Cesky Raj

The next Pub trip was a hike through Cesky Raj (Bohemian Paradise). We boarded a very slow train to Turnov where we planned to have lunch before setting off on a 16km hike. The trip took about two hours and the we wandered around Turnov looking for the correct restaurant. Apparently we had planned to eat at a specific restaurant, but that restaurant was actually in a different town, so we stopped in at some random place that was simply not prepared to feed the group of us. We basically got soup and bread, which some of us didn't feel was enough, but that was all that was available. After that we headed off in to the hills on a red trail, as usual. As I understand it the trails are color coded for difficulty with red being the hardest and green and yellow being easier. We always take the red.
Our first stop was a little castle tucked away in the forested hills called Valdstejn. It was nice to have a rest, as I think this first part of the tour was possibly the most difficult. Unfortunately the cash desk wouldn't negotiate with George for a better price, so we didn't go inside. However, as far as I could tell the outside was the best part of the view anyway. Also, this gave us more time for exploring and taking pictures later, so we moved on.
Our next goal was Hruba Skala, but along the way we had some opportunity to view the rock towers famous in this region. The trail actually took us very close and as you can see from the photos I and several others took the opportunity to get very close. Still there were some climbers that we could see getting even closer.
We finally arrived at Hruba Skala and we all sat down for some much needed refreshment of beer and sausage, and a little conversation about the trip so far. Fortified by the food and beer, we began the journey back to Turnov. The beginning of the trip back took us down between some of the rock towers for a new perspective on what we had been looking down on before. The route back took us through the hills and forests away from the cliff edges but along the base of several of these rock towers.
We came upon a small natural spring that offered folks an opportunity to refill their water if they were running low, and shortly after that we reached a lookout tower that gave a final view over Cesky Raj before beginning our descent into Turnov.
We were running a bit late for the train, and what was worse is that we seemed to have gotten a bit confused coming back into Turnov as to exactly how to get to the train station. To top off this last bit of frustration, poor Megan was having trouble with her new hiking boots and was in a great deal of pain. However we made our train and got back safely to Prague.
Photos.