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Kladruby monastery
The Benedictine monastery in Kladruby has not been actively used as a monastery for more than 200 years. Sadly enough, it resulted in gradual destruction of the historically important construction that came into existence in 12th century, and is only slowly repaired nowadays. The most impressive part of the monastery has undoubtedly been the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, which was rebuilt by the architect Jan Blažej Santini-Aichel in the baroque-gothic style at the beginning of 18th century. Santiny became an appreciated architect in his lifetime and his work is highly valued till nowadays. Just see, among all other modifications, Santiny replaced previous two romanesque towers in…
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By the pond in Kladruby
My husband drives a lot and some time ago he sent me as a surprise a quick photo of just a water reflection of a building he had just been passing by. I surprised him as well as I recognized which building it was. How could I not? I love the old monastery in Kladruby in all of its shapes and colours. A few weeks later we went for a trip there and I could see the whole scenery, including the old dilapidated house by the pond under the monastery wall. What an interesting view! The monastery is not actively used any more but you can visit guided tours, which…
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Wooden Titans
Not far from Charles bridge in Prague, you can find Museum Kampa, where the sculptress Emilie Benes Brzezinski has exhibited her wooden sculptures called Titans. We came across them while walking nearby and I loved immediately the wooden structure with all its texture, natural colors, intended cuts and iron clamps. It is mostly difficult to say what a piece of art represents but sometimes you can feel the pull towards it and you can hear the whispering telling you (un)believable and never told stories. Genuine art speaks without words and inspires… and that was what I was perceiving when meeting the Titans at the bank of the Vltava river… Some…
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Magnolia magic
Magnolia trees occur in many sizes, shapes and even colours, and I always love to see one. They are both impressive and delicate and decorate their surroundings beautifully. In their presence, I am sometimes feeling out of breath and could stare at them for quite a long time… The tree in my photos below grows in Prague, in a place above the river Vltava, where you can come and sit or walk in the park, and the vivid colour adds unmistakable magic to the place. Have you known that although Magnolias’ origin reaches far back to history, the trees were named Magnolia after a French botanist Pierre Magnol in 1703?…
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Unexpectedly beautiful
Some time ago my husband and I visited a small hydroelectric power station “Vydra” in Šumava mountains. Its history goes eighty years back but it was modernized and is still in operation when there is enough water to propel it. Adjacent, there is a small information centre showing some history and interesting facts about how local watercourses have been used and then there is a window, through which you can see the actual power station consisting of two Francis turbines and generators. I loved that glimpse into a technical colourful world where flowers and machines enhance one another and the high space adds certain loftiness to the whole view. Sometimes…
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Frosty walk in Rejvíz
The village Rejvíz in Jeseníky mountains is a place where I like to come back. I always enjoy strolling through the village and a walk to the adjacent Great Moss Lake is almost a must and definitely a welcome relaxation. During our last visit we could enjoy charming frosty views and as it was quite early in the morning, also not so many people in this usually quite intensively visited area. That was good, I find it important to get away from crowds here and there to listen to both sounds and silence of the nature around… When I was looking at my photos later at home and was editting…
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Botanical garden in Prague
Before winter definitely puts down roots here, I would like to share a few more photos from the botanical garden in Prague. We visited it many years ago and for quite a long time now I wanted to return there. This July we managed to do that and spent a beautiful afternoon amidst its flowers, trees, art pieces and wonderful views. It looked even more interesting than I remembered it… So here is a small selection of what I captured. Not everything looked so good in a photo as it looked in reality so e.g. my photos from the Japanese garden did not make it into this selection as they…
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For the love of succulents
As seen in and inspired by a botanical garden in Prague…
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Walk in Dobřív
There are many ways in which you get to know new places. I came to Dobřív along with my husband last year to capture some photos in the local hammer mill. We found out that next to the old mill there are also other interesting buildings in the village, houses keeping the air of old times. Here are a few photos from our walking around…
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By contrast
We encounter many contrasting places, objects, thoughts and people in our lives, some of them more prominent than others… In Giant Mountains, there are many nice old houses typical for the long-gone era of our ancestors. The houses look lovely and cosy, such as this one in Rokytnice nad Jizerou. In my opinion, there used to be different roofing material, this one looks too modern to me, but the house itself radiates the history. And it definitely shows a stark contrast to the contemporary houses in its surroundings. The new may not suit the old yet one day the new will become old as well and another level of contemporary…
