Podzámecká zahrada

Podzámecká zahrada, Chateau Garden of Kroměříž, located in the north of town hall, was established in 1509. It was originally made for growing vegetables, fruits, and flowers. Over centuries of changes in style and fashion, it turned into a grand-scale English landscape garden in the 17th century. In 1850 the garden expanded its size to 64 hectares.

Currently, the garden boasts with 200 species of trees from various parts of the world. 

Zoo is also part of the park where chickens, ducks, turkeys, finches, and several more four-legged animals share the park with Homo Sapiens. Several of them (i.e. monkeys) are isolated in the cage.

Intriguingly, a flock of peacocks enjoys their time by taking a walk, munching bugs and getting fed by visitors in the garden. If you are patient and lucky, you will encounter a male peacock, driven by his internal testosterone, making actions to attract females. However, despite his psychedelic performance, it doesn't necessarily mean he is always successful.....

Nevertheless, they are utterly and unnecessarily stunning creatures in the world, for sure.

It's free of charge to enter the park but it may be closed due to heavy rains or very windy weather. There is a special tour with a guide. 

For more info, please visit this page.

Bobrava river valley in Brno

My knees hurt!!!

In the morning on the 29th of May (Saturday) I was in Brno hl.n. (main station) to join the monthly event organized by Marta, ambassador in Inter Nations Brno Community. It was my first time joining the event but I am glad that I did.

Community Ambassadors organize events monthly and the one in May was trekking along the Bobrava river in the southern part of Brno... Altogether we had around 14-15 km pleasant walk, thanks to the nice weather.

Encountering animals and pretty flowers were refreshing and entertaining moments.

Besides, we had such a wonderful companion, a female Siberian husky named Kira! She is very calm with a wonderful personality. We all fell in love with Kira!

At last, I would like to thank Marta and the wonderful community members for providing me with such a wonderful opportunity to enjoy beautiful nature in spring!!!

More photos Marta took can be found here.

Brimham Rocks Part 2

This is part 2 entry of Brimham rocks in England.

As you already noticed, I was blessed by the God of weather when I was there:) The sky was astonishingly blue and it was not so hot.

I guess I had chuckles on my face and kept moving from one weird rock to another. 

The place is owned by National Trust, which is a conservation organization in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The place is part of the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Yes, I agree. The place is outstanding, indeed!!!

Although the place is owned by National Trust, entry is free of charge but car parking is charged if you're not a member of the National Trust. It's open all year round from 8 AM until dusk.

The place can be seen in BeeGee's video, "You Win Again (1987). 

Well, I personally prefer "Stayin' Alive"

Variations of rock formations are caused by Milestone Grit being eroded by water, glaciation and wind, some of which have formed amazing shapes. Many formations have been named, though imagination and the correct viewing angle are required. 

Since it's very popular place among children, kids were everywhere.

A Visit to Moravian Karst

I was told many times by locals here that visiting Moravian Karst is one of the "must-do things" while in Olomouc. Needless to say, trying the stinky local cheese, Olomoucké syrečky, is another one.

Zobrazit místo Moravský kras na větší mapě

Thanks to my colleagues with warm hospitality, the trip was well-arranged and all I did was just follow them and have camera gadgets with me. It is located nearby Blansko. Well, I'd rather say it is north of Brno in the eastern part of the Czech Republic.

Around the region, there are roughly 1,100 caves and four of them are open to the public, according to Wiki. We went to Punkva caves, the most popular one, and Macocha Abyss. In order to take photos there, you are required to pay an additional 40 CZK (equivalent to 2 USD) but it is worth it. I hope that my photos will be able to convince you to do so...

It's just a bunch of breathtaking sceneries coming up one after another!!!

The tour is available only in the Czech language, unfortunately.

As you can imagine, it's pretty cold there.

 I would highly recommend visiting there if you have a chance.

This is Weekend Reflection entry.

To be continued.

Out of Olomouc

Last weekend I attended a meeting that took place in Karlov (= middle of nowhere) in the Czech Republic.

View Larger Map

This was my first time to be out of Olomouc since I've come to the town five months ago. I could explore this country a little bit more on the nature side. The weather did not welcome us but I managed to trek the tallest mountain (1491 M) in the Moravia area (eastern part of Czech) all by myself. It was not as exhausting as I thought since I've had some experience in trekking mountains in Japan and the shape is edgy and steep. And it is safe because I was told that there are no hungry bears in this region.

summit

Have a wonderful weekend.