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Before we started our hike today, we quick ran up to the chateau up on the hillside, the same chateau we had admired last night during supper in town. Since it was still early in the morning the place was closed but we could walk around the grounds. We found a nice overlook which gave us a good view of the village of Vranov below. After our quickie tour we ran back down the hill to meet Tom who drove us to the village of Cizov for today's hike.

From the chateau we got a great view of the town of Vranov nad Dyje below. Our hotel, the Pension Anita was just up the river to the right.

Cizov is the site of the only remaining piece of the original Iron Curtain in the Czech Republic. Still preserved there was the ~5 foot high barbed wire fence, tank barricades and a guard tower up on stilts. From there we followed the road into Hardegg, Austria. Along the way, we took a short detour into the woods to a overlook above a cliff where we got a great panoramic view of Hardegg and the Dyje River forming the border between the Czech Rep. and Austria. From the overlook we backtracked to the road and continued to Hardegg. To pass into Austria we had to go thru the border guard post in the Czech Rep. (showing our passports), then walk about 40 feet across a small bridge over the Dyje River to the border guard post in Austria (again showing our passports). We got our passports stamped at both guard posts.

Remnants of the Iron Curtain in Cizov, tank baricades, barb wire fence, and guard post on stilts in distance.

The border crossing from Czech Rep.into Hardegg, Austria was a small footbridge across the Dyje River with border guards at both ends.

We hiked to an overlook above the Dyje River for a panoramic view of Hardegg, Austria. The castle is at the upper left.

Crossing that small bridge across the river going from one country into another reminded me of all those spy movies where they're swapping prisoners between countries. You know, where the prisoners start from opposite sides of the bridge and walk across to freedom while passing the other prisoner in the middle of the bridge walking the other way.

In Hardegg we walked up the hill to the Castle Stuben. We didn't have enough time to go in and explore, but we did find enough time to stop and patronize a local sidewalk cafe and enjoy ice cream and pastries!. Ya gotta love those pastries!. One simply must keep their priorities in order you know. Then it was back across the border bridge into the Czech Republic. This time the guards at both ends remembered us and just waved us thru. At this point we rejoined our hiking trail which followed the Dyje River westward back to Vranov, a pleasant hike thru the woods. Back in Vranov, Tom was waiting with the van to take us to Telc and our next lodging, the Hotel Celerin.

We arrived in Telc in the late afternoon so we had some time to explore the town square and Telc's chateau at the end of the plaza.

Here are two panoramic views of the town square in Telc. In the photo above you can just barely see our hotel (the Hotel Celerin). It's the light yellow building with dormers trying to hide in the lefthand corner of the square. In the photo below, the road leading back to the right leads to the town's chateau.

 

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Next page > Hiking from Slavonice to Nova Bystrice