By Ricky, on April 6th, 2015 Cross on Dáblický háj © Ricky Yates
On the afternoon of Holy Saturday, I was one of five members of the St. Clement’s congregation, who went on a mini pilgrimage. We met at Ládví metro station in the north-eastern Prague suburbs, and from there took the bus further out to Dáblice from where we began our pilgrimage walk.
Dáblice is a village which now adjoins the Prague conurbation. We climbed from the village centre, up onto Dáblický háj, a beautiful area of heathland and woods. At the top of the hill is an observatory and adjacent to it on a rocky outcrop, a cross.
From this point, there are wonderful views out across the northern Bohemian countryside.
The view from Dáblický háj © Ricky Yates
There followed a . . . → Read More: A mini pilgrimage on Holy Saturday
By Ricky, on December 6th, 2014 The Advent Ring hanging from the ceiling of St. Clement’s Church © Ricky Yates
Last Sunday, 30th November, was Advent Sunday which marks both the beginning of the Church Liturgical Year and of the season of Advent. Contrary to what the manufacturers of Advent calendars all believe, Advent only occasionally begins on 1st December. Instead it begins four Sundays before Christmas Day.
The word ‘advent’ means ‘coming’, from the Latin ‘adventus‘. And particularly at the beginning of the Advent season, we are encouraged to think seriously about the promised second coming of Christ – his second Advent, as in turn we prepare ourselves to once more celebrate his first coming at Christmas.
The tradition of having an Advent ring/wreath/crown, with four candles, an additional one to be lit on successive Sundays during Advent, is very popular here in the Czech Republic. . . . → Read More: A tale of two Advents
By Ricky, on November 29th, 2014 My clean study bookshelves © Ricky Yates
According to the ‘Oxford Dictionary of Quotations’, this proverb dates from the late eighteenth century. Apparently, an early example of its usage is found in one of the sermons of John Wesley published in 1788. Whether I’m godly I’ll leave others to judge, but after one last, major effort over the past few days, the Chaplaincy Flat is now in a state of cleanliness that it hasn’t known in the more than six years Sybille and I have lived in it.
As I explained as part of my answer to question three in this post from mid-July, whilst Sybille is away on her long distance walking pilgrimage from Prague to Santiago de Compostela, I decided it was the perfect opportunity to completely clean every part of the Chaplaincy Flat. As I also explained, . . . → Read More: ‘Cleanliness is next to godliness’
By Ricky, on September 25th, 2014
My worn-out boots © Ricky Yates
Five weeks ago today, I returned to Prague after spending a wonderful two weeks accompanying Sybille on her pilgrimage from Prague to Santiago de Compostela, walking with her across Switzerland. Since returning, I have successfully written and posted seven blog posts about our journey together. A big ‘Thank you’ to the faithful few who have left kind and appreciative comments on these recent posts.
The evidence of how far we walked can be seen by state of the soles and heels of my much loved walking boots. In the last couple of days of walking, I did slip slightly in a few muddy places, because of the increasing lack of tread. I also discovered that the waterproof cover, integral to my rucksack, was unfortunately no longer waterproof 🙁 . I have now invested in a . . . → Read More: Since my return from Switzerland……
By Ricky, on September 17th, 2014
Prangins Church © Ricky Yates
My final two days of walking through Switzerland, accompanying Sybille on her pilgrimage from Prague to Santiago de Compostela, took us through a series of towns and villages that are predominantly home to people who commute to work in Geneva. Whilst the surroundings became increasingly urban, there were still some attractive stretches of countryside in-between settlements.
On the morning of Tuesday 19th August, we left the Pilger Herberge and walked through the town of Gland, passing under the main Lausanne-Geneva railway line by Gland station. Walking along a series of minor roads, we reached Prangins with this delightful Church at the centre of the village and a peaceful outdoor café where we enjoyed a mid-morning coffee.
Prangins then merges with the much larger town of Nyon which we traversed, parallel to the main railway . . . → Read More: Gland – Geneva
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