After my castle tour, given the prices in the restaurant, I persuaded Sarah we should provide the Czech economy with a further boost, by eating out. That’s the third night in a row, but three nights eating and drinking in a restaurant in the Czech Republic would pay for about one pint in Norway (not really, probably more like 3 pints!). Everything is relative.
Again our guide book for the Czech Republic, Lonely Planet Eastern Europe, is pitiful, because I never expected us to spend any time here. So instead I looked at the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Western part of the Czech Republic and found a rural village and a medieval town in the South West. They were nearly four hours away so I didn’t look into them in any detail and instead plugged an ACSI campsite into SatNav, just beyond the half way point.
We made smooth progress out of Prague and were soon flying along a motorway heading south. We’d hardly got started when Basil swung a left – he had seen a LIDL and finds it difficult to pass them. Just as well, because there were one or two things we needed to pick up. But we were soon back on the road.
SatNav told us to turn off the motorway with about forty five minutes of driving left and it looked as if we would be parked up for lunch. We drove through rural Czechia (I’m not sure if I like that new name, it’s too close to Chechnya) and were pleasantly surprised to find the rural roads in a much better state than East Germany.
The area was very attractive: wooded, hilly and with dozens of small lakes. It also seemed to be a haven for cyclists. We followed the signs for the campsite, but when we reached the final village there was an ominous “closed” sign pasted over the top. We pushed on, in hope rather than expectation and found that indeed the site was closed. A total rethink was called for.
We found somewhere to pull over for lunch and decided to push on to the little village with the UNESCO World Heritage status and then to another campsite.
As we approached the village in question, Holasovice, there was an air of mystery. I had not researched the place and did not know why it had been included in the UNESCO list. It turned out that it is a well preserved South Bohemian village. It was abandoned after the Second World War and as a result, when it was re-occupied in the 1990’s the village was just as it had been in the first half of the 20th century, with buildings dating from 17th century onwards.
Holasovice
There are 23 protected buildings, which essentially enclose the village green. They are mostly farming compounds, with only the parts fronting the village green being visible, but there are also smithies, pubs, granaries and houses for retired peasants. As you might expect the village green and surrounding structures form an architecturally coherent picture and are very attractive.
Holasovice
The central part of the village is tiny and so a thorough tour only took us half an hour and we then completed our journey to our campsite, which is an ACSI site owned by a Dutch family. Camping Chvalsiny (48.859210, 14.215008) is €17 a night with excellent wifi and, as you might expect, it if full of Dutch motorhomes.
Holasovice
Tomorrow we will push on to Cesky Krumlov, with its medieval old town, but we are not sure yet whether we will wild camp in the town of find an ACSI camp site.
Window of the day. Not very distressed I’m afraid.