Weekend/Day Trip to Kutna Hora Sedlec Ossuary

Sedlec Ossuary is a chapel located in Kutna Hora, which is a small town located about an hour from Prague if you’re driving. The church is filled with skulls and bones that have been placed in a decorative manner, that is interesting, beautiful, and disturbing. It’s a very small chapel and it took us about 20 minutes to look over the whole place twice and take pictures.

The Good: It’s a short drive from Prague and can be easily added to a weekend trip or can be a day trip on it’s own.

The Bad: The chapel may be disturbing for younger children and adults who are not comfortable being around actual human remains.

The Reality: It’s a very popular spot for tourists and it takes away from the experience of being in the chapel, but it’s still something you should not miss.

Itinerary:

We left our hotel late in the morning in order to arrive at the chapel before big crowds arrived. If you can leave earlier there will be less people at the chapel. When we arrived we found free parking in the neighborhood. There is free parking directly in front of the chapel but it was crowded with cars and pedestrians so I felt more comfortable parking in the neighborhood.

Bring Kuna! If you pay in Euro you end up over paying, we made that mistake and realized wr paid almost 2 Euro more. We paid 4 Euro each for entry, so if you don’t have Kuna you can use Euro. Once inside there are stairs that lead down into the chapel where you can see stacks of bones ad skulls. You are free to take pictures at your leisure.

There was a small Easter market going on directly next to the chapel so wandered around and tried some of the local cuisine. When we were leaving we drove by the entrance to the chapel and the line was out the door and past the gate, so do get there early to avoid the large crowds of people.

Time Frame (tentative):

10 AM – Check-out of hotel if in Prague and start driving to the chapel

11:30 – Entrance into chapel and exploration

1 PM – Leave for home

Resources:

http://www.ossuary.eu/index.php/en/

Sedlec Ossuary Address: Zámecká, Sedlec, 284 03 Kutná Hora, Czech Republic

Weekend in Prague, Czech Republic Old Town Sight Seeing and Foody Adventure

We have fallen in love with the city of Prague. Every time we visit, there is something else to explore and discover. Our first time visiting we came with a travel group called Explore Europe. If I would have know what I know now I would have saved a lot of money and just gone on our own because the drive is so easy. A6 turns into E50 and it’s a straight shot to Prague. If you do visit as a day trip without a hotel, parking is available at the Palladium. The Palladium is a huge mall located near old town. I’ve never parked there personally but I’ve heard the space are wide and there are video cameras.

The Good: Prague is full of surprises and you’re sure to find something you love about this city.

The Bad: I’ve noticed that they treat tourists a little differently than locals. It’s a tourist hot spot so be prepared to have your personal space invaded.

The Reality: Even though Prague is a tourist destination, there is much to be discovered a few steps beyond the main sites.

Itinerary

We left early in the morning in order to park at our hotel and have the day to explore. I called ahead to the hotel and asked if we could park there before check-in. The hotel link is in the Resources. We chose to stay here because they offered parking and it was about a 20 minute walk into the city. When we arrived we parked our car (very tight parking) and the lady running the hotel gave us the key because we told her we weren’t coming back until way later that evening after they close. I would stay here again in a heartbeat. The only down side to this place was that the couch in the room (which we didn’t use) was filthy and stained. However, the rest of the room was very nice and we were comfortable.

I made us a walking tour to see all the highlights of the city. (Link to walking tour is in the Resources) We stopped at the Strahov Monastery to see the famous library and try to beer that is made on site. The library is to the right and the restaurant is to the left.

Beer Glazed Cake

Monastery

Seasonal Easter Beer

Famous Library

After walking into town and seeing the Memorial to the Victims of Communism we ate at Café Savoy. It’s a little pretentious but most of their clientele were tourists so we felt more comfortable after being seated. It crazy busy and the waiters are running around like crazy but the food is unbelievable.

Bakery

Baked Goods

Lentil Soup

Green Tea

Ham on Brocheta

We continued following the walking tour and made some detours along the way if things looked interesting but for the most part was stayed with the tour I made. We stopped for a hot chocolate at one of the many chocolate places located in Prague.

Lennon Wall

Bonvivant’s CTC is a tapas bar that we stopped at to have a small snack before heading to U Fleku (the oldest brewery in Prague). Their menu changes constantly and they have small menu with only about five or six things to choose from.

Bar tender creation

Meat Plater

Ribs

After eating at the tapas bar we walked to U Fleku which was quite a walk from there so I knew we’d build up an appetite. Try to get here early or make a reservation ahead of time because this place is packed and very popular. When we got there we had to stand in line outside, the wait wasn’t very long because we arrived around 5 PM. Once we were seated it was pretty rowdy in there with the accordion player and the patrons singing folks songs. I had an awesome time just being there and people watching. I do not like beer at all and I’m not a big drinker but the one and only beer they brew here is out of this world. Please give it a try and I promise you’ll fall in love. It looks intimidated because it’s so dark you can’t see through it but believe me its life changing. I swear it tastes like chocolate and caramel.

Absinthe is something I’ve always wanted to try so we went to a spot called the Absintherie that wasn’t too far from U Fleku, so we decided to give it a try. We ran out of Kuna so I had to settle for just a mixed drink. If we go back I’d like to try Absinthe with the water drip and sugar cube. This place is great for your first time though because they walk you through the process and answer any and every question you may have.

By this time it was 8 PM and we had a 45 minute walk back to our hotel. The city was still full of tourists but there were some drunk people stumbling about so we wanted to call it a night. Walking across Charles Bridge at night is breathtaking and very romantic so make sure you check it out.

Time Frame (tentative):

Saturday

7:30 AM – Hit the road towards Prague

10 AM – Arrive at hotel and park car outside of city centre

10:30 – begin walking tour

7:30 – head back to hotel

Sunday

Head home or take a trip to Kutna Hora Weekend/Day Trip to Kutna Hora Sedlec Ossuary

Prague Resources:

Palladium Website for Parking Information: https://www.palladiumpraha.cz/en/

Prague Hotel: https://www.booking.com/hotel/cz/apartments-praha-6.en-gb.html?aid=304142;label=gen173nr-1FCAEoggJCAlhYSDNiBW5vcmVmcgV1c19ubYgBAZgBLrgBBsgBDNgBAegBAfgBC6gCAw;sid=891db58096bde3a06ebdf0009686d70c;dcid=5

Walking Tour:

Prague Trip Walking Tour
Prague Walking Tour II

Day Trip to Luisenburg Rock Labyrinth in Wunsiedel

 

We are not very outdoorsy but we love to hike. This place is a goldmine for people who love to hike and feel like a fairy. This was a year ago so I’ll do my best to provide all the information.

The Good: It’s very surreal how green and lush it is, it’s very easy to spend your whole day here. The rock labyrinth is only an hour away from Vilseck.

The Bad: It’s a little difficult to find, but once you find the signs it’s very easy to get to.

The Reality: The rock labyrinth is really the only thing I found worthwhile in this small German town, and it is nice to connect with nature.

 

When you get into town follow the signs for Felsenlabyrinth and you’ll start driving a little ways down a long road going away from the town.

We paid 3 Euro to park at the parking lot that was the closest to the entrance, which is located at the top of the stairs. It’s 4 Euro each for adults to get in and it is NOT stroller friendly.

It is easy to spend all day there getting lost among the rocks and foliage. During our visit it was the off season so we basically had the place to ourselves and it was wonderful.

Wunsiedel is a very small town and there wasn’t much to do besides hiking. There are some castle ruins right off the highway and there’s also a place where you can feed deer. When you first come into town off the highway the Labyrinth is to the right and the castle ruins are to the left. If you’d like to go to the castle ruins you’ll be travelling through a narrow road up to a farm. There’s plenty of parking.

Website: http://www.bavaria.by/gardens-in-bavaria/a-garden-luisenburg-rock-labyrinth-wunsiedel