A Litomyšl Trip

I don't remember where we were... but the conversation turned toward horses. Renata mentioned that there was a horse parkour event nearby Letohrad and would we be interested in seeing it.  The only problem was it was in Litomyšl and since we had been there before it might not be as interesting. Er... been where?  Litomyšl, you know, the beautiful UNESCO site that all FPC visitors to Letohrad are taken to visit.  Dumb stare....dumb stare back!  OK, this is my and B.J.'s sixth and fifth trip, respectively, to Letohrad and we have never been there.... at least the name was not familiar. It was a possibility that somewhere in the brain was stored a visual memory that would snap into reality.  But.. OK the horse thingie sounds great.  The day arrives and we are off in the car with Danny and Renata Popelářovi to Litomyšl and surrounding area.

The Garden - 'Urban Green from our Groves'
First stop is the flower show.  The best I understand it is the gardening facility, a nursery and outside gardens, is part commercial provider and part educational facility.  Just adjacent to the facility is the

BJ & Renata in Flower Exhibit

gardening high school - not a concept we in the states are familiar with - and the commercial arm is not open to the public except during specific designated times.  The flower show was in a small side building and held quite a few gorgeous flowers and other plants.  As mentioned earlier, I am not a 'green thumber' but do appreciate the unique beauty.  After browsing the flowers we moved over to the adjoining area where the high school students maintain separate demonstration gardens... each one specific to a class year.  With our horticultural genes satisfied, we headed to the town of Litomysl.

The Town

The UNESCO Castle

Construction Exposure

Well, the visual memory did not snap into focus; we truly have not been
here before.  Of course, the main attraction is the UNESCO site consisting of the castle, adjoining park and French garden.  There are some adjacent buildings also enclosed in the site boundary; carriage house, riding hall, stables and brewery.  (By the way, it's translated 'castle' on the local signage but from what I have picked up the name is 'Zámek' which I understand is better translated 'palace' or 'chateau'.)  Now don't get me wrong, the complex is drop-dead beautiful but my engineering eye immediately honed in on the design of

One of many designs

Piarist Church

the building.  There was a section of the wall that was intentionally exposed to see the levels of construction material.  The base is a rocky structure covered with a smooth coating and then a white substrate.  Now the interesting thing is the rectangular designs that cover the entire outside of the palace.  They are constructed by scratching away the white outer shell exposing the underside smooth coating.  All are different and some quite interesting.  Although not within the UNESCO boundary the area contains religious structures including the Piarist Church, it's adjoining college and the monastery gardens. The entire vista is breath taking and quite worth the visit-- delayed as it was. As for the town, it proved to be old and quaint.  An hour's or so walk through it solidified a very satisfying visit.

The Horses
But... to the main event.  Danny, as you might know, works for a livestock feed company based in

Amsterdam.  His colleague happens to be the best hourse feed specialist in the area; thus the specific interest in the parkour.  I have to admit, the term horse parkour is a new one to me. Now, I can tell you I have seen the events on television but never realized it was known by that term.  No matter.. the skill of the riders and the physical adroitness of the horses were mesmerizing.  I was impressed with the organization and execution of the event; a hair trigger break between each contestant which keep the activity at a high level.