Field Trip to Kromeriz!
It seemed a little strange to even me at first that I decided to write my seventh blog post on our half-day field trip to the town and castle of Kromeriz in the Czech Republic. It sounds silly, but this has been one of my favorite class field trips so far, so it is definitely worthy of a blog post! So in this one, I’ll let you know a general idea of what we did, and my thoughts on it all!
Firstly, an overview of the trip. We left Olomouc at 9 AM on the bus and headed to Kromeriz. It was about an hour-long ride, which was perfect for a little nap. Once we got there, we started our tour of the Bishops Palace or Chateau and I have to say, it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen! There are some really pretty hedge or bush designs with flowers in the courtyard. Inside the Chateau, it was also really cool to see things like chandeliers made of Bohemian glass, hunting trophies, original marble furniture, some amazing art, and the original bed that the Bishop slept in. Unfortunately, they did not allow us to take pictures, which probably wouldn’t have done it justice anyway! The coolest part to me though, were the libraries. They had about 4 rooms that we were able to see, with some of the oldest books in there (the oldest dates back to the 9th century)! It was originally made to be a public library, and still is. Martin explained to us that people could still go there and check out a book to read! After seeing the Chateau, we went to the Bishops Garden. It is a huge enclosure and is absolutely beautiful. There are mazes, some bright and gorgeous flowers, fountains, and some really pretty trails to walk on. After walking around the garden, we got some lunch, and headed back to Olomouc!
The first thing I liked most about it was that it was only a half of a day. While I would have preferred not to have class when we got back, it was still nice to have it so condensed. We didn’t have to pack anything, we were only gone for 5 hours, and we got to see quite a bit! Another aspect that I liked was that it was a guided tour, and even though the tour guide spoke Czech, we had Martin to translate for us! This made it really nice because then we knew what we were looking at and what things were, as opposed to going to a museum and looking at things with the descriptions being in Czech and German (or any other language besides English). Finally, the aspect I liked the most, was that it was totally different than our other field trips. We have been to plenty of castles, we’ve seen lots of churches, and toured many museums. But this was the first Chateau that we could really see what it looked like back in the time it was used (original furniture, etc.) and that really helped me remember and visualize the history. We also got to see some unique things that haven't been in other castles or museums, like the library and the gardens, which were so interesting to me!
Overall, even though it was a half-day trip, it was one of the best ones we’ve been on, in my opinion! The trip was a fun way to learn about the history of the Bishops in the Czech Republic. I definitely recommend the trip to future Czech study abroad groups!
Courtyard in Kromeriz Chateau
A small entrance portion to the Kromeriz Garden
A view overlooking part of the Garden
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