Ostrava-rediscovered

We spent a wonderful weekend at the town of Ostrava with our friends Radka and Ivo and their daughter Michaela. We also went to the town of Pribor to visit the Sigmund Freud house (where he was born). While in Pribor we had one of those very special Czech experiences. We wondered up to the beautiful Gothic, (later Baroque churches.) It being Saturday around noon, the church was closed and gated up. While we were standing there admiring the outside, this woman came up with a key. She said she had come to ring the bells and would we like to go with her. Unfortunately she did not have keys to the church only the bell tower. So we climber these winding stairs carved in stone up to the bell tower (about 150 of them!!). The view was fantastic. She explained that she did this twice a day, at 6:30 am and at noon, everyday. She has been doing it for 40 years. Then she rang the bells. I am surprised that after 40 years she can hear anything! She told us the names of the different bells and what they were used for. One bell (the one in the photo) is the Maria bell and is only rung on Sundays. One of the smaller bells, the Barbara bell, was only rung for funerals. When it was all done we climbed back down and she walked us out of the church yard and thanked us for looking at her bells. I guess this is why we love this country. This type of experience continues to occur to us. Wonderful people who care and love their country and who have a reason to be proud of it and the fine history that it holds. They are also so proud of it that they want to share it with others-even us!!
We had a marvelous time with our friends and re-discovered parts of Ostrava, a city on the North Eastern part of the Czech Republic. Of course we ended up at Ostrava Castle, another medieval castle that has now been restored and hosts many Renaissance fairs in the summer months. Michaela need to make a Maraina for school so I helped out. Under Czech tradition in the spring, everyone goes to the River and throws out the old woman of winter , Maraina. So we had to make one for Michaela to take to school on Monday. Great fun and not too bad for my first attempt!