Czech Republic August 2016
The land of grapes & mountain meadows (August 2016)
I love South Moravia especially in August – this is the ‘deep south’ where it’s all about the grapes. We had an absolutely fantastic time roaming around my homeland. We picked up our British family from the airport and in about 40 minutes we were wandering through the vineyards and wine cellars with a chilled glass of wine sampling the local wine harvest. The countryside is dotted with vineyards and white cliffs, and if there’s no castle in sight, there will be a beautiful château. We stayed in Mikulov which is in the heart of this wine region and is definitely one of my most favourite places I tend to return to every year. The town and its chateau was designed in Italian style and with the old cobbled streets, ubiquitous grapevines and surrounding vineyards, you could easily think you are in Italy.
At the end of August and throughout September, family wineries open their door to visitors to taste their wines with a typical Moravian generosity! And no, there was no spitting! 🙂 Typically you can taste up to 5 different types of grapes in each wine cellar – in this particular village there were 11 cellars to try out which meant some serious focus! We know the owner of a couple of the wine cellars and we were lucky to get a private tour.
I don’t know how we managed but as we were still standing up when the sun was setting down, we joined in the local festivities under the stars and listened to the nostalgic sounds of cimbalom or dulcimer (which is the main musical instrument in this region). It’s all part of the wine culture and it is thoroughly enjoyed by all – the young and the old generations singing and dancing together and yes, drinking of course. We loved it. I seem to recall that even my father-in-law was singing whilst filming it all! 😉
After our short but sweet southern taster, we headed up north for a total change of scenery. 2-3 hours in the opposite direction and you will arrive in the world of mountain meadows – Jeseniky Mountains. We were admiring the endless forests and rough but romantic landscape with many spa towns known for their healing springs such as Karlova Studanka. This is such a cute little town, and it’s over 200 years old! And who would have thought that Czech ice-cream could be so delicious unlike the healing waters that reminded us of water infused with eggs!
We stayed in a remote mountain lodge at the foot of the highest mountain in this region – Praded, 1491m. We decided to do a little hike to the summit in the late afternoon to catch the sunset from the top. Hiking itself would have been so enjoyable if it wasn’t for the flying ants! We nearly ended up running to the top because we were being eaten alive. From the head to our ehmm pants! At the top there’s a television tower, lookout terrace, restaurant and hotel, but we only stayed to admire the views and hiked back down to our lodge to get back in time for dinner.
On the way down, we noticed a few people engaged in a rather interesting combination of activities when conquering Praded – slowly up on foot, quickly zooming down on a scooter. Wished we knew that earlier, oh well there’s always next time! 😉
For dinner the male family members had a meaty option but the ladies had traditional dumplings filled with blueberries. All of this was preceded with a shot of a local spirit called Praded had by all. It’s a liqueur made of local herbs and the recipe is allegedly super secret. I’m just going to say it’s an acquired taste, but my parents really like it unlike the British side of the family, me included!
The next day my brother and I decided to get up early and greet the sun with a morning yoga session on a small wooden terrace-like structure we saw on the way down from our hike yesterday. What a beautiful experience – just us, magestic mountains, deep forests and incredible silence. Luckily the flying ants were still asleep!
After breakfast we went on a lovely hike around the area – Petraky (Peter’s Stones). Legend has it that this was a gathering place for witches in the old days! Well we didn’t come across any, but there are many trails with stunning vistas to please your eyes and soul with some natural magic instead.
On our way back we also visited Sovinec castle en route – a compulsory stop as some people in our family are obsessed with old castles! 😉
All in all this was a short but lovely road trip through Moravia with our extended UK family to acquaint them with my homeland. And if ever you find yourself in this area, specifically in Brno, with some spare time on your hands then feel totally free to follow our footsteps! 😉
Eyes On The Cloud 