Kutna Hora and Sedlec (a small suburb of Kutna Hora) is a unique site about an hour outside of Prague. In the middle ages it was a site of pilgrimage. Legend has it that the Abbot at the time Abbbot Heidenreich had travelled to Jerusalem and brought back a fistful of soil from Akeldama (Field of Blood) establishing the first holy field in Central Europe. After a monk at the monestary here discovered silver in the second half of the 13th century, the population grew to about 80,000 making it one of the largest cities in the world at the time. With the black plague, mining accidents, etc. the cemetary grew to an unmanagable size of 3.5 Hectares (almost 9 Acres). At the time the solution was to build an Ossuary (a repository for the bones). Since tradition mandates that remains must be buried below ground the Church od All Saints was built with the bones carefully stored in the basement "Below Ground". Records show that are over 500 Ossuaries in the Czech Republic, but this on...
Started the day at the "Punchbowl" (The National Cemetery of the Pacific). This used to be one of the highlights of a visit to Hawaii, but sadly now it rarely gets mentioned in the travel websites. For people who respect and revere the military it is as moving as going to Arlington National Cemetery. The Punchbowl gets its name because of the location in a volcanic crater above the city of Honolulu. One of the impressive things about the Memorial is that they have huge panels telling about the major campaigns of the Second World War in the Pacific and the Korean War. Panoramic View of Honolulu and Waikiki from the entrance to the Punchbowl After leaving there we headed across the Pali Hwy to the Pali Lookout The winds are so strong here that the roots of some trees have grown to massive sizes Below the lookout are pristine white sand beaches with ultra fine sand and with the wind or this side of the island, it is a perfect place for Wind Surfing. On around the East sid...
Day 2 in Prague and the scheduled tour was a four walking tour. We decided we were not up to that so we decided to walk to the old town square on our own. The town is very pedestrian friendly except for the trolleys, they don't stop for anyone and they have the right of way. Prašná brána, the city gate built in the 15th century and restored after being damaged in the Battle of Prague. As we were walking along, we saw all these classic cars lined up to give tours. One pulled up next to us and we decided to go for it. Main train station Narodni Museum Government Buildings, our guide did not have a lot good to say about the government. They refer to this building as the "Dancing Building" or "Dancing House" Hradcany Square in front of the Matyáš Gate, main entrance to Prague Castle. Loreto, Historic pilgrimage destination with a church, a cloister, a clock tower & rare liturgical objects Our guide and driver Jakub, born and raised in Prague, but spoke perfect...
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