7/31 Tree of Life

7/31 Morning showers, breakfast, and we were all (Joe, Lyn, Serge, Mamer, Merlines and Matthew) off to Sunday service at St. Thomas - a beautiful church inundated with embellishments on every surface in true baroque style. The mass was in English, which was nice, and the harmonies of the three-woman-choir were quite angelic.

St. Thomas Church

   

more of St. Thomas Church... 

After mass we walked across the street to Starbuck's for coffee and snacks before beginning our journey to Dobriv - a small village of about 2000 people - and home to the Maseks - relatives of Joe's great grandmother.  Sister Kath and her daughter Amy uncovered the Maseks on a visit to the Czech Republic in 2009 by using a birth certificate from Joe's grandfather, Frantisek Zenisek to identify the village. Once there, locals helped them track down the Maseks and thus began a transoceanic correspondence. The advantage we had on this visit is that they knew we were coming and thus had prepared an itinerary to give us as much information about our family roots in the village as possible.

 

Starbucks, Starbucks, everywhere ...taking over the world

One and a half hours after leaving Prague, across a predominantly forested landscape strangely reminiscent of the Cascade foothills as home, we arrived in the small village of Dobriv, searching for the Masek house.

We knew we had found the correct cottage when we saw Edward Masek (Eda) - the senior at 82 years old, waiting outside the front hedge with a warm smile to greet us. We were immediately shepherded through the front door and into the living room where the assembled family members stood in a line to welcome us. Present was Eda and his wife, Vera; their son Edward, his girlfriend Anna, and his daughter Andrea; and a childhood friend of Vera - also Anna - whom they had asked to join us as a translator. Absent were Eda and Vera's daughter, Vera and Edward's son, Jan who both live in Prague and whom had arranged to meet us tomorrow. We sat close around a long coffee table provided with coffee and tea and homemade sandwiches and pastries. Eda almost immediately produced a family tree he had drawn tracing the genealogy and ownership of the land back to 1804 and the construction of the cottage sometime afterward. He provided us with a copy and asked that we complete the tree up to the present day - which Serge agreed to complete soon after returning to the States after which he promised to send Eda a copy. it was cozy, noisy and ice with Anna acting her part to carefully translate. At one point we broke out a small album of relatively recent family pictures and the gift of a Pendleton wool blanket from Oregon which we offered to Eda and Vera against the cold Dobriv winters. Eda also shared a book he had written about the history of a local Sokol for which he had received awards and commendations. He authors by hand - no typewrite or computer. We were informed that his next project was going to be a Czech history! May we all have such ambition when  we are 82! During the chat we discovered that Andrea - a teenager just starting the equivalent of ninth grade - was also quite fluent in English, and Serge spent a great deal of the rest of the visit exchanging information and finding out all kinds of things about the Czech language and culture.

 

finally found the roots ... Eda, Anna (the interpreter), Anna, in green (Eda Jr.'s girlfriend) ...

  Vera, a school teacher loves children, with granddaughter Andrea and guest, Matthew...

Before we knew it, it was time to regain the shoes which we had left inside the front door upon entering earlier and continue to the next stop that had been planned for us - a historic water-powered iron works. We just had time for a quick tour of the downstairs of the cottage and then we were out the door - Eda, Vera and Anna in one car, Edward, Anna and Andrea in their van, and we following behind.

 

 with Andrea, Anna, Eda Jr., Vera, Eda Sr., Anna, the interpreter

with Mamer, Merlines, and Matthew

A short drove later we arrived at the site which consisted of a long building beside a narrow canal which directed water through a sluice gate and down a raised trough along the side of the building that once fed five water wheels connected to various instruments inside the building for working the locally mined iron ore. The instruments included two large 'hammers' that were lifted by the turning of the turning of wheel shaft and allowed to drop on hot iron to shape it. Large billows for heating a small furnace and smithy had also once been driven by the water wheels. There was also a still-active system of belts and wheels that powered sharpening wheels and other tools. During the tour, guides demonstrated the power of the water -hammer to shape iron. Serge and Mamer were also given a chance to shape a nail on an anvil by the forge. Eda explained to us that our grandfather, Josef Zenisek, had been a local iron worker and had moved to Cleveland along with other locals to work in the steel mills after the iron industry in Dubriv had slowed down during the late 1800's. Joe was reminded of his daily trips in high school on the Cleveland Rapid Transit past the iron mills billowing fire and smoke in the flats...

the iron mill....

 inside the iron works with Eda, Sr., Anna and the tour guide...

Serge trying his hand at smithing ...

From the iron works we walked a path between the canal and the river that had been dammed upstream above the iron works to feed it, at one point crossing a small historic bridge reminiscent of some we had walked in Venice, called the Swedish bridge - complete with guardian statuary.  We continued on the pathway, enjoying the water, greenery and trees - Liden, the national tree, Andrea informed us. We continued on until the path turned away from the river, gently climbing, until we reached a historic hillside district consisting of old cottages including the Czech version of a log cabin - a cottage built of squared-off timbers - dark with white caulking.  We walked a bit further, welcomed by several barking dogs, until we came to cottage number 65 which we were told the Zeniseks had occupied before leaving Dobriv over a hundred years ago for Cleveland! We got the impression that ringing the bell and announcing ourselves would not be appropriate, and so we satisfied ourselves with snapping pictures of the house behind its surrounding fence and hedge and eventually began the walk back to the cars.

 

cottage no. 65 ... the last known dwelling of the Dobriv Zeniseks ....

feeling the past ...

 

the blood relative from USA - cottage no. 65 ...

 lovable Eda ...

 crossing the Swedish bridge...

From this immersion into the past, we moved back into the present with a visit to Edward's (the junior) home - which he had built himself over a period of about three years and continued to improve on. It's a small, well-kept, attractive home with a walled in garden that can be appreciated through the glass doors and windows from the living and dining rooms, where we sat and enjoyed another round of snacks as well as a champagne toast. Edward and Anna bestowed a gift of homemade dandelion wine - which we look forward to sampling at some future auspicious occasion as they suggested waiting one or two years to let it peak before opening it. While their they shared a book Anna had created of their month long, 2400 mile, bike trip through Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. The photographs - as well as the journey itself - were beautiful, attesting to Anna's skill at her hobby of shooting pictures. We invited them to peddle across the United States to visit us in Portland.

Eda, Jr.'s front yard

"Lolo" (Grandpa) Eda & "Lola" (Grandpa) Vera ...

chatting with cousin Eda, Jr. ...

Anna, our translator, then informed us it was getting late and we needed to move on to our final destination, a historic farm turned restaurant a few kilometers outside the village - a venue they use for special occasions. Once there, we spread ourselves out around a long table marked with "Reserved" signs, with our two translators - Anna and Andrea in the middle.  We proceeded to enjoy the conversations and a delicious meal. Serge enjoyed a traditional Czech dish, roasted duck, at the recommendation of Andrea. The meal ended with an exchange of addresses, emails, and finally, if briefly, of songs -  including what Serge could remember of Czech song he had learned in one of his music groups some years ago - to the great delight of our hosts. This might have been just the beginning of a bout of singing (Joe was certainly willing) except that we could see that the oldest and youngest members of our party were growing tired. Next time!

good times had by all...

We parted with warm hugs, handshakes,  and cheek kisses in the parking lot - wondering when we might next see these wonderful people who have completely endeared themselves to us, fully aware that at least we would maintain contact through letters and emails and Facebook. Edward, Anna, and Andrea remained waving us off as we turned and headed back to Prague…

happy family ....

so long and goodbye until next time...

8/8 Home Again

8/8 We have truly enjoyed this shared trip of a lifetime for which we are ever grateful.

However, it is just the first of our escapes to the continent … we are going back to Europe! We must! But until next time: Arrivederci, Auf Wiedersehen ; Ahoj, Au Revoir, and Goodbye! - Thanks for following!

Joe, Lyn and Serge

8/7 Going nowhere fast

8/7 We didn't sleep long - up at 3:15AM to pack and head to the airport. The night attendant called a cab - several times - which finally arrived after not being able to find the hotel - "What about the airport?" Joe asked half-jokingly. The cabbie was friendly but didn't speak much English - just enough to inform us that he was n't a 'regular' taxi -whatever that meant! Nonetheless after a FAST drive that would be the envy of any Manilla cab driver, we arrived in one piece at the airport and got checked in. Unfortunately the 7:25AM flight to Amsterdam  - where we were supposed to transfer to a nonstop flight to Portland,  was delayed. So we were rebooked on a 1:25PM to Boston to catch a connection to Portland. This flight, however, was also delayed leaving little hope that we would make the Portland connection. We slept in the airport, had lunch and finally left at 3PM seated in the last row.  We did enjoy watching a couple good movies on the flight.

About 20min out of Boston, the flight attendants moved us to the business class at the front of the plane in a futile gesture to help us make our connecting flight which was scheduled to leave 15min after our arrival. Keep in mind we would still have to retrieve our luggage and go through customs - and so of course we did not make the connection. And then the nightmare began. The problem stemmed from having been booked on another carrier. While our reservations had been through Delta/Air France, our missed connection was on Alaska. They didn't want to assume responsibility for us and sent us back to Delta, who also didn't want to assume responsibility for us and so began a long three hour trek between terminals A, B and E, hauling all our luggage as we went from carrier to carrier trying to get a flight home. At once point - only AFTER a phone call - did we find out that Air France had actually booked us on another flight, but after waiting in line for an hour their, we discovered that the reservation was no good as they had neglected to issue tickets (besides which they forgot to tell us when we left the plane1).

FINALLY, Air France re-booked us on a flight to PDX for the following day and, after another long hike between terminals, provided us with vouchers for a hotel and meals. We ended up with one more night in luxury accommodations at the Hilton attached to the airport (only another long walk - but hey, we'd been taking long walks for WEEKS!). We had a nice dinner, a refreshingly long sleep, and relaxing breakfast before boarding our flight without incident the following day.

7/30 Them bones, them bones, them, dry bones,,,

7/30 Saturday! - meaning Mamer and Merlines do not have to go into work and so it's time for a Road Trip! While originally planning to race to Berlin for the day by train, we happily altered our plans to visit some sights outside Prague. Right after breakfast we filled the car (Joe was thankful his long legs ensured him a front seat) and drove out of the city towards Karlstein - Charle's IV's " Castle of the Holy Grail and The Spiritual Heart of Europe."  The castle was built a days ride from Prague on a steep bluff, accessible by a single road and surrounded by higher hills that make it invisible from the countryside. It's main purpose was to house the most valuable treasures in the kingdom - the imperial sacred insignia - which authenticated the holder as the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire and confirmed him as God's representative on earth. The sacred insignia included many items passed on and added to over many centuries. including the royal crown, scepter and golden orb; special coronation and ceremonial garments; the Holy Spear - or Spear of Destiny which housed a nail from the cross; a sword passed on from Charles the Great who some belief received it from the Archangel Gabriel; and many other assorted treasures and relics.

Karsltein castle ... no pictures allowed inside ...

It took about an hour and a half drive in a rare summer rain shower to reach the parking lot. We pulled out the umbrellas and choosing not to take a horse drawn 'taxi,' began the three kilometer walk up to the castle. The castle remained invisible until we entered the narrow cobblestone road that followed a ravine lined with what may once have been small medieval cottages but had since become a series of gift shops, cafes and restaurants. Once at the castle we purchased tickets for a tour in English through the Nicolaus and Marianne Towers and the Emperor's Palace. It was an inside look at the life of monarchs in the relative simplicity of a fortified rural-retreat.

The little village at the foot of the castle ...

 fueling up for more energy - midway on our climb up to Karlstein castle ...

 

 The princess that wasn't meant to be ...

 treasured bell of the castle ...

Mamer, Merlines and Matthew - descent from Karlstein castle ....

After the tour we returned back down the cobblestone way, still in the rain, purchased some snacks to eat in the car, and got back on the road for a two hour journey to the town of Kutna Hora, site of St. Barbara - a classic gothic cathedral, and near to the Sedlec Ossuary which is also known as   "The Bone Church."  Kutna Hora was once the silver capital of Czech state where the coin of the realm was struck. The cathedral was built as an expression of the wealth and ambitions of the townspeople, even before the area had been assigned a bishop that in other circumstances might have initiated such a massive project. Instead, the locals were competing with cathedrals and churches built in nearby towns. It began in 1384 and was competed until the mid 16th century. It also underwent many renovations over the years, including the breathtaking stained class windows from the turn of the 20th century - which explains their 'modernistic' look. The immense structure is a textbook of gothic architecture, encircled with flying buttresses and spires that seem to dissolve heavenward, and an inner space that soars skyward bathed in light through the towering stained glass windows that replace the more solid walls of Romanesque basilica.

the gothic Santa Barbara cathedral ...

front altar of Santa Barbara ...

 

 one of the many beautiful stained glass windows ...

such a lovely creation of humankind ...

amazing to think this intricate work was  done by hand ...

After straining our necks to appreciate the many fine details, it was time to jump back in the car if we hoped to view the infamous "bone church" a few kilometers away. We arrived one minute before closing, but the attendant - taking mercy on our damp condition and somehow taking perceiving our 'this is our only last chance to view this wonder' status, let us in to marvel at this setting could-be-perfect-setting for Tales from the Crypt. We descended the stairs into the Ossuary crypt below the chapel where the skulls and bones of thousands decorated every available space - with a massive 'chandelier' of skeletal remains dominating the chamber. The empty eyes of skulls made us curious about the many lives they represented and in their deaths they reminded us of how blessed we were to be here, now, celebrating the temporary gift of our own lives…The "Bone Church" is fascinating: depending on how you take it - for others, the bones are a reminder of mortality and for some people, it is simply a beautiful expression of art and remembrance of those who passed away while few commented " it is the living that scares me - the bones don't hurt you". If you wish to learn more about the history of the Sedlec Ossuary you can click this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedlec_Ossuary

  

entrance to the lower chapel of Sedlec Ossuary ...

 

yes... this chandelier is made out of carefully arranged human bones ... 

another artfully arrangement of human bones ....

 

The warriors of the 15th century ....

We returned to the land of the living and found a local restaurant at which to feed these lives and then drove the two hours back to Prague. Along the route across an expansive rural landscape of forested areas and broad open fields of grass, hay rounds, and unknown grains. Several times deer were spotted in the evening twilight in small groups - by everyone except Joe - much to his chagrin!  It was fully dark by the time we arrived home, everyone ready for bed, except sweet Matthew who had fallen fast asleep some time ago...

midnight snack and then back to sweet dreams ...

went kaput ...

On our last day in Prague, the logic board on Serge's laptop went kaput! We have no access to pictures nor to our drafted blogs... We are going to post a completed blog and pictures of our adventures when we get back to the USofA. We created this blog with an idea that this is going to be our daily journal. We've had many adventures since the computer was out of commission... we explored the inside of Palace Schronbrun in Vienna and trod the beautiful city of oppulence and wealth ... climb the Eiffel Tower, saw the original Mona Lisa, view the antiquities of ancient Greece including the sculpture of Diana in Paris' Louvre museum. We also viewed the original painting of Chrysanthemums by Monet at the Musee D'Orsay and so much more ... Paris lives up to its reputation - a city of love and beauty!

What's in a name ...

7/29 The starting point of our explorations today was the Philippine Embassy, where we accompanied Mamer and Merlines to work after breakfast. The embassy is within the border of Stare Mesto (Old Town) so we immediately headed for the Old Town Square. As in every other place we've visited we have sought out a tower to climb, in this case it was the Old Town Hall clock tower. it was a short climb compared to some of the other structures we've mounted, but the views of the square below and the city were no less enjoyable. One of the most intriguing features of the 600 year old tower is a medieval astronomical clock with two faces that show: the day of the month, the feast days, the season depicted in a painting (today, women with sickles harvesting wheat), the astrological sign, Babylonian time - aka planet time based on ancient Babylon time that designated 12 hours between sunrise and sunset - as is used in the Bible, Old Bohemian time - aka Italian time with a 24 hour day beginning at sunset, German time - which like modern time divides the day into two 12 hour segments, Sidereal time time which is related to the movement of the stars other than the sun, the day of the lunar month and the phase of the moon, and the sun's movement through the zodiac including marking the equinoxes and solstices. It includes multiple coordinated rotating hands and disks - perhaps the highest expression of medieval math and scientific understanding about the universe! On the hour, bells ring, the twelve apostles parade before two windows and turn as they pass to face the crowds below, a skeleton dances and turns an hour glass, and turn a golden crowing cock appears to mark the end of the spectacle - almost - for last but not least a trumpeter (live) in medieval dress trumpets out the change of hours from the top of the tower. We left our perch in the tower just in time to be standing before the clock to watch the passing of the eleventh hour, after which we took seats at a cafe and enjoyed some coffee and pastries.

getting ready to climb ...

the astronomical clock of Prague ...

we made it ....

big deal ...  an easy climb ...

view of Prague's castle from the tower ...

 bird's eye view of town's square ...

One of the purposes of our visit to Prague was to connect with family on both the Philippine side - Mamer, Merlines and Mathew - and on the Zeniseks  side. And one of our objectives on the Zenisek side was to view some of the artwork of Frantisek Zenisek - a significant Czech artist from the turn of the 20th century. To this end we headed back to the National Museum after our coffee break where Frantisek has two large lunette (hemisphere shaped) murals in The Pantheon -  the central hall of the entire building. After walking up the long Vaclavske Namesti to the museum we were disappointed to discover that it closed for renovation until 2015. 

So we walked back to the Old Square, and across the Charles Bridge once again and then proceeded on a long climb up to Prague Castle and St. Vitus' Cathedral that occupy a hilltop overlooking the city. We took a tour of the Old Royal Palace where we found out that it - and Prague - had once been 'center of the world' as the capital of the Holy Roman Empire for several hundred years. The castle has undergone numerous additions and renovations over the years that have absorbed and hidden the medieval fortifications that once surrounded it. One curiosity was the discovery of the Renaissance room heating that replaced huge open fireplaces with large metal boxes (ornate of course) within which fires were maintained out of view from adjoining rooms. Another was the Riders Staircase which allowed riders on horseback to dramatically enter the large Vladislav Hall for tournaments. The castle offered new views of the cityscape - but didn't allow photography.

From the earthly palace we entered the spiritual one of St Vitus. classic monstrous Gothic cathedral begun in the 14th century but only completed in 1929.  We were only permitted to view the cathedral from the back of the nave as we didn't have time for a formal tour. 

castles, palaces and dreams ...

entrance to the Prague palace ...

St. Vitus Cathedral inside the compound of Prague's palace...

Gothic architecture ... St. Vitus ...

 an intricate stained glass ...

the flying buttresses ... St. Vitus ...

We walked back down from the mount working our way toward the Old Town Square near which we were meeting Merlines and Mamer for dinner at the Kolkovma Restaurant across the street from the Municipal House where Mamer had discovered that Frantisek also had a large mural, the triptych "Song of Love, War and Death" - unfortunately it was too late to go in and view the piece!  After dinner, while Mamer was off taking care of some diplomatic business and Lyn and Merlines were shopping, Serge and Joe sat looking through "Prague: A Detailed Picture Guide" - book they had purchased earlier in the day - looking for other references to Frantisek - and sure enough we found a third venue that featured works by the artist - The National Theatre - "the most important neo-Renaissance construction in Prague." Here Zenisek had several pieces including the original stage curtain - which unfortunately burnt down in a fire that ravaged the building only two months after its opening in 1881.  The theatre reopened two years later after a generous outpouring of donations from citizens across the nation. Zenisek's other works in the building include a triptych in central section of the ceiling in the main foyer, Fall of Art, Golden Age of Art, Resurrection of Art;  four wall paintings also in the main foyer, Life, Myth, History, and Heroic singing; and ceiling paintings of eight Muses in the main auditorium - Lyricism, Music, Painting, Architecture, Sculpture, Dance, Mime and Epic. Whether we will get a chance to view any of these works remains to be seen…

just another beautiful building in the old town square ...

the municipal art museum ...

a tribute to Mozart ... Don Giovanni was premiered in Prague

taking a break in the old town square ...

arch of the Powder Tower ... where the Czechs turned lead into gold ...

We returned for coffee and dessert to the Municipal House - significant structure in its own right as one of the most celebrated examples of Czech Art Nouveau. Over coffee, Mamer googled the birthplace and resting place of Zenisek and so after dinner we were off looking for a plaque on the side the apartment building where Zenisek had been born. We arrived at the area well after dark and began searching the older looking residential buildings for the plaque. Just when we were about to give up, Merlines and Serge spotted it - only quite high up the side of a relatively newer building - well above easy eye level - evidently attached to to the apartments that had replaced the original structure Zenisek grew up in.  No wonder we had missed it. We tried taking some photos through the dark with less than satisfactory success, and yet satisfied we had tracked down some new information about this distant relation - or is he? That is a question that was raised later when we met the relatives of my great grandmother - the Maseks - but that is a story for another day...

dinner time ... Kolkovma restaurant ...

the municipal house ...

with Merlines and Mamer - municipal house ...

shhh...

down time with Matthew ...