Journeys Near and Far

Scenic Sunday: Brno, Czech Republic

Brno, Czech Republic

I found this cool restaurant sign on a side street in Brno, Czech  Republic while exploring the city one weekend.  

I had been taking a six-week TEFL course at the Boland School, so I had the chance to live in someone's house, which the school called "the Pink House" as it was painted a very bright pink, and I had plenty to free time to explore Brno and the surrounding countryside.

Traveling slowly

Usually when I travel, I'm time-limited.  I may have a week to take a trip including two days in the air.  It doesn't give me much time to relax and move slowly through a town and take in a little bit at a time. 

Not so in this case.  Every weekend I explored the town's streets or climbed the hill to Špilberk Castle.  And then I either hopped on a bus to visit friends in nearby Veverská Bitýška, or went with them to local festivals and to places like the Moravian Karst.

The Encyclopedia of Haunted Places

Travel the World in Search of Ghosts

Just in time for Halloween, I've had the opportunity to review the revised edition of Jeff Belanger's Encyclopedia of Haunted Places:  Ghostly Locales from Around the World. 

Belanger, the founder of Ghostvillage.com, the largest supernatural community on the web, has been studying and writing about the supernatural since 1997, and has authored ten books including The World's Most Haunted Places and The Ghost Files.

I haven't decided yet exactly how I feel about ghosts.  Do they exist?  I don't know.  But I'm open to the idea.  There are a few things for sure, though.  I love visiting haunted castles and inns on my travels, I think ghost stories are entertaining, and I thoroughly enjoy ghost tours.

It's easy to find ghostly tales and destinations in the Encyclopedia of Haunted Places.  The directory is packed with detailed information and intriguing stories that Belanger compiled about haunts around the world. 

In this book you'll find stories about:

• Dracula's castle, once the residence of Prince Vlad Tepes, aka "Vlad the Impaler" in Bran, Romania
• The Catacomb Museum in Paris, where more than 6 million bodies are housed
• The White House, where the ghost of Abraham Lincoln is said to appear
• And so much more

Wawel Castle, Krakow, Poland

Just for fun, I selected three haunted places I've visited recently to see if I could learn more about them from the book than I learned while at the sites themselves. 

First I looked up Wawel Royal Castle in Krakow, Poland.  Seat of the Polish kings for half a milenium, this castle is not only the home to the spirits of the royals who were laid to rest in the vaults under the cathedral, but to Smocza Jama, a dragon who lived in the 200-foot-long cave on the hillside.

I knew this story from having toured the castle and cave, but I didn't know that King Kazimir, who ruled in the 11th century, is said to have found a glowing stone in one of the tunnels that feeds and protects Krakow.  Nor did I know that King Sigismund I the Old's jester, Stancyk, supposedly appears on the castle battlements whenever Poland is in danger.  Interesting.

Pernstejn Castle, Czech Republic

Looming above the forest like a fortress out of the set of Van Helsing, Pernstejn is one of the best preserved castles in the Czech Republic.  Mentioned in historical records as early as the second half of the 13th century, this castle is frequently used for the filming of fairytales and movies taking place during the middle ages.

Only 35 kilometers north of the Moravian city of Brno, Pernstejn stands on a rocky hill above the villages of Pernstejn and Nedvedice, overlooking the beautiful highlands of Moravia and Bohemia.  Some 75,000 people visit the castle every year.

I, too, visited this ancient edifice -- on a gloomy April day.  Snowflakes peppered the air as my Czech friend, Libor (right), acted as castle guide and teacher.  He told me the castle is often called the "Pearl of Moravian Castle Architecture" as it represents a unique example of Late Gothic resident and fortified building.

During the 15th century there was a frenzy of building activity at the castle due to warfare, and  the nobility wished to enlarge their residence and make it more luxurious.  Two wooden gantries were built to connect the two palace towers, as you can see in the above photo.

What interested me most about the castle was the mysterious atmosphere that lingered in the air, most likely due to the secret symbols and verses on the walls and in the corridors.  And then there's the castle's legend of the White Lady, said to be the ghost of a vain chambermaid named Eliska, who often appears with a comb in her hand...   Another ghostly tale?  Perhaps if you visit the castle you will find out...

Would you like to learn more about Pernstejn Castle?  Read about it on the Radio Praha site.

If you liked this article you might also enjoy:

• A Romantic Getaway in Prague:  Knights to Remember in the Czech Republic's Fairytale City

Learning to Teach English in the Czech Republic

Brno, Czech Republic

A couple of years ago during a snowy December, my friend Carolyn and I flew to Prague to see the Christmas Markets.   Our flight was delayed due to bad weather, causing us to miss our connection in Frankfurt.  Serendipity intervened, however, and we found that we had an interesting Czech seatmate who worked as a snowboard instructor in the north of the Czech Republic, near Poland. 

Our seatmate, Libor, hailed from Veverská Bítýška, near Brno.  He soon became my penfriend, and several months later I spent two weeks visiting him and his family, only to return again six weeks later to study for a TEFL certificate (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) at the Boland School in Brno -- both fabulous experiences which you can read about in an article that was originally published in The Center News in September of 2004. 

Brno, the second largest city in the Czech Republic, lies in Moravia, in the south, near Austria.  The city quickly became my home, and I grew to like it very much.  Unlike Prague, I saw few tourists there, and it's a great home base for day trips to beautiful Czech towns, castles and palaces such as Telc, Lednice, Olomouc, and Pernstejn Castle.  Near Brno you can also enjoy the beauty of Brno Lake or the Moravian Karst. 

There is also plenty to do and see right in Brno, such as a visit to the 14th century gothic Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul, or the Capuchin Monastery's Crypt, built in 1651, where a Latin inscription above the Friars' tombs reads, "What you are, we were, what we are, you will be."   A chilling reminder to live life to the fullest! 

Brno also has interesting museums to explore -- or get some exercise by climbing the hill to the 13th century Špilberk Castle for a sweeping view of the city.

Although I haven't taught classes yet outside of those taught during my training at the Boland School, I do hope to teach English one day, and would love to hear comments from anyone else who has done this.  If you've gotten your TEFL certificate and/or taught English to speakers of a foreign language anywhere in the world please post a comment and let me know how you enjoyed the experience!

I'll write more about the Boland School, Brno and the Czech Republic later.

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy:

A Romantic Getaway in Prague:  Knights to  Remember in the Czech Republic's Fairytale City