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48. Sněžka (09/18/26)
Hikers (5): Eva S, Jarda, Rainer, Sophie, Steve
Distance: 13 miles
Rating: 3 difficulty, 8 beauty
Park info: Czechia near Pec pod Sněžkou
Write-up by Steve -- Pictures by Jarda, Eva S and Steve
I decided it was time to finally go to Oktoberfest before I was "too old" to enjoy it. That's another story, but it became the cornerstone of a trip to Europe. My last trip to Europe was in 2013 at the end of my second sabbatical from Intel. Now that I'm retired, I can have a sabbatical every year.
Based on the Oktoberfest schedule, the prospect of cold weather in northern Europe, a desire to avoid famous summits on weekends, and the surprise revival of the Grant Challenge, I picked a few hikes and approximate dates to see if any Occasional hikers wanted to join in.
This was the first on the list. Jarda was in since he was going to be in Prague already. His mother sent suggestions on how to visit a brewery at the start and finish (to supplement the one in the middle), suggesting she, too, might be in. Rainer and Sophie also decided to intersect, as they would be on a separate vacation "nearby" (everything in Europe is close).
We met up the night before to drink plan the details for the next day. The primary plan was me driving everyone to the end of the hike, where we would catch a bus to the start of the hike. The only hiccup was that the garage where my car was parked could only be opened with a fob that I had to return to my Airbnb. But there was no street parking in the morning. I eventually did the European thing and parked on the sidewalk which allowed me to run back up two flights of stairs and return the keys while everyone packed up the car.
Despite my tentative driving in a new rental car in a new country, we arrived with time to spare. This gave us the opportunity to visit Pivovar Trautenberk. In fact, we entered just before it opened. My logic was that it was safer to drink now considering we still had to drive back to Hradec Králové afterwards.
The bus dropped us off in Pec pod Sněžkou, where we started walking up the road and soon ran into Eva, who'd gotten there by train. We all walked up to Pecký Pivovar, the second brewery of the day. After beer and coffee, Eva took a more direct route to the area below the summit than we did.
While the highest point in Czechia was the primary goal, the highest brewery in Czechia was the secondary goal. The logo on that brewery led Jarda to explain some fascinating Czech "antler" lore, which Rainer confirmed was pan-European. Wiki agrees. This is what international travel is all about. Beer leads to knowledge.
Not long after leaving the brewery, we ran into Eva coming our way. Soon we were all off to the relatively nearby summit. There was some sort of race going on, judging by all the people with numbers on their backs. Whatever the race was, it must have been much longer than our hike, because we were passing them left and right on the way to the top.
Was glad we hiked on a Friday, as it must be an absolute zoo on the weekend. You'd think there would be more to say about the hike, but it's so civilized and accessible that at no point are you worried about the hike itself. There are several towers on top and the views were good, but except for the last stretch from the brewery to the summit, the hike is a breeze.
The hike worked out without a hitch. We crammed Eva into our car and drove to Jarda's hometown of Hradec Králové for a post-hike meal and a bon voyage to Sophie and Rainer. But not for long, as Jarda would see them again in Prague and I'd see them again in Hamburg and later still in Brussels.
Milestones:
Jarda's 20th leaf
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