Hruba Skala, Praha, and the Czech Experience

If someone asked you to walk off a cliff would you do it?

Choosing to go on the DIS trip called Czech Trek I knew that many of the activities would be nerve racking,  but nothing quite prepares you for that moment of standing at the edge of the drop off, praying that your line works, and stepping off. Whether climbing through caves, ziplining over a drop off, tightrope walking across a rope bridge between two cliffs, or climbing up a rock face, the Czech Trek was an amazing experience!

I filled my memory card taking as many pictures as a could but I still feel that no picture can truly portray the beauty of where we were. I felt like I had been plucked out of real life, and place into a fairytale, Bohemian castle included. When you get to wake up each day in Bohemian castle on a sandstone cliff face, and get to experience the landscape that is called Bohemian Paradise, it is hard to put into words precisely what you experienced. Quite simply I felt like an adventurer in this fairytale world.

One of the only activities which didn't involve sandstone rocks, ropes, and harnesses was Archery, which we did the first day at the castle. Besides being great fun I am glad that we didn't immediately start tight rope walking between cliffs after our overnight bus ride from Copenhagen to Hruba Skala.

Anyone feel like leaning back off the edge of a cliff? Here I am rapelling down the cliff, which consists of you leaning backwards enough that the ropes catch, so that you can almost "walk" down the cliff face. Easier said than done though, that is for sure!



In the picture below I am zip lining between the two cliffs. This is very eerie! You are in a full body harness, with a line attached to your back that is connected to the zipline, so when you walk off the cliff it does not feel as if you are attached to anything, until the line catches and you are wisked across the drop off. Of course I am not extremely adventurous so I held onto my harness until I reached the other side.

Whatever you do, if you do not have good balance do not cross between two cliffs on a rope bridge which consists of one rope for your feet, and one for each hand. Though you are attached to a safety wire above you, you are warned that if you fall off the bridge you may be hanging between the cliffs, over 90 meters from the ground until they can get another line out to that area. Talk about pressure! Luckly I was able to tight rope across despite the swaying of the bridge, without falling off.

In this picture I am just getting to the end of the rope bridge, which is the only reason why I posed for the picture with a smile on my face. Any pictures mid bridge, where there was the most amount of swaying would have been pictures of me hanging on for dear life, and swearing to myself about why I decided this would be a good idea in the first place... thankfully there are no such pictures!

Trekking around the Bohemian Paradise area you would come across these absolutely gorgeous views of the mountains, valleys, and cliffs. This one shows how the castle where we stayed seems to rise above other cliffs, yet somehow fits into the picturesque quality of this area.

The last day of our trip before heading back to Copenhagen we went to Prague for the day. Prague, or Praha, was absolutely gorgeous and I wish I had more time to explore the city. I was able to meet up with my friend Vojtech, who had studied at University of Richmond during my freshman year. It was great to see him again!! Here we are in front of the Old Town Square Astronomical clock.

That about wraps up my trip to Czech Republic! On Monday I will be heading off to Greenland on another adventure. Stay tuned for that post.
Vi Ses!