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| nuthatch | profile | all galleries >> Czech Republic >> 2013 Czech Family Visits | tree view | thumbnails | slideshow |
 it hardly seems like Spring as we start our driving trip from Prague... |
 ...so much rain has fallen here this season |
 our first stop is the city office of Podolí I, where we visit with Mayor Michal and Mrs. Tupa... |
 ...who helped us so much last year in Jay's Kálal family research |
 then we are reunited with the Kalous/Polívka family from nearby Olešná and Písek... |
 ...and we begin a day-long gathering of fifth cousins and more! |
 Věra and her brothers have excellent documentation of our common family history |
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 and Věra has prepared lunch and koláče to feed the entire clan! |
 we're lucky the Polívka and Kalous families are so interested in their history |
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 there's a lot of material to sort |
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 but there's also some current documentation to do! |
 Věra and her husband Jindřich have much to be proud of |
 that afternoon, Věra takes us to nearby Slabčice... |
 ...where she tends to the Polívka family grave |
 that night the family gathering continues in Písek... |
 ...with more members of the Polívka and Kalous families |
 it's clear these families enjoy each others' company... |
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 ...and we are thrilled to join them this evening |
 the next day we continue in Písek, at the house and garden of Zdeněk and Eva |
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 it's another tight family |
 Lenka and Markéta have been our translators through most of this visit |
 oh, look - another feast! |
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 homemade marble cake... it's bábovka...! |
 (the chef is modest) |
 ...and another grandchild shyly appears |
 here's the only tree where this family member will appear... |
 our last stop is at Věra's brother Jindřich's house, where we meet his son, a lawyer and educator (and we eat again!) |
 then we bid farewell to this generous family, and head off to seek other family and town connections |
 first we stop in Milevsko; here's a former synagogue, now Hussite church |
 we head for the town museum... |
 ...which we are fortunate to discover is having its grand re-opening today |
 we find a small display on the conjoined Blažková twins... |
 ...who were related to Jay's Kálal family in this area |
 then we begin our search for houses and land where Jay's family once lived in Bohemia; here's Skrýchov... |
 ...where the Blažek family lived for generations |
 here's the parish church at Hodušín, where several of Jay's relatives were married... |
 ...and likely some were buried |
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 in Opařany, this tavern may be on land where ancestors once lived... |
 ...and this garden in Podboří probably once had a related family house |
 the rivers and creeks are at their limits now |
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 we drive slowly thru Bojenice, birthplace to another pair of twins in the family |
 somewhere near the house on the right once stood a family house in Rakov |
 we couldn't identify a family house in Borovany, but it's a lovely village |
 we leave old Bohemia for Moravia (actually the Vysočina region that blends them) |
 here's land in Líšná where a family house probably once stood |
 finding our way in Lísek is difficult; this entry didn't work... |
 ...nor did this one; we move on |
 here in Bohuňov, a family house once rose from this garden |
 even this stork is having trouble drying out |
 the village of Janovičky is very small, but big in Chvála family history |
 we can't find exact locations, but here's another garden which was probably once family land... |
 ...and somewhere on this green, another house stood |
 the next morning we drive toward Kuklík... |
 ...thru the forested highlands |
 houses in this village are in small clusters across the valley |
 the Chvála family lived in at least eight different places in Kuklík... |
 ...two somewhere on this main road, and one just off |
 in this area above the creek... |
 ...three of their houses once stood, somewhere |
 and on this road above the old mill... |
 ...with a great view across the valley... |
 ...a large house once stood |
 that leaves one house location we couldn't find (we hope it's here!) |
 now we are determined to find the old Lísek house; some map work overnight... |
 ...revealed that the original hamlet of Lísek is off the main road, thru some trees... |
 ...and up this road; across from this house... |
 ...is another garden... |
 ...which reveals the ruined foundation of what was probably the Naid family home |
 it's a good end to our search |
 next we visit the Veselý Kopec open-air museum... |
 ...for reference on how people lived in this area in the 18th and 19th centuries |
 buildings and furnishings from around the region... |
 ...were moved here to preserve examples of material culture |
 Marla practices her Czech language skills |
 not all old houses were made of wood... |
 ...every family town historic map shows some made of stone |
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 many of the buildings are utilitarian |
 here, a sawmill |
 and here, a bee house |
 there are also workshops for carpenters and oil pressers, and religious buildings |
 but the building which most interested us was this small house for a farming family... |
 ...which might be representative of some places Jay's Moravian family would have lived |
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 it's small but comfortable-looking |
 the thought lingers as we depart |
 outside the nearby town of Dřevíkov... |
 ...we visit an historic Jewish cemetery |
 the community here grew and then declined in the 19th century |
 the last Jewish family left this town before WWI... |
 ...though we note there have been a few recent burials here |
 time for us to call it a day |
 our last morning begins with a walk to the Zelená Hora in Žďár nad Sázavou... |
 ...site of the pilgrimage church of St. Jan of Nepomuk... |
 ...an unsual 5-sided Baroque-style church |
 it honors the saint who kept confession secrets despite royal pressure... |
 ...so his tongue was declared incorruptible by the Vatican... |
 ...and tongue imagery abounds inside the church |
 alas, our own tongues still cannot pronounce Czech so anyone here understand us! |