Another journey of František Burda and his family (Switzerland, Slovakia)

Czech Traces in Switzerland

Another journey of František Burda and his family through a colorful palette of cultural contexts between grand and minor history, art, architecture, and natural specifics could also be called Europe on a Shoestring. This time, the itinerary drew them toward Helvetian crosses, where the main objective was the fascinating, though often half-forgotten, traces of Czech and occasionally world architects, artists, and exiles in Switzerland, but also lakes and skateparks. The first part takes us, for example, to Hundertwasser’s Abensberg, or to Lausanne and its surroundings.

The second part of the journey of František Burda and his family through a colorful palette of cultural contexts between grand and minor history, art, architecture, and natural specifics, which could also be called Europe on a Shoestring, takes us to the Jura foothills; we will stop, for example, at a pluricultural festival in Yverdon, swim in the wild rapids of a mountain river, visit ancient abbeys, a Swiss equivalent of the Grand Canyon, or the anthroposophical Goetheanum.

In the third part of the journey of František Burda and his family, we will visit, for example, Basel and its surroundings, head to a unique artists’ colony made of colorful shipping containers, informal community bars, a skatepark, and improvised outdoor stages, stop at a social work community center in a socially excluded locality, swim in rivers or lakes right in the middle of big cities, and in Zurich, we will lament the missed opportunity of V.I. Lenin, who, instead of a world-famous murderer, could have easily become a world-famous Dadaist. We will learn how the Czech architect Miroslav Šik contributes to the genius loci of the Zurich area, and last but not least, we will immerse ourselves in the dizzying story of the stigmatized mystic Therese Neumann in Konnersreuth.

The Heroes of the SNP Trail in Slovakia

Forget the car! This time, the journey of František Burda and his family takes place purely on rugged Slovak trails. Indeed, the main goal of this summer holiday expedition became the famous long-distance Heroes of the SNP Trail, accompanied by an adrenaline-fueled climb in Martinské hole. The demanding route led the family through the rolling ridges of the Little Carpathians, the blooming limestone slopes of the White Carpathians, and the wild canyons of the Lúčanská Malá Fatra. Natural beauties intertwine with the forgotten forest settlements of the German Huncokár woodcutters, revolutionary national traditions in Brezová pod Bradlom, and the tragic fates of the Jewish community in Dobrá Voda. We will encounter the legacy of Dušan Jurkovič and the cairn of Milan Rastislav Štefánik. We will show what it can look like when facts collide sharply with human prejudices.