Bohemian Switzerland, at the eighth stop, The Lusatian Mountains – a perfect trio dedicated to a quiet holiday without crowds and with activities and places to top it all off, which children will appreciate, where they will definitely not be bored. It is, of course, fundamentally important, where the family sets up base camp. The Bohemian Cottage guesthouse is sought after all year round for its breathtaking tranquility, a wonderful environment as well as a friendly and natural background. Getting a place here is not easy, the interest is really great. But because the family Kubica are, above all, family, the holiday period is mainly dedicated to parents with children.

From Kamenná Horka in Krásná Lípa, you can easily reach most of the most attractive places in all three mentioned regions. Let’s go on foot, by bus, by train, by car or perhaps on snowshoes, and literally in any direction, your children will be delighted. Why? So let’s discuss it…

Sparkling snow, the sun is not warm, but paints the sky azure, the air is like a saw and the snow drift is more perfect than the best bobsleigh track. Just sit on the sled, or slap yourself on a plastic bob and rush down and scream and yell beautifully and uninhibitedly. It doesn’t matter at all, how old are you…

Or completely ordinary walks, which are always extraordinary here. There are dozens of forest paths in the immediate vicinity of the Bohemian Cottage, that will take you to places, where you won’t meet a living soul, except perhaps a few dog walkers or a falconer, who trains his predators here. Maškův vrch is one of them. Driving in the snow is so different, beautiful and alluring. And if perhaps the walk became ordinary for the children, just make a single inconspicuous ball… and start an uncompromising ball game.

Is evident, that no one will guarantee you, that there will be snow – you can’t be sure of that even in the Alps. Charles výšina, but she is stunning, whatever the weather or season. The rock wall hidden in the forest offers views into the depths of the Czech Netherlands and is another easily accessible destination.

Not even when nature starts to take shape, that spring vacations belong to spring after all and there is no sign of snow, forest paths will take you to incredible places. And because there are no tourist signs leading to many of them, it can happen to you, that you will turn onto an inconspicuous country road and out of nowhere a fairy-tale horizon will open up in front of you and you will gaze in amazement at the whole of Bohemian and Saxon Switzerland and in the distance Queen Milešovka herself will rise majestically in front of you.

Brtnické icefalls That the walk must have some promising and consequently stunning goal? Well then, head down the Vlčí potok valley from Brtniky to the famous icefalls. These do not arise depending on severe frosts, on the contrary, they often form surprisingly even in mild winter, because the water from the melting snow runs down the edge of the rocks and slowly freezes, creating icicles and ice cascades of incredible sizes and colors. And if you take the children to the cave behind the ice curtain and leave the sun, to conquer behind you, it will be simply unforgettable.

But let’s be optimistic, winter includes snow, endless plains and clear horizons. Who has never worn snowshoes and walked through a snowy meadow, he did not experience the miracle of walking on water. In this breathtaking place, on the meadows stretching to the saddle between Studenec and Lipnický vrch, where it is almost certain to see a huge herd of fallow deer with a few hefty stags, Czech Switzerland meets the Lusatian Mountains, and in this borderland you won’t find anyone… not even ghosts.

at the eighth stop? No, so you will be really surprised, until the elder of the ghosts here rises up out of nowhere in front of you, Hejkal himself. In the year, you are in the land of legends and fairy tales, and there is absolutely nothing to stop a child’s imagination. And if you accept children’s invitations to a world of wonderful improbabilities, you will be surprised, that it is actually still your world.

And now we’re going to kick things off a bit – we’ll have a Krásnolipský children’s triathlon. This jack is tried and tested, just go after it. It starts at Vlčí Hora, in the former school, where the company’s visitor center is located today Nobilis Tilia, which produces natural cosmetics in the adjacent factory. Here, in a charming shop full of fragrances, moms can smell and smell and try and sample in peace, daddies to sit and watch chirping – and children?

The local fairies will take care of them here, which will introduce them to the realm of scents and their meanings. At a very special dressing table, children can make their own and original perfume here. And don’t think, that only girls enjoy it! Boys usually take it as a scientific discipline. Everyone is guaranteed to enjoy a bottle containing a fragrance just for them.

Full of fragrant experiences, we will now move to the square in Krásná Lípa, where he winks kindly at us Mana chocolate shop. Buy that delicious hot chocolate or some chocolate treat, everyone can do that. In addition to the store, Mana also offers a chocolate workshop, and we’ll head for it. Here, children can try working with chocolate and make a chocolate souvenir – for example a lollipop or a chocolate souvenir with the motif of one of the tourist destinations.

It’s a bit of alchemy, but above all fun. Even the biggest slobbers will fall into serious creative concentration here. Finally, the finished work needs to be saved, so that it can harden. And wait. what? Wait? Children hate that! No worries – just a few tens of meters away, the waiting room is a sight to behold!

You cannot miss the House of Czech Switzerland. A playful and interactive exhibition awaits you on its ground floor and basement, where it is possible to learn a lot, but above all, the children literally have a blast here – and the chocolate can harden in peace. I would like to see the observation deck under the roof?

You can research here, examine, discover…

…as well as chasing a badger into its mysterious burrow. So far, the chocolate has solidified into a perfect shape, and excited children proudly holding their products logically get a taste for something good, which desire can be satisfied immediately in the neighboring house called U Frinda, where the cozy cafe offers delicious soups as well as cakes and desserts. Half the day flew by like water – but there were really a lot of experiences.

If you feel like going on a trip to more distant places, another round is a possibility. For example, Print Walls, that’s a guaranteed adventure. You can find anything you want here – rocky streets and squares, rocks of the strangest shapes and even stranger names, path along the very edge of the rock wall, ladders and endless staircases. And watch out for sprites! They are just teeming here, and how sneaky they are! They will put stray spices in your pocket and you won’t be able to get off the rocks!

But if you untangle yourself from the Velké Tiské walls, the Little ones are still waiting for you. They start with a climb to one of the most beautiful viewpoints in the region. No, try to beat this one! Below is a labyrinth of smaller rocks and crags, where in truth there is nowhere to fall, and so the children run around enthusiastically, without any danger to them.

When the dignified Mushroom says goodbye to us for all the rock creatures and monsters, It is clear, that this trip was worth it. It takes about an hour to get here from the guesthouse, and you won’t find anything like it far and wide.

A completely different experience awaits children, on the other hand, literally around the corner, in picturesque Doubica. Here, on the vast space behind the Old Inn, wooden sculptures spread out in all directions, mysterious castles, slides and climbing frames, so it’s really all-you-can-eat more for hardened adults, but children don’t solve these things – they either enjoy something or they don’t. And this Obludarium will not bore them to the concrete.

A trip to Doubice – if you manage to get the children out of the previous attraction – can continue to very unusual places. Specifically, to the Narrow Stairs, which truly live up to their name. More corpulent people also have a problem here, on the other hand, the children climb the rock crevice on ladders like squirrels. which simply cannot be described otherwise, if there is a meter of snow and it is freezing cold, it is not advisable to attempt this path through the rocks, but in milder weather it’s a sensational idea.

It is surprising for many inland people, how obvious it is to find yourself here, often unexpectedly, in neighboring Saxony and Upper Lusatia. And going here with a clear goal is an even better idea. There is so much to experience. For example, a thoroughly adventurous journey by steam train in historic wagons to Oybin station.

The path leads upwards from the station, to the romantic and mysterious ruins of the castle and monastery. Find yourself in a Gothic cathedral, whose ceiling is the sky itself… How often do you experience something like this?

The path leads upwards from the station, to the romantic and mysterious ruins of the castle and monastery. Find yourself in a Gothic cathedral, whose ceiling is the sky itself… How often do you experience something like this?

But let’s go back to Bohemian Switzerland. There is a place between Jetřichovice and Rynartice, which is simply mandatory when traveling with children. The famous Dwarf Rock with the rock elves and the poor widow, which the pidimen saved, when she got stuck in a rock gap, is an attraction almost two hundred years old. It was carved by a local chronicler, typist and also a bit of an entrepreneur Eduard Vater. Of course he would be happy, if he could hear the high pitch of today’s children, because the search for and especially the finding of more and more men does not take place in silence.

To be in Jetřichovice and not climb Falkenštejn, that wouldn’t make sense. The famous Jetřichovick viewpoints can be quite difficult to access in a snowy winter (if there is no snow – hooray for them!), on the other hand, you can reach the remains of Falkenstein castle at any time. Raven rock is simply impressive from here and you will never get tired of looking at it.

From Jetřichovice to the river Kamenice, this is another almost mandatory trip. A silent river shrouded in snow ghosts is so different from a singing whimsical summer stream, that it is definitely worth walking around the breathtaking Jetřichovická Běla to its mouth in Kamenice and a little further, because that’s about it, what is hiding behind a massive rock, You simply cannot deprive your children of that.

Dolský mill. The most fabulous place in the country. However, fairy tales have already been filmed here. As it seems, that a few of those devils simply had to stay here somewhere and play cards with Kamenický waterman after evenings in the mill.

What do you say? That I should give the devil a break, those that make you want warmth? So let’s warm up! Literally a few steps from the boarding house, children will roll their eyes at a live blacksmith in a real forge. Kovář Míla will be happy to show them, how the hearth is lit, how they hammer with a sledgehammer and a blacksmith’s hammer, and you and the children in the adjacent Barn will marvel at the gallery of magical angels, candlesticks, birds, fish and other triumphs of human creativity.

Where else could it be so warm and at the same time extraordinary things could be experienced there… Well, in the glassworks after all. And that there are! How about going to Kunratic near Cvikov to Jiří Pačinek’s glass factory? Why? Maybe because of the magical garden, which is in full bloom even in winter, because the glass does not deteriorate even in the coldest weather.

In the heat, even in the heat of the glassworks, children can try something from the art of master glassmakers. Who could resist…

Just a little further, in Lindava, the longest village in the world (at least that’s how it always seemed to me), under the mysterious hill of Ortel, you will also find the Ajeto glassworks with a glassmaking pub and a glassmaking operation, which can be viewed from the observation deck. Of course, it is necessary to drive here in the morning, during, when do glassmakers work?.

You’ll see things here too, over which your mind will stand. Children are usually amazed by it immediately, what glassmakers can do with hot glass, how the most fragile of fragile beauties are born under their hands.

A few kilometers further, in Nové Bor, in the Novotný glass factory, in addition to the gallery and shop, a very decent restaurant awaits you, but whose greatest advantage does not lie in the mind of the cooks, but in that, that while you are debunking tenderloin, you are looking through a giant glass wall directly at the glass furnaces.

Quiet strength. Order. Championship. Imaginativeness. One would look at that endlessly, because if someone can do something perfectly, it’s captivating and addicting.

Only, you know it. An adult could stand watching the clock for hours, but children must be constantly excited, change, something new, something else… Just no boredom! So let’s go out again, for example to the longest avenue in the Czech Netherlands leading from Krásná Lípa to the defunct village of Skřivánčí pole.

Maybe we’ll be lucky for a robin or a buzzard here, ravens, dates… (Photo by Václav Sojko)

… or even a herd of roe deer, a frightened badger or a fox looking for something to eat in the meadows. This is unlikely to happen to children in a city park – and here it is almost a common thing.

If you are surprised, how varied the offer is, what to interest and entertain children during their spring break, save the surprise for later, because now we will go to the tops of the hills and climb the stairs to the observation decks of countless lookouts. This is one of the most beautiful, stone lookout tower on the third highest peak of the Lusatian Mountains, Jedlová .

Admit it yourself – she’s not a beauty? And next to it, a pleasant restaurant operates year-round. Now you might be thinking – and it’s worth clawing your way up to? So watch…

I think, that it is totally worth it.

For all lookouts, how many are around, let’s look at two more. But you can also go to Děčínský Sněžník, Smoker, Dancers, Weifberg… and it opens a few more viewpoints until the summer season. The country looked around, just. So first Wolf Mountain.

She is beautiful, whether there is snow or not.

It is the oldest in the region and the ascent to it is not difficult at all, one short sharp climb – and you’re there. And the view?

No comment.

We were already hanging around Studenec. So why not go all the way to the top and climb the spiral stairs of the observation tower leading to the next view, which penetrates the soul and excites even cynical creatures, what children are like, let alone adults and teenagers. (Photo by Václav Sojko)

And carefully when descending! Spotting a herd of chamois on the stony seas of Studene is nothing extraordinary – after all, there are already two hundred and fifty individuals living here. (photo by Václav Sojka)

To recommend the Way of the Cross… well, that is perhaps even unnecessary. After all, we are already on this path

The scapulars graduated once. Only in the summer. And winter is a great graphic artist and painter.

Walk all the way to Tolštejn, it’s a double experience. Firstly, from the beautiful journey itself, and then – the terraces built in the ruined castle, it’s not exactly a lookout point, but the views from here are spectacular.

Although the list is far from complete, it’s time to take a last walk through the snowy forest.

The sun is slowly getting stronger, but the evenings are still hungry and come earlier, than one would wish. But the evenings here… hmm, it tends to be a bewitching adventure of light and dark, fog and shadows, earthiness and that, which is beyond us. (photo by Václav Sojka)

So come. Make a call, write, book a spring holiday stay and offer your children things, which they may not even have dreamed of. Because… how long will they be kids? you say, much shorter time, than we and they would like. A, if you will allow one personal experience, there is nothing stronger in human life, more beautiful and meaningful, than when your grown child tells you one day: “I had a beautiful childhood. Thank you.”

For an idyll, friendly welcome and hill experiences, Irena and Aleš Kubic. And it is, believe, very solid warranty.

Wrote: Rostislav Skrivánek

The post WINTER: Mom and Dad I would like to go there on holiday? first appeared on Accommodation Bohemian Switzerland - apartments, wellness, guide, yoga, rental.

1. Icewaterfalls

When it is below zero for a long time, water dripping from the ubiquitous sandstone rocks slowly creates glacial formations. Sometimes they are complete icefalls several meters high, sometimes long icicles. The most famous ice karsts are along Brtnické and Vlčí potok. We call them Brtnice icefalls. You want to go through almost all of them? Leave your car in Krásná Lípa, arrive by bus 407 to the village of Brtníky and walk back along the green road through Šternberk in the direction of Kyjov and Krásná Lípa.

Other lesser-known ice beauties can be found in Pavlína Valley and in the river valley kamenice.

2. On snowshoes almost anywhere

imagine, that you walk through the forest and all the branches, stones, the trees and bushes are covered with snow. You just around “you are sailing” on snowshoes and you stick to the direction, where you want to go. Go straight to the top of the mountains for example: Luž, Jedlova, Chřibský vrch, Vlčí Hora is an adventure in winter. And if the inversion is down, there is a blue sky above…

3. Crystal Valley or traveling to glassmakers

Who doesn’t know Czech glass? – Bohemian Crystal. And from Bohemian Cottage is the center of glassmaking, Nový Bor is just over the hill, more precisely, over a saddle in the Lusatian Mountains called Šébr. Many well-known glass companies and family businesses are located in Nové Bor and its surroundings. A large number of them are ready to show tourists their craft. And that right in front of the glass furnace.

A brief list:

Glass faktory Jílek – Kamenicky Šenov
The windows – AND IT IS DONE – Nový Bor and Lindava
Glass factory Novotný – New Bor
Jiří Pečinek – Kunratice near Cvikov
Haidl and Son – Svojkov
Glass factory Jilek – Kamenicky Senov

More details on www.crystalvalley.cz

4. Cross-country skiing or on foot

It depends on the snow conditions, but when he attacks in the Lusatian Mountains, tak nad 600 meters, the snow usually remains and scooters come out to prepare the running tracks.

Ski Polevsko they prepare the cross-country tracks from Kytlice to the seat of glass masters Kamenický Šenov. So you can cross-country ski even to Lord’s rock (The Proud Princess was also there).

Secret tip: Put on your cross-country skis in the village of Zahrady u Rumburka (railway station) and you can go along the railway line in the direction of Panský, Brtníky, Mikulášovice and back. You will discover places, where you don’t just look (unless you are traveling by train, which only runs in the summer, so the road is safe in winter for this adventure trip). More here.

5. Design obsession

When I accompany tourists, we always have to jump somewhere for a beer or a coffee or just sit in one place, where is something “Magnificent”. Let’s try to stop for an excellent coffee at Coffee&Book in Děčín, in the Atelier cafe, where you walk on the floor “poured with coffee” or in the Hosana cafe in Varnsdorf, where the clock is not ticking . You can find a large selection of bitter liquor flavors at the Kocour brewery, where you listen to the beer clock. The artistic experience will absorb you in the Cifra gallery in Doubice or the Perla National Gallery in Kyjov. If you are looking for a quiet, fragrant environment, stop at the Nobilis Tilia teahouse in Vlčí Hora.

Community Sauna Otuzovarna

Quite place with excelent views from finnish sauna. Typical natural swimming lake is part of area. You need to test.

The post Tips for winter trips Bohemian Switzerland first appeared on Accommodation Bohemian Switzerland - apartments, wellness, guide, yoga, rental.

Here I was approached by a young woman with a striking accent, obviously a foreigner, and she said: “Where do you go to this Crystal Valley?” It’s very difficult to explain. CRYSTAL VALLEY is a very large area. It starts near Kamenický Šenov (and could easily be in Chřibská) and continues for another seventy kilometers as the crow flies to Harrachov. So it makes sense that it is not one real valley, but, similar to Silicon Valley in California, an area connected by a phenomenon, in this case glassmaking and glass in general. We can find the most glass and costume jewelry companies in the world here.

It is a chain of glassworks, design studios, museums, galleries, but also glass schools.
All of them operate independently, although some of them only decided to open to the public by joining the Crystal Valley project. Several times a year, a weekend takes place when people can visit places they would not otherwise be able to visit. For example, the private studios of glass artists, often literally in their living rooms. Waiting for such a weekend is a gourmet’s delight.
My Radunka and I manage to visit six destinations in a day – and we live off those experiences for a long time. Well, and if someone wanders into Crystal Valley at another time, there are still plenty of places left with clearly declared opening hours. So accept the scapular insight, a flight through several remarkable places in Crystal Valley. For comprehensive information, including dates of weekend events, visit crystalvalley.cz or www.facebook.com/visitcrystalvalley/. And when you’re on the Crystal Valley website, don’t forget to check out the Stories section. Here you’ll find my stories about the focal points of the glassmaking phenomenon in northern Bohemia.

Let’s start unconventionally – with what is not in Crystal Valley (but should be). Since the project was taken over by the Liberec Region, Crystal Valley has come a long way and great work has been done. However, it does have one disadvantage – the borders of the region have also become the borders of Crystal Valley. And so the oldest continuously operating glass factory in Central Europe, the one in Chřibská (1414), was left out. Well, you might say, but the glass factory was closed in 2007, of course, for economic reasons. So what would we probably see there…

But it is a flash in the pan. Efforts to revive glassmaking in Chřibská are most visibly manifested by the holding of the Glass Festival. There are also rumors about the creation of a museum glassworks in the reconstructed rectory near the church of St. George, and perhaps even that glassworks will not remain completely deserted… Anyway – it is simply impossible to ignore Chřibská in the history of glassmaking in northern Bohemia. (And what’s more – Chřibská is a magical village that is worth walking through and discovering, for example, a cascade of waterfalls, meadows full of orchids, breathtaking folk architecture…) Photo Ivo Šafus

The second missing phenomenon is Šluknov, which was put on the glassmaking map by the unique glass artist JAN FRYDRYCH when he settled here in a beautiful villa called art, which he saved from extinction.

You can find his works in prestigious museum collections around the world, including the Guggenheim Museum, and if you were invited to visit by one of the world’s celebrities – for example, Elton John, Prince Albert of Monaco or the Clintons, you would certainly be proud of Jan Frydrych’s works.

So – enough about what is not in the Crystal Valley, let’s get to the many amazing places that are there. It is not the ambition of this part of the Scapular to cover everything. That would have to be really packed.
Let’s focus on (some) places within reach of Krásná Lípa, or rather Kamenná Horka, or more precisely, the Bohemian Cottage guesthouse. The closest is Kamenický Šenov. Here, the center of our interest would logically be the GLASS MUSEUM, which focuses on engraved and cut glass from the 17th century to the present. However, reconstruction is underway and the reopening of the museum has not yet been specified.

Kamenický Šenov is still a very remarkable town. It is definitely worth visiting the oldest functioning glassmaking school in the world – the SECONDARY SCHOOL OF GLASSWORKING. It was founded in 1856 and still educates glass designers today.

You will succeed here even if the school is not currently involved in any Crystal Valley event. The school gallery, the shop with students’ works are accessible and, by arrangement, it is also possible to visit the school workshops and studios and watch the students at work.

uch sadder, but also extremely interesting, is the walk to Eliáška. Probably the most famous glass entrepreneur here was Eliáš Palme, who made the Kamenickošenov chandeliers famous all over the world. When he died on the last day of 1893, his sons took over the company, who built a beautiful Art Nouveau factory building on Skřivánka in 1905, which is still called Eliáška, but in its time the locals also nicknamed it the Chateau.

And even though it’s now just a wreck, it’s still somehow breathtaking. There’s been talk of saving it for decades. But the ravages of time continue to gnaw away brick by brick.

Still not enough? Then take the Palme Glass Trail. It starts at the Kamenickošenov train station and runs through the entire city.

Kamenický Šenov also includes Prácheň. Here you will pass one of the biggest tourist magnets in the Czech Republic, the legendary Organ, or rather Panská skála, a spectacular proof of columnar basalt separation. Just a few hundred meters further, the attentive wanderer will spot a house with a studio, Studio BYSTRO DESIGN.

The creative duo Dagmar Pánková and Leoš Smejkal are celebrating twenty years of joint work this year. During Crystal Valley events, it is possible to try out the Tiffany technique, glass cutting and, above all, admire selected works. And believe me, that is a great experience.

Here, as elsewhere in the Crystal Valley, the layman (and often the expert) is left speechless by the astonishing combination of talent, creativity, experience, and use of technology.

Some works are downright intimate, so close to the person that they leave with the need to be surrounded by such beauty and to touch it daily.

lthough the Crystal Valley is so vast and long, it is usually no more than a quarter of an hour from one glassmaker to another. You can reach Nový Bor from Práchne even earlier. Right on the edge of the town, on the slope of Borský Hill, stands a monumental art deco villa, home to one of the most important glass artists in the region, the former director of the Kamenickošenov Glass School, whose students today hold the banner of glory for Czech art glass. But he himself still belongs among them. He came up with a unique technique of carving glass with a hammer and chisel.

The resulting works are extremely exclusive and have an extraordinary, unusual effect.

The front side is polished, the back is rough and chiseled. The result is stunning. The light in this colorful fish reveals strange and intoxicating shapes and colors…

This relatively new egg is breathtaking. It’s worth standing all day at this sculpture.
It changes every moment. Vladimír Klein started it, the light finishes it and metamorphoses it.

It is actually a great privilege to be able, as a complete stranger, to walk into an artist’s studio and talk to him about his story, his work, his inspiration. In the case of Vladimír Klein, the conversation is so natural that after a while you feel like you have known each other for years. A wonderful person.

The GLASS MUSEUM is located on the Novo Bor square, in a Baroque house with a mansard roof, which was built in 1804 by a prominent Novo Bor glass merchant. Here you will learn about the stylistic and technological development of glass from northern Bohemia, you will encounter painted, engraved, molded and cut glass, and you will also see exhibits from historical glass workshops.

In addition to modern exhibition spaces, there are also exhibitions located in the natural spaces of the historic house. But you can be sure of one thing right now – glass, especially art glass, looks good everywhere.

Nový Bor is a city of glass, you will feel it on every corner. When you come to the NOVOTNÝ
GLASS area, you will not know what happened before. You can eat here in a restaurant with a comfortable view of the glassworks.

While debouching and drinking, it is possible to watch men with pipes inhaling strange shapes into the glass, exactly according to the wishes of the artists, who have long since become accustomed to being able to trust them, that even what they did not hope was possible can be born here.

On the main street of Novo Bor you will also find a very inconspicuous shop of the group NATĚLO – ŠPERKY.
Here you can buy glass jewelry from four glass artists – ŠÁRKA BARTKO, KAROLÍNA KOPŘIVOVÉ, EVA RANŠOVÉ and BOHDANA VYDROVÉ. They are amazing, original and extremely imaginative.
But where to wear it – you might ask yourself. A small example – my wife loves large jewelry and wears it to work quite regularly. Well, look… (This one is from Bohdana Vydrová.)

And this one from the wonderful Karolína Kopřivová – we even went to Mrs. Kopřivová’s studio to see it. That’s what’s great about Crystal Valley – no one is making fun of you here, the craftsmen are pleased with your interest and are happy to show you what they do.

And this one from the wonderful Karolína Kopřivová – we even went to Mrs. Kopřivová’s studio to see it. That’s what’s great about Crystal Valley – no one is making fun of you here, the craftsmen are pleased with your interest and are happy to show you what they do.

And one more beauty of Novobork you must not miss. The Glass House. It is part of the headquarters of the LASVIT company. It is a unique combination of traditional timbered buildings, in which glassmakers worked already in the Baroque period, and contemporary architecture using the material that this Scapular is all about.

Just to put it mildly, Nový Bor is half an hour by car from Krásná Lípa. And it is exactly the same distance to Kunratice near Cvikova. Here is Pačinkovo. I mean, this is where the PAČINEK GLASS company of the artistic glassmaker JIŘÍ PAČINEK is based. You can go here all year round, tours of the glassworks, glass gardens and church galleries are held regularly. The glassworks also has a large shop where you can buy glass in a really unusual range, and it just depends on your taste. For example, I love Pačinkovo’s sea paperweights.

The Glass Garden surrounding the smelter is also diverse. Despite the immutability of the glass sculptures, it changes from month to month as nature, sun, clouds, rain, etc. coexist with the glass.

Right next to the smelter is the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, which has been converted into the Crystal Temple Gallery. I have seen several exhibitions there and it has always been remarkable.

The sacred environment creates an unusual and very captivating platform for glass artifacts

Going to the area of ​​Sloup in Bohemia and neighboring Svojkov is a good idea anyway. Whoever hasn’t seen and experienced this hasn’t been to the Lusatian Mountains. Amazing places: rock towns and castles, the mysterious Prayer Mine, the lookout tower, the wonderful Na Stráži restaurant, the castle ruins, incredible views – but more about that in one of the next Škapulířy. We are still within a quarter of an hour of Krásná Lípa. At the end of Svojkov, another gem of the Crystal Valley awaits us – the HAIDL A SYN Glassworks. Glassmaking has been carried out in family clans since time immemorial, fragile beauty was created by glassmaking families. Today, it is no longer so obvious – getting descendants to catch fire for the passion of their ancestors is not so easy. But it works perfectly here.

Father and son Haidl focus primarily on replicas of medieval glass, and they also collaborate a lot with filmmakers. One by one, glowing glass tears flow down the glass, becoming typical “growths” of medieval cups. What were they for? Perhaps so that the glasses would be easier to hold with greasy hands and not slip, perhaps so that the decorative elements would cover the imperfections of the glass. Glowing glass in its liquid state is an unimaginably beautiful material.

Here too, the glassworks has a small shop. If you come here on a weekday morning, they will welcome you and let you watch their work. And it is quite easy to choose from the glassworks’ range.

You can also easily get to Lindava, where you can find one of the most famous and most visited glassworks – AJETO. Here too, you don’t have to wait for the Crystal Valley event, they are ready to show you around the glassworks itself – during the glassmakers’ working hours.

If you have more time, you can go to the Szklarská pub opposite…

…where you can try out your hand at blowing, do some beadwork, satisfy your hunger and thirst,
sit…

…and then head to a garden full of water, glass, free-running nutria, peace and natural beauty.

The charming village of Slunečná is only a few kilometers away. It is a somewhat secret place, a narrow road leads here, which at times may feel like it will probably lead you nowhere. And then you are suddenly in a magical nest surrounded by the last spur of the Bohemian Central Mountains and the undulating foothills of the Lusatian Mountains. There stands a house full of love and glass.

You can only really get here during Crystal Valley events – unless you have a special interest and request a visit from a remarkable creator who lives and works here. RICARDO HOINEFF is a Brazilian who, enchanted by Bohemian glass, settled far from Copa Cabana beach and became one of the indispensable members of the local glassmaking community.

Ricardo’s massive sculptures amaze, captivate, and enchant.

For example, this dragon head is simply breathtaking.

This does not mean, however, that Ricardo cannot work with smaller formats. Here he was able to materialize the heart of glass, which became fatal to his life, in a completely original way.

This does not mean, however, that Ricardo cannot work with smaller formats. Here he was able to materialize the heart of glass, which became fatal to his life, in a completely original way.

We will end our journey through the easily accessible places of the Crystal Valley in Jezvá, a village near Horní Police or Žandov. Be careful – this does not mean that there are no more glass-making sights in the area – this Scapular would just be unbearably long. So let’s go to the ZLATOHLÁVKOVÝCH family glass factory, which you will find (anywhere in the world) like EVPAS GLASS.

This is something else entirely – utility glass in every conceivable form, because, as the owners told us, they sell all over the world and every country has different tastes, different drinking habits, different obsessions with design.

And so you will find almost everything here – from classic and inherited designs to new decors to unexpected and completely original patterns.

At the Crystal Valley events, workshops are opened here, in which visitors try out glass drawing, grinding and other techniques. For some, it is their first experience with glass, while others welcome the opportunity to create something that may one day be their profession or calling. For example, this student from the Kamenickošenov Glass School… But we know her well! You can easily meet her at Bohemian Cottage, she belongs here. Ema Kubicová.

There is someone to copy from, local master painters and engravers are happy to advise, demonstrate, inspire…
The Covid shadow is gone. Glassmakers are no longer in despair, no longer crying, they are laughing again. And that laughter echoes
from Chřibská to Harrachov.

If you are captivated by the Crystal Valley, you will not know when to stop your fragile journey. The possibilities are endless – just click on the website www.crystalvalley.cz – and you will have goals for several years. For example, the glass ladder in the tower of the Liberec Museum, or the UNESCO pearl in Poniklá, the Jablonec Museum of Glass and Costume Jewelry, the entire Železný Brod area, the Harrachov glassworks of the Novosad family… Enough, or I will start posting more photos again. Have a happy crystal journey!

Author: Rostislav Křivánek

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We will drive together about 30 km from Krásná Lípa at a leisurely pace with several stops (e.g. Fairy Cave, Kyjovský Castle…). We will drive through the Kyjovské údolí directly to the Obere Schleuse (DE) boats.

We will lend you bicycles, wheels and children’s bicycles.   Do you like to spend more time enjoying the landscape than pedaling uphill? We will lend you an electric bike.

Approximate schedule:

9:00 a.m. Start (Krásná Lípa,  Doubice, Na Tokání, Jetřichovice of choice)

10:30  Hinterhermsdorf, Obere Schleuse Boats, bike parking Niedermühle mill and 10 min walk to the boats on the red road and return the same way back.

13:00 Osada Kopec (lunch, coffee break by agreement, open Fri-Sun). A longer return.

15:30 Return

If you want to go on this trip with Aleš, contact info@cottage.cz

Video: Boat cruise on the Upper Schleuse Upper Schleuse

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Trail: from Bohemian Cottage, Krásný Buk 1 km, Sněžná 2,5 km, Vlčí Hora 4,5 km
walking back : chapel sv.Anny 5,5 km, Kyjov 7 km, Kamenná Horka 10 km

We will start our hiking trip at Kamenná Horka (490 m.a.s.l.) and we will go down the blue path to the village of Krásný Buk (a monument zone dotted with stilt houses) and climb up the red path to the small village of Sněžná (note: we can jump off the route here and see the family arboretum Fritsch).
From Sněžná we continue along the red road to Vlčí Hora. I recommend sitting in the freely accessible Nobilis Tilia herb garden or in the cafe.

Head back along the blue direction of the Chapel of St. Anny, Dlouhý důl and then on the yellow road to Kyjov. Here you can sit in front of the Fakulta inn or continue up the hill on the yellow path past the cowshed to Kamenná Horka.

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A little short, but for smaller children there is a trip to Srbská Kamenice. Its length is 1.5 km.

In the village of Srbská Kamenice you will find a local educational trail and especially the Arba Nature Reserve. If you follow the yellow tourist sign from the local information center towards Vyhlídka nad jezírkem, after about 300m you will arrive at a meadow in the floodplain of the Kamenice river, which is covered with sedges in the spring months. At the well with drinking water, there is a steep hike of about 100 m to the top of the rock, where there is a wonderful view of the entire village and the surrounding area. You will get back by the same route.

There is also a beautiful children’s playground in Srbská Kamenice. I recommend to visit.

The question is where to eat and drink well here? Although our experience of a good-looking boarding house is not for recommendation.

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Park for free in front of the Zahrádky castle and follow the red sign through the castle park. There are new children’s slides in the castle park. Following the dirt road, you will soon arrive in the valley, where rocks, caves, photogenic log cabins in the settlement of Karba and an old railway viaduct will surprise you.

The educational trail has a difficult entrance for cyclists. Here, you walk along the built wooden path along and across the Robečský stream, which is surrounded by vegetation as if somewhere in a secret forest.

It is possible to detour to the Goat farm Nový dvůr (www.farmanovydvur.cz). You will probably be surprised by the local architecture, more reminiscent of antiquity than an agricultural settlement. The cheeses are excellent though.

TIP: part of the educational trail is not suitable for bicycles, but children’s scooters and strollers can pass through. One of the trip members can then quickly go back for the car and come to the goat farm or to the end of the trail to Dubica

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Not FIG as figs

Mrakošmak, loved, Jasmír, Panožrout, witness. These are the names of giants alias trees (spruce, crane, maple, Book, linden), which carry a story with a lesson. The trail is 3.5 km long. Some stop can sit and look around the scenic landscape Lusatian Mountains.

TIP: You can ride a scooter or a toy carts. Possible with off-road stroller (Trail was famously punched). In winter sleigh

Note: In Polevsko restaurant on křižovance, www.penzionnakrizovatce.cz.

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Pretty easy walk full of rest. We chose the path from Rynartice still the blue nose, you will come to a signpost, Here we changed the color to red and went to the valley along the stream about 5km. Children to accommodate a steeplechase, which is abundantly along the way offer: now and then climb up the hill, the rock, or large stone, jumping over roots, They climb trees fallen across the creek and explore the neighborhood. V Jetrichovice Of course, waiting for the bus with lolly:-)

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A beautiful easy walk full of relaxation. We chose the path from Rynartice along the blue path, still behind the nose, until you come across a signpost, here we changed the color to red and set out through the valley along the stream for about 5 km. The children thought of it as running through the obstacles that are offered in abundance along the path: every now and then they climb a slope, a rock or a large stone, jump over roots, climb trees that have fallen across the stream and explore the surroundings. Waiting for the bus in Jetřichovice, of course with a popsicle

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