Travel Archives - My Czech Republic Blog

The Islands of Prague: Střelecký ostrov (Shooters Island)

July 4, 2019 By Dana Leave a Comment

Střelecký ostrov (Shooters Island) is one of several islands on the Vltava River in Prague. Locals come here to relax, have a picnic or attend an outdoor event. If you’d like to get away from the noise of the city, this is a place to consider. On hot summer days, you’ll enjoy cooling off in the shade of magnificent trees. You can sit on a bench and watch boats go by. You can have a bite to eat or get a pint of beer at one of the outdoor stands. Kids will enjoy watching the swans and ducks on the river, running around or spending time at the playground. In the fall, the leaves on the trees change color and the scenery is breathtaking.

A view towards the Lesser Town Embankment

One of the food stands on Střelecký ostrov

Why Shooters Island?

Are you wondering where Shooters Island got its name? It is actually a reminder of the purpose it served throughout history. Under Charles IV, long bow and crossbow shooters had the privilege of training here. Shooting competitions were held on the island from the 15th century. Thanks to the island’s strategic position within the city, shooters stationed there were able to defend the Old Town against enemy armies in the 17th and 18th centuries.

A view towards the Smetana Embankment on the Old Town side

The National Theatre and Smetana Embankment from Shooters Island

Getting There

You can access Střelecký ostrov easily from the Legion Bridge (most Legií). It’s the one that leads from the National Theatre on the Old Town side of the river to Újezd and the Petřín foothills on the Lesser Town side. To reach the island, walk about halfway across the bridge. You’ll then have two options of getting down to the island: descend a staircase or take an elevator. Walking from the National Theatre, the stairs are on the left side of the bridge and the elevator’s on the right. If you need the elevator, you may want to plan ahead and start your walk on the correct side of the bridge. That way you won’t have to cross the relatively busy street and tram tracks later.

Elevator between the island and street level

On Legion Bridge (most Legií) looking towards the Old Town

On Legion Bridge looking towards Lesser Town

From Prague to Mount Ještěd

June 17, 2018 By Dana Leave a Comment

We recently spent a few days in the picturesque Jizera Mountains north of Prague. It may not seem like it but you can find yourself in the heart of the mountains in less than two hours if you’re coming from Prague. Just hop on a bus at Černý most, get off in Liberec 75 minutes later, take a 13-minute ride on tram no. 3 from the bus station, and get off at the end of the line. There you are in Horní Hanychov, a pretty village at the edge of a forest and at the foot of Mount Ještěd.

It is actually not correct to call Horní Hanychov a village. It is officially a part of the city of Liberec. Prior to the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships that took place there in 2009, this part of town received an improved infrastructure, a new ski jumping hill, and new ski lifts.

Ještěd is the highest mountain of the Jizera mountain range. At 1,012 m (3,320 ft), it doesn’t even make it on the top 30 list of Czech Republic’s tallest peaks, but you can definitely tell that you’ve climbed a mountain once you get up top. At least we could.

GOING UP

There are three ways to reach the Ještěd summit: walking (or biking!), driving, or taking the cable car. We chose the cable car.

To reach the cable car station at the bottom of the mountain, you need to walk about 15 minutes from the end of the tram line. It is an easy hike along a comfortable, slightly uphill trail. Just follow the signs to “Lanovka JEŠTĚD”.

There is some outdoor seating at the cable car station and you can buy snacks, beer, or coffee. The cable car is operated by the Czech Railways company. When we visited, the service ran every 30 minutes – on the hour and half hour.

The Ještěd cable car has been in operation since 1933. The original cabin is now in a museum, having served as a snack bar, a tool shed, and a bee house. The current cabin has been used for over 40 years. It fits 35 people. I wouldn’t particularly like to experience the ride during high season and can’t quite imagine how it must feel when the car is full to capacity. There were eight of us including the operator and the ride was quite pleasant. It takes only four minutes to ascend the 400 meters to the summit but we sure noticed we had entered a different world after the short ride. We boarded the cable car in slightly cool but generally mild weather. Four minutes later, we stepped out into dense fog and howling wind. We were thankful for the warm interiors of the iconic Ještěd tower.

Our view from the cable car window as we got to the top of the mountain

The Ještěd lookout tower – or what we could see of it

After you exit the cable car, it is just a short walk up the road to the tower

THE LOOKOUT TOWER

If I should sum up my experience of the tower interior, the words that come to mind are eerie and depressing. Stepping inside the conical structure that was designed in 1963 – 1966 and built a few years later is like going back in time. Specifically to the communist times of my childhood. The common areas comprising a hotel reception, restaurant, snack bar, and restrooms all seemed dark, sticky, and tired. There’s probably not much that can be done without interfering with the award-winning original design but a few upgrades such as removing the stickiness from wood surfaces and modernizing the restrooms seem entirely feasible.

The sad and gloomy interior hallway looking to the right…

A staircase leading up to the restaurant

The lookout tower has a glassed-in walkway going around its perimeter, promising beautiful views of the surrounding region. In clear weather, you can see the Giant Mountains (Krkonoše) dominated by the tallest Czech mountain of Sněžka, and the popular ski resort of Harrachov. You can glimpse the Trosky castle ruins in the Bohemian Paradise protected area, as well as the Kozákov peak, which is known for its precious stones. You can see the towns of Turnov and Jablonec nad Nisou, and you can even have views into neighboring Germany and Poland. As it turned out, we saw nothing but fog. Which means we have to go back another time!

GOING DOWN

We decided to hike down the mountain instead of taking the cable car. Hikers can choose between a longer but easier route, which is about 5.5 km long and is supposedly good enough for families with strollers, or a shorter route through the woods. We opted for the latter because it looked more interesting. It was 3.5 km long and took us a little over 1.5 hours including a short stop for lunch.

This is the longer, more comfortable way down:

We took the blue trail through the woods toward Nad Výpřeží – Liberec – H. Hanychov.

We realized on the way down that hiking up the mountain would be no picnic. The trail was relatively steep all the way back to Horní Hanychov and came down steadily with no flat parts. Despite that, we passed a school group of 10-year olds with a teacher, and a family with similarly aged children making their way happily up the trail. Our trail looked like this for the most part:

The trail got wider and smoother toward the bottom of the hill.

After about an hour and a half, we arrived in Horní Hanychov.

STAYING IN LIBEREC

The Jizera Mountains are a great getaway from Prague. We recommend making the city of Liberec your base for a few days and taking trips to the surrounding areas on trams or buses. We have found Liberec to be a very convenient city, big enough to provide great public transport, good restaurants, and enough accommodation options while remaining easy to navigate and quiet compared to Prague. Plus they have a wonderful ZOO and botanical garden!

Off for the weekend

February 25, 2013 By Katia Sand Leave a Comment

Away from Prague, the Czech Republic opens into beautiful hills and sweeping fields dissected by streams and rivers. Moravia, the southeast corner of the country, is known not only for the natural beauty of its highlands, but also as a hub of traditional Czech culture and especially music, full of folk songs, cimbaloms, and dancing.

Apparently, going away for the weekend is very typical in Prague. After succeeding in acquiring a roof over our heads, the first order of business was to abandon it in favour of a weekend in Moravia to celebrate my boyfriend’s mother Zuzka’s birthday.

Having in the past only narrowly survived experiences of hurtling down winding Czech country roads at breakneck speed, accelerating alarmingly close to cars ahead and clinging on to the “Jesus handles” for dear life while overtaking at the last minute, I looked forward to what winter weather conditions might add to the whole adventure. Unfortunately, dark, wet roads and fog have no noticeable effect on Zuzka’s speed or willingness to use her mirrors.

Nevertheless, we arrived safely and I gratefully extricated myself from the vehicle of doom.

We stayed in a large inn in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm called Koliba Pod Horů, where the food, a robust supply of various cuts of meat, dumplings and potatoes, tastes fantastic and, of course, the beer flows ceaselessly. The nightly entertainment started shortly after we arrived in the form of a cimbalom band led by Jaroslav, the inn owner and feted cimbalom player, whereupon tables were pushed aside to make a dance floor instantly filled with merry customers. Here apparently, where co Čech, to muzikant (every Czech is a musician), no one is burdened by the panic and inexplicable lack of rhythm that accompanies most British men when faced with the prospect of moving in time to music. Unfortunately no one aside from the musicians was wearing traditional costumes, but, according to Jaroslav, summer months see them on full display.

Daytime activities in Rožnov are plentiful. Even in the grip of a slushy winter in the run-up to Christmas, the Moravian-Silesian Beskydy Mountains form a beautiful backdrop to the spidery woods along the banks of the Rožnovská Bečva river. What now constitutes most of the town of Rožnov (pop. ± 17,000) is not particularly scenic. However, its mediaeval history is exhibited in the museum vivum the Wallachian Open Air Museum, where we wandered around a reconstructed mediaeval village, complete with furnished houses, shops and a hospoda, and watched a traditional wood-carver make exquisite and more or less useless trinkets it was almost impossible to resist purchasing.

Zuzka told us about a nearby world-famous candle shop so, quelling my doubts about how an international candle exporter came to be based in a small town in Moravia, we sallied forth to check it out. Unipar is amazing. We were greeted by a giant advent wreath in the courtyard, and the shop itself felt like candle heaven, with candles of all different shapes and sizes, some scented, some patterned, some fantastically shaped. I think Kuba was a little alarmed by the total our candle purchase came to, but it was a major sacrifice to dissuade myself from buying one of everything. The owner invited us upstairs to see next year’s collection and showed us candles destined for various 5 star hotels in the Middle East, spas and wellness centres all over Europe and America, promotional candles in the shape of beer bottles and Christmas candles that made me want to throw fire hazard caution to the wind and risk blowing up our new flat in order to light every single one of them.

We walked back to the inn along the river, parts of which were frozen and picturesque, and debated going to the Christmas market so that Kuba could indulge his hot wine addiction, until we saw the hordes of people queuing outside the entrance. Instead we ploughed home through the snow. Or rather, Kuba walked lightly while I struggled to lift my booted feet out of the slush without crashing to the ground on a covered sheet of ice. The ordeal lasted about 45 minutes. For someone who prefers sport to be practiced on a yoga mat in the warmth of a heated gym, the whole thing was a bit much. High time to warm up in a spa.

Nearby Hotel Eroplan has a beautiful wellness centre, complete with Jacuzzi, 100 degree Finnish sauna, steam room, infra sauna, freezing outdoor terrace to cool down and resting room with massage chairs. There is also, rather bizarrely, an exercise bike in the corner of the resting room. No thanks; I’ll take the hot tub! I am not yet totally accustomed to parading between sauna and steam room in the buff alongside total strangers of both sexes, but it is the done thing so doing my best to put my western prudishness aside we settled in to relax and enjoy. After all, with another car trip with Zuzka ahead of me tomorrow, I needed all the relaxation I could muster!

Advent wreath at the Unipar candle factory in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm
Photo by Katia Sand

Katia is a Belgian native who studied in Scotland and went to work in America, where she met her Czech boyfriend. In September 2012 she moved to Prague to live with him and is quickly falling in love with the city as well. Her passions are travel and adventure and reading and writing about them!

Another Monopoly Ends: RegioJet Raises Standard of Train Travel in the Czech Republic

October 31, 2011 By Dana Leave a Comment

Jeff and I tried the new Czech train service called RegioJet. It is operated by Student Agency, a company that started back in 1996 as an au-pair agency, became a successful national and international bus operator and is now the largest travel agency in the Czech Republic. It has distinguished itself on the Czech market by providing a high quality of service at affordable prices. The company’s first staple, introduced in 2004, was its “yellow bus” service operating between Prague and Brno and quickly spreading to other Czech and European cities. Student Agency set a new level of bus travel experience in the Czech Republic, combining low prices with unprecedented service on board.

The introduction of the RegioJet train service on September 26, 2011 ended the monopoly of Czech Railways. Without even realizing it, Jeff and I had been waiting for something like this for years. We like train travel and the type of train we have used most frequently is the good old rychlík (express). We find a peculiar sort of comfort in the tired, squeaky rychlíks with their sagging seats, overheated compartments, non-working windows (and sometimes doors) and emergency-use lavatories. Czech Railways also operate newer, good quality trains, such as the IC and Pendolino. For comparison purposes, there is not much added service on the IC, and the Pendolino is not an option for us because it does not cover the route we need. We don’t take the train often enough to benefit from any of Czech Railways’ customer discount options, so we’ve either paid full fare or, if we thought we’d use up 2,000 kilometers in six months, bought the prepaid kilometrická banka.

We were curious to try the new RegioJet service. I read through the website at regiojet.cz and called the help line with additional questions, which were answered politely and with patience. I set up an online account and put some credit in it. Then I booked our trip. My ticket was emailed to me but I knew I didn’t need to print it out. All I needed for the trip was my 10-digit account number for the stewardess to look up on the train and see the details of my reservation.

Our first trip with RegioJet was almost delightful. The fresh looking yellow train was clean and quiet. The young staff was pleasant and smiley. There was no mad rush getting onto the train because every passenger had a seat reservation, which is compulsory, but free. Hence, no scrambling for seats and no crowded aisles. The seats were firm, spacious, and comfortable. Our stewardess gave us each a small complimentary bottle of water and offered free newspapers and magazines for the trip. We flipped through a rather extensive menu containing, in my opinion, ridiculously low priced refreshments that included free coffee and tea. We ordered some croissant sandwiches and enjoyed them. There were electrical outlets and free WiFi in the compartment. The lavatory was clean, softly scented, with music playing and a flower in a little vase sitting on the sink. The trip was smooth and fast. The fastest I’ve ever experienced it, also owing to the fact that the train barely stopped along the way. We were helped with our luggage upon arrival. Our tickets cost 152 CZK each, compared to 206 CZK we used to pay for a 2nd class trip with České dráhy. Actually, we usually paid 309 CZK per ticket to enjoy a little more space and privacy in a 1st class compartment.

Now on to the two cons of RegioJet I can think of. There were only three trains a day running at the time of our trip, so we were not able to get tickets for our preferred date because the train was fully booked a week in advance. This should improve once more trains are put into service. Nine trains a day should be running starting in December. My other complaint has to do with a little glitch when boarding in Prague. Since Jeff and I are not used to having to remember or write down seat numbers before a train trip, we forgot to do that and only realized at the platform that we had no idea which car to board and what our seats were. Contrary to what is stated on the RegioJet website, we did not get any assistance from the staff when boarding the train in Prague. Not even when we were finally able to catch a stewardess and explain our problem to her. She didn’t have time to deal with us then. We were told to get on any car and wait for help. Which we did, blocking the aisle with our luggage for several minutes while other passengers tried to get by. A note to self: make sure you know your seat numbers next time. A note to RegioJet: A little more time to board at the start of the trip would be appreciated.

Let’s see how things pan out in the coming months. Czech Railways seem to be trying desperately to match RegioJet’s prices and services. I look forward to traveling with RegioJet again soon and have put more credit in my account.