Prague Wrap-up and Wadern, Germany

Prague Wrap-up and Wadern, Germany, July 22-26

For our third day in Prague, we decided to take a day trip out to Kutna Hora, a historical town about 45 miles east of Prague. We checked the train schedule and decided we would catch the train that left at noon. We walked to the station, about 15 minutes from our hotel, bought our tickets, found our platform and boarded our train. It was a beautiful day with bright blue skies, but we could tell it would be a scorcher. This became more evident as we sat on the train for the hour-long journey in a non-air-conditioned compartment and a window that didn’t open. We arrived, drenched in sweat, at the main train station and walked across the platform to board the local train that would take us to our first destination which was Sedlec, on the outskirts of Kutna Hora to see the infamous Sedlec Ossuary, also known as the Bone Church, which we had heard so much about. While just a small chapel, it didn’t look like much on the outside, we walked in to a small foyer and descended down a flight of stairs, which were flanked by two massive five-foot tall chalices on either side of the stairs, that were made of human bones.

The church was quite small, but it was eerily beautiful and fascinating. Straight ahead we saw a huge chandelier, said to include at least one of every bone in the human body. Surrounding the chandelier were “garlands” made of alternating skulls and femur bones, strung together and decoratively draped in graceful scallops, anchored to the ribs of the vaulted ceiling. There were four pyramidical piles of skulls, precisely stacked, and each about 10 feet tall. Also remarkable was a coat of arms on the wall, also made entirely of human bones. We stayed long enough to marvel in sick fascination, and take plenty of pictures, of course.

We caught the shuttle that took us to the town center, where our friendly driver dropped us off next to a restaurant which he highly recommended. The quiet town was an absolute breath of fresh air after the hustle and bustle of Prague and all of the other big cities we had visited on our tour. We walked leisurely toward one of the town’s major highlights, St. Barbara’s Cathedral, admiring the beautiful surrounding hilly terrain, with vineyards cascading town the slope toward the valley below. We explored the beautiful Gothic church, taking photographs, and enjoying the rare opportunity to climb up to the upper level of the building for a unique perspective to admire the beautiful architecture and statues from up close. I was particularly intrigued by the gorgeous golden choir of angels flanking the pipe organ, so intricate and beautifully carved and painted when viewed from the front, yet as we walked along the narrow balcony behind the organ, the backs of the statues were just crudely hewn, rough wooden shapes, as it didn’t matter. From the nave there was no way to see the backs of them. After the cathedral, we spent another hour or so wandering, stopping at a small kiosk at the top of a sloping vineyard to sample some delicious, sweet white wines. Though Prague is known for its beer, this region just 45 miles east is known for wine production. We walked back through town where we stopped once again to sample some local mead. We then returned to the restaurant where our shuttle driver had dropped us off a couple of hours earlier. His recommendation was spot on, as that was the best meal we had had in Prague; fresh, delicious, perfectly cooked food and friendly service. With full bellies, we happily caught the train back to Prague, and luckily the windows opened this time.

The next day was pretty chill. We tracked down a laundromat, about a 10 minute walk away, and packed up our dirties and dropped them off. We then caught a tram to the Vyserhad, a historic Czech fort which afforded some lovely views of the river and city. We had lunch in a little beer garden, found a playground and allowed Ewan to frolic for a bit. We explored an old cemetery where many notable Czech composers and artists are buried, including the famous composer, Antonin Dvorak and artist, Alphonse Mucha, whose incredible stained glass window we had seen a couple days prior at St. Vitus Cathedral.

We took a tram back to the hotel, where we relaxed for a while and Gavin was kind enough to go back to pick up our laundry. We then got ready to attend the show that we had purchased tickets for, the National Marionette Theater’s production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute. Before we departed, I had looked up the (long) synopsis of the storyline to share with Ewan to prepare him, as there were to be no subtitles. We walked to the theater and arrived in plenty of time to find good seats, just three rows back. The theater was full of families, and a large high school group from South Korea, whose teacher chaperone made friendly conversation with us before the show started. The production was very engaging with intricate marionettes, a colorful and creative backdrop, and of course Mozart’s captivating melodies. It turned out, unsurprisingly, to be a very abridged version (as it had to be to fit into a 60 minute production), leaving out several of the characters and plot lines that I had just finished reading to Ewan. No matter, Ewan and I still followed along, mesmerized. Gavin found it to be a fine opportunity for a nap. 

After the show we wandered around the crowded main square in search of souvenirs and an appropriate dining venue to celebrate our last night in Prague. We had a lovely dinner outside at a very good restaurant at the edge of the square, and then we slowly wandered back through Old Town to the hotel, doing a little shopping along the way.

The next morning we packed up and took the hotel car to the airport. We were flying Lufthansa to Frankfurt, and I have to say I was so impressed with the airline after always flying United. As we boarded the plane, the flight attendant handed Ewan a small Lego package of the Airbus plane that we were flying and a pack of gummy bears, to his absolute delight.

Though we were in economy, they served complimentary food and drinks, even alcohol. It was a quick flight, and we picked up our rental car and headed toward Wadern, the small village in Southwest Germany where Gavin did a high school exchange program back in the early ‘90s. His exchange partner, Jörg, and he developed a very special friendship and managed to keep in touch through the years--Jörg even came to visit us in 1999 when we lived in Portland. Two years ago on our last European vacation, we stayed with Jörg and his family and had a wonderful time. It was a two hour drive from Frankfurt, and we arrived to a warm welcome from Jörg, his wife Nadine, and his two boys Nils and Finn, who are just around Ewan’s age. It took Ewan less than two minutes before he had changed into his swim trunks and in the pool with the boys.

We sat by the pool drinking beers and catching up. Nadine took Nils to his evening soccer practice, while Jörg prepared a traditional German barbecue, like we had experienced on our last visit. He loaded up a round grill, suspended over a wood-burning fire from a tripod stand, with a fantastic array of sausages, chops, and kebabs. When Nadine and Nils returned, we all sat down and enjoyed a delicious dinner and spend the rest of the evening reminiscing and enjoying each other’s company.

The rest of our visit was extremely relaxing, rather uneventful, which was just what we needed after a couple of very busy weeks sightseeing. The next day brought rain and dreary skies, though that didn’t prevent Nils from needing to attend his scheduled soccer game. Nadine took him, and the rest of us lounged. Ewan and Finn watched TV and played on their iPads, and I sprawled on the couch reading, having been sucked into the Percy Jackson series that Ewan had convinced me to start and got me hooked. Later that afternoon we rallied and drove to an indoor playground called Bosiland, much like Pump It Up or the Jungle, although the difference being that this civilized German kiddie haven was equipped with a full bar. Ahhh, you gotta love Europe.

 Though we only indulged in non-alcoholic, caffeinated beverages, it made me smile knowing I could take the edge off this noisy Slice of Hell with tall frosty glass of a German lager or fine cabernet if I really needed it. We spent a couple of hours there, the boys having sufficiently burned off their pent up, rainy-day energy, emerged from the netted play structure positively drenched in sweat and HUNGRY. We gave them a snack, but realized that it was dinner time. We decided it would be easiest to head to the local pizzeria in sleepy, downtown Wadern, rather than make dinner. Service was slow, but dinner was tasty. After dinner we emerged into the town’s main square where we heard a ZZ Top cover band rocking out in front of its spartan audience of a couple dozen locals. Though slightly tempted to stay and offer support to the rather pathetic crowd, we headed home for the evening.

For our final day in Germany, we had planned to drive to the city of Trier, about a half hour’s drive away near the border of Luxembourg. Trier is famous for some notable Roman ruins, as well as the lovely Trier cathedral, which houses the Holy Tunic that Jesus is said to have worn when he died. Though we had originally planned to all go together, when we woke up that morning Nadine suggested that she stay home with the boys, since they really weren’t interested in going, and she had been many times. That made sense to us, as it would allow us to go in one car, and would significantly reduce the amount of whining we would hear that day. And so Jörg, Gavin and I headed to Trier, where Jörg actually worked as a police officer. He had contacted his friend and partner officer Eric, who lived in the town and had some suggestions of things for us to do and was texting back and forth with Jörg. We parked in the parking lot of Jörg’s police station, and walked to the quaint city center. We explored the cathedral, then headed back out into the town’s main square.

Jörg had asked if we would mind meeting up with Eric and his wife and teenaged son for a cup of coffee. We didn’t mind at all, and found each other at a local cafe, where a cup of coffee ended up turning into a lively, two hour conversation. As it turned out, Eric was Germany’s Biggest Apple Fan, and had endless questions and things to talk about with Gavin. At first the language barrier was difficult for me, but not as bad as one would expect. You see, when Gavin speaks German, I can pretty much understand everything he says, given we’ve been married so long that I have heard all of his stories before. And the Germans though shy to speak in English, seemed to understand every snippet of English that I contributed, and as the conversation progressed, they felt more comfortable and willing to engage in English. Even their teenage son tore himself a way from his smartphone a few times to converse with us. Though we didn’t end up exploring more of Trier, we had a lovely visit, but soon Nadine was texting Jörg asking when we would be heading back to the house, as she was preparing a traditional German lunch of “shni-po-sa” (schnitzel-potatoes-salad) for us. We felt bad, having left her with the boys for so long, so we headed back to the house for a large, late lunch. The rest of the day we hung out, and packed up our suitcases to prepare for our long journey home. We left the next morning, amidst hugs and sad farewells, making them promise to come visit soon.