Divoká Šárka (Wild Šárka) Nature Reserve

Dzban Hill

Hi Everyone,

Spring is coming along nicely in Prague; this is the time of year Czechs love to get in touch with the sun and nature. Czechs love being out in nature; weekend jaunts are part of Czech culture in spring and summer. Many families have a chata (a cottage or cabin) located in the mountains around the country, or in the forests and hills not far from Prague. 

Cities and towns, including Prague, empty out on the weekends, as many people head out of town to enjoy the beauty and serenity of Nature in this beautiful country. However, if you can't get out of Prague, there are beautiful parks in the city where you feel as if you're completely out of Prague. One of my favorite Prague parks is Divoká Šárka. 

Divoká Šárka Park Location

Divoká Šárka sits on the northwestern outskirts of Prague 6, on the way to Ruzynĕ Airport. Divoká Šárka, or Wild Šárka, is a nature preserve famous for its forests, lake, rocky cliffs, high bluffs and deep valley. The park is one of the largest within the city of Prague. 

Šárka and Ctirad

Vyšehrad, Prague

Divoká Šárka—A Czech Legend

Divoká Šárka is named after Šárka, a mythical female Slavic warrior. Šárka was one of the main characters in the mythical story of The Maidens’ War —which is an interesting tale about a war between men and women. The story takes place in about the 6^th century, before Prague existed. 

At this time, according to legend, Czech society was based on the matriarchal system (women were in charge, rather than men). In the story, after Libuse’s rule and death, the men gain the upper hand and rule in place of the women.  The women become unhappy with this arrangement, and plan to once again rule over the men. 

Šárka, one of the top warrior leaders for the women, tries to entrap the men’s warrior leader, Ctirad, and kill him. Šárka succeeds in catching Ctirad with her feminine wiles and kills him. After Ctirad’s death, the women warriors gain the upper hand, but later the men win the Maiden’s War, and women are thereafter ruled by men.  Rather than be ruled by men, the legend says that Šárka jumped from a cliff, in the current park, to her death.  Divoká Šárka, the park, is named after this famous, legendary woman warrior. 

Park's History

The first recorded settlement of Divoká Šárka dates back to the Paleolithic era (prehistoric times), with archeological evidence also showing human settlement from the Neolithic era, the Bronze Age, through to modern times, when farming and settlement of the area was ended just after WWII.  You can find the remains of an ancient hrad (castle fortress), which was used from the 7^th to the 9^th century.

What to Do in Divoká Šárka

Divoká Šárka is full of paths where you can walk, hike and bike. The paths run through the entire valley, affording beautiful views of rocky cliffs, forests, a reservoir and stream. Some parts of the park’s sides are steep; making them popular with mountain climbers of all ages who go there to train. Jiri spent many years climbing the cliff walls in Divoká Šárka, in preparation for his many mountain climbing expeditions.You’ll also find a beautiful lake in the midst of the park, Lake Džbán. Swimming is allowed in this lake, which is refreshing after a hot day’s walk. Another popular swimming site is Divoká Šárka’s swimming pool. The water in both the lake and pool are spring-fed and cold. There’s also a beautiful stream that runs through the park’s valley. 

A Refreshing Stop and Animal Life

Meandering along the walkways of Šárka, you’ll also come across a lovely pub, where you can have lunch and pivo (beer), the favorite Czech drink. The pub makes a nice place to take a break on a warm day. Along with the beautiful scenery in Divoká Šárka, you’ll encounter many types of animal life. The park is popular with bird watchers, as you can see more than 80 types of birds there. You can occasionally see free operas and plays in the park, as well.

Divoká Šárka One of My Favorite Places

Divoká Šárka is one of my most favorite parks to visit in Prague. You actually feel as if you’re in the middle of nature, far from the busy, noisy city. You hear less and less of the city’s noise the farther down into the park’s valley you go. The forest, plants and animals refresh your mind and spirit, all without having to venture out of the city. I highly recommend a visit to Divoká Šárka when you come to Prague. The park will give you a break from the city’s popular tourist sites--you won’t be disappointed.

That’s all for now. Have a great day!

God bless,

Sher :0) 

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Jan Palach Martyr Patriot

 Jan Palach

Hi Everyone,

Have you ever heard of Jan Palach?  Yesterday was the 42^nd anniversary of the day Jan Palach immolated himself in protest of the Soviet invasion and occupation of then Czechoslovakia.   I first became acquainted with Palach’s story after moving to the Czech Republic.  Jiří told me about  Palach and I was at once horrified and amazed.  Jan Palach was a young student at Charles University back in 1968.  At that time, Czechs and Slovaks were united in one country, Czechoslovakia, and were enjoying a time known as The Prague Spring. 

The Prague Spring is a mark in history when the communists of Czechoslovakia began loosening their stranglehold on the country.  Czechs and Slovaks were enjoying a time of revival and liberalization and reform.  It was a time of hope and light brought about by changes initiated by then General Secretary of the Communist Party Dubček.  This liberalization came in the form of freedom of the press, freedom of speech, while also ushering in a better economic plan to help revive the country’s spirit.  

The Prague Spring lasted only a few short months before August 1968 when the Soviets, at the head of a Warsaw Pact army, invaded and occupied Czechoslovakia.  Dubček asked Czechs and Slovaks not to protest in order to avoid a bloody invasion.  Even so, Czechs did protest in silent ways—by pointing sign posts in the wrong directions to confuse invading troops, or completely painted over sign posts, and many small villages renamed themselves so as to add even more confusion.  Even so, the invading army was able to find its way to Prague and clamp down on the Czechs and Slovaks.  There are many pictures of the Soviets and Warsaw Pact troops marching into Prague.  One iconic picture shows a young man standing in front of a tank trying stop the troops.  I can’t even begin to imagine how Czechs felt in that time.  I’ve never seen a tank invading my city or troops invading my home.  

 Invasion of Prague 1968

During the occupation many Czechs and Slovaks were demoralized, and yet the desire for democracy and liberalization still burned.  People fought against the occupation with riots, protests and limited acts of violence.  But after a time, the Czechs and Slovaks were brought under subjection and The Prague Spring was ended. 

One young man, Jan Palach, was very unhappy at the apparent apathy shown by Czechs and Slovaks in that time.  He decided it was necessary to rouse people from their complacency with a horrific act.  Palach decided to make a sacrifice of his own life in order to raise public outcry against the Soviet occupation.  On January 16, 1969, Palach stood on Václavské Náměstí (Wenceslas Square), in front of the National Museum and doused himself with gasoline and set himself on fire.  Bystanders watched in horror as Palach ran across the square burning as a human torch.  Palach was saved when a bystander threw him to the ground and smothered the flames with his coat, but it was too late.  Palach suffered third-degree burns over 85% of his body, and lived another three days in agony before he died on January 19, 1969.  Palach was part of a group of young students who had committed to self-immolation as a form of protest to rile the Czech and Slovak people to protest against the occupation.  Most of the rest of this suicide group did not follow the fiery death of Palach.  From his hospital bed Palach had pleaded with the this suicide group not to go forward with this type of protest. 

 Jan Palach's death mask.

Palach’s funeral became a day of national protest for Czechs and Slovaks.  Thousands of people attended his funeral.  Soviet leaders were afraid Palach’s grave might become a national shrine, and exhumed his body, cremated it and reburied him in his home village.  For a  time Palach’s death did stir up the people, but eventually a period of “normalization” managed to take hold, and no significant protest took place, until 1989 brought the twentieth anniversary of Palach’s death and the Velvet Revolution.  Students at the protests and riots in 1989 were moved and inspired by Palach’s sacrifice.  They were emboldened, by his example, to move on with further protest which finally brought all Czechs and Slovaks into the protest against Soviets, and the subsequent overthrow of their occupation of Czechoslovakia.  

 Memorial to Jan Palach and Jan Zajic

Today, there is some controversy over whether Jan Palach accomplished much with his sacrifice.  Some say yes, he did, while others believe he could have done more if he had gone on living.  It is difficult to judge Palach’s actions, but we should consider the situation, and ponder what would we do in the same situation.  Would we be inspired enough to such an act as Palach’s to save our own country?  This is not a simple question, but one that takes deep thought and consideration.   Palach is remembered here every year, and many people place flowers on Palach’s memorial on Václavské Náměstí—the spot where he set himself on fire.    

I am moved by Palach’s story, and personally believe he did accomplish some good with his terrible sacrifice.  I do not advocate suicide missions or terrorism of any kind.  What Palach did was not terrorism--his death was not meant to hurt anyone but himself.  He committed this act to “wake up” his fellow countrymen.  And he didn’t hurt or kill any innocents.  This is a heroic act, though still terrible and hard to imagine.  A young man, in the prime of life, took his own life so that others might be moved to throw off the chains of Soviet rule and once again experience freedom and revival.

I am not advocating this type of protest by writing this post.   The purpose of this post was to relate to this story to readers (who live outside of the Czech Republic) and who may have never heard of Jan Palach. 

I believe in the sanctity of all Life, and believe we should not take our own lives or that of another.  The situation of Czechoslovakia during the invasion and occupation was a time of great hardship for the country, and young people felt the need for some type of protest.  Thus did it come about that Jan Palach decided to give his own life for this purpose.  He endured an agonizing three days of unbearable pain and suffering before he died,  and during the last days of his life pleaded with the others not to protest in this manner. 

That's all for today. 

God bless,

Sher  

January 19, 2011:  Note:  Here's a wonderful news story, CzechPosition.com, about how Czechs remember Jan Palach and his sacrifice:  Czechs Honor Student Who Died to Rouse the Nation

Image credit:  Wikipedia

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Prachovske Skaly (Prachov Rocks)

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Hi Everyone,
Recently, Jiri and I, and another couple, visited Prachovske Skaly (Prachov Rocks) near Jicin, which is about 90 km (56 miles) north east of Prague.  We had a beautiful, cool, cloudy day to visit this part of the Czech Republic.  The weather was perfect for hiking in these wooded, verdant foothills of the Krkonose Mountains.  The Prachov Rocks are actually sandstone towers and blocks, called the "rocky village" of this area.  The Prachov Rocks is a nature reserve and is part of the Cesky Raj (Czech Paradise) Nature Reserve in Bohemia.  The Prachov Rocks reserve was founded on December 31st, 1933, and has an area of 243.39 hectares (approximately 601 acres) comprised of beautiful forests, sandstone rocks and towers, and fauna of many types.  The park sits at an altitude of 350-462 meters (1,148 to 1,515 ft) making hikes very easy and comfortable (aside from all the rocks and stairs).  

Our group set out around 10:00 in the morning, after purchasing maps for the hike at the park's tourist center (highly recommended you buy a map to avoid getting lost).  The reserve is full of hiking trails which pass through the park and on to other parts of the Czech Republic.  These trails are visibly marked and maintained by volunteers.  Hiking in Prachov Rocks reserve includes easy and more challenging trails.  We saw older people, as well as kids, hiking the trail that day.  Our group fit in with those who are of the middle generation, i.e., those who are middleaged.  Most of the footpaths we followed were at the intermediate level and safe for the most part.  However, there were a few areas on the trail where sand  covered the route, making the way slippery and slightly hazardous.  Even so, the paths are very well maintained and offer beautiful scenic views of the valleys, towns and farms below. 

 Sandstone tower formations, with views of countryside in the background (upper right).

Parts of the trail were very challenging.  There are so many rocky stairs to climb and descend, making this hike a wonderful workout for your leg muscles.  

r

Rocky stairs on the trail.

A few of the rock stairs went through very narrow gullies and culverts.  There were a couple of these gullies where my claustrophobia kicked in.  

T

This stairway was actually very wide compared to others we 

encountered later on the trail.

 This particular stairway was through a spot where you had to

turn sideways in order to pass. This one was the 

the hardest test for me!

C

Me coming to the wider part of this stairway--very relieved

to have made it through OK!

Stairs and more stairs.

Prachov Rocks reserve is also where climbers like to practice their trade.  The sandstone formations provide easy, as well as challenging climbs.  We saw several groups out climbing the day we visited the park.

Climber nearly to the top of this sandstone tower.

 A couple on top of one of the towers taking a break together.

 A climber's view of the sandstone formation.

 A Czech flag and canister at the top of one formation.  The canister

contains a notebook where climbers write their names and the 

date of their climbs to let other know who was there and when.

T

This is the top of the tower where the Czech flag was in the 
previous picture.

Finally made it to the top!

 Loved this! Someone put the stick in between the stones to

create an optical illusion.  The rock on top looks to be balanced

  on top of the stick and the other rock below.  In reality,

both stones were stuck in between boulders.

Following are a few more pictures from the trail and the beautiful rocky sandstone towers we discovered along the way.  The path also winds through some beautiful forest where its possible to see ferns and moss growing on the rocks.  We even encountered a deer that day! 

The trail is worn in places like this--the roots of the trees have become

polished from the many hikers who have passed this way.

   

We covered about 10 km in two hours.  Not bad for some middle aged friends.  Near the end of our hike we decided to stop at a small hotel listed on our map.  We came upon the hotel from the back, and were wondered if it was even open.  The bushes and grass in the back yard seemed to be overgrown, and a swimming pool was in an unkept state.  Once we reached the front of the hotel, however, we discovered a very charming and quaint place.  


The name of the hotel is Hotel Pod Sikmou Vezi (Hotel Under the Leaning Tower, named after one of the sandstone formations found on the hiking paths).  The link leads to the hotel's website, in Czech.  But the page can be easily translated with Good Translate).  The hotel offers rooms for about 630 CZK ($30.30 USD), and has an excellent menu with so many choices, and the prices were very reasonable.  The hotel restaurant offers seating either outside on the deck, or inside.  We ate out on the deck and found it a very pleasant place to sit and eat.  We were surprised by the number of items available on the menu in such a small, out-of-the-way hotel.  The food came in good time and was excellent, with satisfying amounts of food on each plate.  I would like to stay at that small hotel with Jiri sometime.  It was a very quiet and peaceful place to stay in the middle of this beautiful nature reserve.

The front of the hotel with the deck.  Wonderful place to sit, 

relax and eat.

Pretty dead tree in the hotel's driveway garden.  

I loved the way they had saved the tree and

managed to use it to create this pretty scene.

This was near the end of our hiking trail that day.  We had a wonderful time and could have easily spent the entire day hiking around the preserve, but we all had to get back to Prague by later in the afternoon.  So we headed homewards.  On the way home to Prague we stopped in the city of Jicin.  I'll write about our visit there in the next post.

Have a great day!

God bless,

Sher :0) 

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Photos property of S. Vacik
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National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library Update

Hi Everyone,
Today, in a couple of the Prague news papers online, there were further updates about the state of the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The story from the Prague Post Online is a little bit more in-depth about the state of things in the museum. You can read it here. And the Prague Daily Monitor has another story here. I'm happy to see that things are moving forward, and that people are staying positive in the midst of this very hard situtation.

On another note, my husband and I will be taking a trip to Spain, soon...to Barcelona! While I'm there, I'll be writing about our experiences. This will be my second trip to Spain. We were to Madrid and Sevilla, in the past..those are really pretty areas. Barcelona is in an entirely different part of Spain...so it will be fun to see how it compares to Madrid and Sevilla.

Well, that's all for now...you all have a great weekend!

God bless,
Sherry :0)

http://czechoffthebeatenpath.googlepages.com
(c) 2008 by czechoffthebeatenpath

Ties that Bind

Hi Everyone,
Not many Czechs realize how descendants of Czechs and Slovaks, around the world, are very proud of their ancestry. Czechs also don't realize how many communities in the United States were originally settled by Czechs and Slovaks! There have been many emigrations of Czechs and Slovaks in the history of the two countries. Each migration period led Czechs and Slovaks to immigrate to other countries, with many who became immigrants in the US. There are numerous small communities across the Midwest where Czechs and Slovaks settled. One such place is the city of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Cedar Rapids is the second largest city in the state of Iowa, and is home to the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library. This museum started as a way to preserve Czech culture and heritage back in 1974 by second and third generation descendants of Czech immigrants. Over the years, the group came to also include those of Slovak heritage, and the museum was officially created to house all the artifacts the group collected. You can read more about the museum's history by clicking here. The National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library is impressively housed, and it attracts between 20,000 and 30,000 visitors each year. The museum houses some 30,000 artifacts of Czech and Slovak culture and history. The museum's current facilities were dedicated on October 21, 1995. The dedication ceremonies were attended by then US President Bill Clinton, President Vaclav Havel of the Czech Republic, and President Micahl Kovac of Slovakia.

During the recent historic floods along the Mississippi River and its tributaries, the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library suffered extensive damage. This news has been covered by Radio Prague News, here in the Czech Republic--please see these two stories here and here. It has been amazing to read these stories and see how the ties are still very vibrant and active between the Czech and Slovak communities in the US and here. It is wonderful to see the cooperation taking place, even from across the ocean, to help save this very important museum. The museum is also being supported by monetary donations and volunteer work, from the Czech and Slovak communities in the US, to help clean and restore artifacts damaged in the flood. It will take some time to recover from the flood, but the outlook for the museum is very positive.

I wanted to share this story as it marks the importance of the Czech and Slovak contribution to the history of the United States, and to show that this tie is still very important today. Even in my own life, these ties are ongoing. One set of my great grandparents migrated from Czechoslovakia to the United States in the very late 1800's to early 1900's. My maiden name is Czech. Some of my family, including my parents, have visited the Czech Republic, but I am the first one (that I know of) who has come back, after 4 generations, to actually live here! The story of the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library touched me when I read it in the news. I don't have any personal ties to this museum, yet it is a piece of my heritage--and also the heritage of those who are the descendants of Czechs and Slovaks who immigrated to the US. Those Czech and Slovak descendants are a very hearty bunch and are able to handle such tragedies, as the museum flood, by hard work with a clear view toward the future--just as their ancestors did in the past. I would like to wish all those involved in the restoration work all the best.

That's all for today...you all have a great day!

God bless,
Sherry :0)

http://czechoffthebeatenpath.googlepages.com
(c) 2008 by czechoffthebeatenpath