The first road-legal trip in the Czech Republic
The Land-Rover was finally registered just over a month after the car was brought to the Czech Republic during the tiresome and perilous Bern Expedition - on 15th June 2007. The vehicle was now road legal (after we fitted the licence plates on 16th June 2007).
It would not be correct to omit the first real ride with the car - we had to take it out for a trip just hours after the number plates were fitted. I just could not wait. We went around the villages in the vicinity of my parents' home in Kutna Hora, took a short look out from the Vysoka hill and drove back home.
But the actual first road-legal trip followed only on Sunday, 17th June 2007. We packed up for a few hours out, took a short look at the map and went towards Caslav, Golcuv Jenikov and then on to Chotebor and Zdar nad Sazavou. The route was wonderful, with the sun gilding the highland landscape and embroidering the clouds with a silver thread. The woods led us up to Zdar and we parked the Landy at the chateaux in Zdar. We climbed the steps to the small church at the top of the hill above the chateaux and the pond and admired the excellent Baroque architecture by Santini.
The view from up there was also very nice and it looked as if the hill finally received the full attention it deserved as a UNESCO site, with lots of tourists and some investments pouring into the site.
From Zdar, we followed another road on to Pribyslav, the town which was besieged by the Hussite army under Jan Zizka, who fell during the battle. A memorial mound was put up at the battlefield and up till now the village close to the site bears the name of Zizkovo Pole (or Zizka's Field). The mound put together from stones dedicated by patriots from all over the Czech Republic and resembles the one standing at the battlefield off Lipany, where another Hussite battle took place. We found the names of our birthplaces engraved on the stones - Kutna Hora and Vysoke Myto.
We took some pictures and headed back north towards Kutna Hora. During the whole journey we were eagerly waiting whether other Land-Rover drivers will wave at us while passing us, however, we met not a single Land-Rover and couldn't really find out if Land-Rover fans greet each other or not - that is actually being discussed at one of Czech Land-Rover forums. |
