Late Summer in Bohemia

This weekend was presumably the year’s last warm and sunny weekend. Our family used the occasion to pay a visit to a relation near the northern city Liberec, where we gathered blueberries and mushrooms and made merry. The hills in the borderlands are very peaceful, and much of our visits consist of sitting on a terrace talking about how quiet it is.

A grumpy cat
Houses and a sawmill
The sun filtering through trees
Yellow stagshorn (I think)
"Mushroom rock"
More mushrooms
My dog running
A type of impatiens
My dog in lush grass
A fly agaric
My dog looking to her left
My dog looking at me
A nice cabin
My dog again
A "squirrel house" built by local children
More pictures of the sun filtering through trees
Not a mushroom but a boundary marker

On Sunday, it occurred to me that of all the nearby places I had intended to visit, the Castle Hazmburk, which we drove past on several occasions, was still on my list. Perched on one of the hilltops that constitute the Central Bohemian Highlands, it offers unparalleled views of the extinct volcanic range. The castle’s name comes from a corruption of the German “Hasenburg”, which literally means “Hare Castle”, as it belonged to the family Zajíc, which means “Hare” in Czech.

Being in the neighbourhood, my sister and I also visited the “Hag” (as in, old woman) Menhir in Slavětín, a rock of unknown provenance, but likely of pagan significance. During the forcible recatholicisation of Bohemia in the seventeenth century, it was defaced with an iron cross, which eventually came loose and took down part of the rock with it. We also stopped by the town Louny, which is famous for its beautiful western gate and the Church of Saint Nicholas. Its relatively unusual, tented roof fits in harmoniously with the slopes of the surrounding volcanoes.

Hazmburk Castle across a cornfield
Hazmburk Castle across a field
Another view of Hazmburk Castle
Hazmburk Castle again
The entrance to Hazmburk Castle
The view of Říp Mountain from Hazmburk
The lower tower of Hazmburk
The view of the Central Bohemian Highlands
The view of the lower tower from the top of the higher tower
The same
The lower tower again
Another view of the castle from the parking lot
Hazmburk Castle as seen from Slavětín
Corn
The Baba Menhir in Slavětín
The same
The Chapel of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary in Slavětín
The City Library of Louny
The same again
Statue of Jan Hus on Mírové náměstí
Louny Municipal Office
Saint Nicholas Church
The town fortifications with volcanoes in the background 
Žatec Gate
Saint Nicholas Church tower
Saint Nicholas Church again
The Municipal Office again

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