Somusing

Near the end of our stay in Prague I came across this interesting Hussite columbarium in the Vinohrady area of Prague . I wasn't familiar with the term columbarium, which is an indoor graveyard of sorts for cremated remains. The Hus' House (Vinohrady) Wikipedia page and Prague city website page about it have interesting history to read. First let's look at the outside: The plaque below reads: V květové revoluci 1945, kdy budova Čs. rozhlasu byla poškozena, vysílal pražský rozhlas z budovy zdejšího husova sboru ve dnech 7.-9. května zprávy o postupu spojeneckých armád, volání o pomoc bojující Praze. Památník znázorňuje génia povstání s plamenným mečem revoluce. Z vděčnosti Bohu a na věčnou paměť připomíná náboženská obec CČSH (Církev československá husitská) zde v Praze-Vinohradech. Which Google Translate plus some manual corrections gives as: In the May revolution of 1945, when the Czechoslovak Radio building had been damaged, Prague radio broad...

On April 13, Jacob, Lillian, Seth, and I went on a day trip to revisit a place I went on a "preparation day" (free day) as an LDS missionary in Görlitz in fall 1991. We took a train from Dresden to Zittau , in Sachsen's far southeast "Dreiländereck", the "three-country corner" where Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic meet. From there we took the Schmalspurbahn (narrow-gauge train) to Oybin. This railroad has tracks about half as wide as normal, 750 mm = 2 ft 5 1⁄2 in wide compared to standard European & American gauge of 1,435 mm = 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in. And the locomotive is a classic steam-powered one! The wagons are outfitted in Deutsche Reichsbahn style with faux wood paneling, green upholstery, and radiators, just like they were in the Communist East German period. They're small and cute to match the narrow railroad tracks. After arriving in Oybin, they detached the locomotive and filled it up with water again at the Wasserhäuschen (litt...