Central Europe - From Munich to Prague: Episode 5

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This is the 5th and FINAL ‘episode’ of another of 'our' travels.

The collective ‘episodes’ describe our journey from our arrival in Munich (known locally as München), Germany (3rd week of June) through to our departure from Central Europe at Prague (in late July) 2010. This ‘episode’ continues our Eurail 'experience', this time from Brno to Prague via Olomouc (and other little diversions).


As always, if you want to 'see' more detail in an accompanying picture, click it to enlarge.

We've attached a few pics that give you a flavour of our journey, and some 'flow over' past the dialogue. Just ‘click’ on page 2, scroll down past the text to view.

A brief overview of our journey so far.

Episode 1 had us landing in Munich (München) where we'd booked a hotel for 6 nights. After acclimatising to the cold (10C), German culture and language, we did the tourist bit of taking in the sights of the city. Once comfortable, we visited Dachau, Regensberg and Nürmberg before picking up a hire car and heading eastwards. We also described our good fortune in getting tickets to the Passion Play at Omerammegau. And that concluded Episode 1.

Episode 2 described in detail the following week of our travels with a hire car; from Germany and over the mountains in Austria to Verona in northern Italy, before heading back over the Alps to Switzerland, Liechtenstien, Austria and back into Germany by the Bodansee.

Episode 3 highlighted our continuing journey with the hire car; from Ravensburg through the Black Forest and a 'deviation' into the Lorraine & Moselle regions of France before heading back to Germany via Belgium and Luxembourg. The description noted our travel by boat down the Rhine before heading back to München to say goodbye to the hire car.

Episode 4 began with a departure from München using a Eurail pass to Salzburg for a couple of nights, and then on to Vienna for a few days (via Linz). After Vienna, the description covered our 'entry' into the Czech Republic (via a day trip to Slovakia).

Sunday 18th July.

Sunday opened wet and cool. After having been busy over the past few days 'sightseeing', the cool weather meant we slept in. It needn't have mattered as Brno was in lockdown!!! As a rural 'city' in a Catholic country, Catholic principles rule; meaning that nothing is open till about 3pm (except the churches). So, it wasn't till later in the day that we went wandering. Adding to the ambience of the Brno 'streetscapes' were several interesting (even provocative) sculptures. These we 'discovered' as we wandered the streets and parks and 'inspected' the local church buildings.

For us, church 'interiors' illustrate the relative importance of aspects of faith to local people (or did when they were painted/refurbished). By taking note of the 'use' of the church, one can also see how the current generation view that building - or is it the current priest/elders that define such things? Anyway, churches we've come to recognise that where religion plays a part, churches can provide a valuable insight into a community's history, its structure (over time) and sometimes an indication of the current situation.

Being cold, it wasn't long before we then went in search of a nice watering hole for dinner.

Monday.

Yesterday we had noted a church for 'minorities', but it was closed. We went back to 'explore' more. Apparently, the self-indulgent secular extremism of Catholic leaders (with their taxes, sexual 'adventures', and relationships with the powerful land holders, etc) became too much for citizens at the fringes of the 'western front' . Reformist movements began to arise. One, led by Jan Hus (1369-1415), gained much support as he argued the powers the Catholic 'regime' attributed to itself were in contradiction to the basic principles of Christianity as laid out in the Bible.

At the time, there were 3 Popes (one in the Vatican, one in France, and the one 'elected' by the Habsburgs of Vienna) and each was asserting 'power' in their own way. As well, the 'popes' were 'into' self indulgences, selling favours, and supporting the strong arm tactics of local rulers. To try and resolve the silliness, a group of Cardinals organised a major meeting at Konstance (near Lake Constance). This meeting lasted 2 years and not only resolved the papacy problem, but laid the foundation for the modern Catholic Church as we know it today. Near its conclusion, and in response to the Hapsburg requests to 'resolve' the protestant 'question', the Cardinals asked Jan Hus to attend on the condition of immunity from sanction. On his arrival, the Cardinals promptly tried him and 'condemned' him for teaching that the Bible had precedence over the papacy (and other reforms). Their solution was to burn him at the stake.

As a consequence, a Hussite movement emerged (based on his principles) and expanded. In principle, they wanted to 'overthrow' the Roman structure, and reform the church. While the Hapsburg monarchy mouthed support, in fact they ratted on them, and this resulted in a 30 year war (which the Catholics won). Over time, some of the moderate 'protestant' groups advocating reforms also sought 'refuge' in Catholicism. But, over the past centuries, there have been ongoing conflicts between the Hussite derivatives (and there are many) and the Church. Apparently there are quite a few of these groups, but nowadays are linked together under a 'minority' banner.

The church (in Brno) is odd in that there are two buildings; the Minorite Church, and the Loreto Chapel - both situated beside each other, and having a similar external appearance but quite different interiors. The nave of the Minorite Church is Romanesque while the alter is Baroque. The nave also holds a tabernacle (a church building within the church). The alter is approached by 40 steep-ish dark coloured and 'impressive' steps (refer the picture). This church style was altogether different to anything we've seen.

Next door to the Minorite Church is the Loreto Chapel in Baroque style. What intrigued us was that shortly after entering there began a loud singing in exquisite voices. There were only two old ladies sitting in the front pew so we thought it must have been a taped 'exercise'. Only when we moved to the front of the Chapel did we recognise that these two dear souls were expressing their prayers in song. We 'recorded' part, and the 'vid' is watchable at the beginning of this 'episode'.

We later spent time looking further afield. While Brno may be the 'capital' of Morovia, the area generally (outside the yuk commo built urban areas) is especially beautiful.

Tuesday.

On the move again today, heading for Olomouc. Having purchased a Eurail pass in Australia, and used it to 'see' places along the way as we headed for Vienna, and then Brno, we sought to repeat the exercise.

Brno rail station is a bit of a mess. As we’d written in the last ‘episode’, there are a lot of Vietnamese in the Czech Republic - and many have set up shop in the underpass spaces in the station complex. Row after row of shops selling cheap junk make the station look like a Vietnamese backstreet ‘market’ (that they are). The signage (we’d come to expect at rail stations) was covered with shopsigns/adverts so it was difficult to know where to go Oh, well!

We eventually found the ‘departures’ board, and the fast train we wanted for Ostrava had left a few minutes earlier - Again, Oh, well! We saw that a ‘regional’ train (moderately fast) was heading for Olomouc, so we jumped aboard. At Olomouc, we headed for the ‘departure’ board to find a train to Ostrava leaving in a few minutes. By the time we got to the platform, we had seconds to hop aboard before it departed. As we learned, it was a slowish regional train - meaning it stopped at many stations. And, instead of heading directly to Ostrava in a north-east direction, it took a circuitous route; first north to Bruntai and Kmov, then south-east to Opava and Ostrava. This route took more than 2 hours - longer than the one hour ‘direct’ trip we’d anticipated. But, little did we know of the scenery we were about to enjoy. North of Olomouc is the Jasenicky region, and a major tourist drawcard. The hilly to rugged terrain it is clothed in wonderfully dense, green forests, and scattered with castles, monasteries, and many quaint villages.

Ostrava is not on the ‘tourist trail’ for the reason that much of it’s built history no longer exists. Nevertheless, we found the city a vibrant place with much to offer. And, as few tourists head that way, we found the locals really friendly. Ostrava is close to the Poland border, and we noticed the Ostravan faces were generally more round than we’d noted at Brno.

The return trip to Olomouc on a ‘fast’ (direct) train took less than an hour. Olomouc station is really user-friendly; from the station platform, an underpass takes one directly to the tram/bus stop and straight into the city centre.

Olomouc is an old ‘walled’ town, with most of the heritage buildings still intact. For us, it was quaint to be on a tram that initially headed along wide open boulevards, then through a ‘gate’ into narrow, cobbled streets devoid of all but service vehicles. As we were to better learn after we’d booked into our hotel and began wandering around the city, it appears the streets have followed the buildings (rather than the other way round).

Wednesday.

We spent the day wandering further around Olomouc (pronounced olo-moats). For much of its length, the city wall is fringed with extensive parks filled with magnificent mature spreading trees (many exuding wonderful perfume). For the sunny and increasingly warm day, this provided a wonderful respite. For us, the other ‘respite’ were the very old churches. Being built of stone, the walls are very thick, and so retain the cold really well. While we enjoyed the ‘coolth’, we also noted that religious piety in winter must be an arduous task.

Thursday.

On the ‘rails’ again, this time to Prague (spelt Praha, in Czech). The Eurail pass is for 1st class (they don’t sell any other class), so we plonked ourselves down in that carriage of the high speed train. The conductor wanted to see our reservation… Apparently, patrons are required to spend money (15 Euro) to reserve a seat on that train. As the train was non-stop to Prague, the conductor got a bit shirty when I said I didn’t book and I didn’t want to pay we figured they weren’t going to stop the train to chuck us off!! Well, you can’t have any services was the outcome - which to us was no big deal.

As we’d arrived in Prague earlier than we could enter our accommodation, we continued our ‘practice’ to use the trains to ‘look-see’ at the countryside. We had heard that the journey to Liberec was pretty, but were unable to get a connection that fitted our timetable. Instead we headed for Decin.

Decin is north of Prague close to the border with Germany and situated on the Labe River (Elbe in Germany). The Labe/Elbe passes through karst topography in this vicinity, making for interesting scenery. The Czech part of the border (karst) region is a National Park and is popular with both Czech and Germans. Along the journey beside the Labe, we noted several castles (most ruined) and similar ’defensive’ structures.

At Decin, we boarded a small local train bound for Bad Schandau (Germany). We found it surprising that where we’d been exposed to hot southerly breezes in Czech, as the train passed the Czech/German border, the river turned markedly west and the breeze cooled considerably. The return to Decin from Bad Schandau was some 30 minutes after arrival, so we had time for a bit of a wander. Beside the station was a café serving typical German BBQ’s sausage, sauerkraut and mustard. After so much consumption while in Germany, we’d thought we’d had more than enough to last ages. Not so, we both eyed each other and said YES!!!

Like so many (larger) cities we’d encountered in our European travels, the pubic transport system in Prague is efficient, widespread and frequent. We had little difficulty finding our apartment in (inner) suburban Vrino Hrady, and so had time to enjoy the balmy evening at a local restaurant.

Prague has a large ‘old town’ that has become the tourist attraction. Yet, Prague is more. While the ‘old’ town is large in area, with many fine buildings (and much history), the surrounding suburbs were built in the late 19th - early 20th century and also have an immense character. Our accommodation in Vrino Hrady was in an early 20th century building with an archaic (but useful) lift.

Friday.

During the night a change of weather had brought rain, forcing a change to our plans. We decided to visit the Prague Castle area as many of the attractions are under cover. The tram took us through the ‘old’ area before crossing the Vltava River to climb the hill that is the Castle area.

We learned that over the centuries Prague has been the 'capital' of Bohemia and that the Castle goes back to about the 9th century. It is now the world's largest extant castle complex. The Bohemians have 'endured' various intrusions; Magyar's (Hungarians), Slavs, and Romanians. But, it was the Habsburgs that cemented Prague as a seat of regional power.

We'd been hearing of the relevance (or otherwise) of the Habsburgs in Austria and Germany, but it was here that we gained a perspective of their overall power structure. The Habsburgs originated in Switzerland, but 'grew' their territory in the 12th century into Austria. In the 14th century, the Habsburgs 'adopted' Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia (part of current Czech, but mainly southern Poland) by way of marriage and treaty. Prague became the Habsburg's seat of power till the 30 year war (in early 1600's) when the Habsburg's returned to Vienna. As the castle complex had not been attacked, it remained a ceremonial seat (for the Habsburgs) and hence largely still intact today. Perhaps the most interesting ediface (for us) was the vast gothic St Vitus Cathedral - construction began in the 14th century and was completed in the early 20th century.

While wandering around the Castle area, we experienced another amazing 'stroke of luck'. We happened to be looking at a notice referring to a classical music concert to be held in one of the palace buildings when we started talking to some young adult Asians about it. We expressed the view that we were reticent to attend as we felt much of the music being offered was merely for tourists and might be of dubious quality. One of the Asian ladies asked us if we'd heard of Jeong Lee - we hadn't - and thereupon we were asked if we'd like to attend her concert that night. We said yes, and were given two tickets. We subsequently learnt that Jeong Lee is of Korean origin and a recent graduate of the Prague Conservatory & Dvorak Academy and is considered the best graduate over the past decade.

With a restructured agenda, we headed away from the castle area to look at other gracious buildings in the nearby vicinity. After an early dinner we headed for the Palffy palace to be treated to a most exquisite violin performance.

Saturday.

We'd 'scheduled' the idea of a trip to Plzen while in Prague and decided that with Sunday's being 'quiet' outside of Prague, and the weather still inclement, we'd better head there 'today'. Plzen is the Czech name for the German Pilsner, and is said to the 'fountainhead' for all pilsner / lager beers. Two attributes attracted us, though. First, the unfiltered Urquell beer - the 'original' light beer, as against traditional dark beer - is only available at Plzen. And, second, Plzen hosts a 13th century church with the tallest spire in the Bohemia and also the second largest Jewish Synagogue (a Moorish building).

The cold day did little to enthuse us, and we'd overlooked that Jewish Synagogue's aren't open to the public on Saturdays! Nevertheless, we found the city hospitable, and we loved the beer.

Sunday.

Sunday opened with a clear sky (though it clouded over by mid morning) so we were relieved that finally we would have a fine day to wander around the 'old' city area.

There is no doubt that the 'old' city if Prague has much to offer the tourist. Only a fraction was 'lost' in WW2. Following WW2, the ideological stupidity of the socialists witnessed much internal 're-arrangement' of buildings. This meant that internal fresco's and other aged decorations were destroyed. Fortunately, many buildings have been refurbished (to somewhat of their past), further adding to the appeal of Prague. And, the higgeldy-piggeldy streetscape also adds much ambience.

That said, trying to find space to admire the streetscape amongst hordes of tourists hindered our appreciation of Prague. In hindsight, while the 'old' built environment of Olomouc was only a fraction of Prague, the lack of tourists there enabled us to better appreciate (and enjoy) what we saw.

Monday,

Tuesday & Wednesday.



We flew out of Prague on Monday am for London. We'd earlier booked a stage play at the Vaudeville Theatre in London for the Monday night (The Prisoner of Second Avenue), so we merely enjoyed ourselves in the afternoon rather than 'sightsee'.

On the Tuesday, we headed for Kew for the Botanical Gardens. Said to the best in the world, we had a great day. The sheer size of the place coupled with the range of species, and magnificent glass display buildings is impressive. Nevertheless, we couldn't help feel that the undulating landscape and 'intimate' design of spaces of Melbourne's Botanical Gardens makes it a more rewarding experience.

On the Wednesday, with only part of the day 'available' (as we were flying out to Oz) we went in search of several London landmarks cited in documents we'd acquired relating to past generations of the Moon family.

Perspective.

Clearly, it's hard to collate all our wonderful experiences and provide a 'perspective'. But, we'll try.

We've written in these 'episodes' of our visual experiences. The scenery and hospitality we encountered has been magnificent. But, for us, the term 'perspective' is an attempt to relate what we saw / experienced / learnt / observed into a package. And, in so doing, we attempt to make sense of this set of experiences - not only to relay our thoughts but also for us to hone our thinking (it's so easy to walk away and forget!).

We've spent much time in recent years in Asia. For us, Asia is a contrast to our way of life, and as such, provides perspectives and contrasts to what we consider to be our 'reality'

Last year, we visited SW England and 'felt' a sense of identity. Not so much in the place (though we did), rather, at the cultural underpinnings that felt so familiar (to our own).

For us, the cultural underpinnings of Europe weren't so 'identifiable' with our own. Yet, from our experience in central Europe we felt that our perception of our British heritage was limited; that we needed to 'see' our British heritage not only as a European heritage but also in relation to the ways of the Europeans (which we perceive as somewhat different to British).

Our couple of days in London at the conclusion placed another aspect of our journey into perspective. Explaining this... We'd been to many regions, and each held a pride of their cultural 'being'. While Bavaria is Germany, to Bavarians it's something more - it's Bavarian traditions, values and sentiments (as well as history, etc.). The same can be said for Swabia, Franconia, the Palitanate, Northern Italy, Austria, Lorraine, Moravia and Bohemia. Essentially, the peoples of each of these places wanted to be recognised for 'their' culture, their food traditions, etc., etc..

In Bavaria, we enjoyed rostbratwurst and sauerkraut, roast pork, heavy breads, etc. These are 'traditional' meals and one doesn't see it presented in a modern or different context. The same can be said for the food traditions in each other region. Each region appeared to be saying this is not only 'our' food, it expresses who and what we are.

When in London, we experienced food as a fusion of culture; an Indian 'take' on a French standard, etc., etc. So, while each of the 'cultural' regions we visited had their share of (culturally different) migrants, and were chasing economic progress, and had similar social 'problems', they were all hanging onto their (perception of) identity.

But there is also another difference between London and our European experiences - community, consumerism and capitalism.

For us, the centre of London is merely a tourist centre. As such it functions as a place for tourist consumption and a location for local capitalism. As such, there is no community; both tourists and service providers travel to the centre to work/play/consume.

The larger tourist centres are generally similar - the built environment is a lure for a commercial exchange between tourists and local service providers.

What we found in our travels around central Europe - away from the tourist centres - was a focus on community. For us, it was this focus on community - a cultural 'centredness' - that not only made our travels so enjoyable, but also brought home to us aspects (of community) lacking in the British/Australian social 'model'.

When we write of cultural 'centredness', we mean the way the community's generally structured their urban and built environment to achieve communitarian rather than societal outcomes. And, in so doing, they tended to promote citizen interaction in the everyday activities to a degree missing in Australia.

For example, most places we visited have pedestrianised their city centres. But, the pedestrianisation of the 'squares' (the 'square' often being the whole streetscape) isn't only about excluding cars (service vehicles have access), we observed it's also about making pedestrian activities paramount. For example, to minimise skateboarding - which is a decidedly antisocial activity - the Europeans use cobbles or river stones. This 'uneven' surface also reduces fast bicycle riding. But also, the uneven surface means that pedestrians must take responsibility for their feet (so that they don't trip or fall over). And, the uneven surface also means the vista itself doesn't impose as does concrete. As well, the pedestrianised areas have sculptures, fountains, gardens, large trees, shaded seating, etc., which together promotes a sense of relaxedness. Importantly, also, the city fathers have ensured that restaurants/cafes have outdoor seating to encourage relaxation. Unlike Australia, these outdoor seating areas are often separated from the pedestrian walklines, adding to the relaxedness.

Similarly, most towns/cities have large public parks adjoining the city centre. These parks are again focussed on people doing relaxing activities. Again, the paths are designed against bike and skateboard riding. As well, the seating was so often designed to foster social interaction.

In all urban areas, the pedestrianised 'squares', and amenable parks are well patronised. In part, the fact that central Europeans have a higher urban density than Australia provides scope. But also, dwellings face the squares / parks such that it appears residents become 'engaged' with the space.

We wondered then, whether the relative cleanliness of the region (both in the urban and the rural areas) and the hospitable nature of the people we met is an outcome of the cultural 'centredness'.

We're sure locals in each region could place another viewpoint (even a critical one) towards the way the various communities work / interact / etc. Being critical is an important method to define how to be better. But, for us, our perspective is that there seems to be a relationship between on the one hand, having a sense of 'tradition' and urban structures designed for interaction and engagement, and on the other, using that 'tradition' / engagement to enhance a sense of community.

In all towns/cities, (but especially in both Vienna and Prague), the local artistic expression was very much alive. By this we mean not only the formal sculptures, etc. But especially artisan handiworks. From our 'outsiders' observations, the artisans expressions appeared to be both challenging and mocking aspects of 'tradition' (especially in Prague). But existentially, this output in its own way still serves to reinforce community.

Perhaps the 'reality' we have taken from our experiences is that the people of central Europe hold dear the value of community in a way that is markedly absent in Australia. And, we think Australia is the lesser for the lack of cultural 'centredness'.


Till next time.

Cheers.



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Photos

Brno sculpture
We enjoyed the variety of sculpture (and art for that matter) - especially that which challenged status quo.

Olomouc - Horni Nameste (place)
This is a very user friendly, and highly sculptured area.

Ideology rules
The original Glockenspile was installed in 1700's. mechanics replaced in 1850's. After WW2, when the commo's took control, they replaced all the features to reflect commo ideology (including the moving parts as 'heroic workers'!

Elbe River
The Elbe is called the Labe in Czech, and here it travels through a sandstone 'gorge'

Prague - streetscape
This part of Prague is called the 'new' area only because it is newer than the 'old' area.

Prague - Charles Bridge
With Prague Castle and St Vitus Cathedral in background

Prague - Old Town Square
With the Church of Our Lady Before Tyn nestled in behind.