Caught several buses and finally arrived at Olomouc. There were lots of locals heading off with backpacks to go hiking, camping, fishing or exploring. It was great as we could mingle in and not look obviously like foreign travelers. The downside of that was that we were often asked directions in Czech and when we replied in English that we didn't understand then they asked in English, if they spoke it. It was satisfying to be able to help the locals out!
We stayed at a hostel run by an Australian couple, Greg and Francie. They are very passionate about the town and run a great hostel. We were offered bicycles and invited to join them on a bike ride to the local lake for a swim. The weather has been so hot and humid so it was a treat to be able to cool off. After the ride we headed for a local bar and restaurant to try the local brew and food.
The food is often salty-maybe to encourage more beer drinking. All sorts of dumplings accompany the main dish and in a recipe book I read it appears that they make them from stale bread. It is quite heavy food that the peasants needed to work in the fields but it is a bit much for us in the heat.
We joined Francie on a free tour of the city. In the main square is the Holy Trinity Column that was built between 1716 and 1754 and is now on the UNESCO Heritage list too.
The astronomical clock differs from the one in Prague as it was remodeled in communist style. Rather than saints depicting the months of the year there are workers and peasants labouring in the fields.
I loved the winged dragons on the town hall roof. We never saw winged dragons in Asia and wonder at who invented them!
Very few tourists reach Olomouc so it was a pleasant place to rest, buy new sandals for John, and stroll about.
