Day 12 - Day 13 Going Underground

Day 11 was just your average Sunday (if you live in the Czech Republic) involving the missionaries trying to translate on the fly the talks in church (amazingly hard, I think).  English Sunday School, which was small, but interesting.  Relief Society where the missionaries try translating again, but give up when they have a hard time following what is being said themselves.  Good thing my scriptures are in English!

Day 12 was an adventure unlike any other we've had here.  We made an appointment the week before to visit the Moravian Karsts, which is a network of caves in Moravia.  I was super excited, my dad slightly less so.  However, it turned out to be an absolutely gorgeous place - both above and below ground.  Really, some of the cave photos did not turn out that well, but I assure you, it was way more magnificent than my little camera can show you.

You approach the entrance to the caves by walking (or riding a train) down a winding road planted amid trees and flowing next to a river:

The caves themselves were icy cold, bu it was like entering a different world - anyone who's spent time in caves has probably felt this.  It is just so very unlike anything else in the world.  We had an English tour guide, but I honestly don't remember much of what they said. 

 

 

The pictures are always better when they have lights on interesting parts.  I love the owl-shaped formation in the middle of this photo:

 

Just love this stuff.

 

 

This one is about to merge stalactite with stalagmite

 

This next part had some beautiful and strange shapes (reminded me a little of Goblin Valley)

 

 

My mom enjoying the tour:

 

Vince, realizing he should have brought a jacket :)

 

I loved this section - I think these formations were called Angels or something - you can see why!

 

 

And then, right in the middle of the tour, we come into this gorgeous sun-lit place.  I seriously felt like walking into another world.  The pictures do not do this place justice, it also doesn't give you an idea of the size of this place - the mist, the sun, the green, absolutely astonishing!

 

 It was this gorgeous crack in the earth where plants grew and it was so misty it felt ethereal (those of you who know my obsession with Lord of the Rings, it reminded me of Rivendell...)

 

 

 

There was this little pond down there in the most amazing shade of teal. Seriously just indescribable.

 

Just to remind you that this was a real place - my mom and dad

 

Unfortunately, we had to leave that little bit of heaven, but there was more cave to explore:

 

 

 

We also exchanged our walking for a boat!  Seriously riding a boat down an underground river = so cool.  They don't let you take photos while doing it, probably because people fall in when they are trying to get a great shot.  Here's the boat emerging from the cave into the real world again!

Oh, except even outside the caves, we entered a strange and different-looking world.

I assure you, this is not a painting.  I had my camera going the entire time we walked back.  This place was simply gorgeous!

 

 

 

 

 

Once again, just wanted you to remember that these places were real - here's my dad:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can't even tell you how many photos I took on this walk to our car.  This place was so unbelievably unearthly that I couldn't help trying to capture it on film (digital film, of course).  I wish everyone could have seen this place - once in a lifetime experience for me, I'm certain. 

And that, my friends, is the end of our planned trip.  We were supposed to fly out of Prague the next day, but unfortunately that's not quite what happened.  I promise the next post about the Czech Republic will be the last (well, ok, maybe not ever, but you know).