The All Seeing Eye, Prague

I've always had a massive fascination with secret societies such as Freemasonry and the Illuminati. There's something about them, potentially the secretive nature of the institutions, that just draws me to them. Only problem about a secret society: it's all a secret. I remember finding the Freemason lodge in Stellenbosch one day, and being so intrigued as to what goes on behind the closed doors.

I snapped this "All Seeing Eye" whilst I was in Prague, wedged into the roof of a building close to the old castle.

The "Normalization" of Czech

Whilst in Prague I visited an exhibition of a Czech photographer. This woman started taking photos when she was 18 years old, and therefore most of her photos were captured during the Cold War period. Thus there is a massive influence of the communist era throughout her exhibition. The "Normalization" of Czech was a period stretching from 1969 to 1987, and referred to the firm establishment of the communist regime in the then Czechoslovakia, and the subsequent assertion of the communist ideals and values. All of the photos were in black and white, and were mostly of Czech men, women and children at work or play. The photos were a stark and grave reminder of the communist years experienced by the Czech population, and the black and white gave them such a dark and honest feel. I feel so privileged to have seen this exhibition, especially because of my love for history and photography.

The photo on the far left was one of my favourites. It was taken at the time of the Soviet withdrawal form Czechoslovakia. It shows Soviet soldiers packing up equipment, and the text reads:

"We are leaving, but friendship remains."

Something about it grabbed my attention. I find the politics and history of the Cold War absolutely fascinating.

Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic

So after two seriously tough weeks of working non-stop at the villa, we were given some time off after the departure of our lovely American guests. Needless to say we grabbed the opportunity with both hands. Gavin, our chef, is an Australian but is married to a Czech lady, and has therefore lived in Prague for many years. So the Kiwi, William, the Brit, Oliver and I, accompanied Gavin on a little adventure. After an 11 hour road trip, which took us through the Dolomiti mountain range in northern Italy, through Austria and finally Germany, we eventually arrived in an icy cold Karlovy Vary, a town just over the border into Czech Republic. At the moment there is a huge movie festival on, with the likes of Judy Dench and John Malkovitch being present. Because of the movie festival, the town was packed with young students, and we ended up in a brilliant electro-swing club which had us and our dancing shoes going till early hours of the morning. Pretty indie Czech girls with short hair and red lipstick swamped the dance floor whilst tottering in their heels, and the local beer (which is sublime) had us thinking we'd died and gone to heaven. After a dreadful nights sleep in the back of a car in freezing weather, curled up in the foetal position, we woke up to explore the city. All around Karlovy Vary are hot springs that are open to the public, who come from far and wide to drink the warm water which supposedly has a lot of health benefits due to the high mineral content. We then left for Prague, Oliver and I catching a 2 hour bus through to the city...

Colours of the Czech flag

Oliver filling up in Austria

A cold Czech morning

The cafe where we had breakfast

Karlovy Vary

Gavin and his wife Lucy in front of one of the many springs

A hot spring.

Will, Oliver and I in front of Aeroport, the club in Karlovy Vary

Off to the Czech Republic...

On Saturday I leave for the Czech Republic. There is a bit of a lull in guests here and so we've been given some time off. We have an 11 hour road trip ahead of us with Chef Gavin from the villa, so there should be some interesting times ahead. I am really excited and looking forward to Prague. I remember as a little boy flicking through old photos of my mother's that she had from a trip to Prague, and I recall her speaking about the place with very fond memories. So I have always been intrigued by the destination. I can't wait to taste that first beer, apparently it is something special!