Vltava hike close to Prague - Svatojánské proudy

Text based on two visits (Oct 10 and Sep 14). This 8,5 km along river Vltava claims to be the oldest marked trail in the Czech Republic (the other one claiming to be the first is red marked 15 km trail from castle Karlštejn to Beroun which is also beautiful and still waiting for my post:). It is definitely worth visiting any time of the year but now (in the autumn), you can also find many mushrooms there and see rare animals, salamandra salamandra. It is an easy trail, not many ups and downs but you can make it longer. "Svatojánské proudy" got its name from St. Jan, whose statue is in the end of the trail, and "proudy" refers to wild rapids that used to be there until 1938.

Tourist map is here: http://mapy.cz/s/de2E - it is the yellow and green trail from Štěchovice to Třebenice. 

You can get easily to Štěchovice from Prague, it is 37 minutes from Smíchovské nádraží by bus no. 338, 390, 361 (in these buses, you have to pay at the driver - no matter if you have or don't have Opencard). Be in time at the station as these buses are usually quite full. 

Marked trail starts directly at the bus station in Štěchovice however you can first start with breakfast in one of the cafés there. First follow blue mark but later you will follow the special white and green square sign. You will go across local water power plant, continue along the river with some beautiful views and finish the river part of the trail at Slapy dam. Along the way, there are some educational boards - unfortunately in Czech only - but there are some interesting old photos how the place looked like before people completely changed river Vltava with a system of river dams. 

Also you can notice dozens of not easily accessible wooden little cottages. They are part of "tramps' settlements" (the oldest one being established here, at Svatojánské proudy) and often bear USA-inspired names. History of Czech tramps is extremely interesting; you can find some more information here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_tramping and here http://domov-trampu.home.comcast.net/~domov-trampu/Tramping.htm ; very detailed text (A century of Czech tramping by Mr. Pohunek) here: http://prebral.net/dok/trampflk.pdf ; more about specific tramp music here http://www.radio.cz/en/section/panorama/sing-when-youre-tramping-the-art-of-the-czech-wandering-song

When you reach Třebenice, take bus no. 390 back to Prague or hike back to Štěchovice (it is more up the hill) following blue marked trail (or blue and later red). Nothing special there to see but it is a nice app. 5 km long walk:) If you feel up to a really long hike, follow blue trail from Třebenice further to the south across river until you reach yellow trail and you can see some famous Vltava views (this hike is described in another post:). 

Day trippers around year 1900 - it was very popular destination for trips from Prague

Some of the best Vltava views. From Vysoký Újezd to Třebsín

Date of last visit: 8. 5. 2013

Nature will probably become green much sooner than last year so consider one day trip from Prague to this beautiful area for amazing views and hike in forests and meadows.

From Prague, take a bus from Smíchovské nádraží, no. 390, change at Štěchovice to bus no. 438 to Vysoký Újezd. If you want to make your trip shorter or go further to Štěchovice for example, you can also get off already at "Krňany, Teletín".

See map: http://mapy.cz/s/9qGd

 Follow blue trail direction Rabyně for 2 km to crossroads called "Pexův luh" where you change to yellow. From there it is only 6,5 km to Třebsín so it's really not a challenging hike:)

If you have GPS, consider small detour to one extra beautiful view at N 49° 49.505 E 014° 27.012 (or http://mapy.cz/s/9yK0 )

 
 

After passing Teletín, you will reach detour to view called "Máj" (May) which is 101% worth visiting. You may need map to continue as there were too many marks missing in the next part of the trail.

Shortly before reaching Třebsín, take another detour to Smetanova vyhlídka (view).

When you reach road, there is a station of bus no. 438 (station called "Krňany, rozc. Třebsín").

You can also continue further (for example up to Štěchovice); just a little longer on blue marked trail "to the left" (direction Štěchovice) and you can stop at "Usedlost Medník", little local farm. If you're lucky you can get wonderful products (milk, "tvaroh", meat...). It is very close to next station of bus 438 called "Krňany, Závist, u křížku", a bit back following the main road (exactly here: http://mapy.cz/s/9yKA )

Easy hiking ( / running / cycling) around Stará Boleslav

 

If you don't like hills like my friend who joined me today, this is paradise for you - there are NO HILLS at all! Which makes the forest to the east (and north) from Stará Boleslav perfect for jogging and cycling, too. We did 14 km but it's easy to make it shorter or longer; it would be very difficult to get lost. Check the map! http://mapy.cz/s/6UL6

There are frequent buses from Prague to station "Brandýs n.L.-St.Bol.,aut.st." from Českomoravská, Vysočanská or Černý most - check in advance. 

I recommend to start (or finish) with visit to amazing local pastry shop Terezčiny domácí dobroty right next to the station (opened Mon-Fri 7-18, Sat-Sun 9-18 (May-September is Sat-Sun 9-19).

 
OK, hiking... :) We followed green up until "Podbrahy" crossroad where we changed to yellow to get back - total distance about 14 km. There are other possibilities where to go - you can also continue and finish at Čelákovice or Lysá nad Labem with frequent train to Prague. The area is forest and don't expect anything special - it's all like you can see on photos. But that still means pleasant stroll! 

 

Btw. the town itself and even more the Brandýs part across the river is very much worth visiting - but I'll leave details for another post.

Walk from Lipany to Kouřim and its open air museum

From Prague, take a bus to station "Vitice,Lipany,mohyla" - check for direct buses but you'll probably have to go to Český Brod first. There is a memorial of famous Lipany battle (1434) - read more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lipany 

Follow red trail all the way up to Kouřim - it's an easy walk, less than 7 km, through village called Království (= Kingdom) - no idea of whom. There are lot of geocaches around (TFTC serie + some very popular caches in Kouřim). Ideal for winter / early spring (we did it in Dec. 2011). 

http://cernokostelecko.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/kourim-img.jpg

In Kouřim, you can spend quite some time sightseeing (historical square, fortification (walls), Jewish cemetary...). There is also astronomical middle of Europe! 

If you have time take yellow trail to educational trail (2,5 km) "NS (naučná stezka) Stará Kouřim" - southeast. Map http://mapy.cz/s/6KeK. First interesting stop is "Lechův kámen" (stone) connected with some legends and beautiful panaroma of the town. Second main point of interest is a former hillfort dating back to years around 4800 B.C. with several settlements during the history. I missed this trail unfortunately but some say the yellow mark dissapers at some parts and goes around the sights. Hope you can find it.

But the main attraction is open air museum (skanzen / muzeum lidových staveb) - collection of old buildings fully equipped to show how people used to live in 17th-19th century. Official website is in Czech only http://www.skanzenkourim.cz.To get there, take green trail from Kouřim square (Komenského and Ruská street, it's less than 1 km).

Opening times: Jan, Feb, March, Nov closed

April, Oct: Fri-Sun, 10:00 - 16:00

May, Jun, Sept: Tue-Sun, 10:00 - 17:00

July, Aug: Tue-Sun, 10:00 - 18:00

Dec (except of 24., 25., 31.): Fri-Sun, 10:00 - 16:00, also opened 26. and 27. 12.

Entrance fee adult - basic 60 Kč, when there is some special programme - 90 Kč

There are some "special days" during the year connected to traditional feasts and handcrafts days during summer - expect special programme, actors in costumes, performance of handcrafts and opened restaurant in the area (tiny but fantastic!). Listed here: http://www.skanzenkourim.cz/pro-navstevniky/narodopisne-porady. 

To get back to Prague, take train to Pečky and change to another train to Praha, Masarykovo nádraží. Train station is 1 km west from the centre. Or there are some buses going to Český Brod (there you change to a train). 

Dobrošov military fortress and surroundings

 Do you like military history of 20th century? You can easily spend a day around this fortress. It was a part of border fortification against Germany built from 1937. There are many military objects spread around the area - check the tourist map at http://mapy.cz/s/6JZq

The main object is accessible in following months and hours. It's closed every Monday! Entrance fee adult 100 Kč. English - only printed information.

• May-September except Mo 10:00-12:00 13:30-18:00 (with guide)
• April, October except Mo 10:00-12:00 13:30-16:00 (with guide)
• year-round all day (groups only by reservation)

There are very good tourist information at http://www.east-bohemia.info/nachod/13_4469_dobrosov-fortress-military-fortifications including tips where to go in the region ("In the surroundings"). And there are many! Nové Město nad Metují, Babiččino údolí, countless nature trails with panoramic views... A lot of topics for next posts!

We got there by car but there are many hiking possibilities around. Perfect start is at Náchod which is a town worth visiting and even staying at for a few days, making it suitable base for exploring the region. Some info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%A1chod. Try local beer Primátor! From Náchod train station, follow red mark up until reaching "Jiráskova chata"; from there yellow or green to the fortress ("pevnost").About 5,5 km total.

Jiráskova chata is quite a unique and beautiful building (built 1921-3 by famous architect Jurkovič). Worth visiting! There is a restaurant... but my experience with it wasn't very good (especially with the service). 

To get back, take a bus to Náchod or walk - take green marked trail for example, and visit some more military sights along the way.

Open air museum in Přerov nad Labem and walk along the river

We did this trip in December 2012.

For only 5,5 km walk we did, start at train station Čelákovice-Jiřina (half an hour from Masarykovo nádraží in Prague centre). Follow green mark. Tourist map: http://www.mapy.cz/s/6JRT. Easy and nice walk along the river. To make the hike longer you can start at Brandýs nad Labem (from there to Čelákovice, follow blue mark until Čelákovice).

You can also add 2,5 km from Přerov n. L. and back following yellow mark to "Přerovská hůra" hill http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C5%99erovsk%C3%A1_h%C5%AFra

The main attraction in Přerov nad Labem is the open air musem where you can see how our ancestors used to live. Website unfortunately in Czech only http://www.polabskemuzeum.cz/prerov-nad-labem/vystavy. There is a very good photogallery ("fotogalerie") to give you an idea. They have different exhibitions and events during the year following seasons and feasts. Opening hours were (April 2013): Tue-Sun, 9-17, closed for winter. Entrance fee adult 70 Kč.

There is a good restaurant "U skanzenu" very close to the museum.

Further, you can have a look at the chateau from outside.

There is also a "Moto & Velo museum" (I didn't visit). May be interesting though! There are 70 bicycles and 60 motorcycles. http://www.motovelomuzeum.cz

To get back to Prague, better check connections in advance. Mostly you'll have to change (mostly take a bus to Čelákovice and change to a train.