Olomouc in July

We travelled to Olomouc and stayed at a Hotel in downtown.  Parking was difficult, and cost money on the street by the hotel, so after Bart unpacked, he drove it several blocks away to park for 2 days for free.  
It was very hot, unusually so for Czechia, and this hotel, like many, didn't have air conditioning.  But this one didn't have a room fan, either.  And the windows opened out onto a noisy street with a tram coming by and hitting the brakes every 15 minutes or fewer.  So I called the room service.  First they brought me a hair dryer!  But they understood my English better, with hand signs showing an oscillating fan, and then we got one on a base that alternated between our two twin beds.  This room had a refrigerator, microwave, counter and sink!  We must have eaten dinner somewhere, but I can't remember it.  
Olomouc is second only to Prague in size in the Czech Republic. It is surrounded by a ring of parks and remains of a Medieval town wall, which is enormous and very impressive.  
The next morning, with me in the wheelchair with a broken front wheel, we headed out.  A couple of blocks behind the hotel was St. Wenceslaus Cathedral, next to a museum of Roman Catholic treasures.  When Pope John Paul and Mother Theresa were in Olomouc in the 1990s, (I think), he wanted a museum created to house the treasures the church had \collected, and in the 2010s it was done.  They had ramps and an elevator, once we managed to bump over the big rocks in their "cobblestone" entranceway/garden.  
No one spoke English, but they showed us the elevator and ramps.  My favorite part was a small circular room, mostly dark, with chalices, and other objects to house or display the host, in gold and encrusted with jewels.  We couldn't really take pictures in there, and the step to get in and out was treacherous.  There were also lots of paintings and statues.  

Next we walked several blocks down to the Main Square, which had an Astronomical Clock with proletariat figures.  The communists had put these figures in to replace the saints, because they aren't keen on religion. . 

Hercules Fountain in the main square.

This Astronomical Clock in the Horni Namesti, or main square.  It was acquired in the 1400s, and is in the wall of the Town Hall.

Holy Trinity Column

The column has 3 tiers, with religious and historical figures, and is an example of European Baroque sculpture.

One of the 7 fountains in the city.

Arion Fountain.  Arion was an ancient poet.  This was created in 2002 to a design created by the Olomouc councillors 350 years ago.  There are 7 famous fountains in the city.  

UNESCO World Heritage Cultural Heritage Column.

Crowned by figures representing the Holy Trinity. Erected in 1716/17.  

In the background is the Edelman Palace, dating from 1525, on the right in white.  It is supposed to be "very opulent" but we couldn't get in.  (wheelchair).

Next stop, Church of St. Maurice.  

Then it poured down rain, so we huddled under a shelter.  We had an umbrella, but couldn't keep it over my cast well, which I'm not supposed to get wet.  The tracks in this shot are for the trams (electric).  

When the rain quit, we went back to our hotel.  Then dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant.  They didn't have some of the meals listed on the menu, and brought me a completely wrong dish, but the wine (Moravian) was good.  Afterward we walked through a park around the town center, with the huge Medieval Town Wall, and peeked into the closed Botanical Garden.  Lots of people were out, strolling, walking dogs, gathering with friends.  

The walls were built over these rocky cliffs and outcroppings.  I never saw a wall like that, and I love it!

There were occasional openings in the wall, with stairs up into the town.  

This is on a small bridge over a lovely brook, and would have led us into the Botanical Garden if it had been open.

Sun is setting, must be getting close to 10 pm.  Off to the Irish Whiskey Bar.  

    

Don't Go There

Ok, well you can GO there, but stay in your car.  The wheel chair can not handle the stairs, steep hills, or gravel paths.  I had mapped out a route for the day, including several castles, and some caves.
Breakfast first, for 4 Euros.  You can order eggs OR bacon OR sausage OR a ham and cheese omelet but not more than one.  Omelet sounds like the best deal.  But you can have unlimited rolls, bread and jam, and this meat pate.  Coffee is latte or espresso only.  If you want American coffee, you can have hot water to pour in with your espresso. 

 The first stop was actually a chateau called Slatinany. It has been made into an Equestrian  Stud Farm and Museum.  They breed horses, and there are tours of the farm.  The Kladruber is one of the oldest breeds in the world, very rare, and begun in Czechia. 

We got there at 9:30 and the farm tours didn't start until 11.  What about the  Equestrian museum?  Well, maybe you can get in there with the wheel chair.  Can we drive to it?  No, you have to push the wheel chair half a kilometer on a dirt/gravel path.  Killer.  At least it was flat, right?  Well, most of the way.  It was hot, thirsty work, but we made it, and there was a lovely chateau with an inner courtyard.  One wall had a window where you could buy tour tickets and souvenirs.  The tickets were 100 Kc, or about $5.00.  Any discount for handicap?  No.  Any stairs?  Couldn't understand thee answer.  Can we go?  Yes, yes, you can do the first floor.  So Bart paid for our tickets and when the next tour started we got in with the crowd.  The tour guide stopped us.  You know there are stairs?  How many?  50 to get to the first floor.  Aren't we on the first floor?  No, in the Czech Republic the first floor is up one flight from the ground floor.  That's why my first apartment was on the third floor but I had to walk up 4 flights of stairs to get there.  Well, there is no way I can crutch my way up 50 stairs.  Back to the window; insist on a refund, and push the wheelchair half a kilometer back to the car.  Thanks for nothing, and over an hour of our day shot.

We drove around the area for a bit anyway, and found a neat forest with dirt roads that reminded us of  the top of West Mountain back home.  Poor rental car was terrified of the pot holes and one lane, two-way traffic pathway.  We saw ponds where people were fishing, and some vacation cottages.

Some workers at the horse farm were training the horses to pull carriages.  One breed of horse, called the Kladruber, was used to pull the big, heavy carriages for the Hapsburgs.  They are very large, and black or grey.  Another breed are all white, called 

  Nove Hrady Palace has free parking for handicapped people, even without a pass or sticker.  Also entrance is free.  That's nice, since I can't see most of it due to gravel paths on hills.  The wheels won't even turn on that.  Bart parked me in the shade by a rose arbor, and went exploring.  He took lots of pictures so I could at least see what he was seeing second hand.  

They had a museum for antique European motor bikes.  Very cool.  

It is called Bohemia's most beautiful Rococo palace, or the Bohemian Versailles.  It is salmon pink!  

Ok, back on the road again, through farm land with a new village every few miles.  We had lunch in our cooler, and stopped at a roadside shelter with a picnic table in the shard, surrounded by farm fields, and littered with cigarette butts.  SO MANY people smoke here.  As a matter of fact it is only this year that people finally started obeying the law to not smoke in bars and restaurants.  

Next Next stop, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Litomysl Castle. There are 12 in the Czech Republic.  There is only one in Poland and one in Hungary.

It was up a big hill in the city, above a museum of local history.  So Bart sent me off to see the museum while he scouted possibilities to get me into the castle.  

By now we were exhausted, and didn't have the energy for the Javoricska caves.  It was still a long drive to Olomouc, where we would spend the next two days.  

Our hotel there was smack dab in the middle of downtown, within wheelchair-pushing distance of the sites we wanted to visit.  It also had a wheelchair lift at the front door, and an elevator to our room.  There was a little fridge, and a fan in the closet (no air conditioning in the 80s - 90s weather).  We could open windows, but there was a lot of street noise, especially from the tram stop right below us. 

By now my left front wheel was in tatters, hanging on by a thread.  And of course, all the streets and sidewalks were paved with small paving stones. 

Time for a beer.  Or two.