Zámek Orlík

In addition to the educational partnership between Gymnazium Strakonice and the school in Nabburg, Germany, my school has an educational partnership with a school in Deggendorf, Germany. Unfortunately, the later is only an interaction between the teachers of both schools, however, the principals hope to create a student exchange program in the near future.

This year the teachers from Deggendorf came to the Czech Republic. They were greeted with a performance from a few of our students who are skilled musicians. You will notice in the video that they are wearing traditional Czech folk outfits while they perform. Please pay attention to the boy on the right playing Czech bagpipes, which is quite different from the Scottish bagpipes that we typically see in America. I was discussing this with my colleague, Mire, and found out that traditional bagpipes like those used in England, France, and Scotland originally came from Turkey around the 12th century. These are the ones where you need to use your breath to create power and sound. Later on, the musical instrument lost popularity, but there was a revival movement in the 19th century here in the Czech Republic, particularly Strakonice. He also told me that the word for bagpiper in Czech is Dudak, which is where the name comes from for our brewery here in Strakonice! Anyway, the Czech bagpipes do not require your breath for power and sound. You pump a bag underneath one of your armpits, and then you are able to play, sing, and dance simultaneously. I think this is quite clever.

Afterward, the school canteen was transformed into a lovely atmosphere for lunch. The chef prepared chicken snitzel and french fries while some teachers baked delicious cakes. Each principal thanked the other other about a hundred times for their hospitality and their long-standing friendship. They were also quite keen on giving tons of beer and gifts to teach other as a sign of appreciation, which I've noticed is a popular tradition here in Europe. 

Then, we boarded a bus to the nature for a hike on the grounds of Orlik Castle, which was followed by a tour. Oh, I forgot to mention that Rosie joined me on this trip. Although another Fulbrighter from America, her mother is originally from Germany, and Rosie has worked quite hard to speak German herself. I'm amazed at her speaking skills, though I feel she doesn't give herself enough credit! 

Beautiful autumn foliage was in full effect this day.

As well as crunchy piles of leaves.

This is a church found on the castle grounds. We couldn't go inside of it, but it's still quaint and pretty!

When I picked Rosie up from the train station in the morning, there was an incredible amount of fog in the air. It was so thick that we could barely see what was in front of us. I'm so glad it decided to clear up so we could have a gorgeous day for hiking and seeing all the views! 

Orlik Castle 

Vltava River

Rosie

 Let me back up and tell you some history about the castle. Below you will find its original picture, when the Vltava actually looked like a river instead of the lake you see today. The castle was named Orlik, which translates to "bird's nest" because that's what it looked like-- a bird's nest on top of a huge cliff. However, in the 1950's, the Lipno dam was built to control the water flow of the Vltava and prevent its devastating floods (pretty much the only natural disaster the Czech Republic ever experiences), and to use the water to generate power. Thus, the castle is surrounded by a giant artificial lake today. I must say the castle looked quite intimidating back in the day as well as highly protected from enemies due to its high altitude!

Below is the entrance to the castle today.

Main Courtyard

Fountain

Unfortunately, you cannot take any pictures inside of the castle, but it was beautiful and interesting to see the furnishings and decor from the 17th thru 19th centuries, which came from the last inhabitants of the castle, the Schwarzenbergs, the wealthiest and oldest family in Central Europe (even today). The Schwarzenbergs lost everything when all of their properties were nationalized (owned by the Czech government) from 1948-1989 during Communism. Under this government, all property was owned by the state and everyone was deemed equal. After the Velvet Revolution in 1989, with the demise of Communism, the Scwarzenbergs were able to slowly gain back some of their many properties in Germany, the Czech Republic, and Austria, including Orlik Castle. Today, the surviving members no longer live in the castle and it is open to the public. However, the family is still quite wealthy today as Karel Schwarzenberg is a popular politician and the former Foreign Minister of the Czech government.

Jana, Rosie, Me

 After the tour, we went on a boat cruise on the Vltava river. We mostly stayed inside sipping hot cocoa because it was quiet windy on top, but we did go out to take a few pictures.

Back Side of Orlik Castle

 

The boat stopped outside of Zvikov Castle so we could take some pictures from the distance. We later walked through the ruins, but we did not tour the inside. I think all of us were ready for dinner by this point. Good thing we did all of that hiking earlier!

We ended the day by eating dinner at a local brewery and getting a tour. (Yes, we did a lot of touring.) It was quite a long day, but we saw some lovely sights. I'm sure the German colleagues found it just as interesting as Rosie and I, and everyone was happy about the weather!