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November 23rd, 2008
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In Hrabal's footsteps

Trips & Trails

By Fiona Gaze
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
July 2nd, 2008 issue

TRIP TIPS



How to get to Kersko: Bus from Černý most to the stop Kersko-Hradištko (check
www.idos.cz for times)
Czech Tourist Club map: No. 37
Recommended walk: Kersko-Hradištko-Sadská jezero-Sadská
Walk length: Approx. 13 km
Restaurace Hájenka
Kersko 148, 289 12 Sadská
Web: www.hajenka-kersko.cz (Czech only)
Hotel Modrá hvězda
Lázeňská 477, 289 12 Sadská
Web: http://www.chalcedon.cz/hotel-modra-hvezda (Czech only)
Hotel Dvořák
Kostelní 255, 289 12 Sadská
Tel.: 325 594 236

The Czech writer Bohumil Hrabal gleaned much inspiration for his whimsical and beloved tales from the people and places surrounding the Kersko Nature Reserve, where for decades he spent weekends with his 25 cats. Visiting the park today, either on foot or by bike, offers both inspiration and respite on a hot day, with its densely packed pines, lanes of summer cottages and the promise of a dip in Sadská Lake. The terrain is flat and the path straightforward, perfect for letting your mind wander.   
A 35-minute bus ride from Černý most to the Kersko–Hradištko stop drops you on the main street of this atypical village. After just half a kilometer, the Hájenka pub lures passers-by with the sound of locals’ laughter, a shady beer garden, tempting smells from the kitchen and, oddly, a bowling alley. The pub starred in Jiří Menzel’s 1983 film version of Hrabal’s story Slavnosti sněženek (The Snowdrop Festival), and the specialties include two types of wild boar — one with dumplings and cabbage, and the other in sweet rosehip sauce — which set off an impassioned debate in the story. The pub pulls the local brew, made in the nearby city of Nymburk. Called Postřižiny (literally, “Cutting It Short”), the brewery is named after Hrabal’s tale of the same name, which recounts his parents’ life in a Nymburk brewery.  
Assuming you can make it out of Hájenka (locals have been known to buy visitors shots of slivovice), it’s a straight shot for another half a kilometer. Just past Restaurace U Pramene and its tennis courts, the red trail veers off in either direction. Hang a left and pass along a smaller lane, still dotted with cottages, and after a kilometer you’ll come to Hrabal’s cottage. Heading east on the road for 3 km takes you to the small village of Hradištko, which you can either wander through for another pub break or circumvent by hopping back on the red trail by the bus stop.
Either way runs about 2 km before the paths converge at the cemetery where Hrabal is buried. Crossing the road, the red trail continues across an open stretch (1.5 km), through a potential salad of fields (lettuce, onions, turnip, carrots), before delving again into a dappled woodsy path. After another 2 km, the trail opens up again and leads to Sadská Lake. Situated on a bend of the Labe River, it offers sandy beaches, campsites, refreshments and volleyball nets, sometimes in heated use by nudists.
Back at the lake’s entrance, the yellow path heads down an open road perfect for viewing the sunset, toward the raised chapel that marks the town of Sadská. It’s 2.5 km to the town proper, which offers several pubs, including the Hotel Modrá hvězda (mentioned by Hrabal in I Served the King of England). The main hill of the town dates back archaeologically 6,000 years, and if you don’t mind the climb, the St. Apollinaire Chapel at its peak is interesting to poke around.
For a big plate of Czech food and cheap beer, the Hotel Dvořák is located right off the main square. There’s also a fancy new pizzeria opposite the bus station, with the train station a bit further down. Keep in mind that buses run basically every two hours back to Černý most; trains go every hour, with a change in Poříčany.  

Fiona Gaze can be reached at fgaze@praguepost.com


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