Oh, hello, Czech Republic. I didn’t know I could see you from the town of Sehmatal in Saxony. I also didn’t know I would see that much snow.
Well, it is June after all.
Oh, I’m playing around. It doesn’t snow in Sehmatal in June, it just feels like it.
Situated in the Ore Mountains, this isn’t a tropical destination. No wonder they’ve got an entire museum dedicated to soup. Nothing keeps you warmer on a cold day than that, does it? Yeah, that’s why they even host the Olympiade im Suppenkochen (Soup Cooking Olympics).
The mountainous terrain is also a great place for the Cranzahl Christmas. Cranzahl, BTW, is one of Sehmatal’s three villages. Anyway, the Cranzahl Christmas is a replica of a winter wonderland made with life-sized models. This is in addition to Sehmatal’s large Christmas Market (in the village of Neudorf) in late November, and lots of Christmas caroling.
Who cares if it’s cold. Listen, I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again… Christmas isn’t really Christmas if you’ve got lights hanging off palm trees. ;-)
But, this is why there’s chocolate and vanilla — not everyone enjoys the cold and snow. So, for you, wait until the late Spring straight through early Fall to enjoy Sehmatal’s huge network of biking and hiking trails, or to ride on the Fichtelbergbahn. It’s a historic steam railway line that becomes the Easter Bunny Express around, well, Easter; and it still runs to Oberwiesenthal every single day like clockwork.
One of the more popular ways to experience the Fichtelbergbahn is on its Moonlight Tours, operating on special evenings during the summer and autumn. And one of the more popular sites is the Demonstration Workshop where you can see how handmade incense is made.
Ah, the smell is fantastic.
Other sightseeing around town would be to visit the Church of Ascension (built 1556) in Cranzahl, the Lutheran Church in Neudorf (built 1599), and the Pauluskirche in Sehma (the last of the Sehmatal’s villages) that was built in 1673, and the replica of Cheops’ Pyramid.
Don’t look at me like that, it was the bright idea of a local guy after visiting Egypt. Maybe after you’ve visited Sehmatal, you’ll go home and build something you’ve seen here. It could happen, you know… ;-)
