The Spectacle

Fresh off a long hard work week, we picked up bikes in rainy Prague on Friday night and rode through the glistening city. Saturday morning, we hopped a train to Cesky Raj for a bike ride and picnic in the mountains of the Czech countryside. Even in the slight drizzle, we discovered quickly that the English name for the area, “Bohemian Paradise,” is an apt description indeed.

The steep slopes and country roads made for some strenuous treks, but the sights, camaraderie and fresh mountain air made every climb well worth it.

Fields of Rapeseed sponsored by the EU for use in production of biodiesel

We were getting a little hungry when we spotted a tiny little chapel atop a nearby slope. We parked our bikes and began our ascent, noting that the path was called “the way of the cross” and was marked at intervals with the Stations of the Cross etched in stone. The way up was not only incredibly steep, but recent monsoons had turned it into what was essentially a 60 degree mudslide winding around the mountain. As Ryan so reverently noted, “the way of the cross wasn’t an easy trip for Jesus, either.”

We finally made it to the top and the view was every bit what we’d anticipated. From afar, we saw what seemed to be a wedding procession, and after a few minutes it appeared they were scaling the mountain (more adeptly) and heading toward the chapel where we’d just made our picnic. As they got closer, we became more and more bewildered.

It was indeed a wedding procession. The bride was bedecked in purple; the person cloaked in white was—of course—Gandalf. Between our broken Czech, the party’s broken English and context clues like elf ears and wizard ensembles, we learned that we had stumbled upon a traditional Czech Lord of the Rings wedding.

So we did as you do here in the Czech Republic—shared our vino, bread and strawberries, took shots of plum vodka with the wedding party, and partook of the ceremonial merriment. At one point we realized all cameras pointed at us—at a Lord of the Rings themed wedding on top of a mountain in the Bohemian countryside, WE were the spectacle. WHAT?!

It was one of those moments of being in just the right place at just the right time. Thank goodness for photographs, otherwise I’m not sure I could trust my memory of that unreal scene.

Found a castle built into the mountain

Bohemian Paradise