Back to France

Well we got on just fine in the Czech Republic. In fact we had a great time! The language wasn't a problem as those people who didn't speak English spoke slow, clear German. It was a bit of a problem finding places to stay as we'd read that wild camping is forbidden and police enforce fines, and most campsites close in September or early October. However, we found places that were open (just) and we don't mind being the only ones on a campsite – we're not very sociable these days.

A quick run through our itinerary follows:

• First we visited Cheb (formerly Eger) and the nearby pretty spa town of Františkovy Lazně (formerly Franzensbad). Very elegant Victorian buildings and a very relaxed atmosphere.
• Next we marvelled at the fabulous buildings in Karlovy Vary (formerly Karlsbad) and tasted the waters there (warm and salty but not as bad as we expected, certainly more palatable than Bath Spa!). We had a look at the Grand Hotel Pupp (used in the James Bond film Casino Royal) but didn't feel that we were rich or elegant enough to go inside.
• Then we went to Prague, which was just as lovely as we remembered it from previous trips. We revisited some of our favourite sights (including, of course, the mechanical, astrological clock in the town square – still impressive but not as fun as the butting goats of Poznan) and even managed to see some new ones. The observation tower up in the woods around the castle was interesting and gave us lovely views over the city, despite the mist.

 

• From Prague we did day trips to Karlštejn and Kutna Hora. Karlštejn is a fabulous 14th century castle built for Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia, as a palace and a safe place to store his treasure.  It has been sensitively restored and is largely intact,  and very pretty with its pointed towers, galleries and coloured timberwork.

•  Kutna Hora town  is very lovely, like a mini Prague in some ways. However, it is the remarkable ossuary which is the biggest attraction.  The inside of a small chapel is festooned with human bones; stacks of femurs interleaved with skulls, suspended garlands of skulls and femurs, urns, decorated candelabras, a coat of arms, and the famous chandelier, which apparently contains every type of bone found in the human body. A couple of cabinets hold skulls of soldiers from the Hussite Wars and here you can see visible injuries, some which had healed and some which were fatal. Gruesome, but we liked it.

Last of all we visited Plseň, home of the famous Pilsner brewery. We were lucky enough to catch the first day of the town's Christmas market, complete with craft and food stalls, people dressed as medieval knights, stalls selling hot Glűwein (as well as beer of course) and a band comprising very old men playing accordions. The day would have been perfect if we hadn't been wheel clamped and had to pay a fine (only the equivalent of £17.50 fortunately, and they turned up to free us in super – quick time)

Since we left the Czech Republic we've been travelling across Germany, swathed in cold misty weather. We've been to some interesting places such as  Nűrnberg and Ulm, but the buildings, though striking, never look quite as good when it's murky and you have to take your gloves off to photograph them. The Minster at Ulm apparently has the highest spire in Europe, but we couldn't see the top of it.



We made a decision to flee south (I know we keep saying it, but we really are going now) but decided to do a bit of walking in the Black Forest before we left for France. We're so glad we did!

As we climbed the twisty, mountain roads we were aware that there were glimpses of sunshine peeking through the clouds. Suddenly we broke through the clouds and found ourselves in dazzling, warm sunshine. The view from the peak of Belchen (1414m) was spectacular and there were dozens of people who had travelled up the mountain top to walk, sit in the sun and enjoy looking down on a landscape that was like the view from an aeroplane or an ocean of cloud, with mountains peeking out like islands.





Current location – parked up in Hartheim, Germany, just short of the French border, our last chance to use our German 3G internet access to post this blog.

Fal-de-ree, Fal-de-rah...!

A friend has said that our previous blog entry gave the impression that we may be getting a little jaded, or perhaps are not that keen on Germany. That's far from the case! However, as we're now travelling without a dog, we're spending more time in cities and towns instead of interspersing all our city visits with beaches and forests; this can sometimes result in seeing too much, too quickly and leaves us a bit breathless. Since writing the last blog we've slowed down a bit and taken the time to do some walking in the mountains and see some of the beautiful countryside in this part of the world. We are refreshed and enjoying it very much.

Before reaching the mountains however, we had one more big city to visit – Dresden. If we were starting to think that one big city was much like another, Dresden soon changed that.

The name Dresden has some grim associations.  One of Germany's most beautiful cities, a centre of music, art and literature, it survived undamaged until almost the end of the war.  In February 1945 British and American bombers carried out a series of raids specifically designed to set the city ablaze.  It worked a treat.  The result was massive loss of life and destruction of the beautiful old city.  After the war, parts of it were rebuilt, but we wondered how much we'd really find left to visit.

Still a centre of musical culture (thought the Aussies would like this as much as the Ossies)

We entered the old town via the old market place, a rather bleak square overlooked by a few old buildings and the communist era 'Palace of Culture' (a concrete and glass rectangle with a heroic mural on the side).



From there, the architectural thrills came thick and fast.  Every corner we turned revealed a spectacular new scene, one flamboyant building after another. Someone once referred to Dresden as 'Florence on the Elbe', but we thought that was somewhat wide of the mark.  Dresden's fine buildings were erected by Saxon royalty in a baroque style, much more frothy than Florence, but 'Catania by the Elbe' maybe doesn't have the same ring.  Just as the buildings started to remind us of the baroque towns of Sicily however, we'd notice the ornate façades soaring up to a very German looking stepped gable or an onion dome – Dresden is very much its own place. The main thing that it has in common with Florence is the overwhelming number of gorgeous buildings in the centre – sometimes we didn't know which direction to photograph first.



The Frauenkirch is an extraordinary building with an extraordinary story.  Which of these buildings is the oldest and which is the newest?



The spectacular seventeenth century church in the centre, that looks like it has been freshly cleaned, has in fact been freshly built.  From 1945 until the 1990s it was a heap of rubble, kept as a war memorial by the DDR.  From 1995 they started rebuilding it just as it was, much to the delight of Dresdeners. Now the Frauenkirch soars over the town, which has finally regained it's pre-war skyline.  The Dresdeners love it – the distinctive silhouette appears everywhere from sweet boxes to beer labels to Christmas decorations.

From the north bank of the river we watched the paddle steamers docking and the sun setting behind the old city.  From there we could see the results of the wartime damage more clearly.  Directly opposite us, and for ten degrees right and left, we could see a beautiful, intact baroque skyline. Outside this arc it's concrete rectangles to the horizon.



After our tour of Dresden's old town we headed off to the mountainous country on the Czech border, the mediaeval towns along the Elbe and the 'Saxon Switzerland National Park'.  We've been back on the track of the German Romantic landscape painters, we've clambered over castles and looked out over cliffs so high it felt like an aerial view. Just the sort of thing we like.

Our first stop was Bautzen - a town so perfect for photos that it must be a delight for postcard makers. 



We wandered around enjoying the scenery and lack of crowds. We even managed to catch the town market and bought 4 enormous bilberry filled steamed dumplings which we've been eating ever since.  This part of Germany sits on the ancient frontier between the Germanic lands and the Slavs.  In Bautzen the streets are named in both German and Sorbian – the language of the local Slav minority.



Another pretty town that we had a stroll around was Hohnstein, (though actually it was more of a 'clamber over' as the town is very steep). We climbed through a series of mediaeval gateways and passages into the castle (now a spectacular youth hostel) and it was strange to emerge at the top into the open – no battlements.  When you look over the edge however you can see why – sheer or overhanging cliffs plunging about 40 metres into the forest.



 The next stop was Bastei, which is the most visited place in the National Park for good reason. It's a spectacular site. Autumn may be the perfect time to visit as the trees are glorious at the moment (though it must be fabulous at any time of year).   It has viewpoints looking over a side valley of the Elbe that is full of spectacular sandstone pinnacles. 



At some stage there was a castle in these pinnacles; there's a fenced off area which has a reconstruction of part of it. Now it's part nature reserve, part climbing centre, with a hotel and several cafés.  We loved it, though it was pretty chilly being so high up.



After Bastei we spent the night in Stolpen and had a wander around town next day.  It's famous for its sandstone and basalt rock.  At the base of the castle we could see hexagonal columns of basalt lined up like organ pipes.



We're currently settled in a comfortable campsite in the forest near Bad Schandau, surrounded by bulbous sandstone crags and dense forest incandescent with autumn colour. 



We spent today walking in the forest – catching a hundred and thirteen year old tram up to a famous waterfall, then taking a roundabout route back to the camp site.



Someone's also been missing the wine talk.  I'm sure we'll get back to it as we head south, but for the moment we're not in wine country.  Every town has its local special hooch, but around here it's all herb schnapps with pictures of goblins on the label.  Every town also has its own lager – it's amazing how many local breweries have survived here (and in Poland) compared to the UK.  As for the food, it's distinctive and unfamiliar but hearty, filling and delicious. We've often wanted a lunchtime snack and ended up eating so much that we're full for the rest of the day. The many different types of bratwurst are very popular indeed.

Sauerfleisch mit remoulade und bratkartoffeln in Dresden

This part of Germany is fascinating, with the influence of the Slavs to the east, its history as central European frontier territory and its more recent experience under communist dictatorship.  This area also feels in some way like the German heartland, somehow more German than Hamburg – a taste of the good old Germany of Prince Albert, JS Bach or Herman Hesse.  They love their apfel strudel, the shops are full of wooden Christmas decorations and little wooden figures, they still use elaborate Gothic script and occasionally dress up like the chap at the top of this page to go for a walk. We've also found that we've had to dredge from memory and use our limited German (accompanied by pointing and gesturing) as we've found very few shopkeepers or campsite owners who speak any English.

The language is going to get even more fun tomorrow as we're planning a short trip into the Czech Republic. We'll let you know how we get on.