a weekend in “czech canada”

slavonice seemed like exactly the sort of place i’d want to spend a winter getaway. small, beautiful, artsy, it’s a borderland town right on the edges of south bohemia, vysočina (moravia), and austria (only 2km away). one of the greatest reasons to visit, its flanked on the west by the beautiful nature of česká kanada (czech canada), called this because of the rich swath of forests, lakes, and other natural sites that sometimes make it almost indistinguishable from canada.

the short train journey (under an hour) from telc was pretty magical… to see names of towns and landscapes we didn’t recognize as we crossed from moravia back into the edge of south bohemia on a little regional train. (a change of scenery can do wonders!)

then we headed directly to hotel besidka, located in a fourteenth century house directly in the square in the center of town. (above, on the right next to a pottery shop)

there was no question about where i wanted to stay for a winter getaway – the eye-catching and unique rooms of this design hotel stood out miles away from the typical czech pensions you’ll find in the region… and never before have i had the opportunity to pick exactly which room i’d like!

all of the rooms in the hotel, which was founded in 1990 by a group of friends from the legendary prague theater group sklep, are named after different actors or fellow friends of the theater instead of room numbers. i had to choose the

hanák

room (named for actor tomáš hanák, which alex pointed out seems almost like a czech version of “tom hanks”) boasted the traditional vaulted czech-style ceilings you will find in old restaurants and pubs all over the country… but i had yet to experience them in a hotel room! with its spaciousness, multiple sofas, and tasteful and complementary lighting designed to bring out the best in the space, it was the perfect choice.

what i didn’t plan on before i booked that besidka would have probably the best restaurant in slavonice right downstairs! we were so happy to find delicious thin-crust pizzas, the local český rudolec brew (i ventured that it was better than our current favorite, třeboň’s bohemia regent), david rio chai (the best!), and a selection of harder-to-find-in-these-parts scotch whiskies (ardbeg!).

we were in some kind of oasis of food and drink, not to mention i loved the homey (almost diner-esque) style of the cafe. it’s definitely the sort of place you’d want at the end of your block to be your “local”. the people of slavonice are quite lucky indeed.

sunday morning brought us misty rain, and of course, being a winter february weekend, we didn’t expect anything to be open, so we wandered through the streets for an hour.

they call slavonice the “renaissance gem of south bohemia” and with its unique buildings, you can definitely see why! i came upon the full facade of the house, adorned with sgraffito in german of different scenes from the bible. it’s enough to even turn an areligious art-fan into a believer! slavonice is really something special, but a modest sort of town… sort of a hidden gem if you know about it and where to look!

eventually, we followed the creek to the northwest corners of the town and found… a fairy-tale forest. yes, it was called that, with descriptions in both czech and german. fairy-tale forests are my jaaaaaam. so, afternoon plans were sorted: we were hiking the magical wood.

it would be a wonderful place to bring children (or those young-at-heart), for every so often, you come to another stop with a plaque telling the story of a different pohádka (fairytale) and some special task or action you can take. the trails were marked with a crown instead of the typical white box with a colored stripe– too fun!

so here we are, happily following this fairytale trail while the forest shielded us from the last misty raindrops of the morning when we find….. this.

more like these, as we discovered several more, which turned out to be world war two era “pillbox” fortifications, built by the czechoslovak military along the borders in the mid-1930’s as conflict with germany became more and more probable. not only these pillboxes, but even anti-tank traps scattered about the peaceful forest and piles of barbed wire.

how’s that for your fairy-tale forest?

i have to tell you that i knew these existed, but i had completely forgotten about them as our trip neared– pretty cool artifacts to stumble upon and imagine that this peaceful wood was for a long time highly restricted to only military personnel until the early nineties. probably another reason why this forested region is so unspoiled!

after our hike, we enjoyed relaxing in our beautiful hotel room and of course, pizza & beer. we were on vacation, after all! peace.

logistics

slavonice is not the easiest to get to, but worth the trip, no matter the season. from within the czech republic, you must transfer by train in havlíčkův brod,

telč, dačice, or kostelec u jihlavy. from austria, go by car if at all possible. centrally-located hotel besidka makes an excellent home base for exploring the forests and castles of czech canada. (rooms start at 1200kc/$50 per night)