Sv. Matěj

We decided to go mass at St. Matthew's (Sv. Matěj) church because every Christmas for the last thirty years they have had a nativity scene made out of gingerbread. Some of the figures are original but a lot of them (including the Holy Family) are made fresh each year. The detailed decorating is simply amazing -- the icing looks like embroidery or filigree.

The Sv. Matěj church is a smallish gothic structure from the 17 hundreds (I think). And it does not have any heating. We got there in time to only find seating for my parents, so Jfer and I stood during the mass on the cold stone floor. The temperature that morning was in the lower 20s (Fahrenheit) and it pretty much was freezing inside the church the entire time. It was kind of neat watching the priest's breath turn to steam. But we were sure glad to be back in the car with the heater going full force on the way home.

There is a big difference between going to church in Switzerland and the Czech Republic. While we made it on time, people kept arriving throughout the service. I don't know if it's a busy parish or if they came for the nativity. There were quite a few people after mass taking a closer look (and pictures).