Home -> Europe -> Czech Republic -> Travelogue 2003 -> Tuesday 15 July

Puchov - Prague, visit to a Moravian cave

We have spent all our Slovakian money, but we are also out of gas. Just in time we reach the Czech Republic and a gas station. We feel much better than yesterday since we have chosen to stay most of our remaining time near Prague.

The first part of our trip goes through eastern Moravia, a mountainous woodland. Every few kilometers we see a village, hidden in the shadow of the beautiful nature. We have a short break at Stramberk, a village build around a hill where a tower dominates the view.
Stramberk is special because of its architecture: houses are build from unrefined trunks on a foundation of masonry. Most trunks are tarred to prevent them from rotting.

Plague pillar at Olomouc, Czech Republic

We have a lunchbreak at Olomouc, a town with many churches and other monuments. Our first impression is that it is a very industrial and modern city, but the old town is very nice. There are many big squares, edged by baroque buildings and every square has one or more fountains. On the square near the townhall is a huge pestpillar.

The astronomical clockwork on the townhall was made in the 15th century but has been restored in the Soviet era and decorated with social realistic motives. Also on some houses and even on sewer pits we see symbols referring to this period.

What strikes us a lot in the Czech Republic, especially in the larger towns and cities, is the quantity of advertisements. It seems as if they want to chase away the gloominess of the past with their garish colours and colossal letters. We think it is a bit overdone.

From a distance we see a big cathedral, but when we walk towards it we find out that it takes too much time to visit it, so we are satisfied with a picture from afar.

In a supermarket we buy a box with beer (24 pieces) for next week but we protest vehemently when the cashier tries to let us pay for 54 cans. She doesn't understand English, French or German and she only wants us to pay the amount. And we just try to make her clear that we are not going to pay. Finally, some other people interfere in the discussion and she tries it again. This time she takes all cans from the box and scans them one by one. We apologize to the people behind us: we can't help that this cashier cannot count. The cashier doesn't seem to be very happy with us, but, well, she shouldn't try to swindle us out of money.

We make another attempt to visit a cave in the Moravian Karst and we are just in time: 5 minutes before 3 o'clock we arrive at the Balcarka cave for the last guided tour of that day. It is not the finest cave in the area but the only one we have time left for. Another time we would like to spend a week or so in this region.

The cave has 3 floors and we have to climb quite a few stairs. The guide only speaks Czech, so we stay a bit behind and have a quiet look at all parts of the cave. This cave is known for its shades of colours, but we don't see much of that. But, like in most caves, there are wonderful places and halls with stalactites and stalagmites in shapes that come straight from fairytales. But we don't tip the guide, this time, we have learned nothing from him.

It is 4 when we leave the cave and we take the highway in the direction of Prague. At half past 6 we arrive at the campsite and see a big sign before it: full, occupied. But when we go to the reception to ask they still have one bungalow (well, just a simple shack) available. To put a tent here costs € 21 per night, a bungalow € 29 with running water and electricity. So, we take the bungalow and we think we will stay in it. We have also made the decision to stay here until sunday. If we want to see more than Prague alone, we can always take the car and drive away.

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with Elisabeth and Teije