E & D & Y & E & I: Lednice and Kobyli

2 June - 3 June

* Road Trip South *

Our last few days in Czech Republic were spent in south Moravia, not far from the Austrian border. Petr's father let us use his van to make the trip which was great because we had a fair amount of stuff with us. (Read: bringing a baby means a lot of gear.)

We went south for two things: Lednice Chateau and wine cellars.

We stopped at a shopping center to pick up a few grocery items. While Kamila and I ran in to shop Devin captured a few notable items in the parking lot.

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- Lednice Chateau -

This was the summer residence of the Liechtenstein family from 1582 until 1945. The architecture is amazing and the grounds are HUGE and stunning. Tours were offered but we opted to stay outside and wander around ourselves.

Running in a swathe along the Austrian border, much of this low-lying rural and light industrial area was owned by the Liechtenstein family from the the Middle Ages to 1945. Forced to leave during the mass German expulsions after WWII, they retreated to their tiny alpine principality sandwiched between Switzerland and Austria, leaving behind a diverse legacy of castles, estates, and churches.

- Lonely Planet

Emily action shot - there aren't many of these so I added it - it's not a good picture.

The detail is incredible! They don't build 'em like this anymore.

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- The Wine Cellars of Kobyli -

Earlier this year, when George first emailed me about going to "wine cellars" I thought something had been lost in translation and that he meant checking out a winery and doing some tasting. I was wrong. George knows English...

We visited (and stayed with) Petr's friend Antonin Kovarik and his family and their wine cellars. This was absolutely one of the highlights of our trip, and the most fun I've ever had drinking wine. (It's hard to compete with the setting and having a wine maker as your host.)