Czech Republic: June 23

Today, Alexandra, Dempsey and I had breakfast at the Globe Bookstore--I had two cups of good strong coffee and a croissant with currant jam.  I am trying to get as many variations as possible on the common currant, since it is a marvelous fruit I don't often get to taste.  Last night on the boat I had currant juice, and now the marmalade.  Very fine.  The croissant had a few almonds on top as well as a light dusting of powdered sugar, which made it extra good.  Dempsey decided not to go to Visherad with us, so after breakfast she strolled back home in the opposite direction of us, while we were off to Visherad, the High Castle, where according to Czech legend, Slav tribes first settled Prague.  The architectural evidence does not bear this out, but it is here that Vratislav II built a royal palace in the late 1000s, and King Charles IV decreed that his coronation route began here.  The place was decimated during the Hussite Wars in 1420, and in the 17th c. the Hapsburgs rebuilt the place as a fortified barracks.  In 1866 they tore the barracks down and created  a public park.  And then, when the Czech national movement occurred in the late 19th c., Visherad became a symbol of Czech nationhood.  We climbed up to the top, where there were grand views of the city and the Vltava River, and admired the exterior and interior of the church of Sts. Peter and Paul, with its open-work spires and polychrome interior.  From there we did a thorough examination of the cemetery, where no soldiers, politicians or Communists are buried, but only artists and writers--for instance, Alfons Mucha, the conductor Rafael Kubelik, Bedrich Smetana, Antonin Dvorak, the sculptor Vladislav Saloun, and the great soprano Ema Destinova.  After a stroll through the gardens surrounding Visherad and populated by sculptures of muscular heroic figures, we strolled back towards Tesco to look for a more suitable coin purse for me--with no luck.  We stopped at a baguetterie and had sandwiches--mine a very good salmon sandwich, with fruit and sparkling water.  from there we crossed the river and made our way to the Wallenstein Garden in back of the Senate chambers, with its lively mazes, fountains, pools, peacocks, six enormous owls, and a fascinating grotto.  Alexandra wrote postcards, while I read my Prague touring book and we both enjoyed the ambience of the afternoon and the 72-degree high.  We returned home at about 6:00, after about 6-7 miles of walking today.  Quite substantial.  Tomorrow we are off by train to Dresden and Germany by train.  Looking forward to seeing the old homeland again!