snow – Page 3

A snowy Sunday and Monday in Prague and Dresden

On Sunday 17^th January 2016, I conducted worship in two different countries, something I shall now be doing quite regularly in 2016 on the third Sunday of each month. At 11.00, I celebrated the Eucharist and preached at St Clement’s Anglican Church in Prague. Then at 18.00, I led a service of Evening Prayer in the Frauenkirche, Dresden.

St Clement's Church, Prague in the snow © Ricky Yates — St Clement’s Church, Prague in the snow © Ricky Yates

Over the weekend, we had a further serious snowfall, so this was the scene that greeted me as I arrived outside St. Clement’s, waiting for our host Czech Protestant congregation to finish their service. It was still snowing when I took the photograph.

From the second week in January, through to around the second or third week of March, Prague enters what I always refer to as the ‘non-tourist season’. It is the time when you can walk around some of the popular historic sights in Prague, without being run over by hordes of visiting tourists. However, tourists are a great boon to us as a Church as, on most Sundays, the congregation is boosted numerically by visitors. Some of them also contribute quite generously to the collection. But for the second Sunday running, we had no visitors at all in the congregation – I knew everybody by name. Clearly we are in the ‘non-tourist season’!

We were therefore, a slightly smaller congregation than usual, with the weather and winter ailments, preventing some people from attending. But nearly all those who did come were very un-Anglican – they sat together in the front pews! Being regulars, they knew where the limited under-pew heating is most effective 🙂

After warming up at Coffee Hour and enjoying post-service refreshments in the hall across the street in Klimentska 18, I then headed off on a short three-stop tram journey to Praha hlavní nádraží (Praha hl.n.) – Prague main railway station, in the company of my friend and ministerial colleague, Rev’d Dr Karen Moritz. I had invited Karen to be the preacher at the January English-language Anglican Evening Prayer service in the Frauenkirche, in advance of her leaving Prague in the next few months.

Upon arrival at Praha hl.n., I immediately checked the departures board, to see whether the platform number for our train to Dresden Haupbahnhof (Dresden Hbf), was displayed. Unfortunately there was no platform number but instead, a note that departure would be delayed by thirty minutes. The train was coming from Budapest and presumably had experienced problems with the adverse weather conditions en-route.

Sitting on the station concourse, constantly scanning the departures board, I increasingly began to panic that we wouldn’t make it to the Frauenkirche on time. Finally, we were summoned to platform six, and the train that was meant to set out at 14.27, departed just after 15.00. Fortunately, there were no further delays between Praha hl.n. and Dresden Hbf. Instead, we actually made up nearly ten minutes of the delay. Following a three-stop tram journey and then a five minute walk, we safely arrived at the Frauenkirche, just after 17.30.

I knew from reading the Frauenkirche website, that between Monday 11th – Saturday 16 January, the Church had been completely shut down, to allow a variety of repair and maintenance tasks to be carried out, as well as a very thorough cleaning of the interior. Apparently, this happens every year, during a quiet week in January. Having been admitted by the verger, I immediately smelt the wood stain with which the wooden floor under pews, had been treated. Sitting on the dais for the service, I noticed how bright and sparkling the rededos was, behind the altar 🙂

I had been told back in July, that numbers attending the Anglican service in winter, could be quite low, around 35-40, for exactly the same reason as in Prague – it being the ‘non-tourist season’! But when I did a rough head count, during a musical interlude within the service, I arrived at a total of just over sixty. They looked somewhat scattered, but then the main body of the Church will seat in excess of three hundred people. It made me realise that my figure of around one hundred attending the service last September, may well have been an underestimate.

With Rev'd Dr Karen Moritz in the Frauenkirche © Ricky Yates — With Rev’d Dr Karen Moritz in the Frauenkirche © Ricky Yates

I have to say that I felt a lot less nervous leading the service last Sunday evening, than I did on my first outing last September. I really felt I had begun to build a bit of a rapport with some of the regular attendees. It was also a pleasure to hear Karen preach as she spoke about ‘The Foolishness of the Cross’, based on the Biblical text from 1 Corinthians 1. 18-31. We posed for this picture, under the pulpit, following the end of the service.

With members of the congregation in the neighbouring Bierstube © Gary Hohenstein — With Karen Moritz and members of the congregation in the neighbouring Bierstube © Gary Hohenstein

After getting dis-robed, Karen and I accepted an invitation to join a few of the congregation for a drink in a nearby Bierstube, the Augustiner an der Frauenkirche I ordered ein großes Bier, assuming I would get a 0.5l glass, in contrast to ein kleines Bier, a 0.3l glass. Much to everyone’s amusement, what arrived was ein sehr großes Bier, a one litre glass 😀 Evidence in this photograph.

The Lutheran Parish Church of St John, Bad Schandau © Ricky Yates

After staying overnight in Hotel Martha, I had hoped to get some photographs of snowy Dresden in daylight, especially as the sky cleared and the sun came out as we were finishing our breakfast. But catching the correct trams to get back to Dresden Hbf in time for our train back to Prague, took greater priority. However, we were treated to some spectacular views on our train journey home, which I was able to capture.

Soon after leaving Dresden, the railway line follows the valley of the River Elbe as it cuts through an area of sandstone mountains known as the Sächsische Schweiz – Saxon Switzerland. The mountains form the natural border between Germany and the Czech Republic. On the Czech side, the mountains are known as the Ceské Švýcarsko – Czech or Bohemian Switzerland. The name for the area was created by two Swiss artists, appointed to the Dresden Academy of Art in the second half of the eighteenth century. They believed the area to be very similar to their homeland in the Jura region of Switzerland.

Just after passing through the spa town of Bad Schandau, the train came to an unscheduled halt, which allowed me to get this photograph of the Lutheran Parish Church of St John, Bad Schandau.

When we did continue, once a long freight train had passed by in the other direction, we moved very slowly onto the other track, to pass a broken down freight train blocking our track. This is what enabled me to take the following three photographs. Whilst this caused us to be fifteen minutes late getting back to Prague, on this occasion, I wasn’t complaining 🙂

Snow-covered field by the River Elbe © Ricky Yates — Snow-covered fields by the River Elbe © Ricky Yates

Sächsische Schweiz and the River Elbe © Ricky Yates

Seeing this area, covered with snow and glistening in sun, has made me add Sächsische Schweiz and Ceské Švýcarsko to my ever-lengthening bucket list of places I would like to visit and explore.

Winter has come to Prague

The 'Carly' in the snow © Ricky Yates — The ‘Carly’ in the snow © Ricky Yates

With arrival of the New Year has also arrived some serious winter weather. We have had snow – plenty of it, and it is still snowing this evening as I write. The last time we saw snow like this was three years ago in early 2013.

Since the winter 2012-2013, we have had two very mild ones. The winter of 2013-2014 was particularly mild with many Czech ski resorts suffering because a lack of snow and warm temperatures. Last winter was a few degrees colder, but here in Prague, we really only had some snow showers and any snow that did settle, soon melted. But the weather of the past few days has been much more reminiscent of our first five winters in Prague, since moving here in September 2008.

The first snow started falling during the last hour of 2015. It was quite magical to be standing outside with some dog owning neighbours that we have got to know, drinking Bohemia Sekt, celebrating the arrival of the New Year, with fireworks going off and snowflakes falling.

That first snowfall soon melted the next day. But over weekend that followed, temperatures rapidly dropped. Driving into Church for our Eucharist on the morning of Sunday 3^rd January, the thermometer in my car gave the temperature as being -4°C. For the first time this winter, I wore my fleece under my cassock-alb, whilst officiating at St. Clement’s 🙂 Then when driving over the Vysocina to Brno in the afternoon, the temperature registered as being -8°C and there was some lying snow on the eastern side of the highlands, and in Brno itself.

The serious snow we now have in Prague, started falling around lunchtime on Monday 4^th January. From time-to-time it has stopped snowing for a few hours, but then resumed. And whilst it isn’t now as cold as on Sunday night, the temperature is yet to really get above 0°C.

The weather forecast is that it will finally stop snowing later this evening with the promise of temperatures rising to just above freezing point in the next few days. So for how long we will have lying snow now, is debatable. But it does seem that for the first time in three years, we are going to have a proper Central European winter.

November – a time of change

Prague Castle & the Vltava River © Ricky Yates

As October has become November, so many aspects of my life and the situations around me with which I interact, have changed. I’ve therefore decided that this provides an overarching theme for a new blog post 🙂

As all across Europe, overnight between Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th October, our clocks changed, going back one hour. I write this, partly for the benefit of my British son-in-law who some months ago, famously remarked, ‘I don’t suppose the clocks change where you are?’ Well yes – they do! At the same time as the United Kingdom was moving from British Summer Time (BST), back to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), here in the Czech Republic, we changed from Central European Summer Time (CEST), back to Central European Time (CET). This means that we remain one hour ahead of the UK, and also the Republic of Ireland and Portugal. Whilst the clocks always change on a fixed date – the early hours of the morning of the last Sunday in October – there is never any guarantee that the seasons and the weather will change in a synchronised manner. However, last week we had our first overnight frost and most of the leaves have now fallen from the trees. Autumn is rapidly changing to winter.

When Sybille and I moved to Prague more than five years ago, in September 2008, the third bedroom of the Chaplaincy Flat, was already furnished as an office, with a desk, bookshelves and a rather simple trolley on which was situated a printer/scanner/photocopier. Some time ago, the bottom shelf of the trolley collapsed when I put too much weight on it. More recently, the only reason it has remained reasonably upright, is because part of the metal trolley frame, was leaning against the wall! Before the printer/scanner/photocopier ended up in a heap on the floor, we decided that a change was required.

Late last week, we visited the IKEA store at Zlicín on the outskirts of Prague, in search of a replacement for the collapsing trolley. A three drawer chest that had the correct dimensions to fit into the corner where the trolley was located, seemed the best purchase. Thus I successfully put together a piece of flat-pack furniture for the first time in several years. The end result is very much a change for the better, as all the things that were on the trolley shelves, are now stored in the drawers of the new chest, where they cannot fall down or gather dust.

Last Tuesday, I met Her Excellency Jan Thompson, the new British Ambassador to the Czech Republic, for the first time. Jan arrived here in August and presented her credentials to President Zeman, at the beginning of September. She replaces H. E. Sian MacLeod with whom I had a very good working relationship, not least through hosting the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, during their visit to the Czech Republic in March 2010.

As part of a commendable and very understandable exercise of beginning to learn about and comprehend, the British expatriate community living here in the Czech Republic, Jan had invited Christian ministers working with British citizens, to afternoon tea at the British Embassy. Amongst those present were Rev’d Gareth Morris who is pastor to the International Baptist Church, together with his wife Elizabeth, and Major Mike and Major Ruth Stannett, who head up the the work of the Salvation Army throughout the Czech Republic.

The Ambassador was keen to both learn about our work, and to have our insights on life in the Czech Republic. Just like her predecessor, she has had over six months of individual language training and was able to present her credentials to the President, speaking in Czech, much to his surprise! After all that hard work, it does seem a shame that she is likely only to be here for four years before there is another Ambassador change.

There is another change that I have noticed at the British Embassy, over the time that I have lived here. With the exception of a relatively small number of senior positions that are held by British nationals, all the other staff are now Czech or Slovak. When I met my first British Ambassador, (I’m now on my third 🙂 ), the PA who set up my meeting, was a British young lady, who was on secondment for a few years from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London.

Now the Ambassador’s PA is a delightful Czech young lady, who first sought my help for names and contact details of those she ought to invite to afternoon tea with the Ambassador. Likewise, all the staff of the consular section, dealing with lost passports, Brits who run foul of the Czech police etc, are also Czech or Slovak. The reasoning behind this change is almost certainly one of cost. Czech staff are cheaper to employ and have no additional expense of being moved from, and eventually back to, the United Kingdom. But it does seem slightly strange as a British Citizen, to be mainly dealing with non-Brits at my own Embassy 🙂

My car parked in the snow last winter © Ricky Yates

Last Wednesday, I paid a visit to my good friend Adrian Blank in Nepomuk, so that my car could experience an important change – from summer to winter tyres. This is the first winter that I’ve done this, as previously the car has been little used during the winter months. But after a couple of somewhat hairy return trips from Brno in falling snow last winter, this year I’ve purchased and had fitted, a completely new set of winter tyres. They certainly gave a very smooth return journey last Wednesday. And I shall be most interested to experience the promised improvement in grip and control they are meant to provide, once the snow and frost do arrive.

Finally for this post, there is one change that the Czech nation is still waiting for – a change of government. On the last weekend in October, the Czechs went to the polls to elect a new lower house of parliament, the Chamber of Deputies. The background to the election and its eventual outcome, would require a further post in its own right. But if a stable government is to be formed, it will need a three/four party coalition. Talks between the parties are under way, but lurking in the background is a President who has his own ideas of what should happen. Watch this space!

The Green Party campaigning in Pelhrimov © Ricky Yates

When Ricky went to Rícky

Ricky at the entrance to Rícky. Sorry about closing my eyes! © Ricky Yates

In January 2012, I wrote a post entitled ‘Exploring the Czech Republic‘, in which I told of my discovery of a place in the Czech Republic which bears my name – Ricky. As I explained in that post, the village is actually called Rícky v Orlických horách, and there should be a hacek, a little hook, above both the ‘R’ and the ‘c’ in ‘Rícky, as there should be above the ‘c’ in ‘hácek’. But as I know from past experience, for technical reasons that are beyond my comprehension, if I put one in, the letter will appear as ‘?’ in the text of this blog.

‘Rícka’ means ‘stream’ and so with the ‘a’ replaced with a ‘y’, the word is made plural meaning ‘streams’. ‘v Orlických horách’ simply means ‘in the Eagle Mountains’. Therefore, part of the reason for our trip to the Orlické hory, was so that Ricky could finally fulfil his longstanding ambition of visiting Rícky 🙂

Rícky v Orlických horách lies about seven kilometres north of Rokytnice v Orlických horách. After a peaceful night’s sleep in Pension Rampušák in Rokytnice, our plan was to walk to Rícky the next day. However, rather than the sunshine and blue skies that had greeted us upon our arrival in Rokytnice, we awoke to a howling wind blowing existing lying snow into greater drifts, and fresh snowflakes falling from the sky. We spent the morning in the warmth of our room, debating what we should do.

Following lunch in the restaurant of Pension Rampušák, we decided to brave the weather and go. So we set off and walked three kilometres out of Rokytnice up to Horní (Upper) Rokytnice where the road to Rícky branches off to the left. Just as we arrived at the road junction, along came the local bus service from Rokytnice to Rícky. We paid our fare of CZK 17 (£0.54) each, and hopped on. Four kilometres later, after a journey over a twisty snow-covered road, we arrived in the centre of Rícky.

Ricky at the centre of Rícky 673m/2200ft above sea level © Ricky Yates

Rícky v Orlických horách is a ski centre in winter and a base for walking holidays in summer. Covered in unusual late season snow, it was caught between its two identities. Other than a couple of mothers meeting their children coming home from school on the bus, the place was dead!

On our seven kilometre walk back to Rokytnice, Sybille took the picture at the beginning of this post and I took the one below, both of which I trust, illustrate how much lying snow there was, despite it being early April when Spring flowers should be appearing.

Bus stop shelter with snowdrift © Ricky Yates

And below is a photo of the most exposed part of our return walk, with Sybille walking past piles of snow that are nearly as high as she is! So much for a pleasant Spring walk – but at least now, Ricky has finally visited Rícky 🙂

Sybille walking between Rícky and Rokytnice © Ricky Yates

Orlické hory

Rokytnice v Orlických horách - 'Gateway to the Eagle Mountains' © Ricky Yates — Rokytnice v Orlických horách – ‘Gateway to the Eagle Mountains’ © Ricky Yates

After spending Easter Monday exploring Boskovice, the following morning we drove further north for about three hours, (including a mid-morning coffee break), from South Moravia, into the extreme north-eastern corner of Bohemia. This was in order to visit the Orlické hory (Czech) or Adlergebirge (German), both names which translate literally into English as ‘Eagle Mountains’.

The Orlické hory lie close to the border with Poland in the former Sudetenland, from which the Sudetendeutsche population were expelled at the end of the Second World War. They are not as high as the Krkonoše Mountains where we spent a walking holiday for a week in July 2011. Therefore, when planning some weeks earlier, how to spend my post-Easter break, we thought they would be an ideal location for a couple of days of walking enjoying some pleasant Spring weather 😉

The clear unwillingness of winter to relax its grip, did make us wonder whether this was still a good idea. But as Tuesday 2nd April dawned fine and sunny and the main roads were dry and clear of snow, we decided to stick to our original plan. So we arrived at Rokytnice v Orlických horách which, as the sign declares, is the brána Orlických hor, ‘Gateway to the Eagle Mountains’.

Rokytnice, (Rokitnitz in German), is a small town with a population of around 2500 and is around 580 metres (1,900 feet) above sea level. As with many Czech towns, at the centre is a pleasant main square, overlooked by a Church.

The main square in Rokytnice © Ricky Yates

A short distance from the Church, on one side of the square, we spotted Pension Rampušák which offered both meals and accommodation. We adopted our regular pattern of saying, “Mluvíme trochu cesky” – “We speak little Czech”, followed by, “Do you speak English? – Sprechen Sie Deutsch?”, and found that the lady proprietor spoke fluent German.

Pension Rampušák proved to be a wonderful find. We were offered a spacious double-bedded room with an equally spacious on-suite bathroom, for CZK 700 (just over £23.00) per night, including breakfast! We promptly booked in for two nights. We then discovered as we sat down and had lunch in the pension restaurant, that our German-speaking hostess also employed an excellent chef 🙂

That afternoon, we set out on a post-lunch digestive walk, first exploring the town and then following a waymarked footpath along the river valley, south of the town. Although the path was snow-covered, it was never too deep for walking and we enjoyed bright sunshine throughout the afternoon.