Ricky – Page 11

Out with the old and in with the new

The old wood-burning stove with heat proof walls on either side © Ricky Yates

When I had the kitchen in my home completely refurbished, back in January 2018, other than the tiled floor and an overhead florescent light, the only other thing that was retained from the previous kitchen, was the wood-burning stove, because it was the only source of heating for the whole house. As part of the refurbishment, two heatproof walls were built, either side of the stove, in order to protect the newly installed neighbouring kitchen units.

Once the stove has been alight for a couple of hours, it does heat the house quite well. But the associated oven takes a very long time to heat up and it is very difficult to judge what should be the correct cooking time for anything one puts in it. Therefore since the kitchen refurbishment, I haven’t used the stove to cook at all, as I now have a very effective electric oven and hob.

Over the past year, I have toyed with the idea of replacing the old wood-burning stove with something both more visually attractive, as well as more heat efficient. My two concerns have been the cost of a new stove, together with the practicalities of getting the old one successfully removed and a new one installed.

Last week I bit the bullet. I visited the Mountfield store in Decín, from where I previously purchased both my lawnmower and chain saw, and ordered a new wood-burning stove. The one I ordered was in their sale, at half its normal price. So I felt I was getting a bargain.

The two staff members who I dealt with, both had some English. One of them was the one who had been most helpful to me when I purchased my lawnmower back in the summer of 2017. I showed them the photo above of the old stove, seeking confirmation that, as part of the deal, they would take the old one away when delivering the new one. They seemed to assure me, more than once, that they would.

I was also aware that I would need some new sections of metal chimney, as the smoke outlet on the old stove is on the right-hand side, whereas on the new stove, it is in the centre. Aided by the photo, the two staff worked out that I needed two new chimney sections which I duly purchased.

New metal chimney sections © Ricky Yates

At 07.03 on the morning of Monday 30^th September, I got a text message saying that my new stove would be delivered that morning and that the driver would phone me about thirty minutes in advance of his arrival. But when the truck did arrive, it was one man on his own, working for the Czech branch of the German logistics company, Gebrüder Weiss. He duly unloaded a wooden crate containing my new stove, but deposited it on my front path. No, he couldn’t take it up the steps into my house and neither could he take my old stove away.

The new wood-burning stove, sitting before the steps leading to my front door © Ricky Yates

A year ago, at an event in Decín, I met a fluent English-speaking Czech lady called Mirka. She runs a weekly English conversation class and invited me, as a native English-speaker, to help her with her class. It is something I’ve enjoyed doing this past year, and has occupied me for an hour on Monday afternoons, during term time. In turn, Mirka has twice bailed me out with Czech language problems, for which I’ve been most grateful.

Last Monday morning, I made a cri de coeur to Mirka, asking if she knew anybody who could help me out by coming and getting my new stove into the house and the old one out. Over the past few days she has been absolutely brilliant.

She first visited the Mountfield store to ascertain whether they would take the old stove away & install the new one. The outcome was that I had misunderstood what I thought I had been told at the time of the sale – it is a service they don’t provide.

Then, following an exchange of text messages, emails with photographs, and phone calls, this morning, two men with their van, arrived to sort out my problem. Fortunately, the younger of the two guys had quite good English which greatly aided communication.

Firstly, the the two guys successfully moved the old stove out of the house, down the front path to the side of their van. Then they dismantled the wooden crate, to enable them to move the new stove into the house. They discovered that the new stove was actually bolted onto the crate and it took a selection of their tools and mine, to get it disconnected.

The new wood-burning stove, duly fitted © Ricky Yates

But they eventually succeeded, and here it is in situ. And the two new sections of metal chimney that the Mountfield staff got me to purchase, were exactly what was required.

Amazingly, the two guys wanted no payment for their labours. As the old stove still works, they would be able to sell it on. I did press 500kc into the young man’s hand as some ‘beer money’, for which he was most grateful. And I certainly need to find a way of rewarding Mirka, and not just by helping with her conversation class which resumes next Monday, after the summer break.

Cervené kostely – Red Churches

Cervený kostel, Litomerice © Ricky Yates

The first Toleranzpatent / Patent of toleration of 1781, whilst giving some religious freedom to protestants living within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was still quite restrictive, in particular insisting that any buildings should not look like churches and should not have an entrance directly onto the street. It was only after Emperor Franz Joseph 1 issued his Protestantenpatent / Protestant patent in 1861, that non-Roman Catholics were finally allowed to build and own places of worship which actually looked like churches, with towers or spires and bells, etc.

Therefore within the borders of what is now the Czech Republic, there are numerous church buildings similar to this one in Litomerice, that date from the second half of the nineteenth century, and the early years of the twentieth century. Their architectural style is what I would describe as red-brick Victorian Gothic. In Czech they are known as Cervené kostely / Red or Dark Churches.

These Cervené kostely are located in towns and cities where there was a majority or a large German-speaking population and they were built for worship by German-speaking Lutherans. German-speakers were often the owners of factories and businesses and were wealthy enough to raise the necessary funds for their design and construction.

As I have previously written, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, the founder and first president of Czechoslovakia, was very keen that the boundaries of this new nation should be the historic ones of Bohemia and Moravia which predominantly follow the ridges of the surrounding hills and mountains. This was to ensure that the new nation had defensible borders and that also, nearly all Czech speakers would be living within those borders.

However, one important consequence of the adoption of these borders was that many people of German ethnic origin were also incorporated into Czechoslovakia. According to a census taken in 1921, just over three million Germans lived in Czechoslovakia accounting for around 23% of the country’s total population. The areas where Germans formed a majority were known as Sudetenland and the people themselves as the Sudetendeutsche.

In December 1918, less than two months after the new independent state of Czechoslovakia had come into existence, the Czech Lutheran Church and the Czech Presbyterian/Reformed Church agreed to unite, forming the Ceskobratrská církev evangelická (CCE) / Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren (ECCB). They were then, and still are, the largest Czech Protestant Church and celebrated the one hundredth anniversary of their formation in December last year.

But it was only the Czech-speaking Lutherans who joined the newly formed CCE/ECCB. A separate German-speaking Lutheran Church remained, until 1945.

In 1945, under the Potsdam agreement and the Beneš decrees, nearly all ethnic Germans were expelled from Czechoslovakia and the German-speaking Lutheran Church within the country, ceased to exist, leaving behind empty Cervené kostely.

Cervený kostel /Red Church, Brno © Ricky Yates

It has been interesting visiting, photographing, and trying to discover what has happened to these abandoned Church buildings since 1945. The Cervený kostel in Brno, which I previously featured in this blog post about the city in 2012, is now in the hands of the CCE/ECCB and is used regularly by them for worship.

The Cervený kostel in Olomouc, which I haven’t visited, meaning that I don’t have a photograph, also initially passed to the CCE/ECCB. But in 1957, it was given to Palacký University and for many years, housed the archives of their Research Library. It is now to be revamped to become a new venue for concerts, exhibitions and a café.

The Cervený kostel in Litomerice, which I featured at the beginning of this post and can be seen again, from a different angle, in the photograph above, now belongs the relatively small Czech Baptist Union. But whether the Baptists in Litomerice had their own building prior to 1945, or how they were able to take over the former German Lutheran Church, is a mystery to which I don’t know the answer. There is no relevant information on their website.

The photograph above is of the Cervený kostel in Varnsdorf, a town which lies right on the border of the Czech Republic with Germany. So far as I can tell, the church is not currently used for anything. I believe it now belongs to the town council who appear to be about to carry out much needed repair work, judging by the recently erected scaffolding around the spire.

Kostel svatého Pavla, Ústí nad Labem © Ricky Yates

Kostel svatého Pavla, located in the centre of Ústí nad Labem, is another fine example of a Cervený kostel. Despite appearances, the building is not made of bricks, but of concrete, covered with glued red tiles to imitate bricks. The Czech Wikipedia article about this church explains that after 1945, all German inscriptions were either ground down or whitened so as to be no longer visible.

This Church is now co-owned and administered by the CCE/ECCB and the Czechoslovak Hussite Church (CCSH) who both use it for worship – the CCE/ECCB on Sunday mornings and the CCSH on Sunday afternoons.

I am well aware that there are several more Cervené kostely elsewhere in the Czech Republic which I hope to find, visit, and photograph, over the next few years. In the meantime, if anyone can throw more light on how, post 1945, they have ended up in the hands of their current owners, please do leave a comment here on my blog.

Finally, I once again apologise for the absence of some Czech diacritics. Unfortunately, as I have previously explained, my blog set-up can only cope with certain diacritics. Any it doesn’t like are rendered as question marks, and names such as Litom??ice and ?ervené kostely would appear in the text.

Progress with the House – Windows

Stará Oleška 44 in April 2017 © Ricky Yates

It has become quite clear to me since moving into my new home in Stará Oleška, that the previous elderly owners, had alterations and improvements done to the house, as and when they could afford it. This is reflected in the variety of windows that there are.

The photograph at the beginning of this post, shows the house as it was in April 2017, a few weeks before moving in on 15^th May 2017. Please use it as a point of reference for what follows in the rest of this post.

The two windows in the upper floor of the house, directly under the apex of the roof, are quite old. They are double-glazed but have wooden frames. Once I had moved in, I noticed that the exterior paintwork of these window frames was in a very poor state. Bearing in mind that they are located in the most exposed area of the house, back in August 2017, I made getting them painted, one of my first priorities.

Fortunately, it was, and still is, possible to completely remove the windows which made painting them far easier than in situ. Here they are, laid out on a table, under cover at the back of the house, having received their second coat of gloss paint.

Surrounding window frames having been painted © Ricky Yates

Likewise, with the windows removed, painting the surrounding frames was also a much simpler task. I am pleased to report that, following my labours of August 2017, the paintwork still looks in good order, having now survived two Czech winters.

One of the last things the previous owners did, was to have the verandah on the front of the house enclosed. In order to do this, they had two pairs of high-quality double-glazed uPVC windows fitted across the front of the verandah. But they did nothing about the windows on the side of the verandah – the ones nearest the front door in the photo and their twins on the other side. These were single-glazed with wooden frames, on which condensation soon started appearing in the Autumn of 2017.

Having ascertained that Rudolf Cebiš from the village, (Ruda to his friends 😉 ), had procured and fitted the uPVC windows, I approached him about having matching ones made and fitted on both sides of the verandah and also replacing three other small windows on the far side of the house. He came and measured up and in due course, gave me a written quotation for the work.

I accepted his quotation, paid him a deposit and the manufacture of the new windows was set in train. Some weeks later, on the morning of 9^th November 2017, Ruda and one of the guys who works for him, arrived with the new uPVC double-glazed windows.

New uPVC windows ready for fitting © Ricky Yates

Here they are, laid out on the front lawn.

In next to no time, the old ones were removed…..

New uPVC windows fitted on the side of the verandah © Ricky Yates

……and the new ones fitted.

The section of the house stretching back from the front door with roofs at a fairly gentle angle, is clearly a later addition. What was the front door before this section was added, is now the door between my bedroom and the enclosed verandah. The two pairs of windows on the side of this newer addition, which you can see in the first photograph, are double-glazed and quite modern, but still have wooden, rather than uPVC frames. There is also a similar pair of windows at the rear of the house.

I was determined to get all of these painted this summer, not least because the existing exterior paintwork was beginning to go in a few places, especially on the pair at the rear of the house. However, I knew that I would need several successive days of dry weather to accomplish the task. Fortunately, such period occurred towards the end of July.

As is usual with any painting job, the most important part and also the most time consuming, was the preparation needed before I could start to paint. First of all, I cleaned the all the glass, inside and out, discovering how much more light this let in 😉 Then I rubbed back the areas where the existing paintwork was beginning to go and covered those areas with an initial coat of paint. Once that was dry, I then washed down all of the window-frames.

Windows with masking tape in place, ready for painting © Ricky Yates

I knew from past experience of painting window-frames, that the only way to ensure paint didn’t end up on the glass, was to use masking tape. Accurately masking each windowpane, inside and out, was a tedious task. Only when this was complete, could I finally start painting. Above is a photograph of one of the pairs of windows, finally ready to be painted. My apologies for the reflection of the photographer on the glass 🙂

Not only did the weather remain dry for several days, it was also very hot and sunny. Fortunately, the two pairs of windows are on the west-facing side of the house meaning that the sun didn’t shine on them directly, until the early afternoon. So I was able to work fairly comfortably each day, until it was time to stop and have a late lunch. And because it was so warm, there was no problem with leaving the windows wide open for several nights, allowing the paint to dry hard.

Freshly painted windows in the evening sunlight © Ricky Yates

Here are the freshly painted windows on the west-facing side of the house, drying in the evening sunlight.

And here is the pair of windows at the rear, north-facing side of the house, freshly painted, with the masking tape removed and the glass cleaned, once again.

With all this painting complete, with the exception of the front door, (another story), the exterior of the house is ready to face the next Czech winter. However, as a result of my labours, my neighbour Pavel, who lives in the house behind me, has given me a new name – Rembrandt 🙂

A Walk to Hinterhermsdorf

Me, above Malá Pravcická brána © Ricky Yates

Now that summer is here, I’ve been determined to get out and explore more of this beautiful area on foot. Being as close as I am to Germany, I’ve frequently looked at the map and thought that it would be fun to walk through the mountains and over the border into Germany, staying overnight, before walking back to the Czech Republic, a day or two later. So on Monday 24^th June, that is what I set out to do.

I first took the bus from Stará Oleška where I live, to the end of the 436 bus route in Vysoká Lípa. As it was nearly midday when I arrived, I treated myself to an early lunch in Restaurace Pension U Nás to give me sustenance for my walk. I also purchased a bottle of mineral water, one thing I had foolishly forgotten to pack in my rucksack, before leaving home.

Leaving Vysoká Lípa on the yellow waymarked route, immediately ahead of me was the towering Šaunštejn Castle. Very little remains of the 14^th century castle which once stood on this rocky outcrop. Below are a couple of photographs taken back in the Autumn of 2017 when I climbed to the top of it.

View from Šaunštejn Castle over Vysoká Lípa © Ricky Yates

On this occasion, I didn’t visit the top, deciding to save my energy for the walk ahead.

Now on the red waymarked route, the path climbs via a series of stone steps….

…. and wooden steps….

View from the red waymarked route © Ricky Yates

…..with splendid views….

…..to Malá Pravcická brána. This is a far smaller natural rock arch than its much more famous namesake, Pravcická brána, which is located a few kilometres further west. Alongside Malá Pravcická brána is metal ladder that leads to a viewpoint where the photograph of me at the beginning of this post, was taken.

Leaving the red waymarked route shortly afterwards, a further four kilometres of walking along a wider track, which is also a designated cycle route, brought me to the Czech-German border which at this point is formed by the Krinice (Czech) Kirnitzsch (German) river.

This is the bridge between the the two countries, taken on the German side of the border, looking back into the Czech Republic.

Krinice (Czech) Kirnitzsch (German) river © Ricky Yates

Whilst here is a view of the river, taken from the bridge, with the Czech Republic on the left and Germany on the right.

Stepping into Germany, my plan had been to take the Grüner Strich route to the village of Hinterhermsdorf, where I had previously booked to spend the night. Unfortunately, when I reached the point where this route goes off to the right, there was a notice in German, saying that it was currently blocked by fallen trees, following a recent storm. Instead the notice said, I should walk on further and take the next track on the right, a designated cycle route.

I did as instructed and realised, as I consulted my map, that further along this cycle route, a red waymarked route went off to the left, fairly directly towards Hinterhermsdorf. What I didn’t take note of at the time, was how many contour lines there were to cross! It was a steep, tiring climb on what was a very hot day, during the recent heatwave which has hit much of continental Europe.

Rock tunnel on the Tunnelweg © Ricky Yates

The stiff climb, the heat and ensuring I was on the correct path, meant I only took this one, slightly out of focus, photograph, where the path passes through a short tunnel under the rocks. I’ve since discovered that the path is called the Tunnelweg.

I did eventually reach the top from where it was a further two kilometres walk, fairly gently downhill, into Hinterhermsdorf. It was good to finally reach Gasthof zur Hoffnung, get showered and changed before sitting out on the terrace and enjoying some well-deserved liquid refreshment 🙂

Whilst I am used to feeling a bit stiff after a fairly long walk, when I woke up the following morning I could hardly move my right knee and putting weight on my right ankle was quite painful. So after gingerly making my way downstairs for an excellent breakfast, rather than going on a circular walk through the surrounding hills as I had originally envisaged, I returned to room to rest up. However, I did make good use of the day by writing and posting my previous blog post about Meissen 😉

I did eventually go for a brief hobble around the centre of the village. And in the evening, I once more hobbled, this time to the nearby Gasthaus zur Wanderstübel, as the restaurant where I was staying had Ruhetag 🙁

The following morning, with a right knee and ankle still not functioning properly, and with the continued excessive heat, I decided that discretion was the better part of valour. Instead of walking back over the border to Vysoká Lípa and getting the bus back to Stará Oleška, I decided to make my way home by public transport. First a bus from the stop right outside Gasthof zur Hoffnung, to Bad Schandau railway station. Then by train along the Elbe/Labe valley to Decín. Finally by bus from Decín to Stará Oleška.

However, I do hope to make a return visit to Hinterhermsdorf and explore the surrounding area. After my recent experience, I shall probably drive there and make it my base and also try to do so when the weather is a few degrees cooler.

Meißen

The twin spires of the Meißner Dom/Meissen Cathedral © Ricky Yates

On Sunday 16^th June, I once more officiated and preached at the monthly English-language Anglican Service of Evening Prayer in the Frauenkirche, Dresden. I was also invited by the Stiftung Frauenkirche Dresden, to attend a sommerliches Grillbuffet, the following evening, an event laid on as a ‘Thank you’, for all the volunteers and staff who help at the Frauenkirche. Deciding it would be silly to return home on Sunday evening, only to drive back to Dresden the next day, I instead stayed overnight and spent several hours on Monday 17^th June, exploring the city of Meißen.

Meißen lies about 25km north-west of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river. It didn’t take that long to drive there and, having found a suitable car park alongside the Elbe, I then set out on foot to explore the historic city centre. Unlike Dresden, it appears not to have suffered much destruction during the Second World War, presumably because of having very little industry and not being a major transport hub.

Walking along Elbstrasse, I soon reached the Markt, overlooked by the Rathaus…

….and by the Frauenkirche.

Then I headed up Burgstrasse.

A view across the rooftops of Meissen © Ricky Yates

At the end of the street, a series of stone steps took me up towards the Meißner Dom/Meissen Cathedral, to a place where there is this wonderful view across rooftops, towards the Elbe and the railway bridge that crosses the river.

Meißner Dom/Meissen Cathedral © Ricky Yates

Finally, I arrived in the Domplatz with the Meißner Dom/Meissen Cathedral towering in front of me.

Entrance to the Dom is not through the large doors at the west end but through another door part way down the south side. Adjacent to this entrance is the Allerheiligenkapelle which is specifically designated as a place of silence. I enjoyed spending time in prayer here, before going on to explore the main building.

There is a entrance fee for visiting the Dom. Arriving at the cash desk and whilst getting my wallet out of my pocket, I explained to the lady cashier in my best German 🙂 , that I was an Anglican priest and the previous evening, had conducted Anglican Evening Prayer in the Frauenkirche, Dresden. Upon hearing this, she gave me my entrance ticket free of charge! Maybe this was because of her name – Frau Engel/Mrs Angel 🙂

Below are some more photographs of the interior of the Dom.

Triptych behind the nave altar © Ricky Yates

Triptych behind the altar in the Hoher Chor © Ricky Yates

I would like to have attended this event, held the previous evening. Interestingly, it is called ‘Hymns of Praise’ in English, and featured the compositions of Antonín Dvorák from the country where I now live, and of John Rutter, from the country where I used to live.

Walking around the edge of the rocky outcrop on which the Dom is situated, there is a splendid view across the Elbe. Afterwards, I treated myself to an excellent lunch at a restaurant overlooking the Domplatz, accompanied by locally produced liquid refreshment 🙂

One place I didn’t visit was the Albrechtsburg, the castle that adjoins the Dom. As you can see, it is currently undergoing major restoration work which rather detracts from this iconic view from alongside the Elbe. A reason to make a return visit at some future date.