We spent the waning portion of the 31st at Sedlec Ossuary at the Church of all Saints (Hřbitovní Kostel Všech Svatých). It was below freezing and after lots of slow train transfers we arrived in the small town and walked the empty streets. The ossuary holds the bones of about 40,000 people from the days of The Plagues and Hussite Wars. And although I know little of actual crypt trips, I would say the arrangement of the bones would make any passe anatomy pleased. We were handed an ill-translated pamphlet that talked about the passing away of the flesh emphasizing that these bones now mean nothing in comparison to the owners' immortal souls. Needless to say, I understood their point in spite of their charming constructional errors and shared a smile about all these people who were perhaps neighbors in Bohemia, loving each other and likely annoying each other and yet they are united to this day offering a collar bone to dusky, magnificent chandelier. I lit a 4 koruna candle for my family i never met and hoped somehow I'm a descendent of the pretty chalice in the entryway.
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