Reflections from time spent with family: 2

Since October, Jamie and I counted down the days to our moms’ arrival with such gusto that we made a paper-ring chain. Each day a link was ripped off, was a step closer to the warm embrace that would be upon us in Prague International Airport, terminal 2. We yearned to show our moms—and my brother; we can’t forget Jared—what our life for the past two years has been like. We wanted to have them taste the local flavors of pork and knedliky; I wanted to take Jared to a hockey game, where we would share a kielbasa (which we did) and be immersed in the flowering, artistic language of an upset sports fan; I wanted to show my mom a medieval Castle, where she would be able to not only imagine the fantasy of a ‘Fabio’ on a horse, but actually see his physical domain; and we wanted to walk with Debbie all over ‘Bohemian Kingdom come’ and see some of the fine works of the Czech painter Mucha, who has the ability to make any woman look as beautiful and light as sun coming through stained glass. However, most importantly, we wanted them all to meet our friends in Policka; seeing the people, not just the ‘sights’ from a tour book.

The trip started in Policka, where our days where awash in visits. In the morning, we would arise and walk into the city and around the fortress wall that encompasses the small center. For my mom, it was literally a fairytale. We shopped in some of the shops, bought some gingerbread houses in the bakery, went to the pottery store and bought some authentic, hand-made Czech mugs and bowls and then spent large chunks of our time in the art studio of my friend Vlada Gracias, where my mom bought almost EVERYTHING glass she could get her hands on—no, that’s an exaggeration.

We did most of our shopping in the morning, because the afternoon and evening saw us at the house of some friends for dinner, tea and glasses of wine. It was during these visits where our families got to ask personal questions about life, history and culture. I know that for both of our moms, these times spent in the houses of our Czech friends were the best, as it gave them a sense of the people of the country, the lifestyle and the opinions. My mom repeatedly said that the night she got to speak with Vlada and Lydia Hancil about the experiences under Communism was one that she will never forget. It was also in Policka where they were introduced to the Czech version of ‘hospitality’, which involves mysterious amounts of alcohol.

After about a week in Policka, we decided to spend the remaining seven days sight-seeing around the country. Our first path took us to the Southeast, where we stayed in the medieval city of Cesky Krumlov. Situated on a horseshoe-style bend of the Vltava river, Cesky Krumlov is built all within the natural ‘raindrop’ land formation that is formed from the curve (imagine the male end of a puzzle piece). There is a castle on the opposing cliff that overlooks the entire city. Since the land around Krumlov is rolling with hills, the city itself is built like a slowly rising mountain: the buildings closest to the banks of the river are the lowest in elevation, but as you climb up through the streets, you will eventually find that the church is at the apex, which is appropriate for all towns from this era, as the Church was seen as the central focus. What this gives us now, besides aching feet, is a barrage of twisting, turning alleyways, bridges and arches to walk under and breathtaking camera-friendly views. You can’t go anywhere in Cesky Krumlov without finding a beautiful Baroque building peeking out from behind the other splendidly dressed baroque structure right in front of your face. If you want romance, this is it.

We spent our days shopping and exploring, and by night we had, again, more wine, and played some Trivial Pursuit in the comfort of our hostel, which was another ‘first’ for our moms.

After Krumlov, we all loaded up in a train and embarked on the final ‘leg’ of our journey towards Prague. We didn’t get to spend too much time in the city, as Jamie and I had planned a few day trips: one to the Castle Karlstejn and the other to the “bone church” in Kutna Hora. Ignorant at the time that a large blizzard was fast approaching Central Europe, we continued with our plans.

Karlstejn was the day the snow began to fall, which did not bode well for our 2- mile walk up the side of a mountain to get the castle; however, the castle itself looked even more majestic with a white covering. To get to the fortification wall, you have to walk through a narrow village that sits within the crevice between to gargantuan hills—much like West Virginia. It would be easy to miss the Castle if one didn’t know where to look, as it is concealed so well. Yet, as we passed around a bend it showed itself from behind a tree line. My mom and I both stopped and looked up. The snowflakes were falling into our eyes, but there was just something enchanting about seeing flags being battered by the wind and twisting spires rising into gray clouds. We took a tour of the castle, which was great but absolutely FREEZING. In our hurry to descend down the hill, we stopped in a nice pub and indulged in a Czech favorite, Svickova.

The next day saw us on a train through the countryside. By this time, the snow was as deep as a half-a-foot. When we arrived at the stop in Kutna Hora, the conductor told us to step off. We were all confused, because we actually saw no platform, just mounds of snow and a small, wooden bench. He insisted that this was the stop. Consequently, much like jumping into a pool, we all fell from the train into a mound of snow that reached up to our shins. And from that point, we knew we had embarked on a day that would be full of surreal experiences.

Kutna Hora was once a very wealthy silver-mining town. They have many Cathedrals and churches, but there is one that stands out. On the outskirts of the city, there is a fairly small, almost chapel-like structure, surrounded by gravestones. In the 1500’s a nearly-blind monk was the caretaker of the chapel. No one really knows what motivated him to do what he did, but he had the idea to decorate the whole inside with human bones. And, he did just that. There is a bone chandelier, which claims to use every bone in the human body. There are literal pyramids of bones that must contain at least 15,000 human remains in one structure. There is a family crest, draperies, wall decorations and pillars all decorated in skulls and femurs. It is said that over 40,000 human remains were used in the decoration, and that most of them were victims of the Hussite Wars and the Black Plague. Needless to say, some of us loved the chance to see bones (Jared) and others, well, not so much (Pat).

The trip itself ended quietly, as we spent our last few nights taking in the atmosphere of Prague. Upon saying good-bye to Debbie, Pat and Jared, Jamie and I were once again left, alone, to reflect. The trip itself was a success in that we all had a wonderful time, but it was also important in the fact that it was a small way through which our families would be able to understand some of the struggles and stresses that have affected us in this past year-and-a-half. They now know more about Policka, our friends and about how we will be different upon our return in July and those are things that made these past two weeks, in my opinion, some of the most important since Jamie and I arrived in Policka.

** more pictures come soon!