Josefova

Ahead of our two day hike tomorrow, we had a relaxed morning, Tony reading, Markéta and Tomáš sleeping and I had a go at sorting a few pieces of their wedding present jigsaw which is 18 000 pieces! Needless to say I didn’t make a huge inroad in to it!

After a cup of coffee we set out to drive in to the forest to visit the abandoned German village of Josefova. This was originally, in the 18th century, a glass making village but after that trade died out the villagers farmed and forested. It must have been a very hard life for the 100 or so inhabitants. Before driving in to the forest we ate a pleasant lunch in a restaurant en route.

At the end of the Second World War, all Germans had to leave the country and so this village fell in to disuse. Over the years, the fast growing spruce trees have grown up through the ruins so all that is left are stones and some artefacts. We managed to work out which buildings were where from the old map on the information board and explored the ruins. Strange to imagine it once as a bustling place with folks going about their business, children attending the school, going to church etc.

It was an interesting afternoon, particularly enjoyed by Tomáš and Tony who made several finds amongst the ruins.

On the way back we stopped for tea at friends of Sarka and Josef who are building a huge, beautiful wooden house in extensive grounds. Hanka is learning English and is a lively, interesting person and a wonderful host who was pleased to learn about and try Yorkshire Tea (we are spreading the word in Czech!). Folks here are so sociable and happy to spend time in conversation and laughter. It was a very enjoyable couple of hours in their lovely home.