Lipno na druhý pokus

Plánovat dopředu se nevyplácí. Prodloužený víkend, který jsme na konci ledna strávili na Lipně, byl sice příjemný, ale to hlavní - bruslení na zamrzlé přehradě - se nekonalo, neboť přehrada nebyla dost zamrzlá. Poslední dny se konečně počasí "umoudřilo", tj. mrzlo až praštělo, a tak jsme si včera zajeli na otočku vyzkoušet, o co jsme před měsícem přišli. Tady je pár obrázků:

když jsme ráno přicházeli k přehradě, ještě vypadala docela pustě

naskočili jsme na upravený ovál u Frymburka

z oválu je prohrnutá odbočka až na druhou stranu k Přední Výtoni

cesta zpátky z Přední Výtoně na Frymburk - jako by neměla konce :-)

zpátky na oválu u Frymburka

 v poledne jsme si dopřáli zasloužené občerstvení v restauraci Nautilus

po obědě přibylo sluníčka i lidí

ještě jednou na oválu...

... a zde ještě pohyblivý důkaz :-)

Zámek č. 44 (Chvaly)

GPS: N 50°6.69062', E 14°35.73592'
Vzdálenost od bydliště: 23 km

Letos naposledy - ráno byla už docela kosa. Po 500 metrech jsme zastavili a oblékali větrovky, protože se ukázalo, že 3 vrstvy funkčního prádla nestačí. Jinak cesta v pohodě, až na jednoho šaška, vlastnícího BMW X1 a IQ šumícího jetele, který v úzkých uličkách někde ve Vinoři nemohl počkat, až nás předjede náklaďák, protože by přišel o 5 vteřin svého drahocenného času. Když se ten blbeček rozhodl předjet předjíždějící náklaďák, neměl šanci vyhodnotit, jestli proti nám v té úzké zakroucené uličce něco nevyjede, naštěstí nevyjelo, jenom nás trochu vylekal klakson náklaďáku, který ho pěkně vytroubil. Takovým frajírkům by neměli dovolit jezdit ani na koloběžce...
Naším dnešním cílem je vlastně takový klasický pohádkový příběh s dobrým koncem: zámeček, kterému donedávna hrozil osud řady jiných historických budov, které se postupně rozpadaly, až se rozpadly úplně. Dnes je všechno jinak. Ale popořadě: zámek vznikal postupnou přestavbou ze středověké tvrze, která tu stála již před rokem 1428. Podobu zámku definitivně získal po roce 1734, kdy původní budova vyhořela a zbytek byl zásadně přestavěn (tehdejším majitelem byl jezuitský řád). V polovině 19. století byla polovina zámku zbourána (jižní křídlo). Po roce 1918 byl zámek v majetku státu.Od roku 1950 až do revoluce jej užívaly Československé státní statky, což znamenalo téměř totální devastaci. Naštěstí zámek přešel do majetku městské části Horní Počernice, která jej za pomoci evropských fondů zdařile rekonstruovala a nyní je veřejnosti přístupný. V prvním patře je stálá expozice obrazů a předmětů z pozůstalosti akademické malířky Ludmily Jiřincové. Jinak se v zámku konají různé příležitostné výstavy a další akce. Například momentálně je tu výstava 60. výročí vzniku filmového krtečka. Budova zámku je propojena s kostelem sv. Ludmily s novorománskou věží z roku 1825 (samotný kostel vznikal postupným rozšiřováním mnohem starší kaple).

Prague (Praha)

A nice way to start a tour here might be one of the two observation towers (there are more but only two are high enough to oversee the whole city).
My favorite is the old one at Petřín, built in 1891 as an approximate imitation of Eiffel Tower in Paris. You can get there several ways; the most popular one is from the street Újezd (there is a tram station of the same name, close to a nice park that stretches up the whole way to the top of the Petřín hill). It is a nice walk but those who do not like walking up the hill, there is a cable railway. In the tourist season, there may be a long line of people waiting for the ride.

To get to the top of the tower, you can climb up the staircase, or you can use an elevator. There are two platforms; the lower one is too low to overview the city but it is less crowded. From the top platform, the view is fantastic. Here are some pictures.

 

 1-The Prague Castle (Pražský Hrad); 2-Saint Vitus Cathedral (Chrám Svatého Víta); 3-Schwarzenberg Palace; 4-Hradcany Square (Hradčanské náměstí) with all the beautiful palaces next to Prague Castle); 5-Italian Hospital (Vlašský špitál; currently a part of Italian Embassy); 6-Hotel Internacional (the communist era relict, built in Socialist Realism style, resembling the Moscow's Lomonosov University); 7-Troja Chateau (Trojský zámek, a very nice castle next to the famous Prague ZOO)

8-St. Nicholas Church (Chrám Sv. Mikuláše, impressive Baroque church); 9-AC Sparta Praha Football Arena (home stadium of one of the top Czech soccer teams)

10-Charles Bridge (Karlův most, the famous 14th century stone bridge with towers on both sides, both accessible); 11-B.Smetana Museum (Muzeum Bedřicha Smetany, the Czech national composer); the Old Town Bridge Tower at this side of Charles Bridge leads to the Knights of the Cross Square (Křížovnické náměstí), a very small but one of the most beautiful places in Prague; 12-Rudolfinum (the home scene of Czech Philharmonic); 13-Church of Our Lady before Týn (Týnský chrám, beautiful 14th century Gothic church with two towers, better visible from here than from the Old Town Square where it is hidden behind the square houses; the single tower close by is the Old Town Hall with the famous astronomical clock); 14-Prague main railway station (Praha hlavní nádraží)

15-Žižkov TV Tower (Žižkovský vysílač, the other great observation tower, at 216 meters the highest building in Prague); 16-National Museum (Národní muzeum, this is the historical building at the upper end of the Wenceslas Square-there are other buildings, e.g. a new one right across the street, but this is the original and the main one); 17-National Theatre (Národní divadlo)

18-Church of St. Ludmila (Kostel sv. Ludmily, neo-gothic roman catholic church at Náměstí Míru); 19-Dancing House (Tančící dům, the most famous modern building in Prague, built in 1996 by Frank Gehry and Vlado Milunić); 20-The Church of Virgin Mary at Slovany (Kostel Panny Marie na Slovanech; a part of the gothic monastery also called Emauzy; the church was bombed in World War II and though the main body has been preserved in its gothic styly, the shape of the  tower is modern); 21 Nusle Bridge (Nuselský most, the highest bridge in Prague is not over the Vltava River but over the valley called Nusle; the high building at the end of it is a hotel called  Corinthia Towers; there are ruins of the original castle of Prague called Vyšehrad close by, just out of the picture-hopefully next time I take it all...)

Top places to visit in the Czech Republic

This is the beginning of a series of articles about my favorite places in my home country. I hope it might help some tourists choose where to go and what to do here. Of course, the selection is very subjective and incomplete. It is definitely not meant as a tourist guide but rather a couple of "tips and tricks" (and photos, too) for those who like to consult alternative sources for their decisions.

First, just a few lines about the country's history (just skip this part if not interested). Thanks to its position in the heart of Europe, it has been the crossing of the ancient trade routes from South to North and East to West for millennia. The country is formed by three "lands": Bohemia being the biggest one, Moravia (the Eastern part) and Silesia (a small region in the North-East), all speaking the same Czech language with light local dialects. Some sources simply use the names Bohemia and Czechia as synonyms. The name Bohemia refers to a Celtic tribe of Boii that occupied the territory in the later Iron Age (Boiohaemum in Latin means Home of the Boii; btw, the name of the German state Bavaria, originally Baiovaria, refers to Boii as well). Later the Celts partly withdrew and partly merged with German tribes and then the Slavic tribes came from the East (and stopped here - this is the western-most country speaking a Slavic language today).
The Czech history is rich and full of twists and turns, ranging from being one of the most powerful countries in the world in 14-16th centuries to being on the brink of extincion in the 17th-18th centuries - as the Czech language was mostly replaced by German, the country being a part of the Habsburg Monarchy. In the years 1583 to 1611, Prague was the capital of the Habsburg Monarchy before it was moved to Vienna.
The history of the modern Czech (and Slovak) state begins in 1918 after the World War I., when the independent Czechoslovakia was declared after its separation from Austro-Hungarian Empire. The progress of this top industrial country was interrupted by the World War II and, most of all, by a sad betrayal of its former military allies. In 1938, the states of Great Britain, France, Germany and Italy signed the Munich Agreement, meeting Hitler's demands and granting him the bordering parts of Bohemia (called Sudetten). That was where the Czech defense line against Germany was set up (the frontier fortification system here was even better than the famous Maginot Line in France), thus the agreement directly lead to Hitler's occupation of the whole Bohemia and Moravia in 1939. And 6 years later, as the World War II was coming to an end, another treaty took place in Yalta where the spheres of political influence were sealed between Russians and Americans. The demarcation line was approved that made sure Czechoslovakia was to be liberated by Russian Army, thus remaining under Russian political influence. As the armies were approaching central Europe from East and West, it became clear that the Russians were in delay. The U.S. Army was able and prepared to continue to Prague and liberate the Czech capital a week before the Russians made it but the American military officials held it off , being aware of the treaty and possible negative reaction from Russians. And that is where the 40 years of communism in Czechoslovakia began. And even though the country got rid of the communist regime and Russian influence in 1989, it has not fully recovered from the moral and economic devastation it brought. So far for our belief in allies, both Western and Eastern. As we are a small country on the border of the East and West, we need allies. But none of them are proving dependable enough (EU being far from an exception, regarding former communist countries more as colonies rather than equal partners). That is one of the reasons for the long-term tension in the Czech political situation.

Here is my top ten chart of the places to visit in Czechia. It may be a coincidence, but again it might not, that these are exactly all the Czech places registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

1. Praha (the capital)
2. Český Krumlov, Holašovice
3. Brno
4. Olomouc
5. Kroměříž
6. Telč
7. Třebíč, Žďár nad Sázavou
8. Litomyšl
9. Kutná Hora
10. Lednice-Valtice Area

There are a lot of other interesting places as well. The list is not final and will grow with time. It is sorted out according to the approximate distance and position from the center of Prague.

Karlštejn (30 km SW, Gothic castle)

Mladá Boleslav (60 NE, city of cars with a nice historical center and a car museum)

Orlík (80 S, reservoir on Vltava river with castles Orlik and Zvíkov on both ends; a unique bridge - Žďákovský most - close to Orlík castle)

Český Ráj (90 NE, Czech Paradise-impressive sandstone "rock towns", chateaus, castles both preserved and ruins between two historical towns of Jičín and Turnov)

Plzeň (95 W, Pilsen = City Of Beer No.1)

Písek (105 S, historical town with the oldest stone bridge in Bohemia)

Liberec and Jested (110 N, nice city and a hill with a unique hotel on top of it)

Hradec Králové (120 E, historical city with unique architecture both old and modern)

Karlovy Vary (130 W, famous spa with a unique atmosphere)

Jaroměř-Josefov (130 E, historical military complex), Kuks (baroque spa), Dvůr Králové (open-air ZOO)

Třeboň (140 S, nice historical town)

České Budějovice (150 S, Budweiss = City of Beer No.2; chateau Hluboká close by)

Cheb (170 W, historical town with a beautiful town square)

Hranice na Moravě (320 E, historical town center, aragonite caves close by)

Ostrava (350 E, industrial city with abandoned steelworks turned to exhibition areas, United Colors musical festival)

Rožnov pod Radhoštěm (360 E, open-air museum), Valašské Meziříčí