Eastern Europe: Telc to Vranov, CZ

Today’s destination, Vranov (and Monday’s destination of Znojmo) are so small that Rick Steves doesn’t even mention them. So where am I going to get the stuff I usually tell you about?  Make it up?  Again?

As soon as I wrote  the last sentence an idea occurred: Wikipedia, the source of all knowledge.  Oops, it didn’t have Vranov as a topic, only the following  “Vranov is a village and municipality (obec) in Brno-Country District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic.  In 2006 the population was 639.  And there is a graveplace of the Dukes of Liechtenstein here.”  Not much to write home about.  And it didn’t tell me about the castle!  A big one at the top of the hill.  But surely I’ve seen enough castles for this trip.  Another concern, what type of hotel will there be in this tiny town.  Well, below you’ll see the castle and the very nice hotel.

 

So maybe we can talk about the weather.  It has been, and will continue to be, unseasonable hot. A high of 80 degrees is probably 10 degrees over the expected. Milada told us that recent winters have been unusually mild with no snow.  Global warming, CZ. 

I’ve wondered about the difference between a castle and a chateau.  It appears that castles are almost always fortified whereas a chateau may or may not be fortified.  They’re more of a country house or manor for nobility or gentry.  Also, according to Wikipedia, chateaus are primarily  in France or French-speaking regions.

And what  is a “bohemian”? Well for sure it’s someone from Bohemia, a part of the Czech Republic. (The part we just left; we’re now in Moravia, the wine producing region) In a separate meaning derived from the French word referring to "gypsies," or Romani people, "Bohemian" may also denote "a socially unconventional person, especially one who is involved in the arts".  Hmmm. Is writing a blog art?  Then maybe I’m Bohemian, because the rest  of  the definition certainly fits.

Today’s ride was supposed to be easy; I didn’t think so. Sometime after lunch, going up another hill Brenda remarked “Czechoslovakia sure is hilly.” Of course she misspoke since Czechoslovakia was dissolved into the Czech Republic and Slovakia on 1 January 1993.  From all I can tell the Czech Republic is more prosperous than Slovakia.

We knew that Prague was prosperous with it’s 1.2% unemployment.  But what about the rest of the country?  Would we find prosperity or poverty in the rest of the country?

 

We found the countryside, the small villages and the farms to be in great shape.  No deteriorated buildings – no dying cities like you’ll find in West Texas. Prosperity obviously encompasses the entire country of the Czech Republic.