May 9, Sunday
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The town Karlovy Vary is very beautifully situated between high forestclad heights. The magnolia trees were in blossom in the parks. |
After breakfast we had a common stroll through the colonnades and enjoyed the buildings and tasted the hot natural mineral water from some of the twelve springs. Now we were to expect the clow of this tour Leif informed. Her persuaded Jaroslav to recitate "Song to the Moon" from the opera Rosalka by Antonín Dvorák at the Rosalka Spring.
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Our lunch at the hotel after the compulsury Becherovka began with a rich soup holding potatoes, mushrooms, garlic, caraway and parsley. After that followed a spinach filled pork roulade. As dessert Apfelstrudel and coffee.
At a tour in the bus in the afternoon we had the opportunity to hear a wellknown Czechish Singer sing that "Song to the Moon" from a CD- so now we could enjoy even the music.
The road out of Karlsbad goes in serpentines up the steel hill around the town. You get a wonderful view over the place from different angles. Some places you can see that there is steem out of the river - from some of the hot springs. Porcelain factories and breweries and other industries in the surroundings. World famous liqueur 'Becherovka' is also produced in Karlsbad. Becherovka is "a mixable herbal liqueur that generates a very sophisticated range of cocktails including the
'BE-TON' " |
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When we had came a bit more to the west we could see great lignite fields northwesternly. I got a feeling that this part of Bohemia is an industrial area. Our goal was the town of Loket. This town is situated on a hill inside a sling of the river Ohre. On the top of the hill is an old castle. This castle is not owned by the state but the villagers have restored it and maintain it on their own.
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A walk up to the castle, and as usual Roland and I came as the last in the long row of the 28 members in our trip. We were not at all the eldest but had apparently most difficult to join on uphill roads. The local guide was a funny man but his English was very special - luckily Leif interpreted into Swedish/Norwegian. That he had done every time we had a local guide. |
The small birds were singing in the nice early summer weather- chaffinch and thrush and warbler and robin and surely some more which I could not identify. The park was wonderful to stroll in when we came back from the castle hill. The nature reminded me of that we had experienced at Watermeet in Exmoor in England.
In the evening we had a finishing dinner at "Little Versailles" a restaurant situated in a green area in Karsbad. G. hold a little speech and delivered the thanks from the group members to Leif, Jaroslav and Jirí. This time the food was not old time Czech.
Menu:
Mixed salad
Marinaded Chicken Filet with Honey Sauce, a half Peach, Potatoe Croquettes
Mixed Ice Cream with Toffee Sauce
Coffee
May 10, Monday, Depart day Our bus left at a quarter past nine in the morning and the road led through an agrarian landscape against Prague.
In the beginning the landscape was hilly but more level when we advanced easterly. Large fields where they cultivate hops - of course it is need of lots of that crop to make the good beer. Leif several times told that he saw a kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) but we who sat at the back of the bus could not see them.
Through the City of Kladno where a great Steel industry Poldi Ocel was closed down some years ago and 15000 - 20000 persons had lost their work... and so we passed Lidice (Lidice) the village which was totally destroyed by German SS June 10, 1942 in one of the most brutal actions against civil people during the great War. All men executed, all women sent to concentration camp Ravensbrück and all children sent to "germanizing" in special camps. That happened after the murder of the Reichsprotektor Heydrich as the villagers were accused of that deed.
At the airfield there began the saying good-bye, the checking-in, the buying of Becherovka and lately the short air trip to Arlanda. In Sweden it was rainy and chilly, a great contrast to the nice early summer weather in Bohemia..
Back to the beginning
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