We Arrive at Nový Mlýn

Upon returning from Kutna Hora, we had only a few hours in Prague before catching a bus to our first workstay in South Bohemia. The ride down was two-and-a-half hours of stunning scenery, transitioning from expansive farmland to densely-wooded forests; rolling hills to flatlands. We arrived at the bus station and were enthusiastically greeted by our new hosts, Nicola and Mike. After some brief introductions we all piled into the car and barreled down the road to Nový Mlýn - Nicola and Mike's sustainability project, where we were to be working for the next month and learning about various aspects of sustainable living, construction, cooking, farming, foraging, and living in a house-share community. The property consists of a huge white country house, surrounded by several barns in various states of disrepair (ranging from mildly bowed to appearing at first look to be ancient ruins), gardens (including one massive spiral-shaped bed), sprawling fruit trees, grazing fields, and a pond. Just beyond this sprawls a dense forest where a cornucopia of wild edibles like mushrooms, bilberries, and strawberries grow.

Nový Mlýn is an always-shifting project--new people from all around the world come and go, and new projects are constantly being undertaken and explored. Along with our fellow workers, Rosie, Tom, Lindsey and Helen, we've been sorting through the wood from the collapsed barns to separate re-usable wood from firewood, then using the good stuff to re-build the various outbuildings around the project area. All of the meals are shared, so everyone takes turns preparing feasts for the group of 8--we've been learning some new delicious recipes, as well as getting crash-courses in measurement conversions and cooking for a large group. On top of that, we've been helping take care of the animals; chickens (including some adorable chicks), ducks, sheep, goat, cats, and of course, Bunbury, the Rhodesian ridgeback.

When we're not working or cooking, we've been getting to know the Czech countryside and our housemates. After a particularly hot day of work, we drove out to an abandoned quarry to swim in its deep turquoise water. For the Fourth of July, we took a trip to an nearby town to go to an army surplus store--an amazing cache of Soviet war remnants that included a tank, and old piano, and, most importantly, huge boxes of fireworks. We lit them off and they traced huge arcs over the garden to explode grandly over the house. The sparks burned until they hit the wet grass of the garden, often indistinguishable from the fireflies' hovering.
We spend a lot of time exploring the surrounding forest, often searching for mushrooms to offer for communal meals, and along the way stumbling upon a myriad of natural treasures. We've seen iridescent blue scarabs, speckled blue eggs, auburn deer, bounding hares, algae-covered bones, gnarled antlers, countless mushrooms, and fireflies - all in our first weekend here.

Kutna Hora

Feeling satisfied with our explorations of Prague for the time being, we ducked out of our apartment and readied our bags for a train-trip to the nearby town of Kutna Hora. After frantically racing through Prague's main station, we got cozy in the train cabin with our cabin-mate (who, by the looks of his possessions and demeanor, seemed en route to a funeral). The ride was punctuated by fields of bursting sunflowers, purple and red poppies, cornflowers, and endless waves of wheat and barley. The town itself was quaint, its cobbled streets leading to an open square where our hotel was situated. We grabbed a bite to eat, and each downed a quintessential Czech beer, before heading out by foot to the Kostnice Ossuary. The building had the appearance of a small church-house, but walking over the cobblestone skull-and-crossbones at the threshold hinted at the macabre contents. Having previously been a dumping ground for the dead, the 40,000 human remains had become artistic fodder for a deranged architect by the name of Rint in 1870. Skeletons were transformed into a surreal and astounding aesthetic, filling the Ossuary's every corner.

One arrangement revealed the coat of arms of the family that had commissioned Rint, and we were obliged to take silly photographs in front of it, as seemed to be customary.

Here are some more bone pictures, in case you hadn't seen enough:

After spending the night in Kutna Hora, we caught the next train back to Prague.

Tactile Curiosities

We decided to make a visit to Strahov Monastery the main priority for the day. It was a sweltering, steep walk up the the shaded courtyard of The Monastery and its surrounding gallery, church, and restaurant terraces. As we waited outside for Strahov's libraries to open their doors, Roy spotted an interesting armored insect navigating the hairs of his ankle. It was a small curiosity, which paled in comparison to the cache we were about to encounter.

Strahov's libraries were preceded by a small cabinet of curiosities which included oddities from the natural realm, as well as antiquities and artifacts of anthropological interest such as swords, spear points, cannons and crossbows. One of the featured attractions was their famed preserved Dodo, which actually turned out to be an abomination of haphazardly patched together animal parts to form something that made no anatomical sense or likeness to what it claimed to be.

Behold Strahov's bullshit Dodo

Anyway, Strahov did have some truly amazing and beautiful curiosities on display. There was a beautiful seven foot tusk from a Narwhal, an ivory-toned skink atop an ostrich egg, a sun-bleached lobster, a sweet little armadillo next to an anaconda skin, and a leathery Nile crocodile.

There was also a delicately framed display of moths and their silky production.

Some seamless wooden chains, which must have been carved from a single shaft of wood, were tucked away in another cabinet. Just above them were dozens of the most beautifully-bound books we've come across. Each was crafted from mossen bark and slabs of wood with the latin-name of each species embossed in leather. They seemed reliquaries more than books, really, each containing leaves, seeds and samples from the plants denoted.

The libraries themselves were not accessible to the general public, but we were allowed to view them through various windows and doorways, after traversing a dusty hallway of whitewashed, yet-to-be-restored volumes. The libraries were extravagant, to say the least, and wealthy individuals meandered through them chattering away on cell phones with (strangely) none paying any attention to the books before them.

After absorbing our fill of the monastery, we decided to explore the surrounding area, where Catherine noticed a crudely carved face atop a wooden door. The grain of the wood really seemed to emphasize the topography of the carving.

We soon found ourselves at the steps of Prague Castle, a destination we had largely avoided for all the swarming tourists, and decided to take a look at St. Vitus Cathedral at the castle's center. It was an imposing, Gothic structure, which led to a somber and snarly discussion on the politics of religion, but its interior revealed some lovely stained glass - one panel of which was strikingly designed by Alfons Mucha.

With our blood sugar low and our knees weak we realized we should probably eat some food, and began our trek down towards the center. We didn't walk far before being distracted by a birds of prey exhibition in the royal gardens. After listening to a girl explain the history of falconry and the traits of each species displayed, all the while holding a magnificent cross of a Gyr and Peregrine falcon, we debated paying a small sum to hold one of the birds before moving on in our continued search for affordable sustenance.

After a long walk, we found a traditional Czech restaurant with a garden terrace where we gorged on soups and starchy dumplings with meat. With our stomachs finally full and our energy restored, we decided to stop at a few more antique shops before retreating to the apartment. All in all, it was a memorable day, and an authentic Prague experience by anyone's standard.

Falling for Coffee and Copper

We woke up at the apartment for the last time, and after packing our backpacks, our host suggested we take some parting photographs. What ensued was an appropriate closing to our stay as we all laughed while exchanging hats and silly faces in front of the camera. Once outside, we crossed the street to investigate a coffee shop Roy had noticed the previous day. It seemed that most of the coffee culture in Prague had been hidden up until then, as most of our cappuccinos were pretty gnarly, and apparently dissolvable coffee was all the rage. However, this place seemed promising, so we decided to test the waters. Upon entering the always lower-case mamacoffee, we immediately became enamored with it's cozy atmosphere. Across the threshold hung a line of colorful paper cranes, and beautiful blue and white cups were waiting atop the espresso machine. We ordered a latte and an espresso cardamom, and sat at a small wooden table outside. Our drinks were brought out to us each on a shiny Turkish silver platter with a piece of chocolate, a separate ceramic pitcher of steamed milk for the espresso, and glass tumblers filled with water as a chaser.

A mama held the tiny hand of her son to help him playfully lock and unlock the front door, and a bright ladybug alighted on the brim of Catherine's hat to explore the feather plumes. The ladybug stayed put, wandering around Catherine's head, as we reluctantly left the blissful coffeehouse.

It was still with us even as we received the skeleton key to our new abode--the Museum Inn Hostel, which to our delight was not really a hostel but our own apartment near the city center. The extraordinarily high-ceiled apartment was flooded with warm light when we entered, and the old double-paned windows begged to be pulled open to let in the street sounds and summer breeze. After dropping off our belongings, we set off on foot for Old Town's historical center to take a look at the famed astronomical clock and browse the antique shops. The clock itself was a marvelous sight, but it was the door adjacent to it that really caught our attention - a massive wooden portal, ornately carved with a decidedly eastern influence.

Wandering the alleys branching out from the square, we came upon a small antique shop with beautiful windows displaying a large array of Art Nouveau antiques and oddities, as well as a small selection of some of the finest antique jewelry in Prague. It was there, Antique Ungelt, that Roy stumbled upon an expertly crafted copper vase featuring exquisite hammering, planishing and enamel, as well as dovetailed joinery. The vase seemed to incorporate the fine aesthetics and craftsmanship of American Arts and Crafts copper, as well as the design of Austrian and Czech Art Nouveau metalware - an inspiring combination.

Across the alley from the antique shop, was Botanicus, a shop littered with beautiful glass bottles filled of natural shampoos and remedies, and handmade soaps of every imaginable scent and purpose. Roy bought a small lavender soap to experiment with as a shaving cream, as he'd left his old soap at home, and we decided to call it a day and return to the apartment.