A hike in the park (2 actually)

Now that summer is winding down, we felt that we had to get out and experience some of the natural beauty just outside the city.

Divoka Sarka is a huge nature preserve between the city and the airport, easily accessible by public transport. There is a tram terminus just before the park entrance, and several bus lines head out that way. For those with cars, the parking lot at the entrance is .....McDonald's!!!

As you head out into the park, you soon forget that there is a city anywhere near. Yesterday was perfect for hiking - sunny but cool. We struck out along a paved road with our friends Bruce and Connie, walked over a dam at the reservoir, and then were soon lost in the wilderness. Some of the trails in this area are rocky farm paths, some are paved roads, and some appear to be the tracks followed by the mountain goats that supposedly live here (we didn't see any :-( ). We followed a combination of trails and found a public swimming pool and pub buried deep in the wilds, and beautiful scenery as we walked through a gorge area with towering cliffs on each side. As we came back to the end of our trek, we decided that we really had to get to the top of the cliffs, so up we went.

That's actually a steeper ascent than it looks in this photo!


Not quite at the top....

I made it!

It was worth the climb, but as we walked around on the summit, we realized that there was a much better trail we could have followed to get to the top - it was a much easier descent!

From up here, looking back toward the McDonald's, you can see another park that is close to Chris and Laura's flat and which houses the famous star-shaped chateau. (Letohradek Hvezda).

After indulging in some ice cream, we walked out of McDonald's, looked across the street, and noticed that the chateau didn't appear to be very far away. So off we went, following the star, which we soon realized was at the top of a hill (and we were on the bottom). No matter, we found a trail that brought us up to the top, and enjoyed this park which is a formal estate, with well-tended gardens and long tree-lined avenues.

Great fun!