Poetry Excursion - Sat 1 Oct
Zlatka ended up inviting me and my roommate Sarah to spend a day with her and her friends on a day trip to the countryside of Southern Bohemia. Her friends had gotten the idea to trek out to the ruins of a castle called Točník while reading poetry (in Czech and English) along the way. Sarah and I, both constantly on the lookout for adventures, were excited to be included.
We met up in Prague at a train station we’d never heard of; once we arrive there, it was apparent why. Not even sign for the bathroom were in English, and, had we been on our own, we would have had a very confusing time navigating the station. We had enough people to buy a cheap group ticket (the equivalent of about $2.50 round trip per person!), and the five Czech girls steered us toward the right train.
On the train ride, I sat next to a girl named Lenka and traded life stories. She is a recent graduate of a Danish university, though she is a Prague native, and now works as a travel agent. She kindly pointed out places we passed, such as the Berounka river, and answered my questions about things like industry in the small towns that went by. About an hour later, we arrived at a station (marked by a one-room building that had fallen into disrepair and clearly hadn’t been used in at least a decade). After checking the schedule of return trains, we set out to make our way to Toc’ni’k.
The walk from the train to the castle turned out to be the main activity of the day, taking an hour and a half in one direction. We walked on a road next to fields, over hills that provided stunning views of a patchwork landscape with red rooftops in the distance. We got to a small village, at whose center there was a tiny mall and aging church, and walked from one end to the other in about fifteen minutes. We passed a football (soccer) field and found ourselves on a path through a wooded and hilly area, which took us to another tiny village where we found ourselves saying hello to sheep and goats behind low fences. We learned from our friends that Czech farm animals make pretty much the same sounds as American livestock.
At the end of the wooded path was the first castle, called Žebrák, a pit stop on the way to Točník. It was miniscule compared to the other castles I’ve seen in this country, composed of only a few rooms, and left today in ruins. We first climbed up the wrong way, unable to see the path, and found ourselves atop a precarious sort of peak without an entrance to the castle. Laughing at our mistake, we made our way back down and found the path, which we climbed up to get to the castle courtyard, where we read some Czech poetry, which our friends very kindly translated into incredibly good English.
After the first castle, it was time for lunch. We went to the only open restaurant (out of two total) in the village, where I had a delicious meal of salad and French fries. Then we started up the steep but short route to the main castle, which turned out to be at the top of a very high hill, giving us a spectacular view of the surrounding countryside. We saw our first printed English of the day in a guide to the castle, as the site is more commonly a destination for Czech tourists from the city rather than international travelers. The place was built in the beginning of the 15th century and is currently being restored, and some rooms have recently been equipped with roofs and model furniture.
We spent some time exploring the castle, reading poetry, and taking comfort from the chilly and wet weather with hot drinks. (Mom, as I promised, I wore the matching hat and scarf you made me on the first day it was cold enough to do so.) Sarah and I discussed how lucky we were to have met such friendly people and to have friends who could show us such places that we’d never hear about otherwise.
On our long walk back to the train, I talked with two other girls, Olga and Veronika, about the differences between Czech and American culture. They had really interesting ideas about the problems in Czech society and how things are changing with the younger generation. The most interesting comment was made by Olga, who remarked to me how bored I must be by the unexciting view of the countryside around us. I told her that in fact it was incredibly exciting for me, as it’s something I’d never be able to see anywhere else. Funny how you can think of something as boring just because you’re used to seeing it all the time, no matter how beautiful someone else might think it is.
We got to the train station with over half an hour to kill and spent the time reading more poetry and trying not to freeze. On the train ride home, Sarah asked the Czech girls to share some traditional Czech folk songs with us, and they sang a few. We were prevailed upon to share one or two Jewish songs. We arrived home warm, safe, and completely exhausted.
My photos from this trip are here.
We met up in Prague at a train station we’d never heard of; once we arrive there, it was apparent why. Not even sign for the bathroom were in English, and, had we been on our own, we would have had a very confusing time navigating the station. We had enough people to buy a cheap group ticket (the equivalent of about $2.50 round trip per person!), and the five Czech girls steered us toward the right train.
On the train ride, I sat next to a girl named Lenka and traded life stories. She is a recent graduate of a Danish university, though she is a Prague native, and now works as a travel agent. She kindly pointed out places we passed, such as the Berounka river, and answered my questions about things like industry in the small towns that went by. About an hour later, we arrived at a station (marked by a one-room building that had fallen into disrepair and clearly hadn’t been used in at least a decade). After checking the schedule of return trains, we set out to make our way to Toc’ni’k.
The walk from the train to the castle turned out to be the main activity of the day, taking an hour and a half in one direction. We walked on a road next to fields, over hills that provided stunning views of a patchwork landscape with red rooftops in the distance. We got to a small village, at whose center there was a tiny mall and aging church, and walked from one end to the other in about fifteen minutes. We passed a football (soccer) field and found ourselves on a path through a wooded and hilly area, which took us to another tiny village where we found ourselves saying hello to sheep and goats behind low fences. We learned from our friends that Czech farm animals make pretty much the same sounds as American livestock.
At the end of the wooded path was the first castle, called Žebrák, a pit stop on the way to Točník. It was miniscule compared to the other castles I’ve seen in this country, composed of only a few rooms, and left today in ruins. We first climbed up the wrong way, unable to see the path, and found ourselves atop a precarious sort of peak without an entrance to the castle. Laughing at our mistake, we made our way back down and found the path, which we climbed up to get to the castle courtyard, where we read some Czech poetry, which our friends very kindly translated into incredibly good English.
After the first castle, it was time for lunch. We went to the only open restaurant (out of two total) in the village, where I had a delicious meal of salad and French fries. Then we started up the steep but short route to the main castle, which turned out to be at the top of a very high hill, giving us a spectacular view of the surrounding countryside. We saw our first printed English of the day in a guide to the castle, as the site is more commonly a destination for Czech tourists from the city rather than international travelers. The place was built in the beginning of the 15th century and is currently being restored, and some rooms have recently been equipped with roofs and model furniture.
We spent some time exploring the castle, reading poetry, and taking comfort from the chilly and wet weather with hot drinks. (Mom, as I promised, I wore the matching hat and scarf you made me on the first day it was cold enough to do so.) Sarah and I discussed how lucky we were to have met such friendly people and to have friends who could show us such places that we’d never hear about otherwise.
On our long walk back to the train, I talked with two other girls, Olga and Veronika, about the differences between Czech and American culture. They had really interesting ideas about the problems in Czech society and how things are changing with the younger generation. The most interesting comment was made by Olga, who remarked to me how bored I must be by the unexciting view of the countryside around us. I told her that in fact it was incredibly exciting for me, as it’s something I’d never be able to see anywhere else. Funny how you can think of something as boring just because you’re used to seeing it all the time, no matter how beautiful someone else might think it is.
We got to the train station with over half an hour to kill and spent the time reading more poetry and trying not to freeze. On the train ride home, Sarah asked the Czech girls to share some traditional Czech folk songs with us, and they sang a few. We were prevailed upon to share one or two Jewish songs. We arrived home warm, safe, and completely exhausted.
My photos from this trip are here.
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