Krivoklat Castle, Czech Republic

The Krivoklat Castle was our last stop in the Czech Republic.  It gave us a chance to admire the Czech country side and see a few other castles in the hills along the way.  This is an older castle which was originally built as a hunting castle for Bohemian kings then later used as a royal prison.  There have been several rebuilds on this site due to fire.  The current structure was built in 1800s. 

I liked this simplistic castle.  The grounds were small and craftsman were scattered about.  There were a few things to do for people of all ages such as a small archery demo and even an old fashioned coin press where you do the work and a small play area for kids. This was a great place for my girls to stretch their legs.  We parked near the castle and had just a short walk to the grounds.  A 30 minute tour is offered (not sure if they offer it in English) but we skipped it because it is hard to keep the girls quiet for such a long stretch of time and they really have quick fingers that want to touch everything...which does not go over well with the guides.

This door was stunning.  I love the contrast between the iron and red paint.



Thanks for sticking around as I finished up the photos from our last trip to Berlin, Prague and the Czech Republic.  We have had a busy summer and now that fall is here we plan on being home a bit more.  Come back tomorrow as I have a Rick Steves' Eastern Europe DVD to giveaway to one of my readers.  Next week I will get back to the scrapping side of things for a bit as I have been busy making some decorations and completing some scrappy layouts. 

Have a great Saturday!

Sedlec Bone Church, Czech Republic

The Sedlec Bone Church  is a mildly interesting church located about an hour outside of Prague and if you are in the area worth a quick stop but unless you are really interested in bones arranged into piles and chandeliers I wouldn't go out of my way to visit.  We were driving from Krakow and James wanted to stop so we planned on this visit a couple of months ago.

The bones are from roughly 40,000 people who were buried in the church cemetery in the 1300s but the current arrangement of bones is from the 1870s.  I found the building to have a stronger than normal musty smell and went outside while James took the photos.

The chandelier contains at least 1 of every bone in the human body.



It should come as no surprise that James liked it more than I did. A bit creepy and slightly interesting for at least a minute. At least it wasn't expensive to take a quick look around...50 crowns or roughly $2.50 per adult and students were discounted.

At least, with the help of the Pioneer Woman's Photoshop actions and the CK Pirate Font, I was able to use a photo for our Halloween Party invitation which I designed all by myself!

Krakow, Poland

After we left Berlin we drove into Boleslawiec, Poland so I could pick up a few pieces of polish pottery on our way to Krakow.  If you are interested in reading about the history of this beautiful pottery click here.  The town has an abundance of factory stores but we went in search of the Zaklady store after a recommendation from another blog ( I can't remember the site).  The photo above is of giant pieces of pottery in front of the store. 

I was so excited to finally start my collection of beautiful pieces.  I was shocked at how very affordable everything was and the most difficult decision was what pattern I wanted.  I ended up going with a simple pattern that I should be able to find later on when I want to purchase more.  I left the store with salt and pepper shakers, a small bottle with stopper, gravy boat, sugar bowl and small creamer, small platter, small and medium sized serving bowls and spent roughly $59!  They sell the sugar bowl and creamer for close to 20 euros at the small kiosks at the Px!  I am glad I held out to get my pieces.  Since the Jeep was full of our luggage, sleeping cots for the girls and strollers I had the pottery by my feet for the rest of the trip! 

So after my quick shopping trip (less than 30 minutes) we continued in to Krakow. We really enjoyed our trip to Krakow in May (if you want to check out that post please click here) but unfortunately for us we were in Krakow while many areas of Poland were experiencing severe flooding.  This time around we had beautiful weather so we were able to do a lot more walking and exploring.  We checked out the Wawel Dragon because last time we could not walk down by the river to see it.  This statue actually blows flames out of his mouth every few minutes and was a fun, quick stop. 

We took a quick tour of the Old Jewish Cemetery which was used from 1552 to 1800.  After World War II the cemetery was renovated and the damaged headstones were used to make a mosaic wall around the grounds. 

We walked from the Jewish Quarter over to the "Ghetto" for a tour of the recently renovated Oskar Schindler's Factory.  A brand new exhibit takes you through Krakow during World War II.  There is much to see here but strollers are not permitted so we had to rush through as the girls were more than ready for a nap.  There are video screens at certain points that have the option of translating the text into English and but the newspapers and other documents that are on display are not translated at all, which was a bit of a disappointment but hopefully something they think to add in the future.  The last room of the museum is covered in newspaper and then coated in layers of wax. So interesting to look at. 

We only had one problem while we were in Krakow and using the public transportation.  James purchased our tram tickets from the ticket window at the station near the hotel as we did not have a small enough bill to stick into the ticket machine.  The lady helping him did not speak any English but another lady did and James told her we needed a ticket.  We validated the tickets as soon as we boarded the tram and went about our business.  After visiting Schindler's Factory we hopped back on the tram.  A stop or two later a group of 3 men got on and as soon as the tram was underway one of them got up and started checking passenger tickets.  As they approached us we fumbled to find our tickets and James handed them to the gentleman.  The guy was mad at us and told us we had to pay a fine because our ticket wasn't valid.  Huh?  We just purchased the ticket in the morning and validated it right away.  We had to get off the tram and another guy who spoke English told us that we had to pay a fine before we could get back on the tram because the ticket that was given to James was only valid on the weekends and we were traveling on a Tuesday.  The lady sold us the wrong ticket!  So after a few minutes of disagreeing the dude told us to purchase the correct ticket before boarding the tram again and they went on their way and we did not pay a fine. 

This was seriously a bit scary because we have been told about people who pretend to be these inspectors that will target unsuspecting tourists to try and steal money from them.  After we made it back to the hotel we spoke to the manager who assured us it was legit.  We attempt to use public transportation whenever we possibly can while in large cities and we have never been stopped to show tickets before. 

This wraps up our trip to Krakow.  I am so glad we were able to get back and see the things we missed last time due to the rain.  I really love Krakow!  It is an old city that is often overlooked when people are planning their European vacations.  I know Eastern Europe isn't as exciting as France but it deserves more attention from tourists.  The locals are friendly, hotels and food are reasonably priced and there is plenty of sights, shopping and cafes to help fill your days.  As long as you have a valid tram ticket Krakow is easy to get around. 

Birkenau Concentration Camp, Poland

After our visit to Auschwitz we drove the short distance to Birkenau.  After Auschwitz became too small for what the Nazi's had envisioned they took this piece of land and built it up into a second camp.  The train tracks lead back to a dividing platform where families were separated forever.  Those who were chosen to work went off to the left, those who were deemed unfit were sent straight to the gas chambers.  You will notice in the photos that there are not a lot of buildings and that is because most of the buildings were destroyed and used for fuel after the camp was liberated.  The buildings that are standing now were actually rebuilt from materials left from the original structures.  The Nazi's destroyed the four crematoriums prior to their departure ahead of the Allied Forces arrival so all that remain are ruins. 

The train tracks lead to the dividing platform and then the back of the camp.

Toilets from a latrine building.

Bunks where an average of 400 prisoners slept.

View of the camp from the dividing platform.

Looking back towards the gate from the dividing platform.

Rail car placed here as a memorial to the Hungarian Jews that were murdered.

Only the chimneys of many buildings remain today.

Crematorium ruins

Camp monument in tribute to all that were murdered here.

Visiting the two camps was a very sad experience for me but seeing it all first hand was important to me.  Of all of our travels so far this was by far the most meaningful place we have visited and I hope that if you have the opportunity to come here that you do.  Reading about this part of history is so important but seeing it all up close really gives a new perspective on the horrible crimes committed against millions of innocent people. 

Auschwitz Concentration Camp, Poland

We visited the Auschwitz Concentration Camp while we were in Krakow.  The memorial is just over an hour away by car but you can also get their using public transportation.  I don't have too much to say about this as we all know the inhumane things that took place at Auschwitz.  I was mostly surprised to learn of the horrible medical experimentation that was done to women and children here. 

The memorial is nicely set up but it can be a little difficult to get in and out of the buildings because of the amount of people that were there and the narrow stairways.  The displays inside of each building were informative.  Photos of camp victims lined the hallways...their names were listed as well as the day they arrived at Auschwitz and the day they died.  It was so sad to see many people only lasted months before they died.  In the building where personal belongings were displayed it was terrible to see piles of childrens and infants clothes...I think that may have been the hardest part for me to see.  I can not even begin to imagine the horrific things these people experienced. 

Small building for the guards to stand in during bad weather.

Courtyard where prisoners were executed.  The windows were covered so prisoners could not see what was happening.

Just a couple of miles away is the Birkenau Camp which we also visited.  I will have this photos posted tomorrow as my internet is running very slow today. 

Berlin - Part 3

Berlin is a great city to spend a few days touring.  There is plenty of diverse sites to keep you busy and satisfy any sightseeing desires you might have.  There is a lot of WWII sites but just as many amazing museums to see as well.  We had a fantastic time (in spite of the 90+ degree temps) and enjoyed walking all over the city.  We did spend a fair amount of time visiting WWII sites as we felt it was important to share such a sad, yet important part of recent history with my 14 year old step son. 

The American soldier portrait stands in front of Checkpoint Charlie.

Not too far from our hotel is this amazing part of the Berlin Wall that was not torn down.  It was instead turned into an fantastic work of art.  Artists from all over the world came to Berlin to paint beautiful and interesting murals along this stretch.  Even while walking along this outdoor art gallery and admiring all the paintings I couldn't help but wonder what was on the other side of the wall.  I cannot imagine how terrible it must have been to be separated from loved ones for such a long time. 

These were just a few of our favorite murals, there is no way I could add all the photos we had taken on this part of our trip.  I don't know the artists that painted these but I would share the info if I had it.

I hope this short series of posts inspires you to want to visit Berlin.  This is a vibrant, youthful city with so much to offer its visitors.  If you want to read my previous post from July 2009 please click here.

Berlin - Part 2

We visited the cupola located on top of the Reichstag Building.  It was an wonderful 360 degree look at Berlin.  As you make your way to the top of the cupola you get a decent history of Berlin and surrounding architecture, thanks to the headsets we were given on our way in.  The views were pretty amazing, inside and out.  It is an easy stroll to the top, even with strollers. 

This ginormous set of mirrors in the middle of the dome reflects light into the chambers located below.  The first photo is from the base looking up and the second one is looking down from the top.

In the first photo you can see rows of  stone rectangles with the Reichstag building in the distance.  We noticed this on our stroll in the dome.  It is a Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.  It is rows and rows of stone, all of varied sizes but lined up in straight rows.  This is just past the Brandenburg Gate and certainly worthy of a stop. 

The last photo for today is of the Ampelmann, the cutest crosswalk dude ever.