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Published: October 12th 2007
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Teplice
Check out that staircase! Not for the faint hearted. Getting a bus/train ticket out of Wroclaw to Ardspach-Teplice proved to be an interesting experience. We ended up getting a bus at 10:30am in the morning which took us to the Polish border. We knew no more than that and hoped that we would be able to figure out how to get to Czech Republic as it happened.
We left Wroclaw by bus and as we headed south the weather seemed to get worse and worse. When we passed through the Sudeten Mountains we even saw hail! Not a good start when we were planning a day of trekking in the mountains on the other side.
At the end of the bus route we met a Polish girl on the bus who was heading to Prague and she helped us out by telling us which bus to catch to get over the border. That part was easy, despite the 45 minute wait for the bus. Then it got more difficult. We arrived at the train/bus station in Nachod, Czech Republic, and asked about a train to Trutnov, near our final destination. The information lady spoke no English, printed off a timetable and rushed us out a door to the
Teplice
The view from the top of the rock castle train platform.
We found out we were in the right place (most younger people speak English - very handy!), but we still had a small - or maybe not so small - problem. We had no Czech money. And could see no ATMs nearby. We asked someone if the conductor might accept Polish money and that seemed to get a positive response. Unfortunately, the conductor had a different idea. But then he just ushered us onto the train. What did this mean we thought. Well, turned out it was a free ride! Obviously, non-Czech speaking tourists are just too hard, better to let them on for free!
But then the train stopped and we had to change trains - and conductors. We were in the middle of nowhere, with only a tiny railway station (where you had to walk over the tracks to get on the train!) and our conductor friend was disappearing on our first train. Great. So the next train arrived and we got on. What else were we going to do? The next conductor came along, we showed her our slip of paper with the itinerary on it, she said something in Czech gave it
Teplice
What a view - and yes, we were still freezing! back to us and left. Woo-hoo!! Another free train ride, and we were still on the train, not on the track. It would have been a long wet walk otherwise.
So after two buses and two trains we arrived in Trutnov. A kindly English speaking local pointed us to the ATM and the info centre and we were set. It felt good to have some money in our hands which actually worked, and then we got some info at the info centre (through a mix of Czech and German because the guy didn't speak english) about how to get to our final destination. One more train! We didn't have much time so we did a mad dash to the supermarket for some dinner - another hot chicken, but way better than the sandwiches we are getting used to - and just managed to catch the train!
On arrival in Teplice, we got a bit worried when the town looked a bit ghost-like. There seemed to be no one around. We found a young couple and asked what must have seemed like a stupid question - Where can we find a place to sleep? They pointed us up a
Teplice
As I said, not a ladder for the faint hearted! road and after a bit of a hike with a pack which weighed way too much (have I already mentioned that?), we found a pension - more like a hotel actually - and booked ourselves in for a couple of nights (luckily just before it started to rain). Finally we got to eat that hot chicken and it was good!
The next morning we set off for our hike with a very helpful map written in Czech. But luckily (thank you Lonely Planet) we knew which trail to follow. The hike from Teplice to Adrspach was amazing! The scenery was absolutely stunning, particularly the walk up a very steep set of stairs and ladders to the top of a rock mountain which used to be the site of an old fort. You could still see where they had cut holes in the rock to put in timber beams for floors, etc. The view was stunning. The whole area was a sea of green forest with these absolutely strange shaped rocks towering out of the forest in odd spots.
After the main walk at Teplice the trail splits off to go through Wolf Gorge. It started off being a
bit boring, but then we came into the main part of the gorge and understood why the trail was a recommended option. Not for the faint of heart or people with bad knees though!
Luckily for us we were able to complete the whole trek (about 5 hours worth) before it started to rain! At the end of the trail we found a nice restaurant for a drink and watched the people at the rock climbing training centre outside the window. Then it was back to the pension for a well earned rest!
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