Worktrip to Czech Republic!
Apr. 17th, 2022 03:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beelikejWell, it's been a *month*, pfff. At the end of March, just before I was going to travel for work, I overextended my already painful shoulder to the edge and had to see a physical therapist who told me what I already knew for some time: that I needed to take a break, haha. No time for that yet, because I had an international geodata conference in the Czech Republic to go to! So I put my arm in a sling to avoid more damage to that shoulder and got on planes and trains to go to Mikulov, a small town just over the border from Austria.
When I got back home, I finally managed to slow down a bit. I'm on partial sickleave and only work half days to allow my shoulder (and me) some rest and time to go to physical therapy. I have to avoid computer work as much as possible, that also includes playing with photos, journals and blogs, hrmpf. So I had to limit typing about the sights and took a lot of breaks, but eventually I put together this picspam of the first part of my trip :-p
Saturday, 2 April 2022: traveling to Amsterdam
Because I couldn't get to the airport early enough on Sunday morning, I traveled on Saturday to spend the night at brotherdearest in Amsterdam the night before. With my fancy transport card from work, I could travel first class on the train, woohoo!
Sunday, 3 April 2022: traveling from NLD to CZE
Walked across one of the Amsterdam channels to the bus and got to the trainstation on time for the train to the airport.
Disadvantage of arm in sling: couldn't put both my arms up for the body-scanner and had to be checked manually in a cabin (doing that embarrassing walk with two customs officers, pfff).
Advantage of arm in sling: I asked before boarding if I could join the first group and got to be the first on the plane \o/
Flight from Amsterdam to Vienna, Austria.
Had a few hours in Vienna airport before my train left; bought lunch at the Spar: a pretzel with herbal cheese and chocolatemilk:)
Checked out some sample art on the walls.
Finally got on the train to Wien Haubtbahnhof.
Vienna Railway Yard with in the background the Friedhofskirche zum heiligen Karl Borromäus (church in the middle the Wiener Zentralfriedhof, a multi-denominational parkland cemetery housing the tombs of many famous Viennese artists, for instance Ludwig von Beethoven & Johannes Brahms)
From Vienna mainstation I got on an EC train to Breçlav, just over the Czech border.
I had a reserved window seat:) In Breçlav there was more waiting; the track for my final train wasn't reveiled until ten minutes before departure!
A tiny train to Znjomo would stop at Mikulov. It was quite a climb on board, but I made it!
On arrival in Mikolov I met three other people who also were on their way to the conference, but when we walked into town we split up because they wanted to climb to the castle while I prefered to take the flatter route to the hotel:)
This also gave me time to go slow and stop for photos along the way. Such a pretty town!
Will explore that hill in the background later this week. First: to the yellow hotel:)
A lovely room with a great view!
Had time to freshen up in my funky bathroom before I went to the 'icebreaker' social to meet up with delegates from other countries and have some fancy nibbles.
Monday, 4 April 2022: 1st day of conference
(+sunset over Mikulov from jacuzzi;)
Good morning! View from the breakfast room. Didn't take a picture of my scrambled eggs, sausage and bread, but there was also dessert for breakfast, classy!
The breakroom and the conference hall.
I'm a delegate for the Netherlands, together with D. who sits next to me. On my other side is the delagation from Portugal.
I had tea and a sandwich for the morning break!
Lunchtime: peasoup, potatoes, meat, no vegatables, but I did have dessert cake, mmmm.
A conference is basically talking and listening with food and breaks in between :-p
It was an intense day with good discussions. In the evening most of the group went into town for a walk and dinner, but I opted out.
To get some rest and alone time I chose to go to the Wellness space up on the roof of the hotel!
I had the pool and jacuzzi all to myself! (Later on there were some other people too, but we didn't get in each other's way:)
Excellent view of the hill *hearteyes*
Sunset behind the castle. When my time in the pool was up, I went out in search for food.
Came across these gorgeous lamps in the lobby.
Most bistros were already closing, but I found an pizza/kebab stall still open and got myself kebab v tortille s hranolkami (shawarma with french fries wrapped in a tortilla) to take to the hotel with me:)
Tuesday, 5 April 2022: 2nd day of conference
(and exploring Mikulov:)
They had pancakes for breakfast today!
For lunch I had meat broth with vegetables, the noodles were served on the side!
There were also deserts for lunch, mmm.
After lunch I did my presentation, with a slightly annoying delay on the big screen and for the people who joined the meeting digitally. All in all it went okay though:)
The glorious chandeliers in the conference room.
Another snack for the afternoon break, they are really spoiling us with sweets:)
I had some time before dinner to explore Mikulov. First goal: that clocktower.
Kostelní věž, the tower of The Church of St. Wenceslas (1584)
I can't go in, but I walk around to find some interessing carved slabs.
I'm also intrigued by these bricks.
An impossible to reach seal and door plus a sneak peek inside the tower.
I wonder if this display is because it's near Easter or if the cross is always there...
I love the windows in the roofs of Mikulov; such a smooth shape.
The buildings in town are so colourful in different pastels.
This is Náměstí, the main square.
That pointy tower is part of the castle.
Close up of the Statue of the Holy Trinity.
Sousoší Nejsvětější trojice (Statue of the Holy Trinity)
and a close up of the beautiful doors of Dietrichstein tomb.
Impressive Dietrichsteinská hrobka (Dietrichstein tomb; the House of Dietrischstein, nobility of the Habsburg Monarchy, ruled over Mikulov for almost 400 years, starting in the early 16th century.
Sgrafitový dům U Rytířů (Graffiti Knight's House)
Unknown, but fascinating sculpture.
Zámek Mikulov, the Mikulov castle Nikolsburg, is built in many different styles over the centuries.
It is surrounded by Zámecký park, a garden established by Adam Dietrichstein (1527-1590)
Unknown wooden sculpture.
The view over Mikulov and the valley below is amazing.
In between strolling, I also acquired some souvenirs;)
In the evening there was a formal dinner with live music.
I had bread with goose paté, potatoes, meat and vegetables(!)
To be continued!
J.
X-posted to https://beelikej.livejournal.com/574426.html
When I got back home, I finally managed to slow down a bit. I'm on partial sickleave and only work half days to allow my shoulder (and me) some rest and time to go to physical therapy. I have to avoid computer work as much as possible, that also includes playing with photos, journals and blogs, hrmpf. So I had to limit typing about the sights and took a lot of breaks, but eventually I put together this picspam of the first part of my trip :-p
Saturday, 2 April 2022: traveling to Amsterdam
Because I couldn't get to the airport early enough on Sunday morning, I traveled on Saturday to spend the night at brotherdearest in Amsterdam the night before. With my fancy transport card from work, I could travel first class on the train, woohoo!
Sunday, 3 April 2022: traveling from NLD to CZE
Walked across one of the Amsterdam channels to the bus and got to the trainstation on time for the train to the airport.
Disadvantage of arm in sling: couldn't put both my arms up for the body-scanner and had to be checked manually in a cabin (doing that embarrassing walk with two customs officers, pfff).
Advantage of arm in sling: I asked before boarding if I could join the first group and got to be the first on the plane \o/
Flight from Amsterdam to Vienna, Austria.
Had a few hours in Vienna airport before my train left; bought lunch at the Spar: a pretzel with herbal cheese and chocolatemilk:)
Checked out some sample art on the walls.
Finally got on the train to Wien Haubtbahnhof.
Vienna Railway Yard with in the background the Friedhofskirche zum heiligen Karl Borromäus (church in the middle the Wiener Zentralfriedhof, a multi-denominational parkland cemetery housing the tombs of many famous Viennese artists, for instance Ludwig von Beethoven & Johannes Brahms)
From Vienna mainstation I got on an EC train to Breçlav, just over the Czech border.
I had a reserved window seat:) In Breçlav there was more waiting; the track for my final train wasn't reveiled until ten minutes before departure!
A tiny train to Znjomo would stop at Mikulov. It was quite a climb on board, but I made it!
On arrival in Mikolov I met three other people who also were on their way to the conference, but when we walked into town we split up because they wanted to climb to the castle while I prefered to take the flatter route to the hotel:)
This also gave me time to go slow and stop for photos along the way. Such a pretty town!
Will explore that hill in the background later this week. First: to the yellow hotel:)
A lovely room with a great view!
Had time to freshen up in my funky bathroom before I went to the 'icebreaker' social to meet up with delegates from other countries and have some fancy nibbles.
Monday, 4 April 2022: 1st day of conference
(+sunset over Mikulov from jacuzzi;)
Good morning! View from the breakfast room. Didn't take a picture of my scrambled eggs, sausage and bread, but there was also dessert for breakfast, classy!
The breakroom and the conference hall.
I'm a delegate for the Netherlands, together with D. who sits next to me. On my other side is the delagation from Portugal.
I had tea and a sandwich for the morning break!
Lunchtime: peasoup, potatoes, meat, no vegatables, but I did have dessert cake, mmmm.
A conference is basically talking and listening with food and breaks in between :-p
It was an intense day with good discussions. In the evening most of the group went into town for a walk and dinner, but I opted out.
To get some rest and alone time I chose to go to the Wellness space up on the roof of the hotel!
I had the pool and jacuzzi all to myself! (Later on there were some other people too, but we didn't get in each other's way:)
Excellent view of the hill *hearteyes*
Sunset behind the castle. When my time in the pool was up, I went out in search for food.
Came across these gorgeous lamps in the lobby.
Most bistros were already closing, but I found an pizza/kebab stall still open and got myself kebab v tortille s hranolkami (shawarma with french fries wrapped in a tortilla) to take to the hotel with me:)
Tuesday, 5 April 2022: 2nd day of conference
(and exploring Mikulov:)
They had pancakes for breakfast today!
For lunch I had meat broth with vegetables, the noodles were served on the side!
There were also deserts for lunch, mmm.
After lunch I did my presentation, with a slightly annoying delay on the big screen and for the people who joined the meeting digitally. All in all it went okay though:)
The glorious chandeliers in the conference room.
Another snack for the afternoon break, they are really spoiling us with sweets:)
I had some time before dinner to explore Mikulov. First goal: that clocktower.
Kostelní věž, the tower of The Church of St. Wenceslas (1584)
I can't go in, but I walk around to find some interessing carved slabs.
I'm also intrigued by these bricks.
An impossible to reach seal and door plus a sneak peek inside the tower.
I wonder if this display is because it's near Easter or if the cross is always there...
I love the windows in the roofs of Mikulov; such a smooth shape.
The buildings in town are so colourful in different pastels.
This is Náměstí, the main square.
That pointy tower is part of the castle.
Close up of the Statue of the Holy Trinity.
Sousoší Nejsvětější trojice (Statue of the Holy Trinity)
and a close up of the beautiful doors of Dietrichstein tomb.
Impressive Dietrichsteinská hrobka (Dietrichstein tomb; the House of Dietrischstein, nobility of the Habsburg Monarchy, ruled over Mikulov for almost 400 years, starting in the early 16th century.
Sgrafitový dům U Rytířů (Graffiti Knight's House)
Unknown, but fascinating sculpture.
Zámek Mikulov, the Mikulov castle Nikolsburg, is built in many different styles over the centuries.
It is surrounded by Zámecký park, a garden established by Adam Dietrichstein (1527-1590)
Unknown wooden sculpture.
The view over Mikulov and the valley below is amazing.
In between strolling, I also acquired some souvenirs;)
In the evening there was a formal dinner with live music.
I had bread with goose paté, potatoes, meat and vegetables(!)
To be continued!
J.
X-posted to https://beelikej.livejournal.com/574426.html
no subject
Date: 2022-04-17 06:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-05-08 10:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-04-17 07:22 pm (UTC)The roof pool! That is awesome.
I love the roof-windows, too - that arch! And the arched frames over the pastel-green house. Just gorgeous.
Looks like you were in a really lovely place, and had a nice time! That's excellent.
I'm sorry to hear about your shoulder! But glad to hear you're getting a chance to rest and heal. :D
Thanks for sharing!
no subject
Date: 2022-05-08 10:53 am (UTC)My shoulders* are still recovering; improvement is going slow, but right on track according to the physical therapist.
*I had been compensating for my right shoulder with my left arm and then my left shoulder gave up as well, hrmpf. That's why I've been staying away from my laptop, but hope to put up picspam two soon!