Yesterday we drove north to one of Czech mountain ranges Krkonoše. These mountains are on the border between Czech Republic and Poland. It is a very popular destination for skiing and other winter snow sports and also in the summer for hiking and bike riding. The resorts are open year round.
We travelled through many small towns where the main industries were glass blowing and crystal making as well as textile manufacturing. Sadly, lot of the factories are now closed and abandoned.
The view from the foothills into the Czech country is quite spectacular.
The ski resort we visited is one of the big three and its name is Harrachov. It is at the foot of Čertová Hora (Devil's Mountain) It has several excellent downhill ski runs and also has the biggest ski jump in the Czech Republic - Čertovka.
It is one of the longest Ski Flying ranges and it can accommodate up to 50,000 spectators.
The bottom of the chairlift with kids trampoline in the foreground
Some of the interesting wood carvings.
After visiting Harrachov we drove in the direction of Les Kralovství via small town of Hostinné. This year the town celebrates its 750th anniversary.
The Town Hall tower is protected by a pair of giants.
The Dam at Les Kralovství was build between 1910 and 1914 and finished (to provide electricity) in 1919 (WW1 intervened) It is built in a beautiful mediaeval gothic style, however using modern (1910) building materials such a reinforced concrete.
The power house with its two turbines has a nominal output of 2.12 Mega Watts.
After visiting the dam we stopped at one of the roadside inns and had a lovely lunch.
Because Harrachov is so close to Poland we drove across the border for a quick visit. Since Poland is also part of EU there is no visible border crossing. The only way you can tell you're in Poland is that all of a sudden all signs are in Polish.
With this last foray into Poland it makes five countries we visited this spring: England (London - Heathrow), Czech Republic, Germany (Dresden), France (Paris) and Poland.
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