I love driving in Europe. It’s the best way to see towns and people in action, and it gives you the chance to stop at corner stores to check out local potato chip flavors.
Typically, we rent a car. I do the driving. Jamil does the navigating. Josephine does the complaining. Harmony.
This time, however, we didn’t rent a car to go from Prague to Budapest because the drop fee for renting a car in the Czech Republic and returning it in Hungary cost more than hiring a driver.
I was reluctant to relinquish the driver’s seat, but I’m SOOOO glad I did! The driver, named Martin, contracted through Sidetrip Tours, turned out to be an amazing guide. We learned more than we ever could have without him.
One reason I wanted to drive was that I wanted to take Josephine to Kutna Hora, a small town about an hour outside Prague. Kutna Hora is best known today for its phenomenal bone church, called Sedlec Ossuary.
In the 13th century, the abbot of the Sedlec monastery traveled to the Holy Land, and he returned with a jar of Holy Soil, which he spread around the cemetery. Word spread about the hallowed ground in the Sedlec cemetery, and people from far and wide chose to be buried there – way more people than Sedlec could accommodate.
As you might guess, the bones piled up and up and up, until about 150 years ago, when the church decided to organize the remains of the 40,000 people that had accumulated in the ossuary. In the process, someone decided to get artsy, and today, the ossuary at Kutna Hora is the world’s most impressive array of human bones, formed into chandeliers and beautiful stacks and family crests. It’s fascinating.
Jamil and I traveled to Kutna Hora in 2009 when we were planning our wedding. Back then, you could take pictures. The days of social media put an end to that type of photographic freedom, though. I can just imagine how many influencers were posing in front of sacred human remains for the perfect shot! In any case, that’s why my photos of the experience this time are so limited. And it’s even cooler today than it was when Jamil and I last visited because they’ve done such a phenomenal job cleaning the bones and the ossuary to make it glistening white. I couldn’t take any pictures to prove it, though! You’ll have to make do with these gems from 2009.
If you go to Kutna Hora, you should also stop into the Lego store right near the church. They’ve used Legos to make recreations of skeletons and other ossuary-appropriate designs. It’s funny.
After Kutna Hora, we drove to Bratislava for our first (and likely only) visit to Slovakia. We were lucky to catch the last night of the Christmas market in Bratislava. While it didn’t have any amazing activities, the market had, by far, the most interesting street food we saw throughout our trip. They had a stand specializing in homemade Slovakian pasta, which came with somewhat shocking accoutrements, like poppyseed or nuts and jam or bacon, sauerkraut, and onion. They had a stand, serving what I can only call a riff on a burrito – basically giant flour tortillas, stuffed with sauerkraut or cheese or chicken liver and rolled like cigars. They had stands with unusual sausages, served with spicy peppers and sautéed onions along with Slovakian sauerkraut soup. Literally, the options were endless and nothing like I’d seen before. So, we were only there for an hour or so, but the detour was well worth the effort.
I should mention here that Martin, our driver, never stopped sharing interesting historical details about the countryside, the cities, and the people who inhabit them. We learned many tidbits on that drive, and we got to hear about his life during the Cold War. He had an unusual situation, in that his father worked for a company that conducted international business, which allowed Martin and his family to travel all over the West, visiting the United States, the UK, and other countries that his classmates could only dream of seeing. It was cool to talk to someone who lived through the darkest times of the Cold War, only to emerge on the other side and go on to work in entertainment. Imagine how much his world has changed in the last thirty years! From zero tourism in Prague to hordes of wander lusters clogging its streets. That’s given him such a unique perspective that I can’t wait to hire him again. And if you have any desire to get in touch with him, please let me know.
We rolled into Budapest late in the evening, probably around 7PM, with just enough time to get changed and headed out for dinner. As we drove into town, Martin gave us an introduction to the city, describing the differences between Buda and Pest, the two sister municipalities on either side of the Danube. Budapest by night is quite dramatic, I must say… We got out of that car completely jazzed to explore its glamour, and we were so glad we’d taken the long way to Budapest. It was entertaining, to say the least.
