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Published: July 10th 2023
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The train ride from Zittau in Germany to Liberec in Czechia was cheap, comfortable and quick. The only problem was that as soon as we had crossed the border we lost 4G on our phones and were unable to use the Internet. That's not a huge problem as the scenery was wonderful and we had books to read, but on arrival it meant getting a taxi on the street instead of using an app, and that doubled the price!
Our accommodation in Liberec was something a little bit different. We had booked
an "apartment" in the tennis club on AirBnB. It was actually right inside the clubhouse! Out host, Markéta, was lovely and made sure that we were comfortably settled in. She's also the manager of the club and one of the tennis coaches, but we were not there to play sport! The apartment was just a short walk from supermarkets along a tranquil riverside track. At night the silence was deafening but that's really what we wanted.
Liberec itself is a very picturesque city with several strings to its bow. We were keen to get up to the TV tower at Jested and got to the base of the mountain by tram. That's when we
discovered that the cable car had been closed for a couple of years following a horrific fatal accident and there is some doubt as to whether it will ever reopen. Luckily for us there was a ski-lift in operation because we happened to be there at the weekend. We don't usually have such luck. There was a car rally of some sort going on at the bottom so we had a wander around the cars before heading off to the ski-lift. It was a stunning ride to the top and then we had a few kilometres to hike to the TV tower. Lunch in the cafe was excellent and not too expensive. Then we retraced our steps. Not everyone who comes up in the ski-lift returns the same way. Some walk down and others ride on the mountain bike trails but the first option seemed too energetic and the second a bit too dangerous!!!
We did manage a nice walk out to the zoo area past some impressive mansions. A lot of the streets have been used as a film and TV sets throughout the years but we hadn't seen anything listed on the placards. Since the trip though,
we have watched
National Geographic's mini-series about Einstein called Genius. Once we got our heads around that fact that we knew most of the buildings were not in Germany, it was excellent. Beyond the zoo are some lovely wooded mountain walks, which we enjoyed, as well as a trail that takes you around what would be a very impressive lake had it not been drained for a massive reconstruction project around the dam.
The heart of the city revolves around City Hall and the impressive square with nice streets running off it in all directions. Outside city hall is some gigantic beast made from metal that looks like it is made from hair. We couldn't find any information about it, but it's quite a sight. Don't visit Liberec without going into City Hall though. It is an incredible building with ornate stairways and ceilings. Some of the rooms have been used for film and TV too.
Another thing that surprised us was the quality of food and drink in the city. There are some cool bars around and we had the great privilege of dining with a couple of our students from Prague. They had driven out for the evening just to see us,
and we went to the very non-Irish Irish pub called the
Black Horse. Now that was quality food and drink for sure and they were excellent company too!
From Liberec it was back into Poland using Flixbus. Another great journey through picturesque mountain scenery.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Liberec
It sounds like the place you stayed was great and interesting.