Czech Republic Castles

Like multiple countries throughout Europe, the CZECH REPUBLIC is home to many stoically spectacular castles! Over twenty notable examples include Bezděz, Bouzov, Český Krumlov, Český Šternberk, Děčín, Hluboká nad Vltavou, Jindřichův Hradec, Karlštejn, Kokořín, Konopiště, Kost, Křivoklát, Kunětická Hora (Kunetice Mountain), Ledeč nad Sázavou, Lednice, Loket, Orlík, Pernštejn, Rabí, Raduň, Sovinec, and Trosky. Lovely pictures, an interactive Google map showing castle locations sprinkled throughout the Czech Republic, and many details about twenty of these castles are found in this Road Affair post (↗). There is a particularly picturesque photo of a castle at sunset with over a dozen hot air balloons floating in the sky! The Czech words that translate from castle include hrad and zámek. At least three UNESCO World Heritage Sites feature majestic Czech castles. Including the Lednice and Valtice castles, the Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape (↗) was inscribed to the Heritage List in 1996 and underwent a recent boundary update in 2025. The Kroměříž Gardens and Castle (↗) site was inscribed in 1998 and Litomyšl Castle (↗) was inscribed in 1999.

The Amazing Race 38, Episode 4

Season 38 Episode 4 (Wednesday, October 15th, 2025) Info: “Racers travel to illusionist Harry Houdini's birthplace, Budapest, Hungary, where a puzzling Fast Forward puts one team to the test; a horse drawn carriage has teams racing against the clock.”

In this fourth episode of The Amazing Race Season 38 (U.S. Edition), teams left Prague and boarded one of two train routes that either went through eastern AUSTRIA 🇦🇹 or western SLOVAKIA 🇸🇰 in order to reach Budapest, the national capital of HUNGARY 🇭🇺. Teams arrived at the Széchenyi Thermal Baths to search for a king chess piece. Teams then gave it to locals who were swimming and playing chess on a floating platform in a large pool. After completing this task first, Eric and Tucker encountered a Fast Forward. They decided to complete the Fast Forward and both solved a Rubik’s Cube in less than 7½ seconds after much practice. Kudos to them because I don’t remember if I ever solved a Rubik’s Cube — or maybe I completed it in several days! Due to the Fast Forward, they quickly surpassed the competition and arrived at the Pit Stop: Várkert Bazár (Castle Garden Bazaar), a neo-Renaissance style promenade near the Royal Palace and Danube riverfront in Buda. The historic site was closed in the 1980s and sat neglected until a beautiful restoration in 2014.

For arriving in first place at this Pit Stop, Eric and Tucker won a trip to BOLIVIA 🇧🇴 including stops at the city of La Paz, the largest salt flat in the world (↗) (Uyuni, also known as Tunupa), and Charquini Mountain. Meanwhile, teams carefully steered a carriage with two horses along a figure eight course in less than 45 seconds. Next, teams arrived at the House of Houdini to unlock a chained wooden container — reminiscent of Harry Houdini’s escapist stunts but without the danger. Finally, teams chose either the “Juggling Act” or “Balancing Act” Detour task. For Juggling Act, teams juggled five rings and had to keep them dangling in midair for ten seconds. For Balancing Act, teams practiced and performed a folk dancing routine. One team member balanced a bottle on his or her head, while the other teammate maneuvered a large stick. Kat had trouble completing her routine but nevertheless persisted even though she was the last performer at the Detour. Therefore, Alex and Kat arrived last at the Pit Stop and ended their Amazing Race journey.

The next episode was on Wednesday, October 22nd at 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time on CBS. The episode 5 recap will be posted in several days.

The Amazing Race 31, Episode 11, Part 1 Recap

In the exciting finale episode of The Amazing Race season 31 on CBS (April-June 2019), teams hopped from Amsterdam in the NETHERLANDS to several places in the UNITED KINGDOM (especially London, England), and later to Detroit, Michigan in the UNITED STATES. Competition legs 11 and 12 were combined together in the 2-hour 11th episode of season 31, with leg 11/part 1 (this post) concentrating on the United Kingdom and leg 12/part 2 (next post) featuring the United States.

This Season Finale episode is suitably named “This One is for One Million Dollars” as a direct quote from contestant Christie Woods, whose fellow team member is Colin Guinn. The three other teams competing in this episode are Nicole Franzel with Victor Arroyo, Korey Kuhl with Tyler Oakley, and Jamal Zadran with Leo Temory. Sorted by chronological order, here were the challenges and happenings encountered by the four remaining teams during the competition’s 11th leg in this June 26th, 2019 episode of The Amazing Race, UNITED STATES series:

● Departures: Since teammates Christie & Colin arrived to the Bovenwijde Lake island Pit Stop first in episode 10, they were allowed to begin this leg of the race before other teams at 10:13 PM Central European Time (CET) at night. In chronological order, the following teams were able to depart after Christie & Colin: Korey & Tyler at 11:35 PM, Jamal & Leo after midnight at 1:20 AM, and Nicole & Victor at 1:55 AM.

● After flying to London, teams visited the Gatwick Aviation Museum and then found out the location for helicopter rides. Once in a helicopter, teams took a scenic journey over the prominent English Channel chalk cliffs known as the Seven Sisters and flew to Dover Castle.

● Roadblock: Upon arriving at Dover Castle, one member of each Amazing Race team — Christie, Korey, Leo, and Victor — deciphered an alphanumeric code by listening to a Neville Chamberlain speech and detecting the fourth, fifteenth, and thirtieth (4th, 15th, and 30th) words he spoke. The letters from these words are then decrypted into specific numbers, and these numbers correspond to three-letter groupings. Teams had to rearrange these final letters to form a sentence: “The Dunkirk evacuation has begun. We will never surrender.” This wartime message was then printed on a typewriter, and teams handed the message over to a military official outside the Dover Castle.

● Teams flew back to London via helicopter and walked (or ran) to the Masthouse Terrace Pier, located on the Isle of Dogs in the Thames river.

● Teams sailed on the Thames in a speedboat to Savoy Pier then found their way to the Piccadilly Circus, a road junction and public space in the borough/city of Westminster. A “queen” clad in gold attire gave the teams their clue to arrive at the Detour.

● Detour, choice between “Know” and “Row”: Jamal & Leo, Korey & Tyler, and Nicole & Victor chose the Know Detour. They took a taxi and, according to the taxi driver’s instructions, memorized fifteen streets and seven landmarks. They found the Master of carriage drivers along Kensington Road and had to correctly recite these locations to him. Christie & Colin chose the Row Detour, in which they rowed a double scull boat for 200 meters. They had to complete this exercise within one minute to receive a clue.

● Pit Stop: Teams visited the Camden Market in search for the Pit Stop, but they had to recreate a window display using items they bought from market stores. When their displays are determined to be accurately copied, teams were able to check in to the nearby Pit Stop. Engaged (and soon to be married) couple Nicole & Victor were eliminated from The Amazing Race competition due to arriving last at the Pit Stop.

● Interesting trivia notes: Jamal & Leo were celebrated for becoming The Amazing Race’s first team ever to achieve a final four placement and complete the penultimate race leg three times; this is their third season of competition. Both men also passed Rachel Reilly-Villegas’ record of playing the most legs (episodes) of The Amazing Race. After Brendon & Rachel and Cody & Jessica from previous seasons, Nicole & Victor became the third CBS Big Brother team to reach the season-finale episode.

  Season 31, Episode 11, Leg #11/12
  First, Second, Third, and Last Places at the Pit Stop

  1st — Jamal Zadran and Leo Temory
       1st place prize — nothing, unfortunately

  2nd — Korey Kuhl and Tyler Oakley

  3rd — Christie Woods and Colin Guinn

  Last (4th) — Nicole Franzel and Victor Arroyo
       Eliminated from the competition? Yes

Castle Community in Central Morocco

Post #4 of Castles Week

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Less than 50 kilometers south of the mighty Atlas mountain range, a fortified city serves as a gem and ancient trading center for the Ounila Valley in northwestern Africa's MOROCCO. Featuring corner towers, this walled ksar is named Aït Ben Haddou (آيت بن حدّو), a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Ouarzazate Province of the Souss-Massa-Drâa Region. The UNESCO webpage features dozens of photographs in an image gallery. The oldest buildings in Aït Ben Haddou were constructed in approximately the 17th century (1600s).

Himeji-jo Castle

Post #3 of Castles Week
Located in the southwestern part of JAPAN's Honshū island, Himeji-jo at the heart of Himeji city in Hyōgo Prefecture is a 17th-century hilltop castle with a recent renovation. Nicknamed white heron for its pristine white plastered walls, Himeji-jo boasts over 80 buildings in the castle complex and is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In addition to more information, this UNESCO webpage features an image gallery. Visitors and map readers will find Himeji-jo located to the west of Kobe and Osaka cities.

Caernarfon Castle, Wales

Post #2 of Castles Week

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Situated in northern Wales in the UNITED KINGDOM, the current medieval Caernarfon Castle began construction in 1283 from the architectural vision of King Edward I. The fortress is noted for its polygonal towers, some of which are shaped differently than the others. It is also part of the "Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd" UNESCO World Heritage Site (UNESCO webpage). Caernarfon Castle is located in Gwynedd County and west of Caernarfon town, north of the Afon Seiont (River Seiont), south of Menai Strait and Anglesey island, and east of Caernarfon Bay. Nearby castles include Beaumaris, Criccieth, and Dolbadarn. Photos and more information can be found on the website of Cadw, the Welsh government's historic environment service.

Mont-Saint-Michel

Post #1 of Castles Week

Photo Credit: © Jesper Krough (Flickr) ― Creative Commons 2.0 License

A castle towering in northwestern FRANCE on top of a rocky islet, Mont Saint Michel (Le Mont-Saint-Michel) is a Gothic-style Benedictine abbey first built in the 11th century and located in the Normandie (Normandy)* region's westernmost départmente, Manche. About 40 monks live in Mont-Saint-Michel, and they are no stranger to the abbey's extreme tides. During high tide periods, the architectural wonder is isolated from the French mainland, while lower tides revealing a peninsula connecting Mont-Saint-Michel to the rest of France. Le Couesnone river is located south of Mont-Saint-Michel and Le Manche bay. Communities south of Mont-Saint Michel include Beauvoir, Huisnes-sur-Mer, and Saint-Georges-de-Gréhaigne. Finally, the abbey and Le Manche bay are designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site - this UNESCO link opens in a new tab or window.

* — Mont-Saint-Michel was located in Basse-Normandie (Lower Normandy) until that region and Haute-Normandie (Upper Normandy) were combined in 2016.

Castles Week

GeoFact of the Day posts this week will feature colossal castles around the world! Given that castles are typically historic structures, there could be a little bit of history infused into each post. Info about castles' geography and features of interest will be featured as well. Thanks for visiting the GeoFact of the Day Blog Today!

The World is Wonderful...

Inishowen Peninsula

At the northern tip of IRELAND in northwestern Europe, Inishowen Peninsula (called Inis Eoghain in the Irish language) juts northward into the North Atlantic Ocean and is east of Lough Foyle. Malin Head (Cionn Mhálanna) is the northernmost point on Inishowen Peninsula and Ireland while Inishowen Head is one of the peninsula's easternmost points. Inishowen is surrounded by multiple small islands, including the Isle of Doagh. These islands are small enough that they are not visible above.

Inishowen sits in County Donegal, which is located in Ulster province. As shown in the Hammond World Atlas (Sixth Edition, 2010) map above, the peninsula's highest point - Slieve Snaght - is about 615 meters and more than 2,000 feet tall. Like the rest of Ireland, Inishowen has a Humid Temperate Climate. There are various festivals and activities held throughout the peninsula. Sites of interest include Aughlish Stone Circle Complex, Bocan Stone Circle, Crummies Bay, Dunree Military Museum, Fort Dunree, Grianan Of Aileach, Malin Well, and multiple churches and castles. In addition to communities shown above, other ones include Burt, Fahan, Inch, Iskaheen, and Lecamy.