Back in Bohemia

I decided to spend three weeks at home before going back to Oxford. The original hope was that this would provide me with just enough time to enjoy my family’s company without getting tired of it. In reality, by week three, I was already itching to start getting work done, which was simply impossible with so many people around.

To do something at least vaguely productive, I decided to practice driving. The motivation was not some abstract desire for learning but a very concrete need to whip myself into shape for my US road trip this summer. On one day, I drove for almost four hours, making a few pauses for tourist spots along the way and getting through the BBC’s radio instalment of Antony and Cleopatra twice.

My first destination was Dobříš Chateau, which I had already visited last year when their French Gardens were closed. This time, the gardens were open. However, much to my chagrin, I found that I would not be allowed in with my dog. Speaking of which, my dog’s mounting nervousness had forced an emergency stop in the village of Bezdědice, where she immediately vacated her bowels as I took a few pictures of the local scenery.

Having finished this somewhat chaotic part of our journey, we continued to Smolotely, a village under Maková hora. Maková hora (Poppy Mountain) is a scenic pilgrimage site consisting of a hilltop church dedicated to Saint John the Baptist and Our Lady of Mount Carmel. The church was erected in the early eighteenth century and existed quite peacefully for about two hundred years. Then, with the First World War, the bells were requisitioned, which was followed by a period of neglect under Communism. Far from heralding an immediate amelioration, the Velvet Revolution instead presaged a devastating amount of looting of artwork from the church. Only in the mid-nineties did renovations begin in earnest.

As it is impossible to park at the very top of Maková hora, we left the car by the village square in Smolotely and hiked up one of the tourist paths for about twenty minutes. The walk was quite pleasant, taking us through fields, alleys of birch trees, and a forest. We even found a quaint little well with a raspberry bush. The church at the top of the mountain appeared quite impressive for its remote, provincial location, its baroquely ornate exterior looking out of place on a forest clearance. Little could be seen of the surrounding countryside, however, due to the tallness of the trees.

From Maková hora, we continued to the town of Vysoký Chlumec, which is notable for its castle that towers high above all other buildings. It was built in the fourteenth century and belonged to the Lobkowitz family for centuries, with a few pauses: it was taken from them for a year following the Bohemian Revolt of 1618, and again during World War Two. Following the end of Communism, it was restored to the Lobkowitzes, who proceeded to sell it to another noble house. Despite the chateau’s prominent position, I was not able to find a good place to take a picture of it, and having driven through the town, I decided to simply continue to my last destination.

This last destination were the ruins of a massive windmill in Příčovy. Built in the eighteenth century, the structure is uncharacteristically large for a windmill, which has even led to speculations that it is not a windmill at all. Nevertheless, modern archaeologists have put these doubts to rest. Nowadays, a few apple trees stand by the roadside of the ruins, though I would not recommend them. I was expecting the apples to taste sour, but they were strangely mellow and flavourless, which was even worse. I chucked the apple after two bites.

Having decided to make one last attempt to photograph the chateau in Vysoký Chlumec, I followed the path recommended by the GPS. This was not the smartest choice, as the machine led me down some very badly kept forest paths, making me tremble for the state of the rental car. Worse still, the forest paths spat me out at the exact spot where I had originally decided not to take a picture, so I swallowed my pride, took the picture, and left.