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...
Viking Ocean Cruises - Iconic Mediterranean Shores on the Viking Vesta - Istanbul, Turkey to Barcelona, Spain Started with a long trip from home to Istanbul. Flights from Knoxville to Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte to London, England and London to Istanbul. Flight Time 12 1/2 Hours plus another 9-10 hours in Airports. Finally got to the ship at about 9 PM the next day (local time).
Day 7 – Athens (Piraeus), Greece Sunday, November 9 Driving out of the port, you com upon this beautiful Greek Orthodox Church. We drove past the ancient harbor of Zea, its dock dating to the 5th century BC although it is hard to tell where the old harbor ends and the new one starts. This is a bustling harbor. there were three Viking cruise ships at the port and at least 15 ferries that travel to the surrounding islands. The tour description said "Upon arrival at the Acropolis, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, climb 80 steps through the Propylaeum, the grand entrance that delivers you to the plateau of the rock" This was a lie they did not tell you about the six sets fo 20 steps each followed by hills to climb to get to that 80 steps. Once you get to the top, you can look down into the conservatory, an ampatheter where music venues are held. and that can seat approximately 2000 people. Then you look up and realize there is more stairs to...
Comments
Post a Comment
Please leave your name so we know who is commenting.