Melnik Vinobrani

Around the September/October time of each year, the vineyards of the Czech Republic pull out their best and the country is filled to the brim with various wine festivals, or Vinobrani which celebrate the years wine harvest. Stalls line the streets, selling wine (of course) as well as grilled cheese, Prague Ham, Trdelnik and just about anything else considered Bohemian. Just about every town has its own Vinobrani and the Old Town square in Prague has had its going for about 4 solid weeks now! 




We had heard that a small town north of Prague, called Melnik, put on a fantastic Vinobrani each year and was well worth visiting. Melnik lies at the confluence of the rivers Vltava and the Labe and is known for its cultivation of grapevines and its annual celebratory grape harvest. The festival runs for one whole weekend in September, complete with carnival atmosphere, all the gingerbread you could possibly eat and the young Moravian wine, Burcak. Burcak tastes just like grape juice as it is only slightly fermented, fizzy and is sickly sweet. Don't be fooled though, it doesn't taste like an alcoholic beverage but it most certainly is, with its alcohol content being between 5-8%. There are apparent health benefits to this drink, but I really don't think people are too concerned with them. 
We arrived in Melnik around lunch time to find the festival still in the process of being set up. We decided to take a walk through the main town area and explore a little, which led us to a nice little cafe for a pot of tea. The festival covered the majority of the main town of Melnik with the 'side show alley' area taking up most of the space. We spent some time then walking through the festival, sampling some of the wine and some of the local food and enjoying the vibrant atmosphere. We had forgotten how much joy balloons and bumper cars can bring to people, even if I wasn't allowed to have either of them on the day. In half an hour we had seen everything in the festival and decided to head to the Melnik Church. When we thought to come back in a little later for another glass of Burcak, we were asked to pay 200Kc each ($11) for entry! Since we had already been in (for free) and seen everything we chose to go home. We like to look at the decision as being one of 'money conscious people' :)




Melnik has plenty more to offer than first meets the eye. It boasts one of the oldest Churches in Bohemia, the Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, whose foundations date back to 1000! The Church, along with the Melnik Castle, overlook the confluence of the above mentioned rivers, with a spectacular view over the country side. 

A street in Melnik looking over to the Castle and the Church

Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul

Vltava and the Labe Rivers

Under the Church is the Melnik Charnel-house, containing the bones of between 10 000 and 15 000 people! These people were dug up from the Church graveyard to make more room during the plague of 1530-1531, while many others were added over the years. In the year 1787, all of the charnel-houses in Bohemia were ordered to be sealed for hygienic reasons. It was re-opened in the late 19th century and then again in the early 20th century for scientific reasons. The crypt is full to the brim with all kinds of human bones, arranged and ordered specifically. Jindrich Matiegka, an anthropologist and university professor began his study of bones and skulls in the Melnik charnel-house in the year 1913-14. With the help of two students, he studied and arranged the contents of the charnel-house. The charnel-house then became open to the public. While inside another group of people came in to have a look, only to finish up with one of them putting a bone in her mouth for a good 'ol facebook profile shot. We wanted to tell her how disrespectful she was, but we couldn't get past the fact that the person the bone belonged to probably died of the plague. We figured she would work it out for herself sooner or later.

Berlin

After 30 minutes of forethought we booked a quick 4 day trip to Berlin to visit some friends and to see a bit of the amazing city. 16 Euro got us return bus tickets from Prague to Berlin, complete with movie and free coffee! Who would have thought a bus company would be better than our JetStar flight from Perth to Singapore?


Berlin is a city where it seems 'survival of the most alternative' is their motto. Every bar, cafe, restaurant and boutique has something about it which is quirky and cool, weather it is a cleared out old Theatre turned bar/cafe or a Sushi train restaurant where the sushi is actually floating around the room on little boats on a stream! Most people who live in Berlin seem to have a lot of disposable income, something we don't see much of in Prague, so everyone is always out and about having coffee or a drink with friends. Bars are packed every night of the week and in the morning almost everywhere is deserted until at least 10:30 in the morning!

'Kjosk' Bar. A double decker bus turned kiosk selling snacks and drinks. Seating in the gardens under umbrellas. Amazing!

Berlin is a combination of buildings with varying degrees of history. Buildings that survived WWII are few and far between and any that did stand the War have since been repaired to their former glory. The difference in building design between East and West Berlin is very noticeable. East is full of concrete blocks functioning as apartments, hotels or business buildings. West is composed mainly of new looking buildings, with obvious western influence. Both sides of Berlin are beautiful in their own right, if anything, East is more exciting and alternative, full of interesting boutiques and bars.

An artist alley way, one of many. Leading to an art store, cinema and little bar

We visited the Reichstag, which in itself is an imposing structure, even without knowing its history. We managed to secure a place in a tour of the Cupola (glass dome on top of the Reichstag). If you ever find yourself in Berlin, make sure you secure a spot to go and visit the Reichstag. A few emails were required, but thanks to our friends, we were able to get our names on the 'list' to go and see inside. The views from the Cupola are amazing, and with a free audio-guide to help us along, we fast became experts on the buildings making up the Berlin skyline! This is one of the best things we did in Berlin and it was free!

The Reichstag - German house of Parliament

Inside the Reichstag Cupola. Mirrors reflect light down into the  Plenary Room  (under the mirrors, with the glass roof) to help reduce the need for unnatural lighting. 

The best way to see a city is to hire bikes for a day and just ride around - which is exactly what we did. Riding around a main city is unnerving, especially when you're not familiar with the road rules! Some roads have bike paths on them, but most didn't. You just have to brave riding on the side of the road, which is barely big enough for the car, let alone us as well. The experience was fantastic though and we were able to see so much of the city. From Alexanderplatz, past the Brandenburg Gate, down to the Victory monument, though the Tiergarten and around to the Reichstag! A big day full of interesting sights and ending with dinner at a Mexican place with 1 euro Tacos and Tequila. Amazing. 

Berliner Dom (Cathedral)

Brandenberg Gate

Berlin is a mecca for artists of all kinds, particularly East Berlin. Kunsthaus' (Art Houses) are ripe in Berlin, with a really popular one on Oranienburger Strauss called Kunsthaus Tacheles. The building itself was originally built as a Jewish department store in East Berlin. After serving as a Nazi prison for a while it was partially demolished. Once the Berlin wall was taken down the building was taken over by an artist collective who called it Tacheles (Yiddish for 'straight talking'). You can now find a building with huge colourful, graffiti-style murals painted on the exterior walls and a modern art Ghetto inside. The artists sells their works and are all squatting illegally. We all agreed that this is the weirdest place we have ever been to. The overwhelming smell of urine when you enter the building and make your way up the stairs to the artists area is really something else!


The East Side Gallery is well worth a visit too. The Berlin Wall East Side Gallery is a 1.3km-long section of the wall near the center of Berlin. Approximately 106 paintings by artists from all over the world cover this memorial for freedom and make it the largest open air gallery in the world. Being open air, the wall is therefore not protected. From its initiation in 1990, the wall is constantly being restored from graffiti, vandalism and erosion. The most recent project was in 2009, so most of the wall is still in great condition. 

One of the paintings on the East Side Gallery

Overall we had an excellent time in Berlin, it is well worth a visit for its crazy mix of alternative fashion/culture and its sobering history. Make sure you head out from the city centre though if you want to experience the 'new' Berlin!

Karlstejn and Vysehrad

About 45 minutes out of Prague lies Karlstejn ("Karl - stein"), a small town with a beautiful Castle. Karlstejn Castle was built by Czech King and Roman Emperor Charles IV as a place for safe keeping of the royal treasures, especially Holy relics and the coronation jewels of the Roman Empire. The first documented stay in this Castle by Charles was 1355, when he came to supervise the building works. The construction of the Castle was finished in 1365, when the Chapel of the Holy Cross, situated in the Great Tower (the most heavily fortified with walls 3-7 meters deep!) was consecrated.

Now it is a busy little tourist destination and holds one of the most unique positions among the Czech castles. The walk from the train station up to the Castle was interesting, with almost every house on the main street being converted to some tourist shop or restaurant. It seems everyone here makes their living off of the tourists! The 30 minutes climb is all uphill, but the Castle is situated on a hill, so what did we expect!
The Castle is fairy tale material and would not look out of place in Disneyland's main promenade! From the old stone rampart walls of the Castle you can see for miles out to the green rolling hills of the Czech Republic. A truly beautiful sight.
The interior of the Castle was amazing, however little of it was original. The interior was redecorated in the 19th century, new floors, new ceiling, new walls and new decorations. Apparently a lot of the original furniture and also the Czech coronation crown are now located in Austria.

We also made a trip to Vysehrad one afternoon, an area just south of the city, close to Prague 2. Legend has it that Vysehrad (High Castle) is the place where Prague was born. The area holds importance as King Charles IV decreed that the coronation of Bohemian Kings should begin with a procession from here. The area was almost ruined in the following centuries until the Czech National Revival generated new interest in Vysehrad as a symbol of Czech history. From 1866, Vysehrad graveyard became a national memorial, the fortifications were dismantled and various buildings were restored. Vysehrad today has peaceful green parks with great views across the River Vltava. We saw mothers with their children, old women with their dogs and people laying about enjoying the peaceful atmosphere.

Looking out over the southern areas of the city to Prague Castle in the background

St Martins Rotunda in Vysehrad

The Vltava River, looking over to Smichov and Petrin Hill. Prague Castle to the far right

The Church of St Peter and St Paul, in Vysehrad