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Průhonice castle and park
The day before yesterday we moved the hands on our clocks one hour forward to enjoy longer evenings with more light, and it’s that time of the year when I begin to anticipate seeing colours returning to nature. In freshly growing grass, new lush leaves, delicate flowers, bushes in blossom, and in the bright sunny sky… But it’s always wise not to expect too much too soon. Until mid-May, we can still experience frosty days. Last year spring began warmly, but then the frost arrived mercilessly, burning the buds, flowers, and leaves – much was lost. This year the forecast suggests that April will be a cold month, which I…
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Kokořín castle and surroundings
In January, my husband came up with an idea to make a trip to Kokořín castle. He found a nice circuit path, and when the forecast was promising nice weather one Saturday, we set off. We parked in a small lot near the castle and began our hike through the forest. I can imagine that in summer the area is visited by quite a lot of tourists but at this time of the year we did not come across many people. Just a few pairs and families and one bigger group, which actually was not bad at all. Kokořín castle is situated in a protected landscape area with sandstone rocks…
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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…
