Discovering Templštejn
A prior trip to discover Templštejn ended with the realization that I had somehow taken a wrong direction – at least for a car – yet the end of that journey was a beautiful gorge in the Jihlava valley – well worth seeing. As we left Řeznovice, I determined to try a different route – one that took us into the village of Jamolice. Jamolice was where the original Templar commanderie was set up in Moravia according to the history books and the small village still proudly carries the memory of that in its coat of arms. Jamolice is a small village that essentially hugs the sides of the road passing through it. Once inside the village, we saw a sign pointing ahead to Templštejn but we drove
Read More »The Mysterious Řeznovice Church of St. Peter and St. Paul
This weekend, I was able to visit several sites around Brno. The first was the church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Řeznovice that I had noticed passing by on a recce trip to the Templstejn area in the Jihlava valley south of Brno. I stopped at the church because it simply doesn’t look like a Czech church. Pulling up to the church this time, I was again struck by how different the church is to the average church in the region. Excitedly, I rushed up to the door only to be disappointed by the fact it was locked. Oh well, at least I could look around the outside of it I thought when a woman’s head popped around the back of the church and said “Je to otevrene”
Read More »Living Under the Castle
Right now, I am renting a nice apartment just outside of the city center literally on the side of the hill that is topped by Spilberk Castle. The Castle is set atop its own grounds and I often walk alone or with my daughter’s dog around the castle in meditation. Despite trying to research this geological and topographical feature, I have found little beyond the standard blurb about the Castle. The castle was founded around the mid-13th century on a low (290 m), but relatively steep rocky hill, towering just above the historic city center (about 220 m). His master builder, Czech King Přemysl Otakar II, was generously conceived not only as a solid support of the ruling power, but also as a dignified seat of the rulers of Moravia. The
Read More »Reading the Land
The weather is beautiful – OK, it’s freezing but it’s beautiful. I’m chomping at the bit to go out and do some exploring – as Sue (Vincent) always says – I want to go out and play! However, my 12-year old daughter is engaged in learning new methods to solve Rubix cubes and isn’t at all thrilled about the idea of tromping around the Czech countryside looking for energies, wells and stones…. I seem to remember feeling much the same back in the day when I was that age a few centuries ago and my Dad was trying to get me to go find the ‘old roman road’ or similar. My Dad was an explorer of the land. He knew the Wolds and broader area like the back of his
Read More »Wait! Did Someone Actually Purchase a Copy of my new Poetry Book?
When I put out poetry books, I don’t actually expect to sell any. I think I have sold around 10 copies total since 2007 when my first poetry was published of the 6 or so collections I have put out! No, I publish and then buy a few author copies to give away as gifts…. Today, I checked my sales on Amazon for the last few days and to my utter amazement, I have sold 2 – yes TWO kindle copies of my most recent collection. What on earth is happening???? I have yet to order my paperbacks – thought I would wait until after the holidays you see…. Anyway, the volume – Reflections on Life – is available in paperback and Kindle formats……
Read More »Rainbows and Rosa Coeli
What to do on Boxing Day? Take a trip to Dolní Kounice to see the Convent ruins of Rosa Coeli and feel the energies there? Yes! It wouldn’t be open I knew but we could still take a peek so off we went to the Jihlava valley south of Brno to visit the Rosa Ceoli Convent. It was a beautiful but very cold day when we arrived. The Convent was closed and won’t be open it seems until April which was not unexpected but a tad disappointing. The Convent ruins are remarkably intact and you can pretty much walk around the outside of it – which is what we did – detecting some energies in one direction that will be investigated further another day. The convent stands under
Read More »Looking for Templars by Brno
Another term I had never entered into Google along with my location was ‘Templar’. Imagine my surprise and delight to find yet again that the Templars had been located very close to Brno! Apparently, the Templars entered Bohemia in 1231 during the reign of King Wenceslas 1 (Yes – the one who looked out on the feast of Stephen!) first establishing ‘Jerusalem’ in Prague. Later, by 1248, they had established themselves in Moravia at Čekovice near Brno and by 1250 at Jamolice also near to Brno. How did I never know this? At the earliest opportunity, I was off to visit one of the sites – I chose Jamolice as it happens and the ruins of the Templar Castle – Templstejn. Unfortunately, I didn’t have too much time and was
Read More »More Moravian Dragons…
I am posting these as much for me at this point – to have them stored some place for future reference….. Often, the article is translated by Google which is why it sounds a bit odd but Google still translates Czech better than I! The Nakla Dragon There are many legends linked to Nákl, one of which mentions a dragon. between Nákl and Mezice. In the hillside there was a “Deep Pit” caused by rumors of weather: In a hillside stretching from Nákl to Mezice, a deep pit opened once after a storm and rain. Strange remains of an unknown creature were found here. People thought it was a dragon’s skeleton. However, there was another landslide and thus the gorge was covered. It is said that there were more dragon skeletons in the pit. the second
Read More »Chasing Moravian Dragons
In following the activities of Sue Vincent and Stuart France across the landscapes of the UK – start with The Initiate which is a great read and will give you an idea of what they are up to – I was also pointed by Sue to the author Paul Broadhurst and just completed his book on the Green Man. Having read that book, I now also get a bit more of what Sue and Stu are onto in the UK and having just come back from a weekend of magic with them and others in Whitby, it got me to thinking…… what about here? Here being Brno in the Czech Republic. Well, the first thing that struck me is that Brno is symbolized in part by a dragon. The dragon
Read More »Reflections on Life
Over the last couple of years, I bashed out a good deal more poetry and verse and, as I am apt to do, I bundled it up in a new short volume of poems called Reflections On Life. I don’t really know why I bother a poetry barely sells but you never know who one of these slim volumes may find. I also used a small number of my own photographs for the cover and inside on the theme of reflections to round it out a bit. It is already available in Kindle format and will soon be also out in paperback form as well.
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