Notes and Search |
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2024 Planned Activities in Hruba Skala |
Where are we, when we're not in Florida?
Česky Raj |
The immediate area is known as Česky Raj, the Czech Paradise. We're about 6 kms from Turnov and about 90 kms north and slightly east of Prague.
Hruba Skala comprises several villages with the Mayor and his/her office located in Doubravice. Doubravice is where our home is. Hruba Skala features a castle, although some might think that too grand a description for what is basically a very nice chateau--see picture to the left. In addition, the surrounding Česky Raj features many wonderful forests and limestone towers which draw tourists and rock climbers from most of northern Europe. There are many weekend cottages for city dwellers and Pensions for tourism. We have a village pub. It is integrated with the general store, and the building was completely redone for the 2016 tenants; the pub component was enlarged and can accommodate about 25 to 30 inside and about half that again outside in fair weather; it now serves as the essential central gathering and bonding location for the village and the place for post-Town Hall meetings, poor weather English classes, Conversations and, most importantly, the Friday Evening gatherings. Sometimes there are Saturday and Sunday gatherings as well and, sometimes on other days... The proprietor, a young Vietnamese gentleman, Quynh Huong Vu, fortunately nicknamed 'Libor', signed on for Svijany instead of Rohozec draft beers, and serves wines (sometimes the white wine is chilled, but more often the red is chilled) and sometimes Libor remembers that some people like ice in their drinks; shots and, occasionally, some tasty snacks, are sponsored by one or more of the attendees for the pleasure of all—all part of our Czech Paradise! One speculated a year ago about how the core group would react to a 'foreign' person running the store and the pub. It seems to have worked out pretty well and Libor is now trained to handle fairly small gatherings and recall their preferences. The problem is that one person cannot possibly handle a fairly populated inside crowd and a similar size outside group; that is still an issue to be resolved. The Pub had some bland white walls and we decided that something needed to be done. We evolved the idea of sponsoring a painting depicting local landmarks of Česky Raj. We discovered that Otto, who had participated in the insulation of our roof, was/is an artist. We discussed the idea and he agreed. One of our friends in the village has a vast collection of old postcards and we thought that they might be a source of inspiration in selecting the subject matter for the painting(s); we departed for Florida in late October 2016 not having been informed of the decision and not having been informed of the likely cost of Otto's work. Otto worked during the winter months and a vow of silence prevented us from finding out what the subject(s) was. Only in February 2017 did a leaked photo arrive allowing us to see what had been done. We were well pleased and even more so when we arrived in person to see the finished product. The project created a lot of conversation both critical, helpful, unhelpful and complementary during the work in progress months and that, in itself, was good! Finally the Czech Government has legislated that there shall be no smoking in pubs, clubs, etc. Now we can enjoy meals without the pleasure of someone else's cigarette or cigar smoke. Most grateful. |
Commissioned Paintings In Our 'Pub'
Both pictures were drawn from old postcards. The picture above is an old depiction of Hruba Skala Chateau with the symbol of Česky Raj, Hrad Trosky, to the left. The picture shows the famous rock formations.
To the left is a depiction of the lovely mansion built in the early 20th Century and which is now used a the Municipal Offices, Obečni Urad, of Hruba Skala. The firemen, Hasiči, use the basement for their meetings. The Municipal Library is located in this building and a suite on the upper floor is leased to a professional physio-therapist for therapeutic massages. |