{"id":4423,"date":"2019-11-23T13:51:35","date_gmt":"2019-11-23T13:51:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/budweiserbudvar.com\/uk\/?post_type=story&p=4423"},"modified":"2019-12-02T10:35:27","modified_gmt":"2019-12-02T10:35:27","slug":"searching-for-spring","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/budweiserbudvar.com\/uk\/blog\/story\/searching-for-spring\/","title":{"rendered":"SEARCHING FOR THE SPRING"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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A walk to the source of the Vltava River.<\/span><\/h2>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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A<\/span>s soon as we enter the forest, everything feels different. The road narrows, the pines thicken and the greenery deepens. The sun, bright overhead a moment ago, is reduced to streaks through the branches, highlighting misty, mossy avenues of spruce and gnarled tree roots. From the corner of my eye, I\u2019m sure I see a shape bounding off into the undergrowth. Were it not for a wooden sign welcoming us to \u2018\u0160umava National Park\u2019, it\u2019d be easy to believe we\u2019d strayed into a Brothers Grimm fairytale.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The words \u2018national treasure\u2019 get thrown about a lot, but occasionally a place really deserves the description. Even before the road began rising up into \u0160umava\u2019s tree-clad foothills, we had the impression we were heading somewhere special. An attendant at the petrol station on the highway had nodded his approval on hearing our plans to visit this 70,000-hectare stretch of rugged, lush and ecologically extraordinary forest. And he wasn\u2019t the first.<\/p>\n

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Wherever you go in the Czech Republic, mention \u0160umava and you\u2019re likely to draw smiles, memories or recommendations delivered in reverential tones. There\u2019s no mistaking that this is the crown jewel in a country with a wealth of natural riches.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Looking at a map, you start to appreciate why. This landscape is not just enchanting but environmentally important. Straddling the Bavarian border at the southwest edge of the Czech Republic, \u0160umava\u2019s mix of mountains, woods, peat bogs, mirror-flat glacial lakes, meadows, springs and meandering rivers link with tracts of German and Austrian woodland to form the vast \u2018transnational\u2019 Bohemian Forest, the largest forested area in Europe. Being at the geographical centre of the continent, this density of trees is also known as the \u2018Green Lungs of Europe\u2019; it\u2019s a region that, quite literally, breathes life into the landmass.<\/p>\n

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This is especially true for wildlife. Aside from a few scattered villages \u0160umava remains sparsely populated by humans meaning thousands of animal species thrive here, including the king of European forest cats, the lynx, as well as elk, deer, moose, boar, pine marten, wildcat and otter. A sharp-eyed (or eared) visitor may encounter three types of rare grouse \u2013 the capercaillie, black grouse and hazel grouse \u2013 and there are even reports of hikers glimpsing wolves ghosting through its remotest reaches.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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W<\/span>inding down the windows as we drive, we\u2019re washed with waves of birdsong echoing through the trees. In the lulls between melodies there is only glorious silence. Everything exudes a sense of deep age and timelessness; it feels like we\u2019ve found that rare thing \u2013 a place of origin, protected from the modern world.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

For Czechs, there\u2019s one specific point of origin in \u0160umava particularly close to their hearts: the spring that births the country\u2019s iconic watercourse, the mighty Vltava. Bubbling up here in South Bohemia, the \u2018national river\u2019 trickles, widens, weaves and thunders its way 430km through \u010cesk\u00fd Krumlov, \u010cesk\u00e9 Bud\u011bjovice and all the way to Prague where it is criss-crossed by eighteen bridges, including the famously photogenic Charles Bridge.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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\u201cFor Czechs, there\u2019s a point of origin in \u0160umava close to their hearts: the spring that births the country\u2019s watercourse, the mighty Vltava. Bubbling up in South Bohemia, the \u2018national river\u2019 trickles, widens, weaves and thunders all the way to Prague.\u201d<\/span><\/h3>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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L<\/span>ocated a gentle six kilometre trek from the mountain village of Kvilda, the Vltava\u2019s source is not only a point of pilgrimage for Czechs but a great focal point for anyone wanting to get out and experience some of \u0160umava\u2019s natural wonders on foot \u2013 which is exactly what we\u2019re here to do.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

So after parking and downing bags at our hotel for the night \u2013 the picturesque, wood-clad Hotel \u0160umava Inn on Kvilda\u2019s little main street \u2013 we reappear in boots, jumpers and coats. The drop in temperature at over 1,060m above sea level is palpable. Across the road, outside an incredibly well stocked tourist information centre packed with walking trail leaflets and cycling maps, we meet up with Kvilda\u2019s young mayor, V\u00e1clav Vostradovsk\u00fd, who seems far more acclimatised in his thin leather jacket.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cLiving here you get used to it.\u201d He says. \u201cThis village is actually the coldest place in the Czech Republic. We have a yearly average temperature of two degrees centigrade. One day in early summer last year, it was 30 degrees everywhere else but we still had snow ploughs clearing the street.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Not today though. Despite the weather becoming overcast, there\u2019s no danger of the white stuff that transforms this village into a cross-country skiing paradise for much of the year. So, armed with maps, we all set off down the road in search of the spring.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Away to our right, the Vltava meanders, thick, snake-like through rich meadows; we stop to point at a kingfisher flashing sapphire across its surface. Then the track rises out of the village, past the grassland and lines of finely stacked logs, leading us up into the trees again.<\/p>\n

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Amid the vegetation, the mayor points out young blueberry plants jewelled with moisture and some of the many incredible wildflowers, explaining that there plant species found in \u0160umava that have remained since the last Ice Age.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Up through the wood and around a bend, a patch of mist hangs between the banks of spruce; beneath it a brown hare sits on the track, eyeing us as we approach before dashing off into the undergrowth. Its disappearance signals the start of a soft, drizzle-rain, which soon hazes the trees. But, as V\u00e1clav explains, it\u2019s fitting weather to be walking into.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWater here is everything,\u201d he tells me \u201c\u0160umava\u2019s mountain ridge is part of the main watershed of Europe between the Black Sea and the North Sea. The freshwater in its peat bogs, wetlands, lakes, streams and rivers mean it\u2019s a very important headwater.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The rivers he\u2019s talking about \u2013 the Vltava and Otava \u2013 swell and fall with rain, over time creating oxbow lakes and floodplains that sustain \u0160umava\u2019s diversity of aquatic insects, \u2018underwater meadows\u2019, fish and otters. Plants and trees like alder, willow and downy birch grow along the edges of the watercourses, themselves creating habitats and ecosystems that sustain rare species.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

This lifeblood has long flowed downstream too. The Vltava\u2019s winding course has long been integral to \u2013 and fed \u2013 the human history of the Czech Republic. From this river\u2019s banks bloomed the country\u2019s major towns and cities. Before Budweiser Budvar drew water from an Ice Age aquifer 300m beneath the brewery, its brewing predecessors in \u010cesk\u00e9 Bud\u011bjovice relied on the Vltava. The river has driven countless industries and even inspired classical composers; today it still powers everything from hydroelectric dams to a bohemian canoeing and rafting scene that congregates around \u010cesk\u00fd Krumlov each summer.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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\u201cJust like when you make beer,\u201d V\u00e1clav says. \u201cWithout the water there would be nothing.\u201d<\/span><\/h3>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cGiven its importance, it\u2019s something of a shock to find the river\u2019s humble source.\u201d<\/span><\/h3>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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A<\/span>t a little clearing signposted \u2018Pramen Vltavy\u2019, we duck off the road a few feet following the sound of trickling water. Amid rowan and pine bursting with bracket fungus, surrounded by clumps of wood sorrel and wild raspberries, a wooden pipe is suspended over a pool. The pure, clear water running down it is too tempting to resist and I cup a handful of it and drink.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Staring at me is a weathered wooden sculpture, the river goddess and keeper of the spring. In the pool by her feet people have thrown coins, presumably for wishes. Rising up, I do the same and before long, they seem to be granted. The clouds lift and Alpine-like views of mountain and forest are revealed. A cuckoo calls and I stand, eyes closed, soaking in the peace and quiet.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Back by the signpost, there is a hiker\u2019s information board detailing the lay of the land, criss-crossed with red and black dotted lines. \u201cThese are all walking routes,\u201d says V\u00e1clav. \u201cThey join up with paths that take you through Austria, Switzerland, Germany\u2026throughout Europe.\u201d It transpires that \u2013 amazingly \u2013 his own wife followed one, walking from here all the way to Santiago De Compostela last year.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Of course, these borders haven\u2019t always been so open.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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A few kilometres further on through the trees lie the remnants of Bu\u010dina, a village razed to the ground after its German population were evicted after the Second World War and borders were ruthlessly enforced between east and west. Standing there now is a chilling recreation of the Iron Curtain as it was giving visitors an idea of the danger of the dividing lines, showing the high walls of wire, lethal electric fences and lookout towers. It\u2019s strange to think that for decades \u0160umava was a no-go area to most people, especially on days like this when, if you turn and look the other way, it appears to be a little corner of heaven.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

By the time we get back to the hotel everyone is ravenous. As we take a table for dinner and order beers and jugs of water, fires are lit and the eclectic interiors of the Hotel \u0160umava Inn come to life. Creaky wooden beams, random Laurel and Hardy memorabilia, antlers, penny farthings and shelves of books \u2013 all work together to create a warming sense of bonhomie. But the food takes it to another level.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Plates arrive with hearty dishes drawing on ingredients from the area. A potato and wild mushroom soup; the chef\u2019s signature \u2018Handful\u2019 soup \u2013 a handful each of beans, lentils, pearl barley, sausage \u2013 then a superb roasted trout fished from the Vltava served stuffed with herbs on a bed of risotto and chanterelles from the woods. Next is a delicious game goulash made with \u0160umava venison and boar, and the kind of local specialty discovery that renders you speechless and reaching for the camera: pancakes dusted with icing sugar with stewed, roasted apple and raisins.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Strolling it all off through Kvilda as the day draws down into dark, past a sweet, little church with a varnished tree trunk for an altar, I drop down to where the Vltava weaves through the village. There\u2019s no doubt that water defines \u0160umava; it has done for countless millennia, but what rises here and flows on downstream defines the country too. It feels good to have found its beginning point and to have drunk in a little of this region\u2019s unique magic. I throw one more coin into the river, just for good measure.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The Route<\/span><\/h2>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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