Walking with my pilgrim wife

Sybille taking a photograph alongside the Thunersee © Ricky Yates

My sincere apologies that it is exactly one month since I last posted anything here on my blog. Long-standing followers will know that this is an extremely rare occurrence. Over the next couple of weeks, I do hope to write several new blogposts to compensate.

As I explained in responding to my Liebster Blogger Awarder Emily, answering her Question 3, I’ve spent two weeks of August, walking with my pilgrim wife Sybille. During that time, I had virtually no access to the internet – hence the absence of blog posts. I only returned to Prague last Thursday evening and this afternoon and evening is the first real opportunity I’ve . . . → Read More: Walking with my pilgrim wife

Pelhrimov

Our lunchtime view across Masarykovo námestí, Pelhrimov © Ricky Yates

 

As I mentioned in my previous post about the Church of St Bartholomew, here is the promised further illustrated post about the town of Pelhrimov itself, which we visited earlier this week on Tuesday 22nd October 2013.

Pelhrimov lies a short distance off the D1, the Prague-Brno motorway, just over one hundred kilometres south east of Prague. It should only take about an hour and a quarter to drive there but took us nearer one hour and forty minutes, because of traffic delays getting across and out of Prague. Like many Czech towns, there is industry and Communist era paneláks around the outskirts, but there is also a historic, well-preserved and restored centre, with many attractive buildings. Having found a suitable parking place for the car, we set out for the main square, Masarykovo . . . → Read More: Pelhrimov

A weekend in Brno

Sv Jakuba / Church of St James, Brno © Ricky Yates

As I explained in my previous post, we spent the last weekend of our recent holiday, in Brno, the second-largest city in the Czech Republic. Brno is just over 200 kilometres south-east of Prague and is situated at the confluence of the Svratka and Svitava rivers. With a population of about 400,000, the city is about one third of the size of the Czech capital.

Within the historic centre of Brno, there are a whole variety of different Churches. The one pictured on the left here, is dedicated to Sv Jakuba / St. James and is a fine example of baroque architecture. According to my ‘Brno City Guide’, the top of the spire is 92 metres high.

We were pleased to be able to walk around the interior of the Church and observe the . . . → Read More: A weekend in Brno

The Cathedral of St. James, Šibenik

After ten very enjoyable and relaxing days on Dugi Otok, we returned by ferry to Zadar and headed slightly further down the coast to Šibenik. The ancient city centre of Šibenik has a network of steep pedestrianized streets which are fascinating to explore and in the midst of which is the Cathedral Church dedicated to St. James.

The west front of Šibenik Cathedral © Ricky Yates

The Cathedral was constructed during a period of just over 100 years between 1431 and 1536. It is built entirely of stone quarried from nearby islands without any brick or wooden supports. Large stone blocks or slabs were brought together in such a way that the edge of one slab entered into the groove of the second slab. It is reputed to be the world’s largest Church built in this manner.

On the outside of the Cathedral are many fascinating carvings including . . . → Read More: The Cathedral of St. James, Šibenik