Karlštejn and the Amerikas

I've been exploring! And, for the first time in ages, all the photographs are mine, because my new phone is *much* better!

Given that it's one of the most popular day trips from Prague, only an hour away, and easily accessible by train, I have no good excuse for why it took me almost two years into my Prague life to make it to Karlštejn Castle (pronounced Karl-shtain: the accent over the "s" makes it "sh," and the "j" kinda functions like a vowel).

That would be this one, as seen from the village below.

Actually, I have a very good excuse: the castle itself, which can only be toured as part of a guided tour, is quite expensive. There are three separate tours, and to see all of the castle, you have to take all three, which costs over 1300 Kc (about $60). Even the basic tour, which excludes some of the highlights, costs over 300 Kc for an English guide, though you can do it cheaper by taking a Czech friend who can give you the gist. So, one day, I'll go back...yes, I shall go back...

However, while the interiors are expensive the exteriors and grounds are *free*--and there are other attractions in the area--so on a recent weekday that a few friends and I had off, we hopped aboard the train and quickly arrived at Karlštejn station, just a short walk from Karlštejn village, which is in the shadow of Karlštejn Castle. (Karlštejn!)

The lower portion of the village, before the castle comes into view.

The village, which winds up along the (at times steep) hill toward the castle, is a giant tourist trap. It's cute enough, but I saw prices for trdelnik (always a warning sign when they're around) that were higher even than those in Prague. It's all gift shops, hotels, and cafes, with the random addition of a nativity scene museum and a rather sad-looking petting zoo. Still, the only way to the castle is through the village, so on we walked. (Visitors can also take a taxi or a horse drawn carriage if mobility is an issue.)

At the top, however, we were awarded with a very castle-y caste, beautiful architecture, and some lovely views of the countryside. I'll keep the history brief since we didn't go inside: Karlštejn was built around 1350 by Charles IV (yes, him again) as a repository for the Bohemian crown jewels, a purpose it served on again and off again for centuries, having taken its name from its founder--Karlštejn means "Karl's stone" in German. It was attacked, captured, transferred, suffered fires, remodeled several times, and is currently one of the most popular tourist attractions in Czechia. 

Looking up at the main tower from the lower area.

The lower gate entrance 

The area around has a lot of hills--great place for a castle.

Down to the village and the river beyond.

As I mentioned above, there are other attractions in the area, in particular a pair of disused limestone quarries called Big and Little America--Velká and Malá Amerika, probably so named because they reminded people of the Grand Canyon, though on a much smaller scale. Velká Amerika is on the side of a road, and plenty of people drive to see it--just pull over to enjoy the view--but Malá Amerika is much more remote. As it's the Czech Republic, however, there are hiking trails everywhere, and the Karlštejn/Big & Little America hike is one of the most popular ones near Prague, which versions ranging from short to quite long. My friends and I opted for the medium length: a loop from the castle, through a small village, to Velká Amerika, past two other small quarries called Canada and Mexico (sure, why not), onto Malá Amerika, and then back to the train station.

The medium hike was still 11 kilometers, or about 7 miles...

After the descent from the castle, the trail hits the branching point where it will meet itself at, appropriately enough, a very large tree. Czech hiking trails (a subject unto itself) are usually quite well marked, and large "intersections" have signs like this.

Here, the Red, Blue, and Yellow trails in the area diverge. We went to the right for the longer loop.

After winding our way along a lovely country road,

We entered the village of Morina, where we hooked a left to head towards Velká Amerika, which involved going up and down a few hills--the hike was a touch more challenging than we had anticipated, but we endured. We knew we were near the quarry when we hit some railroad tracks at the top of (another) hill that had a bench beside it but no station. The bench was very useful.

I wasn't kidding about the hills.

"America Stop"

Soon, however, we reached the road and arrived at Velká Amerika.

The roadside view.

The quarry is about 800 meters deep, 200 wide, almost 200 deep, and the lake at the bottom is about 18 meters. In Imperial units, that's half a mile long, 600 feet across, about the same depth, and the lake is about 60 feet. The quarry (lom in Czech) is officially closed to the public, but plenty of divers and swimmers sneak in, especially via the network of caves built in the side of the various quarries that connect them all. Most of the quarrying was done in the first part of the 20th century, with the work sometimes being done by political prisoners. There's meant to be a monument to them, but it was inaccessible the day we went.

The non-roadside view.

After hiking along the length of the quarry--including up and down some interesting surfaces that made us all wish we were goats, we came to the other end of Velká Amerika, which has a much better view of the quarry and the lake.

From there, we kept going-- past Mexico and Canada, at least one of which is still a functioning quarry--and through some fields...

We all thought this look like a setting for a car commercial.

We were really in the middle of nowhere.

After re-entering the (blessedly cool) forest, we found our way to Malá Amerika...

Which was much harder to photograph, but you can see the caves in the side.

From there, it was a pretty short walk--mainly downhill--to the base of the castle and a late lunch and a well-timed return train to Prague. From leaving Prague to returning, the whole trip maybe took 7 hours.

I highly encourage any expats (or locals) who haven't done this hike to do it--though maybe do the "easier" there and back version that goes left from the big tree instead of right if you're a bit out of condition. Also, be aware that there definitely are some true hills--not just gentle slopes--and even a few times where you have to scramble up or down about 6-8 feet. So, don't be like the women we saw wearing heels and strappy sandals doing the hike: wear sensible shoes. The route is very well marked, there are numerous websites that walk you through the entire hike, and the app Mapy.cz can plan you a route using any of the nation's many hiking trails.

This one day out whet my appetite, and so I immediately started planning something a bit further from Prague, a bit longer, and a bit more personal...Coming Soon!

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