I got to visit the castle at Namest Nad Oslavou, where Agnes worked as a court musician for a while. The rooms are set up as though it’s in the nineteenth century, so I really felt like I got to see what she might have seen. This entry will be mostly pictures.
The floors were beautiful parquet, so they had us wear giant fuzzy slippers over our shoes. I felt like I had Oscar The Grouch feet.
The courtyard must have looked similar when Agnes was here.
They still do concerts in this room, a long library.
This used to be where the musicians lived; it’s now a hotel. I don’t know for sure that Agnes stayed here, but maybe I got to step where she stepped.
I loved the idea that this tree might have been a sapling when Agnes was here.
A view from the gardens…
…and closer towards the castle.
This piano might not have been here in the 1870s, but the room probably looked similar.
This hallway must have looked similar.
This is a main room, and it really gave me a feel for what it might have been like for Agnes and other court musicians to play background music while the Count and his family hung out. It’s a big room. That giant black thing on the left is a stove, and it’s on the opposite side of the room from the instruments. All I could think was that it must have been freezing in the winter.
This is probably where Agnes would have played. I’m not sure whether it’s the same piano (they didn’t let me play it).
Another view of the piano, with a harp too (but no heater this corner of the room!)
Agnes must have looked out this window and seen this view.
Maybe Agnes walked on this staircase.
Agnes definitely did not go to this cafe. But you GUYS. It was absolutely lovely, with simple furniture out in the woods, and probably the best Flat White I had the whole trip.