Liberec

We’re at the cottage.  Me, Helena, Sam, and Sam’s girlfriend.  We weren’t entirely sure if that was girlfriend girlfriend or just girl who’s a friend, but that was probably denial and wishful thinking on our part (he’s 14).  Anyway, she seems nice.

So, we decided to take a side trip to Liberec, because she had never been there.  I was certain we’d visited Jestěd recently(that was our first stop), but Helena said that Sam was just a baby then, and Sam didn’t remember it at all, so I guess she’s right.  Jestěd is a mountain, and a ski resort, with a couple of snack bars and scenic lookout points at the top.  You take a cable car up, which is not my favorite thing – it does not fill me with confidence when I see a plaque talking about how it was built – in the 1930s.

At the top, we were looking out at the broad sweep of Czech countryside, a patchwork of forests and fields.  You can see into Germany from there, and you know it’s Germany because suddenly there are windmills all over the place.  I wondered how long it would take, in the event of something apocalyptic, which wipes out most of the human race, leaving only small bands of wanderers here and there re-learning how to live off the land, for it to revert to it’s natural state (unbroken forest).  I figure about 20-30 years.
After that, we went into Liberec and took a walk around town – lovely town square, where they had a ‘beach bar’ set up.  Nice concept, a big sandbox but with tables  and umbrellas and tropical drinks.
Tomorrow we’ll probably take a side trip into Germany, but Liberec zoo has also been mentioned as a possibility.