Czech Republic
At the end of August, I spent nearly two weeks visiting my brother Greg, his
wife Emi, and his family in Hluboka nad Vitavou, South Bohemia, Czech
Republic, where they moved a year ago from Bulgaria so that their children
could study at the nearby Townshend International School. They live near a
riverside park, and Gregory and Mina can walk to school in 15 minutes. Joyce
will soon go back to the English National Ballet School where she studies.
The park along the Vitavou River.
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Along the Vitavou River, navigable despite its small size
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Along with paths, sports and picnic facilities, the park has a
sculpture and explanation of the river spirit in local culture
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Hluboka Castle from the riverside; Emi Dahl maintains an
international network of friends while enjoying nature; a fishing spot
The Townshend International School is a Baha'i-inspired school with
students from around the world, and Gregory and Mina are very happy there. I
was asked to address the school assembly one morning, and upper school
classes in biology, geography and civics in the afternoon on the environment
and sustainable development.
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First day of school: Mina, Emi and Gregory on the way to school;
Gregory, Emi and Mina at the Townshend International School; the school on
its hilltop
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Views from the school cafeteria, including Hluboka Castle at sunset
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Brothers Greg and Arthur; Mina, Emi and Joyce; Emi's birthday party
HLUBOKA CASTLE
Hluboka Castle started as a medieval castle before being remodeled by
successive aristocratic families, the last time in 1840-1871 in the Tudor
Gothic style of Windsor Castle. It is surrounded by extensive English
gardens. The ground floor was devoted to activities surrounding hunting
deer, and the castle is festooned with trophy antlers. The first floor
housed the princely apartments, the second floor was for guests, with over
140 rooms. A tall clock tower provides a view in all directions.
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Hluboka village below the castle; Greg on the path up to the castle;
view from the path
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Hluboka Castle; the Riding Hall, now an art gallery; the Winter
Garden between castle and riding hall
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Hluboka Castle entrance; the castle with its clock tower
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Passage between castle courtyards; inner courtyards
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Second courtyard; clock tower; clockworks in the tower
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Views of the castle from the clock tower
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Views over Hluboka from castle tower
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Doorknob on the main door; hunting trophy antlers were everywhere; a
medieval procession on horseback for the tourists
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English Park surrounding the castle; Emi and Greg enjoying the park
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English Park; Greg in the park
CESKE BUDEJOVICE
The central town in South Bohemia is Ceske Budejovice, with a population of
about 100,000, a 15 minute drive from Hluboka. The old town centre has a
very large square, and there was a street festival going on when we first
visited for a dinner with Townshend School students. There is a university
where I gave a paper
at a conference on ecology and democracy in 1994.
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Ceske Budejovice town square, including modern art sculptures of
metal pianos
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Street festival
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Ceske Budejovice church; hotel where the symposium was held
On 28-31 August, my brother Greg and I participated in the 3rd
International Symposium on Ethics of Environmental Health in Ceské
Budejovice, organized by International Environment Forum member Friedo
Zölzer of the University of South Bohemia. My presentation was on "The
2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals: Placing Environmental
Health in a Larger Ethical Framework", and Greg spoke on "Trust,
Corruption, and Public Welfare". The symposium was very transdisciplinary,
linking philosophy, ethics, medicine, epidemiology, toxicology, technology,
environment, law and governance. One evening the symposium visited Hluboka
Castle and had dinner at the Townshend International School.
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3rd Symposium on Ethics of Environmental Health; organizer Friedo
Zölzer; Maryam Zölzer-Yazdani
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Dinner for symposium participants at the Townshend International
School