Checking out South Moravia
The country's capital, Prague, is a well-known mini-break destination, attracting scores of British hen and stag parties. But away from the bustling metropolis, the country slows down a beat. Visitors can relax in the smaller, unspoilt towns and enjoy the country's rich history.
South Moravian chateaux and castles
The pretty little town of Lednice is about a three-hour drive from Prague. Although its name translates as 'ice-box', it was warm and cheerful when I visited in September. Its crowning glory is the neo-gothic chateau, once owned by the lords of Liechtenstein, and now listed as a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) World Heritage site. The original buildings were made over in the neo-gothic style in the mid 19th century and the chateau boasts elaborately carved ceilings and huge wood-panelled halls. An impressive self-supporting spiral staircase is carved from one enormous oak tree.
We took a short cruise along the river Dyje, dodging water snakes and several fallen trees, to see the Minaret. Standing 60 metres high, this is one of the tallest of its kind outside Islamic countries. Those with a head for heights can climb up the 302 steps to the viewing tower at the top. From this bird's eye position, you get a great view of the surrounding parklands, which are protected under the UNESCO listing. There are plenty of cycle paths and walking trails around the area for the more adventurous.
Another fairytale chateau stands above the nearby town of Vranov nad Dyji. Kids will enjoy exploring the secret doorway in one of the bedrooms and sliding around in the over-sized slippers which protect the wooden floors. A highlight here is the enormous Hall of Ancestors, a vast cavern of a hall with statues depicting the previous lords of Althann, who owned the chateau in the 17th century.
Tasting the wines
A short drive away is the town of Valtice. This is at the heart of the wine-growing area, and produces some the best wines. The climate is similar to that of Germany, so white wines tend to be better than reds. Although the Czechs prefer sweeter whites, I did find a couple of delicious dry whites. I particularly liked Veltlinske cerene rane and Frankovka barrique.
To get a feel for the variety of wines, we headed to the Salon of Czech Wine in Valtice Castle. Here you can sample up to 100 wines, but we decided on a more modest selection and tasted a mere ten! Each wine is carefully selected to be the best of its type, and the Salon lists information including the grape variety, region, soil type, date of harvest and alcohol content of each wine for the more serious wine students. My favourites were a 2002 Rulandske modre, a delicious red which our sommelier told us the president drank at his birthday party and liked so much he sent his limousine out to fetch more, and a 2002 Veltlinkske zelene, an ice wine - a sweet white made from grapes that are harvested when frozen on the vine.
A word of warning here - Czech drink-driving laws are very strict, with virtually zero tolerance of any alcohol in the blood. They're also strict when it comes to cyclists. Any cyclist causing an accident while under the influence faces a 1,000 EURO fine.
Festival time
Each September, the town of Znojmo hosts a festival to celebrate the wine harvest. At the opening ceremony, jugglers, sword fighters and fire-eaters parade through the streets before putting on a pageant in the town square. There's also a fair and street market over the festival weekend, and a firework display. Locals party by drinking burcak - the juice of lightly-fermented pressed grapes. It tastes quite fruity and many Czechs believe that you have to drink at least eight pints of it in a season to purify your blood and guarantee good health. Be warned though - although it tastes like grape juice, it is deceptively alcoholic.
The medieval town of Znojmo sits on top of a labyrinth of tunnels. The catacombs stretch for some 27 kilometres underneath the town and go down to a depth of four storeys. In times of war, the tunnels provided hiding places, and local stories tell of a Swedish invasion being thwarted when the invaders discovered a 'ghost town', complete with roaring fires and dinners bubbling on stoves, but no people to be seen. Nowadays, you can take a guided tour of about 1km of the tunnels.
Need to know:
- Take a travel kettle with you as few hotels have tea or coffee-making facilities in the rooms
- Outside of the cities, many bars, even hotel bars, and restaurants close at about 10.30pm
- Ryanair fly direct to Brno from Stansted, with return flights starting from around £30 plus taxes - www.ryanair.com
- Czech airlines www.czechairlines.co.uk and Easyjet www.easyjet.com fly to Prague
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