May 30

Yesterday we headed out to Českỷ Ráj (Bohemian Paradise). This area is a very beautiful part of Bohemia full of gorgeous valleys, pastures, old castles and rocks. Some of the villages we drove through look like they have not been touched by time at al. However, most of the farms and houses are really well cared for, nicely painted and the yards are well landscaped.  

After driving through the area we stopped at Prachovské Jeskyňe (Prachov Rocks) which are sandstone rock formations eroded by wind and water into a field of interesting columns and other formations. The National Tourist Board has created some excellent trails through the rocks that wind, climb and squeeze through the various rocks. It was declared a protected area since the mid fifties.

The trails are paths winding through the area and are mostly composed of some form of steps as the climb up is quite long and quite demanding.

Once up on top the views are stunning

It is even possible to make out ruins of an old castle Trosky in the distance

The climb back down is in places even more difficult as the trail snakes between two very close columns and if I were a bit bigger in girth, I might have become part of the landscape.

After visiting the rocks, getting some refreshments and a bit of rest for our legs we continued on to Podĕbrady which is yet another spa town with mineral springs, hotels and a beautiful park. And a famous flower clock. They even rearrange the plants daily to reflect the current date. This picture was taken at 6:00pm. For a bunch flowers, this clock was pretty accurate...

It is also a birthplace of one of Czech Kings Jiří z Podĕbrad 

Phew, that was a full day. I really want to thank my cousin Roman for all the driving. Although the distances are quite short, the roads are narrow and quite winding.