Hiking

In this shot you can see the Hotel Jested in Liberec in the distance.

I composed this shot mainly for the three trees in the foreground. I just think that this looks cool. :-)

Slovanka, appropriately enough for a Czech tourist attraction, has its own hospoda, or pub, pictured here.

Here's a shot of the road back into Josefuv Dul as me and my travelling companions finally made it back to our lodgings. I've taken photos in the town centre of Josefuv Dul before, of course, and it's generally a pretty town, so I always find something to shoot.

Here's an alternate to Picture 1. I like the sky in this one a lot better, and the colors, even with post processing, aren't as good on Picture 1 as they are on this one.

This is one of the highest resolution shots that I've ever uploaded to Flickr, since I wanted you to be able to read the map. :-) The map is of the Krkonose, a mountain range near Stepanka, where we were going to hike next.

Here's the trail up the mountain to Stepanka. It was massively steep, even if it isn't obvious here. Imagine yourself looking way up this path, as opposed to down it, with your neck craned back, and then you have some idea.

Stepanka, like Slovanka, is an observation tower, although it's older, dating back to 1891, and it's better built, of course. I also think that it's prettier, and because it's on top of a mountain it also offers far better views.

This was the sign on the lodge for Stepanka, indicating an altititude of 959 meters above sea level. That isn't amazingly high, of course, but it does offer some nice views.

Here's a view taken from the top of the Stepanka tower.

....And here's another!! I liked Stepanka a lot better than Slovanka, needless to say.

This green landscape, taken from Stepanka, is one of the weirdest and most wonderful landscapes I've ever taken anywhere. The green is phenomenal, as you can see, more or less unnatural, and I still to this day don't know why it came out this way. The rest of this roll of film was totally normal.

Stepanka, in addition to the observation deck on top, also has a parapet about halfway up, from which I took this.

I don't know if I took this at Stepanka or on the way back, but the way the sunrays come through the clouds is I think reason enough to include it. :-)

Here's another shot of the Stepanka tower looking straight up from the halfway parapet. I always hoped that this would come out good, and I think it at least looks decent now.

I shot this on the drive back to Prague, but I think we were still in Liberecky Kraj at the time. I could be wrong.

I also shot this on the drive home, although it's of course very similar to Picture 2.

Just south of Sidliste Haje, at the southern border of the city, is this park, Milichovsky Les, which provides a striking contrast to Sidliste Haje. The trees mostly hide the Panelaks of the Sidliste, so that you would never know where you are if you didn't know the area. Notice that Kreslice, the nearest town to this part of Prague (although some maps consider it part of Praha 11, the street signs indicate that it's seperate, so I don't know who's really right), is only 2 Km. away. I don't know anything about Pitkovice, but Uhrineves is indisputably part of Prague.