May 30-June 02, 2005

Traveling through Moravia and the Teplice Rock cities in the Northwest

Dobriden! (Hello in Czech)

I left the province of Bohemia to enter Moravia. From Telc, I took a bus to Brno, pronounced as it is spelt...BRRRRRRRRRRRNO! The Czech language has a music of its own, somewhat disconcerting to the ear. It sounds like a never ending mouthful of rolling r's rapidly cascading out.
Looking toward Brno with mountains in the background
A bus bound for Brno Brno is the second largest Czech city. I arrived there on a Sunday afternoon and was surprised to find it bustling with activity. Moravian people are particularly friendly. From the bus station I had to find the train station to catch a tram to the Youth Hostel.
As usual I asked for help in my telegraphic Czech, "Prosim, nadrazi? Trrrram!" A young woman who was supposed to meet her boyfriend at the bus terminal, called him on her cell to tell that she would be delayed and walked with me one kilometer to show me the main tram station! I felt like I was back in Iran.		 The Brno Hostel Pension Eugenie
The Brno train station near downtown Brno A view of one of the Brno trams stopping for some passengers
Once I reached the end of the tram line, I had to find the Youth Hostel. There I came across a young dad with his son, both on bicycles. Again I got lucky. The father gave me a ride all the way to my destination! The youth hostel, occupying a 15 story building, was huge. I had a whole apartment to myself complete with kitchen and my own room for a backpacker's price. As I did not see anyone apart from the friendly staff for the two days I stayed there, I suspected that I was the only one staying in this vast housing complex.
While in Brno, I took a side trip to Mikulov, a small town cosily nestled in verdant wine country. Once again the local bus traveled through picturesque scenery stopping at every hamlet along the way. It was strange to see on a country road lined with vineyards and meadows of buttercups or poppies with signs reading "Vienna". The border with Austria being less than 80 kilometers away!
View of the countryside around Mikulov, showing a local vineyard 80 Kilometers to Vienna Sign
A field of buttercups in the country A bloom of poppies along the roadside
Mikulov was by far my favorite town. No tourists or hardly any! I just bumped into an old English couple. Mikulov was just as interesting architecturally as the other places I had visited with the difference that it is not part of the UNESCO list. The cream coloured Renaissance castle flanked by magnificent gardens was most stunningly elegant.
Looking up the hill at the Mikulov Castle with a bloom of purple flowers in the foreground I enjoyed walking along the ramparts, soaking in the atmosphere in the quaint central square and strolling through the former Jewish district where only a few plaques and a lonely synagogue are the remains of a once thriving community. A few headstones in Hebrew
View of the Mikulov Castle sitting majestically upon the hill at the center of town View into Mikulov Square with ornate buildings in the foreground
The countryside near Trutnov...mountain chalets and pines galore Having decided that I had had enough of rolling hills, I took off to a more Alpine decor! The Teplice Rock towns, in the northwest part of the country near the Polish border! I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The base town to the Rocks is called Trutnov, a pleasant, sleepy mountain town where the pine scented air is deliciously cool. The Trutnov town square
While I was waiting at the Trutnov station, an old rickety, rattling train chugged in. I watched everybody alight and then to my surprise a few minutes later, I saw the strangest creature getting off. He looked like the hunchback of Notre Dame. Bent nearly at ninety degrees, he was carrying voluminous bags.

Slowly he walked to the platform and then sat beside me. I realzed that this eerie apparition was not a man but an old lady, with a mop of wild snow white unruly hair, a beaked nose contradicted by a really soft expression in her light blue eyes.

Considered by some a tram line, Viamont is a private Czech railway which runs a freight and passenger operation.
This artist's painting reminded me of the train lady My train arrived to take me to the Rocks. To my utter amazement, the old bag lady got on as well. She was going back in the same direction she had come from! She quietly sat in a corner, took out a paper and pencil and started making calculations. Figuring out her budget for the month? A jovial conductor came in. She checked everybody's ticket except hers! The lady by then had taken out an old woollen sock and was painstakingly darning it. Who was she? What was her story?

During my stay in the Rocks area, I boarded this same train on several occasions to visit the neighbouring villages. Everytime, this mysterious character was there sitting in a corner, busily engaged in some task.
Was she living on the train during the day, plying the route from one end to the other? And at night, where did she find shelter? Local people believe in a spirit inhabiting the mountains. You see it represented as a bearded old man smoking a pipe under a shapeless hat on the postcards. I am inclined to believe that the mountain spirit is not a man but this hunched lady and at night she sleeps in one of the caves inside the Rocks!
Meadow outside Teplice The train ride to Teplice Skaly, one of the mountain villages was most scenic, going through the forest and alpine meadows studded with wooden chalets. The train kept chugging, whistling, panting up and down and around the mountains. I was the only one getting off at Teplice Skaly. It was 6:30 pm.
Chalets nestled into an alpine mountain valley
The tiny village looked already asleep in the late afternoon sunlight. Flowers and trees fluttering in the breeze all around me. An atmosphere of complete serenity. I walked to the bridge, turned right and found behind a tall white "penzion", my youth hostel, the prettiest mountain cottage with its chimney smoking. I rang the old doorbell. No sound...was nobody there? I had called the previous day to announce my arrival. Then, to my relief, I heard footsteps. A merry looking "troll" in breeches opened the door, followed by a friendly looking terrier dog barking enthusiatically.

Beaming the man said, "Velkom, velkom. You are the lady from Kanada. I waz waiting for you. Sorree my vife iz not here. Tonight she work at hospital of ze main town. She iz a nurse. Pleaze, come in."

I had a most enjoyable stay there. I, the only guest of the household, was given a room in the attic under the sloping roof. My window looked onto the colorful garden through which ran a babbling creek. The hostel being inside the National park, I had to pass the park gate to access it.
Thick forest with sun shining through Trail though a mountain valley Stacks of Rocks etched by the eons
Visiting the rock towns of Teplice and Ardspach was fun. I walked all the trails in the two days I was there. The story of this strange and unique decor is interesting. Before, the whole area was covered by thick vegetation until at the beginning of the nineteen century, a fire broke out destroying part of the woods and uncovering an amazing landscape of sandstone pinnacles that had been buried deep into the forests.
Cliffs rising from the forest floor. Climber in red about 2/3rds up on right. Rock piers peeking out of the primal forest
Those massive rock towers, jutting out in a lunar kind of way from the luxurious countryside, are an amazing sight. Nature has sculpted them into many different shapes. Those mammoth grey or white coloured formations almost look like living skin, deeply creased and ridged by time. In Teplice, the highlight was when I walked through a canyon called Siberia. Narrow, dark, chillingly cold and humid, with patches of eternal snow it felt truly spooky until a ray of sunlight managed to shine Trail through mountain valley
through creating the most magical effect. In Ardspach, I hiked through what you could call a rock city, a profusion of tall chimneys, pillars, towers, needles reminiscent of people, objects or animals. Truly remarkable natural creations. I saw the Elephant Square - a vast opened area crowned by gigantic rocks looking like trumps- Grand mother's chair, the Mayor and the Mayoress. The most impressive stone sculpture was the Lovers, an immense rock column that separates in two parts on the top and that looks like a couple embracing each other in the most passionate kiss!
Park entrance with cliff on left Rock piers which look like the Mayor and the Mayoress A pair of rock piers called 'The Lovers'
Back to Prague for the weekend...