Working Overseas: Leaving Brno

There were no meetings on my last day in Brno, so the client was okay with me getting in to the office a little later. I took the opportunity to visit the Capuchin Crypt.  The crypt was interesting, if morbid.  Due to the type of soil and the accidental design of the crypt which allowed air to leave the bodies were naturally mummified.  Inside were several people who had provided assistance to the order as well as the remains of several monks.  The monks took a vow of poverty so severe, that for their funeral they reused a single coffin with a false bottom and once the funeral was complete, they were taken down to the crypt and the body dropped out.

In the first room was the relics of St. Clement the Martyr, she had a wax mask affixed over her face which was pretty unnerving.  Another body of interest was that of a woman who was likely buried alive during a plague.  While most of the bodies were placed in a state of rest, her head was at an extreme angle, and her arms were stretched against the sides of the coffin.  This was apparently a common occurrence before the advent of modern medicine.




Since I couldn't take any pictures inside the crypt, here is a picture of the entrance.

After work, I started the drive to Vienna.  On the way I stopped at the quaint town of Mikulově, which sits on the border of the Czech Republic and Austria. Mikulově is the site of the castle Mikulově which overlooked the road between Brno and Vienna and was controlled by the Lichenstein family.
 


The view of the town below was pretty spectacular, but I couldn't linger too long, I had to get to Vienna at a reasonable time to return my car.



I made one final stop on the way out at a Chateau of the Lichenstein family in Austria, unfortunately though it was closed, so it was a bit of a bust.



You can find more photos on SmugMug.