we are now sailing in the Roaring 40’s and we plugged away crossing the mouth of the Derwent. Moths flew past us on their foils so quickly they looked airborne.
We motored on to Bruny Island and saw an amazing sight. A large seal was struggling with an octopus and right overhead was a sea eagle poised for any opportunity of taking a share. The seal was throwing the octopus into the air and then retrieving it like a puppy with a chew toy. To keep the octopus from grabbing him, the seal would shake his head from side to side, dragging it in the water and then throw his catch into the air. The water black with ink. The sea eagle floated over this carnage. finally realising there was nothing left for him. It was quite an amazing sight, Rene took the best photo. Here is mine.
Seal lunching on octopus sashimi
Jane had a unique fishing style, catch and release. She caught over 25 Flathead but as they were small, she released them back to the wild. We weren’t sure what the fish below was but she sent him back too.
Jane’s Catch and Release
In the evening, we moored in Barnes Bay in an anchorage slightly misnamed The Duck Pond. It was calm, but there were swans not ducks. There were a few yachts moored there and we were all visited by a family of black swans. They were so graceful and lovely, the male swam to one side and the ‘teens’ and Mother approached the boat chirping melodically, very interested in the bread we threw over the side. They seemed so gentle but the male looked on very sternly, you wouldn’t want to upset him.
Swan Family
We went into Cygnet Bay, the next day after looking at fish farms in several places. We took the dingy into the wharf and tied up and walked into town. We had good coffee and then shopped for a few items from the organic grocer – there were superb cherries, raspberries, blueberries and patron peppers. The produce in Tasmania is remarkably good.
James and Blue
The weather went from chilly to beautiful, no one was tempted to swim but we did see children swimming.The best thing about the weather was that the five of us missed the Sydney heat wave. It was a joy to need a jacket at night .
Tasmania is in the Roaring Forties and sea breeze was showing a preponderance of brown on its charts, meaning we were going to get plenty of gusts at 35-45 knots at about 9 PM. We made our way back to Hobart and the mooring. The marina managers were going to each boat and checking the mooring lines and fenders. Now we had time for a quick trip to Hobart Town with our sailors’ errands taking them to the shipwright and the ladies walking around town. It was hard to believe that such a change was coming.
Rene & Jane
And here is a photo of the wonderful NAND V, we know people will enjoy visiting her at the Wooden Boat Festival. Thanks so much to Rene and Richard for their wonderful hospitality. And to Jane for her wonderful company and commentary of the Golden Globe outfits. What a great interlude with friends.
We were so lucky to have my sister move to Oregon. It opened up a completely new area for James and I to explore. There are no photos here of Rick and Linda because they were in the processing of moving to their new home. My sister advised me that it would be very boring to have photos upon photos of boxes.We changed our dates and went a few days early to help them move along with Rick’s father Larry and wife MJ, friend Kevin and then left them to unpack.
When we mentioned this change of plans to Barbara about our sudden lack of playmates in the Pacific Northwest, she volunteered to bring Frank and Adam and keep us company.
First stop was Seattle: Pikes Markets downtown and then a walking tour with Seattle 101. We had a great breakfast at the markets after watching the salmon toss and looking at beautiful flowers.
James, Frank, Barbara and Adam
Seattle 101 walking tour was wonderfully entertaining and informative. Joe is a Seattle native and his passion for the city and its story was tremendous.
My favourite Seattle exhibit/museum is Chihuly Garden and Glass. It was a highlight of the visit to Seattle. It should definitely be on your Do Not Miss list for Seattle. Inside and out, Dale Chihuly’s creations are remarkable.
Frank and James at the GalleryThe Indoor Garden
The following day we toured the Museum of Flight. It was another outstanding museum and I noticed the same look of rapture on Frank’s face that I saw on Barbara’s face at Chihuly. Here is why: there were so many planes and rockets and exhibits. Prepare to spend the day here.
Seattle’s Museum of Flight
We had a quiet Fourth of July, watching the fireworks over Lake Union. The next morning we were up and ready to drive to Vancouver, Canada.
Here is the thing, we had a short window of opportunity for a taste of Vancouver and we spent too much time at the border crossing. Think twice about going Seattle to Vancouver with just two days to stay. Vancouver is worth more time and the border crossing shouldn’t be the largest part of your experience.
We did have a great reunion with Marie and Simon Fawkes, who gave us great advice – “get on your bike”, so the next day we rode at least 15 miles to allow us to see as much of Vancouver as possible on rented bikes. The Sea Wall was fabulous, riding a fairly flat and accessible bike path allowed us to see much of beautiful, sunny Vancouver.
15 miles of Vancouver
We literally biked until our legs turned to jelly. We would like to thank Washington, Vancouver and Oregon for good weather. We did have clothes for inclement weather but we didn’t need them. Weren’t we lucky?
A visit to New York is a visit to my childhood. The food and sounds are almost the same at the market and on the streets where I spent my first seven years. The great thing about living in NY was access to the Bronx Zoo, The Botanical Gardens and museums. There are an amazing amount of museums in New York City and this trip we visited two.
The American Gallery The Metropolitan Museum
We met cousins Marian and Jessica at the Metropolitan Museum and chose three exhibits to view. The first exhibit was an ethereal series of Whaling pictures by the English romantic James.M.W. Turner. Where a realist’s images might have been gruesome, Turner’s froth and cloud hide the gore. Out of the waves’ foam, there struggles a ship or a whale. Our imagination takes us to sounds of sailors yelling orders and encouragement. Original manuscripts of Melville’s Moby Dick are displayed, which opens the discussion did Melville see these paintings before writing Moby Dick?
From Turner, we went to the Temple of Dendur, a temple moved from Egypt to the Metropolitan, when it was going to be flooded under the Aswan High Dam. Isis and Osiris now have a home in the middle of NYC. The emperor Augustus of Rome commissioned the temple which gives you a clear point in time of its age (15BC). It is remarkable that it was able to be re-situated from one metropolis to another. Egypt was very generous in deeding this gift to the United States, at that time represented by Jacqueline Kennedy.
Temple of Dendur
The last stop for the day was the Manus x Machina, Fashion in an Age of Technology exhibit. It is more about the techniques and processes the 20th and 21rst centuries have brought to couture fashion. Exquisite, revealing in that the humble sewing machine began journey, made this possible and wrought incredible changes to how Couture was fashioned over the years.
The highlight of this visit was a young girl, visibly worshiping the dress that was designed by Karl Lagerfield for Chanel with a 20 foot train. She ran from perspective to perspective and had her phone camera going non stop and she peered into the detail of the embroidery, which had been crafted using such artful processes, so closely that the guard had to intervene. Such passion at such an early age. For me, it was this passion that was the highlight of the exhibit, you understand this passion is where the design comes from no matter the machines or materials. These dresses come from someones mind and passion.
Passion
Another morning was in the Upper Eastside, spent at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Housed in the stately mansion of steel magnate of Andrew Carnegie, the building is a work of art itself. Building was begun in 1899, but this house featured a Otis Elevator, the first private elevator. Carnegie is one of my patron saints, because he gave huge amounts of his wealth to the creation of public libraries.
Two of the many exhibits that we loved were Beauty/Triennial with its emergent technologies, 3 D printings of ceramic and glass and the PolyThread knitted textile pavillion.
Pavillion by Shima Seiki
The other favorites is the story of the Haas Brothers and Haas Sisters and their whimsical figures brought together with technology, algorithms and hand sewing. Look this MonkeyBiz up, it is a wonderful partnership story.
Haas Monkey Biz
Cooper Hewitt has a wonderful online presence. Check it out.
Leaving Georgia, we head towards my cousins’ home in the hills of Tennessee. This is the log cabin experience, the full Eco-lodge facility. Feeding the goats and chickens happens twice a day, my cousins grow their own food, make their own cheeses and live in this idyllic up woods hideaway, close to grandchildren and not too close to town.
They don’t have a house alarm, but they do have a Great Pyrenees, to keep foxes, snakes and strangers away from the goats and chickens. This dog is the size of a bear. He takes his job as guardian to the family and animals very seriously. Once he gets to know you, he doesn’t bite, or so they promised us.
Our guardian in the mountains
We had several highlights to this portion of our journey, sitting on the porch and listening to the goats bleat, was almost a zen moment. You really relax here and enjoy the conversation. Discussions of politics are not allowed, so we were all calm and happy.
A rocker and a swing a great place to watch the sun go down.
We did go down the mountain and visit civilization because there was the excitement of a vintage car show. I could almost do a full blog on these gorgeous old cars that lined the streets in the center of town.
These cars were immaculate
It was great to stroll around the historic district and seeing beautiful old mansions, just a few hundred years old and still stately.
Stately Southern home
Everyone would agree that the most fun we had been the watermelon eating contest. Several young men ate a tenth of their weight in watermelon. Watermelon seeds were somehow distributed all over the yard and the boys. Getting together with cousins was a highlight of my childhood. Seeing all these cousins play brings back memories of making ice cream, eating watermelon and running outdoors in the yard with the dog.
Even though we aren’t sailing in the Med, we are enjoying azure skies and the beautiful country of the US. We are in my Mother’s home state of Georgia, my ancestors were here when Georgia was still a colony, so the connection runs very deep. Ten minutes from landing at the Atlanta airport, my Southern accent is returning. When we were young and going to visit our grandparents, we would practice our Southern accents on the way down south.
We are off to visit cousins, Don and Becky at their gorgeous home just minutes from Atlanta. Hey you Sydney-siders, would you like to see what $1 million buys you in Atlanta, GA?
Elegant hospitality on offer
As elegant as the house is, it is the 4.87 acres of gardens and tennis court that captured my attention and my heart.
Turns out my cousin Don is a great landscaper and gardener, spending time on every aspect of this very special garden.
This is what Georgia looks like.
The garden remind me of Japanese gardens, but with the pine and hardwood forest as a backdrop instead of rice fields. We are in the country but within easy reach of Buckhead and Atlanta and we made the most of the shops in Buckhead and Peachtree City.
Georgia’s red clay means lushness
You don’t see or hear neighbours, but we did hear their rooster some mornings. We love our neighbours but this garden is serene.
The hospitality is wonderful in the South and we were spoiled with cousins Jerry and Marilyn coming and visiting us, Tanya having us down to her gracious home in Warner Robins and Judy and Butch making us lunch in Rome.
We went to a fabulous restaurant in Atlanta near Buckhead, New York Prime, to hear the wonderful impressionist, Maxwell Taylor reprise all the great male singers of the 20th Century. What a splendid evening.
Jerry, Becky, Don and us with Maxwell Taylor at New York Prime
Thanks Georgia for all the hospitality. It is so wonderful to visit and connect with that Georgia red clay.
