They Are Watching

Karlovy Vary Spa, Czech Republic

Vienna City Center Skyline

Today is Friday the 13th, and a great date to post on this theme on 'the watchers.' Here is a fun fact, my mom was born on Friday the 13th, not in November, but in January. I actually never knew that until after she passed. Not sure why? But she never mentioned it. It was my dad that said something a few years ago with just a hint of a raised eyebrow as if to say 'well you know why she wouldn't want to talk about it.' Hmmm, actually I'm not in the least bit superstitious. I find the concept to be a complete waste of time. One of my girlfriends growing up had a habit of not wanting to walk on either side of a pole. So if for some reason we got out of the car and I was on one side of the parking meter with her on the other, she'd come around to my side and say 'bread and butter." Can someone please explain what exactly that corrects in the world of superstition?

So the watchers. We found statues everywhere we went in Europe, but one of the most curious places was on top of buildings? They appeared to be teetering on the edge of the roof, as though they might take one more step and come tumbling down? We saw them all throughout our trip. We saw them in every country we were in. We saw them on top of buildings, on the front of them, above the doorways, on the sides, between windows. They seem to be a very common architectural design.

Vienna

Austrian Parliament Building

I went in search of why exactly they would be so popular. The best answer I got was that during the Middle Ages as churches were being built statuary became a popular architectural design element. They used the buildings themselves as a canvas for a range of subjects from complex theological ideas to biblical tales to whimsical creatures. And I would say we saw all of this from the building in Rothenburg with the seven deadly sins in the facade, the castles of Bavaria, many of the buildings in the old center of Vienna, to the spa in Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic. They were simply everywhere.

The one in Rothenburg took over the entire front of the building called Baumeisterhaus or the Master-Builder's House. The facade includes the seven virtues (kindheartedness, motherliness, gentleness, temperance, courage, justice and wisdom - yes I had to look that up) as well as the seven deadly sins (gluttony, deception, falsehood, greed, lust, sloth and vanity - yes also looked this up). Gotta love a good medieval statue series to play out a few biblical stories. Particularly when it is now on the front of a restaurant to remind you of the sin of gluttony before you walk in the front door?

Baumeisterhaus

You can see the influence of Romans and Greeks in many of the statues, particularly in Vienna. Ah, Vienna. I believe it was my favorite city of the trip. It has such style, elegance and beauty. Dave and I absolutely fell in love with this city. I captured just a small sample of all the statues like this random blue Greek God (perhaps Hercules?) on a corner building, or like the Caryatid Pillars on a side entrance of the Austrian Parliament building. Vienna is a city of statues, and they were stunning.

The picture at the top of the post is one of the 12 statues representing the months of the year, which sit on top of the Mill Colonnade in central Karlovy Vary. You can read more background on the town in one of my previous posts. So why 12 statues representing months? I have no idea. None of the history to the town told me why the architect (Josef Zitek who also designed Prague's National Theater) decided to include them. Zitek was known for his Neo-Renaissance style; popular in the 19th Century throughout Europe for important public buildings like opera houses, theaters and palaces. Sometimes my study of history gives me the answers I'm looking for, and sometimes it doesn't. I don't think I really got a straight answer on all these watchers, but I did really love seeing and photographing them.

Behind the Lens :: Hidden Architecture

Church of St. Joseph

I just could not get enough of the architecture on our trip. The buildings are magnificent. Big or small they all have so much craftsmanship packed into their design. While we spent much of our day in Prague around the main town square of the old town, we managed to wander off down some side streets and stumble upon a few hidden treasures. 

A few posts back I showed you a picture of the amazing metal door of the Church of St. Joseph decorated with filigree. This is the front of that church. Just another church, down just another side road. 

Church of St. Joseph Skylight

It was hot while we were there. Really hot. Mid to high 90s and no A/C. 

But the second I pushed open the door to the church I felt a waft of cool air rush across my face that just drew me in. 

It was a small chapel. Nothing special, no ornate alter or huge crucifix hanging from the wall. Just a simple place to find some reprieve and quiet solitude. I sat in a pew and cooled off. Looking up all I could see was this beam of soft light coming in from the narrow sky light at the top of the dome. I was truly lost in my own space and time that I didn't notice the small face a few rows up intensely staring at me. I was a complete curiosity to the young girl. I guess just as much as this old church was to me. Funny how that happens sometimes when you are so intent on things going on in your own little world that you forget to notice the effect you have on the world around you.

Another Day, Another Castle

Hohenschwangau Courtyard Fountain

Burg Stahleck in Bacharach Germany

It is amazing that something as cool as a castle can become, well sort of common place. Both my husband and I wanted to see a castle or two. He absolutely loves the history, the architecture and of course all that armor. It turns him into an 8 year old boy. 

We started our trip in the Rhine Valley where there seemed to be a castle on every corner, quite literally. They liter the banks of the Rhine as they overlook what was the major shipping channel of the age. Today they've been turned into magnets for tourism, hotels, some are hostels and a quite a few are just left as ruins. No matter, we loved them all and could not get enough of them. At least in the beginning. Absolutely every one we saw would be a shout out "oh! look another castle!" We'd pull over, and start snapping away. Several of the them ended in muddy back roads that led to nowhere as the castle didn't have a road and wasn't receiving the hoards of tourists.

Burg Eltz

By far the best castle we toured was one of the early ones. Just over the hills of the Rhine in the Moselle Valley is one called Burg Eltz. It seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, not strategically positioned for anyone. And likely why it survived the bombings of WWII, and one of only 2 castles in the area that were never destroyed through the ages. The castle is still owned by a branch of the original family who have lived there since the 12th century (33 generations).

Hohenschwangau

One of the most interesting things about this particular castle was the family's ability to share. There were three family branches living here, which meant 3 households, 3 kitchens, and multiple additions to house for their growing needs. So each successor, whose inheritance was too small to build a castle on his own, simply contributed to building a castle together. Today the castle is 8 stories, has fortified walls with over 100 rooms. This also meant 100+ family members could live in the castle, which meant reinforcement when attackers arrived at the doorstep. The family ecosystem was a built-in process to collaboration and sharing. A model to learn from.

Hohenschwangau Swan Fountain

So after touring this castle, we started to compare them all to this one. And we saw quite a lot of them. 

Neuschwanstein in the distance

All along the Romantic Road of Germany (a concept that was developed after WWII to encourage a return to German tourism). It runs through 28 towns (dating to the medieval age) along a scenic route that rambles from the lower Rhine Valley to through much of Bavaria ending at the fantasy castle of Neuschwanstein (the one everyone photographs and Disney uses as it logo). 

We did end our travels along the Romantic road in Fussen as we thought it would make more sense to stay overnight near the castles vs. trying to do a day trip from Munich. Which is smart if you want to visit this area. However, be warned this is hands down the most touristy location of our entire trip. We honestly had no idea it was.  Upon arrival we were swarmed with bus loads of tourists coming in for the day (presumably from Munich). And while we arrived at noon, tickets (yes you must buy a ticket to tour a castle) were completely sold out for the day. The lines were long with waiting times of several hours. We decided that since we were there, we would bite the bullet and try for tickets the following morning. Highly recommend this strategy since you cannot reserve in advance. 

The hike up to Hohenschwangau

Hohenschwangau Two Swan Fountain 

Both castles require a hike up to the location. All castles seem to be built on hills, steep hills. It gives them a strategic advantage to the surrounding area. We decided to tour Hohenschwangau (meaning highlands of the swans, and yes everything seemed to be a swan throughout the castle). This is the castle that the legendary (aka crazy) King Ludwig II grew up in. He decided that he would build a second castle over on the other hill that was bigger, grander and with more bragging rights. This is the famous Neuschwanstein castle, which he supervised the building of, but which was never fully completed (at least on the inside). Had it been completed, it would have had 200+ rooms, but ultimately only 15 rooms were finished. Thus why we toured the original castle and snapped pictures of the other. The castle was still incomplete when King Ludwig died in 1886, and there after became a lucrative revenue source for the Bavarian royal family who opened it to paying visitors.

Due to its secluded location, the castle survived both WWI and WWII. In addition the Nazis used it as a hidden depot for plunder taken from wealthy Jews. Hitler's dream was to create a "Furhrermuseum" with an estimated 5 million pieces of artwork and cultural items he had stolen which included masterpieces from artists like Michelangelo, da Vinci and Vermeer. In April of 1945, the SS considered blowing it up to prevent the building and the artwork falling into enemy hands, but was in the end surrendered to Allied forces. Clearly, we enjoyed touring the many castles and learning more about the history behind each one. They all have stories to tell.

Karlovy Vary :: The Original Spa Town

Karlovy Vary

Tepla River

I'm not sure where to start with blogging about our recent trip. I have piles of pictures and quite a few stories.

These posts are not likely to be in any sort of order, and I suspect they will not be your typical (obligatory) travel post. You all know me by now, and assume you'd be disappointed if I didn't give you a crazy side story or random musing careful observation about the places we visited. So I'll take my time and work my way through all the notes I took on the trip.

Mill Colonnade (Hubby just walking away)

Let's begin, shall we, at the end of our trip. We finished up our road trip extravaganza in a very old world, spa town called Karlovy Vary, a town known by the Germans as Karlsbad. 

The town is just over the Czech-German border in the Northwestern part of the Czech Republic in an area called Bohemia. The town was built up around a natural thermal hot springs where the Ohre and Tepla rivers come together. 

It is old, very old; founded in 1370 by the King of Bohemia and is everything Calastoga, CA hopes to be when it grows up. We used to go to Calastoga all the time when we lived in California. I loved it. We would rent a little cottage, get a massage, have a nice dinner and swim in the pool heated by the hot springs. 

But here is the thing, Calastoga will likely never hold the charm of this wonderful old world gem. Karlovy Vary is built as an original walking city like so much of the old towns we visited through Germany, Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The streets are cobble stone, and cars have a very hard time navigating most places (if they are allowed). And that makes for a wonderful, leisurely place to stroll along the water, stop into shops, sample some street cafe food (or better a glass of something local). Most of California is designed to get into your car and drive off to the next destination, and you just don't get the same feel for a place unless you're elbow to elbow with the locals.

Griffin Statue

The hot springs are the main attraction and have several long colonnades built up around the springs. There is the old structure, the new one (or Mill Colonnade) and even a park colonnade that was built in the 1800s and has a Victorian feel. I spent hours walking around snapping pictures of all these Corinthian columns, to the point where you can see my husband just walking away. 

In the main building is the geyser and a row of 'taps' for people to sample the mineral water. Or as they say "drinking cures," which there are various ones depending on which source and temperature of the water you choose. Prolonged use of the cure is not recommended, and suggested that you speak with the spa doctor. Yeah, I wasn't so interested in water that needed a doctor's approval.

Karlovy Vary Cups

The ceiling over the geyser has a 'look out' to the sky above. I wonder if the geyser gushed if it would just come right out the top of the ceiling? They enclosed a room around the main geyser. It was a hot August day when we were there (at least 95 degrees) and it felt like about 115 inside. Holy cats! I just wanted someone to open a window ... please. Everyone else seemed preoccupied with taking a sip of the mineral water in these funny little tea-pot like cups. I wasn't buying. They look like some random tschotske from my grandmother's cupboard sitting next to the porcelain thimble collection. I just couldn't see bringing one of these babies home with me. But everyone else had one. We saw all kinds of people strolling around town slowing sipping on these cups as they sat on park benches or popped into one of the shops. 

We didn't see any American tourists (that we were aware of), not even British. This was an off the beaten track kind of place. Which I loved. Most of the tourists were German, Russian and local Czechs up for a few days from Prague. I felt like I really got away from all that I know back home. That is what travel means to me. Pure bliss.