Thursday 27 November 2008

And the Water Flows..

-
I live in a small town on the border of Czech and Slovak Republic. In fact, the borderline between these two republics is formed by the river Morava here. So one of her bank belongs to Czech, the other to Slovak.
And this river flows almost behind our house. It is a very pleasant walk along its banks, to the weir, watching birds and relaxing.
Yesterday, I walked there with a friend of mine. She had a day off, I was free in the afternoon, so we went to enjoyed the mother nature.
We left for the walk at about one o´clock in the afternoon. The weather was very changeable - the sunbeams were replaced by cloudy sky almost every five minutes. The only thing which lasted was the temperature - it was freezing. We were freezing. All the time.

We are leaving the housing estate and heading to the river in this photo:


The housing estate is bordered by the one-time rivulet:


... and over the rivulet there is nothing but fields and woods:




When we were children we loved having so big playground. We were jumping over the water (which was clear those times) and climbing the trees in the field. And in autumn we were flying kites there. Big space - lots of kites.



Then we reached one of the branches of the river:
Where people live along its banks:


...and where also some animals as ducks, swans and beavers live. We saw the ducks, but didn´t see the beavers. Also swans live in the different part of the river.


And where every house has its own little piers and thanks to this, some very nice scenes can be seen. As this one:

Then we reached the embankment and dam:



... and the look back at the town:

And then the "proper" river. On the left of the dam:



...and on the right of the dam (the bridge connects the Czech and Slovak republic as the river is their natural border):




Notice the different mood and clouds in the photos. The photos were taken in maximum 5-minute intervals and the sky looked differently every time.


We were so cold we had to go to the log cabin, the pub near the weir.



.. a look from the log cabin to the river:



When we left the pub for home, the sun was just setting. In the winter the sun usually starts to set at about four o´clock here.



...and we hurried home, and were thinking only about the hot bath to melt our bodies a bit.

-

9 comments:

buke said...

Beautiful fotos! You live in a very picturesque country.

PJ said...

I've been waiting to see a bit of where you live so thanks for taking us on your walk. The Morava looks like a beautiful river. I'm sure you were glad to get home and get warmed up.
I wish I spoke Czech or something else. Americans are so spoiled! We exopect everyone else to speak English.

Arija said...

It is wonderful to see the landscapes and memories you cherish.
Some day when people become a little more sensible the border between the Cech Republic and Slovakia will come down and neighbours will be friends once more, and you will walk on both sides of the river again.

Namnet said...

PJ,
Czech is very difficult to learn as it is very wide-ranging language. It can be also very picturesque and rich and beautiful. Well, I just like it:-)
But I also like English. There is something in every language. I suppose:-)
In Czech Republic, the foreign-language-learning begins at primary schools. Children have to learn English, the other languages are optional. At secondary (or public) schools students have to learn two languages (English + usually German).
We are the only nation whose first language is Czech. In the whole world. If we want to communicate somewhere abroad, we have to do our best.:-) English is the first language for so many people that I can understand why you are "spoilded".:-)

Namnet said...

I meant "spoiled", of course...

Namnet said...

Arija,
Maybe you know that our two states (Czech and Slovakia) used to be one. We were Czechoslovakia for a really long time. Our separation was probably the most peaceful in the world history. There were thousands of people who wanted the separation. Just because they believed we would do better without the other one.
We are separated, but still we have very close connections. We watch each other broadcasts, we can understand each other languages, or sing each other national anthem.
We are too small states to pretend that there was no time spent together.
But, I agree with you, some people really could be more sensible...

Namnet said...

Bukester,
Thank you. I like it here a lot:-)

Anonymous said...

Thank you soo much for the photo tour....In 2005 I spent some time in your lovely country and wish I knew about your town than.
I grew up by the great Danube (down stream from you)
and have nothing but lovely memories of my childhood there.
Wishing you and yours Merry and safe Christmas and prosperous New Year.
marieJ'
Melb. Aust.

Namnet said...

There´s always time for coming back and visiting more places:-)
I hope your Christmas were wonderful and wish you Happy and healthy New Year as well.
Thank you for stopping by:-)