With 7 minutes to go in my soccer match this morning, I suffered a slight concussion when an opponent took my feet out from under me while I was up for a head ball. I landed flat on my back and head. It was an unintentional foul, and I think the other guy felt worse than I did. I took a moment to gather myself and returned to the pitch. A few minutes later, I felt a little disoriented and decided to finish the game on the bench. It was our last game of the season before playoffs, and we ended in style with a 4-0 win.

When I returned home, Nico and Maya were hard at work preparing a special Father’s Day lunch, which was amazing. We had the best fried chicken sandwiches I have ever tasted. They were truly amazing and followed by corn fritters, one of my all-time favorite foods.

Kyle called in from Portugal to join the celebration, and although we missed his presence, I am thrilled to see him living his best life.

What happened in the days, even hours, after an asteroid set off the extinction of the dinosaurs? I learned the answer to this question while listening to a TED Talk by renowned paleontologist Dr. Ken Lacovara, the founding executive director of the Edelman Fossil Park & Museum, which opened just over 2 months ago in southern New Jersey. Built on the site of a marl quarry, it contains the most complete fossil record of the event that ended the age of the dinosaurs. Over 100,000 specimens representing more than 100 species were excavated from an area the size of a tennis court over a period of 14 years.

When I learned that Jeanine and I would be traveling to Ocean City to visit with the Earles, I knew we would have to add this museum to our itinerary. This morning we made the one-hour drive to visit the park and museum, and it more than lived up to my expectations. Afterwards, Jeanine and I made the drive back to Concord, during which I listened to another TED Talk and learned the answer to why small mammals who survived the impact managed to thrive when, by all accounts, the surviving reptiles should have annihilated them. The answer, BTW: fungi.

Although all of the land-based dinosaurs were wiped out, many reptiles and aquatic dinosaurs survived the initial asteroid impact. The nuclear winter that followed (dust blocking the sun for years) took care of almost all the survivors.

Pictured below is a shark tooth. Striations found in the femur of a large dinosaur made by sharks support the theory that animals killed moments after the impact were taken to sea by the ensuing tsunami, where they would have been floating buffets.

The fossil record also shows that many carnivorous dinosaurs were no match for the much larger plant-eaters, which could use their weight to crush them. Think lion versus bull elephant.

Kris’ daughter, Bethany, took us on a golf cart tour of Ocean City, starting with the Surf Road Beach on the northern end of the island.

We then visited two of the adjacent properties that she and her husband are developing on the bay side of the island. The one in the foreground is listed for $14.9M, and the one behind it for $11.5M, with construction expected to be completed by the end of summer.

Caffeination was the next order of business.

In the evening, we were joined by Rob, Kris’s husband, who flew up from Florida. After another amazing dinner, we hit the boardwalk for a final time and took advantage of the latest communication technology available in the home state of Bell Laboratories.

This morning, Jeanine, Kris, her daughter Beth, and Aunt Martha made a short excursion to Dots Pastry shop, where we acquired several thousand calories to augment our otherwise healthy breakfast. Later we went for a walk through Ocean City’s town center, stopping to purchase a new summer outfit for Jeanine. I then settled in for a leisurely nap while the women took to the beach and ocean.

Jeanine and I drove to Ocean City, NJ, today, where we will be staying with her best friend, Kris, and her family. We timed our travel to avoid rush hour traffic in the greater NYC area and made the journey in 6 hours including two brief stops for recharging the car. After several days of rain in Concord, we enjoyed the clear skies, warm sun, and ocean breezes that greeted us.

After dinner, we strolled down to the boardwalk to enjoy the Strawberry Moon. Initially, I feared that clouds on the horizon would ruin the opportunity, but eagle-eyed Jeanine spotted it as it emerged from cover. This Strawberry Moon was especially significant because it coincided with a major lunar standstill or “lunistice,” a rare event that occurs roughly every 18.6 years. This made the full moon appear unusually low on the horizon, the lowest it has been since 2006 and won’t be again until 2043. When the moon is low, it often appears more reddish or orange due to atmospheric scattering and this year smoke from the Canadian wildfires only added to the color.

Water chestnut (Trapa natans), often called “American water chestnut” in the U.S., is a highly invasive aquatic plant, not to be confused with the edible water chestnut used in Asian cuisine. Native to Eurasia, it was introduced to North America in the 19th century and has since become a major ecological threat in the northeastern United States. Jeanine joined other members of the community this morning to pull plants from the river in the ongoing battle to keep the spread at bay.

Yesterday, Jeanine and I planted 95 creeping thyme plants in the area between our patio and the clover lawn over a few hours. If they grow to their expected dimensions, we will have a lush, natural carpet covering the entire area that is robust enough to withstand foot traffic and will nearly double the usable size of our patio. Compared to similar work we did in the front yard, this project went three times faster, taking advantage of lessons learned. This time, we marked the hole locations for the entire area before excavating and then excavated all the holes before planting. Now for the hard part: wait 1 or 2 years for the creeping thyme to spread.

Next month, Jeanine and I will be traveling to Galway, Ireland, to celebrate the marriage of my nephew, Mario. We will fly into Dublin a week before, where we will rent a car and meet up with my brother (Mark) and sister-in-law (Marie) to do a little touring through Northern Ireland. Before such trips, I like to identify places to visit and map out a driving route. Today, I spent some time documenting a tentative plan to share with Mark and Marie for their review.

Le Grand Prix Elmendorf du Pain is an annual Parisian-inspired street festival and bread competition held in East Cambridge, celebrating French baking traditions and local community spirit. The event features an eclectic mix of French-inspired food vendors, local artists, live music, and a festive atmosphere as Cambridge and Eighth streets are closed to cars for the occasion. The bread competition is divided into amateur and professional categories, with this year’s challenge focusing on demi-baguettes for home bakers and croissants for professionals, judged blind by a panel of experts. Inspired by Paris’s Grand Prix de la Baguette, the event aims to highlight both the artistry of bread-making and the vibrancy of the East Cambridge community. Jeanine and I enjoyed our visit during which we obtained two loaves of bread, a cheese and cracker plate, a cherry and almond cookie, and two rather large smiles.

We then drove to Medford for a brief visit with Kyle, who is leaving for Portugal tomorrow on a month-long stint working remotely.

Earlier in the day, I watched from the sidelines as my soccer team fought hard for a 2-1 win, which secured our first-place finish for the spring season and home-field advantage for the league championship playoffs. I decided it was better to forego playing today than risk re-injuring my hamstring and missing the playoff matches. I fully expect to be back on the pitch next weekend.

Followers of this blog know that waterfalls are one of my favorite natural subjects. The photo above was not taken by me, and I was unable to determine the photographer to give proper attribution. When I learned that this waterfall inside a cave was taken in Ireland, I instantly knew that I had to see it for myself during our upcoming trip there for my nephew’s wedding. It took a fair amount of sleuthing to discover its location and how to reach it. It is not clear if we will be able to work it into our travel plans, but my fingers are crossed.

Lodge Park in Nahant, occupies land once used by Native Americans and later became the site of the Nahant Hotel, considered America’s first seaside resort, built in 1823 and destroyed by fire in 1861. After the hotel burned, the property was acquired by the family of Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, who built his summer “cottage” there in 1868, making it a prominent family estate. The site’s strategic location led to its use for coastal defense during the Spanish-American War, both World Wars, and the Cold War, including as a Nike missile base. The U.S. government purchased the estate in 1941, and after the military base was decommissioned, the Town of Nahant acquired the land. In 1988, it was officially designated Lodge Park, honoring the Lodge family, and is now a public park known for its scenic views and layered history. I made a brief visit after some consulting work in Billerica and a visit to the Arc’tyrex store in Lynnfield where I returned a 12-year old shell jacket with delaminating seams for a generous store credit that I used to purchase a down jacket.

In the evening, we hosted a small “dinner” party consisting of potluck appetizers with an Indiana theme. Our guests included old friends, neighbors, and new acquaintances.

We are very fortunate to be situated on a section of the Sudbury River with a rather diverse shoreline that morphs depending on the water level. Presently, the water is high due to heavy spring rains. The wetlands (brown areas) are fully saturated, and you can see the various canals created by waterfowl, beavers, muskrats, and otters. The tree line serves to provide great background color during the spring and fall, while the water lilies create nice texture in the foreground.

Today, we had an extended visit from a large snapping turtle. I estimate the shell length to be 16 inches. S/he spent several hours moving about the newly mulched areas of our front yard and eventually started excavating the compost pile in which my future bonsai Japanese Lace Leaf Maple is growing. A provoked snapping turtle of this size can easily remove a finger from your hand and can strike with lightning speed over a distance of about six inches. It is best to give them a wide berth. I suspect she was surveying our yard to locate a good place to lay eggs. When the coast is clear, I will investigate the compost pile to see if I find eggs there. If yes, I will cordon off the area until the baby turtles hatch.

I’m still feeling under the weather today, despite the beautiful outdoor weather we’re enjoying. I decided to do a little bird photography from our patio to distract myself.

For the first time since moving to Concord some 22 years ago, I found the beach at Walden Pond vacant on a warm summer afternoon. It will remain closed until a new pavilion is constructed to replace the old one.

I spent a good part of the afternoon doing aerial photography around town as an excuse to be outside. I have been suffering from the flu for the past few days and needed to do something other than sleep.

Pictured below is the WR Grace Superfund Site located on the town line between Acton and Concord. Grace acquired the site in 1954, using it to make concrete additives, organic chemicals, container sealing compounds, latex products, and paper and plastic battery separators. Wastes from these operations were discharged into unlined lagoons or buried in landfills onsite, contaminating soil, sediment, and groundwater. The surface contaminants have been removed, and a 5 megawatt solar field has been installed. Groundwater remediation is ongoing and expected to continue through at least 2031.

While I was playing soccer in Italy, my younger sister, Alissa, was competing at the Blackpool Dance Festival in the UK. She placed 8th in her age group of 33 entrants. My parents met on the dance floor and enjoyed ballroom dancing for their entire lives. They would be so happy to see their daughter following in their footsteps.

On the home front, I scored my first goal of the season on the soccer pitch in a one-sided 10-2 victory over Wayland. Unfortunately, I managed to tweak my left hamstring with just two minutes left to play in the match. I eased up immediately and hope that it will prove to be a minor injury. We have just two games left in our spring season before the playoffs.

The kids joined us for a late lunch today. I cooked steaks on the grill, and Jeanine made a great strawberry salad. Afterwards, we watched the UEFA Champions League final, which turned out to be a rather boring one-sided affair. We had a chance to catch up on their latest work and relationship status. We feel so fortunate to have them all living close by.

Maya just received another promotion at work, Kyle made an offer on a second house located in Chelsea, and Nico was featured in this week’s Concord Journal for his work promoting the Beautiful Game.

Jeanine and I attended Chopped for Charity, the Open Table fundraiser that she started several years ago when she was the Executive Director of the organization. This evening, the honored guest was Deena Whitfield, former Chairman of the Board. Jeanine was invited to speak about the impact she had on both herself and the organization. Here is her speach:

“Fierce. A force to be reckoned with. Persuasive, indefatigable, strategic, energizing, infectiously positive.” These are the words former Board  members who could not attend this evening used to describe working with Deena

It is a privilege to be able to honor – my friend and former colleague Deena Whitfield.  As the BOD chair and ED, we faced many major challenges that led to organizational transformations. With Deena as a partner the challenges became bumps in the road toward a greater shared vision.  That vision is what I want to thank her for this evening

I met Deena Whitfield in 2013 at my  first OT Board meeting. Peter Hilton was president and Lynn Zubrigg the chair. That day, the Board was discussing the recent strategic plan when Deena spoke up: “I think we should be striving to make Open Table the best food relief program in the country.”       ….that ambitious statement rendered the rest of the board speechless.

It came as no surprise when, a year later, the Board voted Deena and Patty Chambers in as co-chairs. If anyone had the vision and drive to help Open Table become the best it could be, it was Deena, and Patty would be able to navigate the Maynard local politics.

“Think more strategically” became her rallying cry.  Under Deena’s leadership of the Board, OT experienced an accelerated transition from an operations board to a strategic one—a change that has arguably had the greatest impact on Open Table’s trajectory. Yes, she’s an amazing fundraiser and a natural leader. But more importantly, she was able to bring the entire Board along on the journey, paving the way for other major transitions. Little did we know, it would also prepare us for one of the biggest crisis we’d ever face—and no, it wasn’t the pandemic.

In 2015, Open Table lost its Maynard location at the Mill, leaving us just two weeks to find a new home for our community dinner. At the time, it was infuriating, but in hindsight the catalyst for a second major cultural shift-professionalizing the all-volunteer organization. 

By the end of her term as Board chair, Deena had accomplished much.  She had convinced the Board to hire the first professional staff, she negotiated a lease with a purchase clause for the 33 Main Street site (with the Aubuchon Hardware), then co-led a capital campaign and brokered very favorable mortgage terms with Middlesex Bank to secure Open Table’s “ permanent home”, a term she coined that rallied longtime volunteers to get behind this major shift. 

Changes of this magnitude would test any organization, but the strategic culture shifts Deena had cultivated made it possible for Open Table to weather these foundational transitions.  This shift later paved the way for Open Table to purchase two more buildings and our refrigerated truck, with Deena, now a volunteer on the fundraising committee, strategizing the campaigns that made these acquisitions possible.

So tonight, let us raise our glasses to Deena’s early vision realized: To creating the best food relief organization in the area if not the country, that vision has had vast impact , and you are still here, inspiring others to join OT on the the journey.  

Thank you, Deena.

Completing our landscaping plan for the new house will be a multi-year effort. This season, Jeanine and I focused on the small (brown) patch beneath the driveway turnaround and to the right of the garage. Over the last week, we have planted or replanted more than 100 Sedge Grass and Prairie Dropseed Grass plants in an offset grid pattern surrounding smaller randomly placed plants from last year. In a few years, this whole area will be a mass of green with no earth showing, or at least, that is our expectation. Time will tell. The clover “lawn” we planted on the left side of the house has filled in beautifully in just one season, so there is reason for optimism.

In the 20-year history of this blog, I do not believe I have ever recognized a company for superior customer service. Today, I would like to talk about my experience with Kite Optics. About a year ago, I decided to purchase a new pair of binoculars for use at the River House. I already owned a Canon 12×36 Image Stabilized binocular, which I bought more than a decade ago for use in the field (weight was an important consideration). The Kite Optics 14×50 APC Stabilized unit that I purchased offered more magnification and better low-light performance at the expense of being heavier. Weight was not a consideration since I intended to use it exclusively from within the house to observe the river critters that visit so frequently. From the day it arrived, I have enjoyed this glass immensely. The optical and stabilization performance are superb. When Jeanine and I returned from New Zealand I noticed that the stabilization did not seem to be working. The unit has built in rechargeable batteries so I assumed that after a year of use they finally needed charging and gave it a full over night charge. The next day, the image stabilization still did not work. I then asked Nico, who was house sitting for us while we were away, if anything traumatic had happened to the binoculars. He assured me they had been used with care. I then noticed that the alignment mark on the power switch did not seem to be properly registered to the ON-OFF symbols on the body. At this point, I contacted RSD Outdoor, the exclusive US distributor of Kite Optics and explained the situation. I was asked to return the binoculars for examination. A few days later, I received confirmation that they had received the binoculars and that they would be sending me a brand new replacement. Bear in mind that I paid close to $2,000 for this unit. No muss, no fuss, just a commitment to get me operational again. Based on this experience and the performance of the product, I can give Kite Optics and RSD Outdoor Inc. my highest endorsement.

Jeanine and I spent much of the day in the garden, planting and replanting tall grasses in the front yard. They need to be installed on a 24″ x 24″ offset grid. The initial installation we paid for was less of a grid and more of a random scattering. Because the soil in this area of the yard has a high density of buried rocks, each hole must be excavated with a pickaxe, making it tedious work. Even so, it was very satisfying to install about 40 pants. Tomorrow, we hope to complete the grid with an additional 25 plants.

Even though I featured our rhododendron in yesterday’s post, the blooms are so magnificent right now that I thought a second entry was warranted. The foreground is the clover we planted last year, and it is looking quite robust this season.

I returned to Concord today to find our rhododendrons in full bloom, a lovely welcome home gift. My journey was uneventful until I reached home and began unpacking. Only then did I realize I was missing the telephoto lens I had taken for the trip. There is a possibility that I left it at the team hotel in San Benedetto del Tronto.

UPDATE: I have learned that the hotel has my lens and I am making arrangements to have it shipped to me. What a relief!

After four straight losses, my soccer team finally found its footing and won our final two games of the tournament this morning. It was just enough to secure a third-place finish and rehabilitate our confidence and psyche. A ten-course meal at a hilltop restaurant with a commanding view of the Adriatic followed the competition. We had a scoreless tie in our first match which went to penalty kicks where we won 2-1. In our second match, we produced a compelling 3-0 win. I made my first positive contribution to the team with an assist on our first goal. Trophy and finishing place aside, we earned the respect of our Italian hosts after two days of amateur performance.

After the three-hour lunch and trophy presentation, it was time to catch a bus back to Rome. The return was made infinitely more pleasant because I was traveling with three of my compatriots, one of whom is a fellow photographer and kindred spirit. As we passed over/through the mountains that separate Italy’s east and west coast, I managed a picture of the ~10,000 foot peaks through the window of the bus.

As I predicted before the soccer tournament started, my team was either going to do very well or very poorly. Unfortunately, the latter option seems to be the case. We played two more matches today, losing the first 0-1 and the second 1-2. The only positive outcome was the fact that we scored our first goal! In the words of our acting team manager, “The Italians are all tall, thin, fast, ex-pros.” Once again, I did little to distinguish myself on the pitch. In the photo, taken by one of my injured teammates, I managed to steal the ball and drive it to the end line only to mishandle it out of bounds. We have two more matches tomorrow and lost another player to injury today. Suffice it to say, we aren’t optimistic about our chances.

After returning to the team hotel, I went for 4-mile walk in the Spiaggia Riserva Naturale Sentina (nature reserve along the beach), where I encountered many interesting scenes.

Our tournament got off to a rough start despite the ebullient mood in the locker room before our first match. We faced Nazionale Italia and lost 1-0. If I am being honest, we were lucky to have given up only one goal. The weather was wet and chilly at kickoff time. We did our customary half hour warm up. These guys walked out of the club house with no warm up and beat us like a drum. I did manage to make a breakaway down the right wing and put a cross into the box and onto the head of our striker. It was my only productive moment of the game. Unfortunately, it was a little behind my teammate who had to step back to get his head on it thus losing all power on the shot.

Our second match started less than ten minutes after our first one ended, and our fatigue was apparent. We lost this match 0-2 to S.P.V. Master Team PD in their first match of the day. Realistically, this is a game we could have tied or won, but luck was not on our side.

Tomorrow we play another two matches, this time without our star striker, who has a strained Achilles tendon, and our manager/striker, who is headed for the UK to watch his son graduate from college tomorrow.

The motivation for my current trip to Europe is to compete in an over-60 soccer tournament with my Concord United team. The Italian Police Association is organizing the competition, and the other teams appear to be made up of police from different regions of the country. This evening our squad converged on the small seaside town of San Benedetto del Tronto located on the Adriatic coast. I traveled from Rome by bus. The trip took only two and a half hours which was faster than the train that many of my compatriots used. The competition starts tomorrow with two matches in the afternoon. I am predicting that we will either win big or lose big. Stay tuned.

Hotel mascot.

Vatican City is the world’s smallest independent state, an ecclesiastical state ruled by the Pope. With a total area of 0.17 square miles and a population of approximately 882 people, it is the smallest sovereign state in the world by both area and population. I got up very early so I could avoid the crowds and get a clean aerial photo of St. Peter’s Bascillica and Square. I did not go into any of the museums or chapels as I hope to share that experience with Jeanine on a future visit.

One of my personal lifetime goals is to have visited the same number of countries as I have years of age. It is a way of incentivizing myself to get out and experience the world. My visit to the Vatican City today put me one over my age, and later this summer Jeanine and I will be visiting Northern Ireland, which will put me at two plus. Another goal it to have visited all the US National Parks. More about that in a future post.

Castel Sant’Angelo.

Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II.

Piazza del Popolo.

A typical street in Rome. Notice the numerous rooftop gardens and crowded narrow streets. Unlike other major cities I have visited in the past few months (Prague, Sydney, Christchurch, Auckland) Rome was not all that I expected. Certainly, the history, the architecture, and the art are unmatched, but the city itself is dirty, noisy, and chaotic. As someone who is half Italian, this is hard for me to write. During the course of my two days here, I have seen at least 500 police men and women suggesting either a major problem with crime or a fear of attack, neither reason inspiring much confidence. To be balanced in my perspective, there are moments when you walk into a square and the view just takes your breath away. We have nothing like this in the United States.

The Spanish Steps and the Trinità dei Monti.

This is my fourth visit to Italy and, oddly, my first time in Rome. My travel from Prague was a bit tiring, considering I walked about 2 miles with a 40-pound backpack and another 6 miles with just my camera and drone. Cars, planes, and trains did the rest. It was raining when I arrived, so I did not get out until late afternoon. The walk revealed one amazing scene after another. I resisted the temptation to tour any of the sites pictured as I hope to do that with Jeanine when we return.

The Vltava River is the longest in the Czech Republic. The river meanders through the entire country and the heart of Prague. I was determined to photograph two of the most beautiful horseshoe bends, which are found in the south. Had the skies been a little less gloomy, I would have been a bit happier with the photos.

While I was in the neighborhood, I visited the Karlštejn Castle, a large Gothic castle located about 16 km southwest of Prague. It was founded in 1348 by King Charles IV, who later became Holy Roman Emperor. The castle was originally built to safeguard the Imperial Regalia, the Bohemian Crown Jewels, holy relics, and other royal treasures. The construction was personally supervised by Charles IV and took nearly 20 years to complete. The castle was designed with a hierarchical layout on three terraces: the Imperial Palace on the lowest level, the Marian Tower above it, and the Big Tower at the highest level. The Big Tower houses the Chapel of the Holy Cross, a unique and heavily fortified space where the crown jewels and important documents were kept behind multiple locked doors. Strategically built on a promontory surrounded by hills and steep rocks, Karlštejn was designed to be difficult to besiege. Notably, the castle had a secret water supply system involving a deep well and an underground channel, known only to the emperor, the burgrave, and the miners who constructed it. Legend says the miners were killed afterward to keep the secret safe.

I ended the day back in Prague where I decided to make a 180-degree panoramic photo of the Vltava River. Such photos are geometrically distorted (this section of the river is actually straight) but allowed me to show the bridges in both direction.

While walking through a street market, I spotted these beautiful fruit arrangements and had to pause for a photo. Now that I am looking at the image more closely and am somewhat hungry, I have decided to return to buy a basket.

I gave myself a break from serious photography and walked as little as possible today to recover from my adventures of the past week. I spent last night in Brno primarily because of its strategic location on my driving circuit rather than anything I wanted to photograph. I spent most of the day culling photos and updating this blog which took more time than usual because of the amount of writing. I am spending the night in Dubno, where I have rented an entire one bedroom flat for a whopping $32.55. Jeanine will be the first to tell you that I am not keen on spending a lot of money on lodging when traveling for photography. My requirements; near where I want to be, clean, quiet, hot shower, free Wi-Fi, and free parking. I generally arrive post-dusk and leave pre-dawn so I would rather spend my money on entrance fees or tour guides or food.

Today, I decided to make a day trip to visit the Bojnice Castle in Slovakia. It was originally built in the 12th century as a Romanesque fortress with Gothic and Renaissance elements. It stands on a travertine hill and consists of an inner and outer castle with three courtyards and is surrounded by a moat. In the late 19th century, Count Ján Pálffy extensively renovated the castle in a romantic neo-Gothic style inspired by French Loire Valley châteaux and other European castles, giving it its current fairy-tale appearance. Beneath the castle is a cave that serves as its water source. I spent a total of ten hours driving today, in large part to see this castle. On the way there, I began to question if the trip would be worth it, especially as it rained for much of the day. Miraculously it stopped half an hour before I arrived and I was able to capture what I consider to be one of my best ever aerial photos.

As I began my drive back to the Czech Republic, I noticed a White Stork returning to its nest to feed its young (see small head reaching up).

While driving to Slovakia, I made several stops along the way, some planned, some spontaneous. I took the photo below after crossing a bridge and seeing the reflection in the water. Such scenes are common in the many small towns that dot the countryside.

Driving here has been mostly enjoyable but very challenging. Very little of it has been on the highways, which are well-maintained and have an 80mph speed limit. The secondary roads are also in good shape, but invariably narrower than one would think reasonable and always winding. You must pay attention for every second and I often found it impossible to reach the speed limit of 55mph and when I did, it was too slow for the cars/trucks behind me. These roads connect towns and village which you reach every 2 to 5 minutes where the speed limit abruptly changes to 30mph, a speed which actually allows you to look up and enjoy the scenery. Basically, it is white-knuckle driving for several minutes interrupted by equal periods of relaxation repeated hundreds of times.

The Mikulov Castle, perched on a hill near the Austrian border, dates back to the late 13th century and was originally owned by the Liechtenstein family. In the late 16th century, it became the property of the Dietrichstein family, who transformed it into a grand Renaissance and later Baroque residence, making it a center of political and cultural life in the region. After a devastating fire in 1719, the castle was rebuilt in its current Baroque form and today houses a regional museum with exhibitions on local history, art, and viticulture, including one of Europe’s largest wine barrels.

Here we have a church on an island inhabited only by birds. It is the only surviving structure of a town that was flooded to create the massive reservoir in which it sits. Churches everywhere seem to be situated on high ground (closer to God, I imagine).

Lednice Castle in South Moravia is a stunning Neo-Gothic chateau rebuilt in the mid-19th century by the Liechtenstein family as a romantic summer residence. It sits at the heart of the Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape, a vast designed parkland featuring gardens, pavilions, and ornamental structures. This cultural landscape is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, celebrated for its harmonious blend of architecture and nature. The property includes the lagoon pictured in the background complete with nature walking paths and a 200-foot-tall minaret that served as a lookout tower.

The castle includes a greenhouse (long grey tube like extension shown below) known as the Palm House. It was constructed between 1843 and 1845 as part of the estate’s transformation into a showcase of modern technology and horticultural beauty. It features an elegant cast-iron structure with bamboo-shaped columns and glass panels, designed to house exotic tropical and subtropical plants collected from around the world, some as old as 300–400 years.

The far end of the greenhouse is pictured below, as is what I can only assume are sunlights to something magical below (I didn’t have time to investigate). The last image was shot through the greenhouse window.

The Prachov Cliffs are a famous sandstone rock formation located about 5 km northwest of Jičín in the Bohemian Paradise (Český ráj) region of the Czech Republic. They have been a protected natural reserve since 1933 and are one of the most iconic natural landmarks of the area. The formations originated from a sandstone plateau formed over 60 million years ago and have been sculpted by wind and rain into unique shapes. The area offers numerous hiking trails with varying lengths and difficulties, featuring steep stone steps, narrow rock passages, and multiple viewpoints providing stunning panoramas of the rock town and surrounding landscape.

Fortunately, I decided to skip the hike to the Pravčická Archway after yesterday’s navigational debacle because I would have never survived the rest of the day had I made that climb as well. When I researched the Prachov Cliffs, I grossly underestimated the difficulty of the 3.5km green blaze trail I elected to take. The short linear hiking distance does not reflect the amount of continuous elevation change up and down, mostly on poorly carved stairs which were hell on my knees. Essentially you climb to the top of one formation and then back down to the ground and over to the next formation, repeat. According to my health app, I climbed the equivalent of 89 floors. That is like climbing up and down the Empire State Building. Making matters worse, I got “lost” and nearly doubled the length of my hike. The reason that “lost” is in quotes is because I diligently followed the green blaze trail which apparently has an optional detour (labeled in Czech only) to a mountainside restaurant way off the path back to my car. When I asked a waiter WTF was going on and pointed to the green blaze painted on the side of the restaurant he laughed and said this happens all the time. If my legs were not so tired from two days of abuse I would have kicked some ass.

Summing up: Czechs suck at trail marking. Despite the arduous climbing, I loved my visit to this place of natural wonder.

The Cathedral of St. Bartholomew is the dominant landmark of Kolín and was hard not to notice as I drove through the town. It was not on my plan to visit but I just had to stop for a drone photo. Founded in the mid-13th century under King Přemysl Otakar II, the cathedral was constructed in several stages, with significant contributions from the renowned architect Peter Parler, who also worked on St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague. Its three-nave design, original Gothic choir, and twin octagonal towers are notable features. The cathedral has survived fires, wars, and multiple reconstructions, most notably in the 19th century under Josef Mocker, who restored its Gothic character.

St. Barbara’s Cathedral in Kutná Hora, is a stunning Gothic masterpiece and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, renowned for its architectural beauty and historical significance. Construction began in 1388, inspired by the wealth from the town’s silver mines, with miners as its primary patrons. The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Barbara, the patron saint of miners and those with dangerous occupations. Architecturally, it is a five-aisled Gothic cathedral featuring rare Gothic frescoes, intricate stone craft, and a late Gothic ribbed vault designed by Benedikt Rejt. The cathedral underwent various phases of construction and restoration, with significant neo-Gothic revitalization completed in the early 20th century, including the addition of stained glass windows depicting Christian motifs and historical scenes.

Zámek Hrubá Skála is a historic château located in the Bohemian Paradise region, dramatically perched on sandstone cliffs above the village of Hrubá Skála. Founded in the mid-14th century by Hynek of Valdštejn (Wallenstein), originally as a Gothic castle. Over centuries, it changed hands among notable Czech noble families, including the Smiřickýs, who transformed it into a Renaissance château in the late 16th century. The château underwent several reconstructions-Baroque after a fire in 1710, and finally Neo-Gothic in the mid-19th century under the Aehrenthal family, giving it the romantic appearance seen today. After nationalization in 1945, the château was repurposed for recreational use, causing some damage to its interiors. Today, it operates as a hotel and event venue, with public access to its courtyard, lookout tower, and scenic views.