Follow up from yesterday. If you tried to see the clip of the vintage sewing machines yesterday, the link was bad. I’ve fixed it in yesterday’s entry.

We spent our impromptu rest day by waking up late (6:45am) and having a cooked breakfast of sausage and eggs and a banana. We researched a new path and lodging solutions and booked out about 4 nights (whew!). Next we headed out for our day.

We then toured the UNESCO World Heritage site Kladruby Monastery. Although the origins of the monastery are 12th century, nothing remains of that structure. It was destroyed and rebuilt and modified after the Hussite Wars, and the Thirty Years War. All of the “modern” appearance comes from the late 17th and early 18th century.

I found it interesting that a Monastery was built that late (when many had been abandoned), but the site had become a major pilgrimage site by the late 1600’s. After the monasteries were dissolved (1785), all of the furnishings were sold off and the site was not restored until the 20th century. Unfortunately the entire tour was in Czech and we only had a small English language pamphlet to aid us. Here is some Czech for those that want to hear what it sounds like.

Interesting bits were displays about monastic life in the 1700’s (quite different from Medieval monks as you might imagine) and the Church which was designed in a style called Gothic Baroque. I’d heard Gothic and way too much Baroque but never this blended new style.  I have to say I like it. The altar, for example, has Gothic spires and Baroque statuary.

I was fascinated by the altar with its details.

The rest of the day was routine. Some grocery shopping and ice cream eating followed by a brief trip to the local museum which had a lot of pilgrimage information as well as a lot of inter-world war military displays.

Nadine here:  The life of a Benedictine Monk.

I was fascinated by the daily lives of monks.  One third of their day was spent in prayer.  What would our lives look like to spend that much time with God?  They prayed, lived a life of devotion and study, and worked either at the monastery or in the community, often as teachers. At meals they ate in silence as someone offered a biblical teaching, and there were hallways that were designated areas of strict silence. These areas were spaces of contemplation and meditation. In this particular monastery the monks had very large living quarters and other rooms were set apart for book binding, astronomy, cartography, botany and gardening.

Allison Here

Our first down-day was really refreshing. Time was needed to adjust our walking route as  available lodging allowed was needed. And this quiet little town was the perfect place to just breathe, enjoy the place, and the kind people we met.

Plus we had a kitchen and could make our own meals …. Bonus!!