The castle sits atop of one such sandstone peak and is quite small but well preserved.

What is really interesting however about this location is how the natural sandstone caves have been utilized as homes up until the 19th century. Behind the castle are a vast number of natural caves that have been modified and enlarged to provide homes. Originally, they were finished with wooden upper stories.

More information can be found here – use google translate to read it.

On Good Friday, Czech’s don’t eat meat and on Easter Monday the guys beat their women with sticks receiving chocolate or other gifts for their beatings from the girls….. weird huh!

Most of the legibly marked graves in the cemetery date from the 18th century. Many of the older gravestones have suffered extensive damage due to the effects of the weather and some have almost disintegrated completely. The graves are arranged in orderly rows, although the rampant ivy and haphazard collection of trees that grew spontaneously in the years after World War Two will try to convince you otherwise. Small pathside stones with Hebrew and Arabic numerals are the markers for individual sections of the cemetery.

The cemetery shows a wide variation in the status of the members of the Jewish community. The graves of the wealthier or more respected citizens are towards the front of the cemetery and many of the gravestones show a high degree of craftsmanship. The most valuable historically are those of the Baroque South-Moravian or Mikulov type, from the middle of the eighteenth century. The style combines the usual elements of headstone design with those of the regional folk art. Typically the main panel of text will be bordered by pilasters at each side and an ornamental scroll at the top. The Mikulov type also incorporates floral and plant motifs into the decorative border area and tends to be of a more ornate overall shape. The gravestones of the less wealthy citizens towards the rear of the cemetery are much plainer, the simplest ones consisting of a rectangular tablet topped by a semicircle.

Most of the more recent (from the mid-19th century) graves are larger, and some are carved from white marble. Unlike the older Hebrew gravestones, the inscriptions are often in German and there are even several in Czech (The German language was not allowed to be used on public memorials after 1945). The last burial took place here in 1949.” [February 2009]

The Boskovice Jewish Cemetery
Potocní ulice
Boskovice, Czech Republic

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Hrensko is situated in a narrow gorge in the sandstone and is truly spectacular.

Hrensko

Hrensko

We also took a trip up the mountain to visit Pravčická gate – an equally spectacular natural window in the sandstone. You must park your car about 1.5km from the entrance to the national park and then hike another 2km or so up hill through true natural beauty to the top. On the top is a cafe/restaurant serving cold beer and traditional Czech fare. Supplies for this can only be brought in using a small lift up the mountain.

On the way up...

Close to the top.

The 'Gate'

Another view.

Cafe at the top...

In all, the trip took us about 3-4 hours up and down and was well worth it for the views and the scenery.

The legal driving age in the Czech Republic is 18. You are required to have a zero blood alcohol level when driving and police often conduct breath tests. You must have fastened seat belt and children up to twelve years of age may not travel in the front seat of vehicle. The speed limit is 50 km/h (30 mph) in built-up areas, 90 km/h (60 mph) out of built-up areas and 130 km/h (80 mph) on highways.

If you use any multilane divided highway you have to buy the Highway Sticker for 1200 Kc ($66) and place it on the windshield. The sticker may be purchased at all border crossings, post offices and some gas stations. The fine for driving without the sticker is 20.000 Kc ($1111).

For car emergency service call the automobile and motorcycle club 24 hours a day on the number 1230. In case of an accident the police should be contacted immediately if damage exceeds 100.000 Kc.

D1 pile up

Xmas in Brno

According to tradition, gifts are brought not by Santa but by Ježíšek, or “baby Jesus”. People usually fast on Christmas Eve and only eat a spot of sauerkraut soup to keep them going during the fasting period; traditionally children are encouraged to fast alongside the adults with the promise that the best amongst them will see the “golden pig”, which brings good luck. Fish soup and breaded roasted carp with special homemade potato salad are a traditional dish for the dinner. The gifts are secretly displayed under the Christmas tree (usually a spruce or pine) by one of the adults, usually just before or during dinner. Children have to wait for the ringing of a Christmas bell (one of the decorations on the Christmas tree) – the sign that Ježíšek (little Jesus) has just passed by – to run for the presents. That happens at the end of Christmas dinner meaning – early delivery…...

The competition has really become a bit of a joke to everyone except Karel Gott fans. Gott (photo above )- now 72 years of age – released his first single in 1962 and is the Czech version of Sir Cliff Richard in the UK (Charlie God in English!). Frankly, I think you simply have to be over 60 and Czech to appreciate this singer as I think he is a total joke. But Gott won best make singer last night for the 37th time (that is correct THIRTY SEVEN). What I can’t understand is that, being Communist approved during the totalitarian era, how anyone here can tolerate this ex-communist hack. He has sold over 30 million records apparently – 3 for every man, woman and child in the Czech Republic – it is sad. Here he is ?singing? one of his hits (LOL!)…

Things aren’t much better on the female side either with Lucie Bila (photo below) knocking up 13 wins – but at least this woman can sing…. Here she is singing with a real male Czech singer – Martin Chodur..

The funny thing there is some real talent in this country. But the country itself seems quite conservative and fixated on its idols of yesteryear. Shame really but hopefully it will change over time.

To get an idea of the voting (by text) results for the Czech Nightingales 2011 pop over to its site

Check out Martin Chodur for example….

Or check out Gabriela Gunčíková & Lukáš Adamec …

Or group Charlie Straight….

Funnily enough, outside of Prague, real coffee is sold by Segafredo outlets NOT Starbucks. I prefer Segafredo to be honest but a cup of Starbucks can make a nice change. There are also many private coffee shops that simply offer very good coffee.

Massimo Zanetti founded Segafredo Zanetti. Initially he developed the business within Italy, where it soon became a leader in the licensed and public premises market. The company then extended into the consumer market and large scale retail trade, before going on to conquer the international markets.

Segafredo Zanetti is now the leading Espresso producer in Italy and throughout the world, with more than 70,000 clients and 50 million cups of espresso drunk each day. It certainly appears to be the most common outlet for coffee in Brno….

Sometime in 2012, an Ossuary will open here in Brno. Before doing any renovation or new construction in Brno, it is standard practice to do a preliminary archeological dig, but what they found several years ago under Jakubske namesti or “St. Jacob’s Square” was a surprise to everybody. They found some 50,000 skeletons stuffed under the square into a medieval Ossuary. Once piled in neat rows, at some point water and mud had flooded the gigantic underground ossuary and jumbled the thousands of bones.

The bones, thought to be from the 1600 and 1700s, are believed to have been dug up from an old cemetery to make space for more burials as in most of the ossuaries and catacombs in Europe. It is the sheer amount of skulls, bones and skeletons here, second only to the Catacombs in Paris, that make the Brno ossuary especially significant. It is clear that many of the people died of various disease which can be seen in the coloration of the bones themselves. Though all the bones are tinted yellow — having never been exposed to sunlight — the extra yellow ones likely died of cholera, while the red tinted bones probably died from the plague.

Unfortunately the bones are not yet open to the public. Due to having been exposed to water, the bones are still unsanitary and may carry bacteria and disease, and need to be cleaned before the ossuary can be fully opened to the public. The opening is planned for 2012.