July 22, 2011 - Exmoor National Park to Exmouth

Greetings All,

We decided to take the 50 mile scenic tour though Exmoor National Park to take in the scenery and hopefully some of the wildlife that inhabits the moor.  Starting out from "Little Switzerland", the area that encompasses the twin villages of Lynmouth and Lynton we headed along the A39 toward Dunster.  After a couple of miles we crested a brow and to find moorland and a herd of Exmoor Ponies.  We had read that the Exmoor Pony is a very rare breed and one of Britain's oldest.  They almost fell into extinction in the 1940's when the herd had only 50 ponies and just 4 stallions.  Stocks have now increased to 1000 but it is still classified as endangered by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust.  Before 1950 almost all Exmoor Ponies lived on the moor but today in order to ensure the survival of the species some have been moved outside of Exmoor.  There are now only around 200 ponies on the moor that roam freely and breed in their natural habitat.  We were very excited to be able to stop and get some great photos of the ponies. The picture above is of two colts who just crossed the road with mom and were just a few feet away from us.  The moor is also home to Red Deer, Horned Feral Roaming Goats and and two endangered species of British Butterfly's.  There are also four varieties of Whitebeam Trees that are found no where else in the world. The Whitebeam berries are edible and were once sold in local markets.

We made our way along the winding roads taking in the beautiful landscape.  The picture below is  Exmoor and the Bristol Channel.   The day started out overcast and unfortunately the weather turned as we drove along with rain falling quite heavily.  We passed through some lovely little villages that would have been nice to explore had the weather been dryer.

We made our way along the moor and onto some very narrow lanes wide enough for a single car with  8 to 10 foot hedgerows on both sides of the road and passing points alternating on either side of the road. With the hedgerows being very tall when you meet a car it made for a heart stopping moment for me.  Fred of course has no issues and drives like he has been motoring on these types of roads all his life.  We come off the moor into the seaside town of Ilfracombe and had some great views of the Bristol Channel and a large cruise ship anchored in the bay.  We learned later in the day that the cruise ship was the first one to ever visit Ilfracombe.  From Ilfracombe we headed back onto the moor and headed to Exmouth, our next stopping point.

We arrived at Exmouth, a typical seaside town and our base for the next two nights.  Our accommadtion was a Coast and Country Hotel which caters to more senior people (older than us) so there were no rugrats under foot.  The accommodation is half board,  breakfast and supper being included in the price.  We opted for the late sitting for supper as most of the real seniors prefer to eat at the earlier sittings.  The picture on the left was of the water front as viewed from our room.  Once we had dropped our suitcase we headed off to explore the waterfront and find a place for a late lunch, as supper was not until 8:00 p.m.  We found a nice pub where we had a light lunch of sandwiches with a pint of cider for me and bitter for Fred.  Once refreshed we continued to explore looking for downtown Exmouth.  We never did find what we were looking for as we went along the water front when we left the hotel.  Had we gone up the hill away from the water front we would have been in the heart of downtown Exmouth less than a two minute walk away.  We returned to the hotel for a drink at the lobby bar and use the free WiFi before supper.  Supper was somewhat disappointing given our previous experience in Bath with the same chain.  After supper we had an early night as we planned to be out bright and early the next day to explore the south Devon Coast and Dartmoor National Park.

Cheers,

Sandy & Fred

July 21, 2011 - Lynmouth & Lynton, Devon

Greetings All,

After a month away dealing with the death of my Mom, Fred has arranged what I like to call a mini honeymoon.  This was the longest period of time that Fred and I have been apart since we started going out in 1969, so hence the honeymoon.  For our first night we were booked in at a hotel in Lynmouth located in Exmoor National Park North Devon.  We stayed at Shelley's, a bed and breakfast where the poet Percy Shelley honeymooned in the summer of 1812.  Lynmouth is located on the shore and from our room we have views of Lynmouth Bay and on a clear day you can see across to Wales.  Once we were settled in we set off to explore the village.  It was very picturesque and we took

a ride on the Cliff Railway which was built in 1888.  It is two single cars that work on a pulley system that is water powered.  Lynton the village at the top of the cliff is also very quaint.  From here you get some amazing views of Lynmouth Bay as seen on the right. We walked around the upper village which really did not have much compared to Lynmouth but managed to see an old Prefect car.  The man driving stopped to chat to a shop owner so we got a perfect picture as well as sharing a laugh with the gents.  We also came across a cute sign above a small phone box for how to contact the police when the office was closed.  Village living at it's best.  We took the train back down the cliff and manage to get into the very front of the car so I was able to get a great video of our trip back.  We headed back to our room for some refreshment and to get an idea of how we wanted to proceed to our next destination tomorrow.

Once plans were in place we headed back out to find a place for supper or tea as it is called in the UK. We decided to opt for a pub as we really did not want a big 3 course supper that was being offered at some of the restaurants.  The Village Inn was a great little pub with the owner greeting everyone and asking were you were from.  It was also a dog friendly pub.  We were entertained by the owner and a regular visitor with his dog doing tricks while we enjoyed a cider and pint of ale.  I also tried a new cider on the recommendation of an old couple who came in for a pint or two, unfortunately we can't remember its name.  Supper for me was a burger and Fred had a lamb shank.  I also chatted with a young couple who were hiking as they had shoes on that looked like heavy neoprene but they were the shape of their foot, toes and all.  According to them they helped with knee and back issues as they made you walk more naturally.  As well they were sturdy enough for walking on trails.  Maybe something to check out especially for me and my awful knees.  After an entertaining evening in the pub which also offers rooms on a bed and breakfast basis we did a short walk about taking a few more pictures.  We headed back to our room picking up a bottle of wine from the hotel's honesty bar.  It is a fully stocked and unmanned bar, which you take what you want and leave a chit on the bar.  What a fantastic idea as well they did not gouge you on the price.  Just a couple of pounds more than if you bought it in the store.  This is definitely a return to location as we could not explore all we wanted to as I only had sandals and flipflops that I had taken with me when I left for Canada so not good for walking the trails.

Cheers,

Sandy & Fred

June 30, 2011 - My Mothers Passing

It is with great sadness that I post this blog dedicated to my Mom.  How does one truly measure what such a loss means and the range of emotions you go through.  Mom lost her battle with cancer after a relatively short time when it reoccurred after almost 40 years of being cancer free.  I returned to Canada and was able to spend quality time with her.  She remained at home until the very last day when breathing difficulties made it impossible for us to provide her with any comfort.

I have always been very negative about funerals and feel that one should celebrate life something my Mom did from a very early age.  She wore many hats throughout her 88 years and was successful in most of her endeavors.  A true women's libber before the phrase was even known.  Outspoken and stubborn, qualities that sometimes got her in hot water but it was who she was.  As a mother she instilled in us honesty, integrity, strength and the desire to love life to the fullest taking on life's challenges head on.

Mom had two real loves in her life, dogs and the Legion.  Training German Sheppards while in Toronto, then raising Redbone Coon Hounds while in Moravian Town.  Her favorite dog was a boarder collie Tonto who went everywhere she did until he passed away less than a year ago.   In the Legion Mom was the go to person.  A stickler for doing things properly and by the book as a Sargent Major in the army she ruffled feathers but ensured that protocol was followed at all functions.

There is so much more I could share about Mom, her life and my feelings but as many of you know who has lost a mother words are not sufficient.  Mom will be greatly missed by all whose lives she touched.

I miss and love you, be at peace Mom.

Sandy

June 16, 2011 - Jewish Quarter and House Signs, Prague

Dobry den All,     

Today we headed off to the Jewish Quarter via tram as the Metro is closed because of a one day strike.  Our first stop is The Ceremonial Hall and mortuary of the Old Jewish Cemetery.  The cemetery was established in the first half of the 15th century and is one of the most important surviving monuments in Prague's Jewish Town.  The oldest tombstone dates from 1439 and marks the place of poet and scholar Avigdor Kara.  Burials took place in the cemetery up until 1787. There are almost 12,000 tombstones but the number buried in the cemetery far exceeds that.  The cemetery was expanded a number of times and when that was not enough, earth was brought in and several burial layers were superimposed one on top of another.  The groupings of stones are a result of the stones being lifted from the lower layers.  The picture in the right shows the stones rather haphazard design.  It is hard to imagine the numbers that must be buried in what is a relatively small site.

Our next stop was the exploration of the four Synagogues on our ticket.  While all were very impressive structures two of them made a huge impression on us. The Spanish Synagogue as pictured on the left was built in 1868 on the site of the oldest Prague Jewish house of prayer in a Moorish style.  It is very ornate as you can see and was completed in 1893.  The area pictured on the left of the organ was completed in the years 1836-1845.  The synagogue is also home to the History of the Jews in Bohemia and Moravia from Emancipation to Present Day.  The other synagogue that made a impression was The Pinkas Synagogue, built in 1535 by Aaron M Horowitz between his house and the Old Jewish cemetery.  It is now a war memorial to those Jews of Bohemia and Moravia that were murdered by the Nazi's during the second world war.  Their personal data and names of the community they belonged to are are inscribed on the wall.  In 1968 the memorial was closed due to ground water seepage that penetrated the foundations and threaten the structure.  During repair work a ancient well, ritual bath and vaulted spaces were discovered.  The communist regime halted the renovations and removed the inscribed names.  It was not until 1990 that the building renovations were completed.  Finally in 1992-1996 the 80,000 names were rewritten on the walls.  While walking thru the hallways we see a father pointing out family members names that are written on the wall to his kids.   A very sad piece of family history for them but nice that they will not be forgotten and remembered along with the horrible atrocities that happened during WWII.  This site is also home to a permanent exhibition of "Children's drawings from Terezin 1942-1944".  Among the Terezin prisoners there were over 10,000 children under the age of 15, and of the 8,000 deported to the East only 242 survived the wartime suffering.  There are over 4,000 pictures of original drawings done by these children.  A moving testimony to the cruel fate that befell them and in most cases the only relic left of those that did not survive.

After our exploration of the Jewish Quarter we headed back across the Charles Bridge to find a place for a late lunch.  We found a nice outdoor cafe overlooking the canal.  I opted for a salad, red wine and Fred has food LOL we can't remember what and a beer, Budweiser.  Now I know you are thinking a Bud while you are in Prague but the town Ceske Budejovice was brewing the beer long before the Americans, however they did not copyright the name.  The beer, a lager is much darker in colour and flavour than its American counterpart.  While we were enjoying lunch an annoying American arrives on the scene and makes a big deal about the beer and how he did not travel all this way for an American beer.  The waiter picked up a coaster which has the history of the beer on it and tosses it to the American and says read this we been brewing this beer long before you Americans discovered it. Kudo's to the waiter we wanted to clap and cheer him on.  It was too bad jerks like this give all Americans a bad name.  After a nice lunch ignoring the jerk we headed off to find House Signs.

House numbers did not come into effect until 1770.  Homes were known and located by a charming but confusing system of allegorical symbols.  Nerudova Street has the highest concentration of these signs.

The golden key on left is a sign for a Castle Goldsmith who worked at this house in the 17th Century.  Because he paid a fee to the city he was entitled to advertise his wares unlike his counterparts that lived in Golden Lane up in Prague Castle.

The Red Lamb on the right is one of the streets more unlikely symbols.  Its significance is so arcane that not even the owner of the house knows what it means. As we walked along we saw violins, lobsters, parsnips, suns, lilies, swans and devils
adorning the homes.  We walked back to the hotel stopping for refreshment.  The cobblestones have been very hard on our feet even Fred said his feet hurt today.  We have seen all the sites and decided to relax around the hotel tomorrow before heading back to the UK.  In hindsight we should have booked a trip out of town midweek to see some of the Czech countryside, but that can be another trip. We hope you have enjoyed the blogs of this trip.

Na sheldanou for now,

Sandy & Fred

June 15, 2011 - St Vitus Cathedral and Prague Castle

Dobry den All,         

Today we headed out to the Cathedral and Prague Castle which as indicated in yesterdays blog a series of palaces, churches and gardens that make up the Castle.
 
We took the metro (subway) and then the tram to get close to the Castle grounds. After purchasing tickets that enabled us to enter four buildings of the Castle, we set for the cathedral.  St Vitus's is a spectacular Gothic Cathedral.  Construction was first started by Prince Wenceslas who built a rotunda on Hracany Hill on a pagan worship site and dedicated it to St Vitus a roman saint.  Work began on the grand cathedral in 1344, however, with the interruptions of wars the construction was only completed in 1929.  The inside of the cathedral is just as spectacular as the outside.

The artwork, chapels, towers within the church are beautiful. The Picture on the left is of St John of Nepomuk's Tomb. The silver of this 3700 lb coffin came from the Bohemian mining town of Kutna Hora and is symbolized by the statues of miners to the left of the tomb.

To see more of the amazing interior of the cathedral you need to visit our Flickr site.  After spending over a hour in the church taking in all the wonders we headed off to the Old Royal Palace. Prague Castle is the metaphorical and historical throne of the Czech lands.  Prince Borivoj built a wooden fortress here in the late 9th century establishing the hilltop overlooking the river as the Premyslids dynastic seat. The castle later became the capitol of the Holy Roman Empire. Much of the castle was rebuilt in the 16th century  and is what we see today.  It is now the home of the President of the Czech Republic.  The area that we are allowed to explore is amazingly bare compared to some of the mansions/homes we have seen in the UK. 

The next stop was the Basilica of St. George which was built by Prince Vratislav in 921. Chapels in the basilica are ornate, particularly the chapel of St. Wenceslas's grandmother, St. Ludmila.

Our final stop was Golden Lane.  Homes in Golden Lane were built into the castle walls by goldsmiths and other tradespeople so they could avoid paying guild that we due by the trades people in town.

They must have been very short people as even Fred and I had to stoop in order to get into some of the homes. The picture on the left was one of the small homes in Golden Lane.  We headed back to the hotel by way of the Old Castle Steps (Prague Castle's back entrance) which is relatively gentle slope.  The Steps house stalls for local artisans, restaurants and even a small winery.  Along the way we sampled a bread dough that is wrapped around a cylinder and cooked over charcoal coals, sprinkled with a cinnamon sugar and served warm.  It was to die for.

After a short rest and supper in the hotel, we headed back out in the evening to Charles Bridge to get some night shots of the Castle and bridge. We took the Metro out to Charles Bridge and it is much quieter than in the day time but there is still a lot happening.  While on the Charles Bridge we listened to a violinist who played classical music which was very calming while we waited for it to get dark enough to get our pictures of the Castle.  With photo opportunities completed we took the Metro back to the hotel for a nightcap in the bar and clear our e-mails.

Na shledanou,

Sandy & Fred 

June 14, 2001 - Petrin Hill Prague

Dobry den All,

Today we headed off to Petrin Hill by subway and tram to save on a bit of footwear.  Petrin hill is an area covered with forests and orchards.  It rises more the 1000 ft above sea level and began life as a vineyard in the 15th century and is now a public park.  We walked up the hill to the summit of the park and in doing so missed the funicular that would have made the trip much easier.  One of the sites on the hill includes a replica of the Eiffel Tower.  The observation tower Eiffelovka is 210 ft high and has 299 stairs that lead to the observation deck.  It was created for the Jubilee Exposition of 1891.
We walked down through Petrin Hill to the Strahov Monastery and had the panoramic view of Prague above on the right.

The Monastery, pictured on the left was founded in 1140 and houses the Czech Republics oldest books in its library as well as still functioning as a monastery.  The picture on the right shows part of the library and really does not do it justice in such a small form.  After exploring the monastery we continued our walk downhill to an area know as Loreto.  Here we came across a replica of the original Santa Casa in Loreto, Italy.  The construction of the church coincided with the Counter Reformation and is one of Prague's first Baroque buildings intended to lure the Czechs back to the Catholic faith.

We continued our walk to Prague Castle, which is not a castle but a collection of palaces, churches, galleries and gardens.  We explored the grounds around the Palaces and St Vitus Cathedral, stopping at an outdoor cafe for lunch on the castle grounds.  Sandwiches were the order of the day with a lemonade for me and beer for Fred.  After lunch we went into the Cathedral for a quick look but find that we have limited access.  We continued our walk down from the castle toward the Charles Bridge. On our way
we came across a beggar, the second one we have seen on our walks. They are crouched down in a submissive position as seen in the photo on the left.  They do not ask for money or look at you but wait for someone to drop coins in their cup.  A very hard way of begging unlike what we are used to seeing in Canada or the UK.
Continuing our walk across the bridge we stopped for some refreshment in a outdoor cafe in the area where there are souvenir shops, restaurants and other tourist trap things.  We enjoyed 45 minutes of relaxing and watching the world go by.  We then headed to the Metro and back to our hotel, stopping at a fruit stand to pick up some cherries and then the grocery store to pick up cheese, ham, crackers and wine for our supper.

Na shledanou,

Sandy & Fred

June 12/13, 2011 - Prague

Dobry den All,

We are in Prague belatedly celebrating Fred's 60th birthday as this is were he wished to be and our visit to the Bulb Fields in Holland interfered with his day. We took a late flight out of Manchester, arriving at our hotel around 11:00 p.m. After settling in our room we headed to the bar for a nightcap at the bar and then to bed as we planned an early for the next day.  After a good breakfast we walked into town to start our exploring.  We had decided to walk the whole tourist area to get the lay of the land then return to individual sites on our remaining four days.  The walk was pleasant and easy as it was all downhill.  We walked through New Town to our first major stop Old Town Square.  The picture on the right is of the Astronomical Clock on Old Town Hall.  The clock was installed in 1410 but wasn't up and running until 1572.  The clock not only tells the current time, but relates the movement of the planets around the earth, sun and moon through the signs of the zodiac.  It is decorated with paintings by Josef Manes.  We were there on the hour but miss what all the fuss was about around the clock.  Its bells rang and we saw the dial move, however, we did not hear the cock crow or see the 15th century statues dance.  Either they are not now working or we missed them due to the details on the clock itself.

The square is home to many ornate buildings the picture on the left is Storch House with an art nouveau equestrian painting of St Wenceslas as a focal point of the house.

While in the square we also visited the Church of St Nicholas.  It was constructed by the Jesuits and it is a stunning example of early 18th century Baroque Architecture.  The picture on the right shows a part of the interior of the church that was adorned by various prominent artists of the time.  In the 1950's the clock tower of the church was used as a spying lookout by the communist police.

From the square we walked along to the Jewish Quarter, then headed off to the Charles Bridge.  The bridge has witnessed more then 600 years of processions, battles, executions and today, film shoots.

The bridge's most distinguishing feature is its gallery of 30 statues of religious figures and saints installed from 1683 and onwards to lead the masses back to mass. The statues that adorn the bridge today are reproductions with the originals having been placed in various museums around to city to preserve them.  We walked across the bridge which is very busy with tourists, buskers and various stalls for painting your portrait to selling trinkets.  We stopped at an outdoor cafe just off the bridge on the castle side of the river for a late lunch of sandwiches, beer for Fred and wine for me.

Once refreshed we headed back across the bridge into an area that is a tourist trap area full of small souvenir stores or shops, money grabbing attractions, restaurants and small hotels.  Our walk back to the hotel was not as pleasant, after eight hours of walking I was sporting massive blisters on the balls of my feet as well as the edges of my heels.  Plus it was all uphill.  We stopped in New Town at a street vendor for ice tea for me and a large beer for Fred which was cheaper than the tea.  Exhausted, we made it back to the hotel and caught the end of happy hour which we of course partook in, then headed up to the room to shower and deal with my blistered feet.  In hindsight we should have taken the Metro into Old Town Square and then walked the rest.  We have enjoyed our day and have planned out our attack for next three days.  We had supper tonight in the hotel as we have had enough walking for one day.

Na shledanou,

Sandy & Fred