Scenic northwestern Bohemia

My longtime friend, John, and I took a trip through northwestern Bohemia in the Czech Republic the first week of May 2015. It was my fifth time driving through Bohemia since 1990. The roads we took through the picturesque countryside were mostly good and had little traffic. We stayed off the expressway.

If you’re driving between the German cities of Munich and Dresden, I strongly advise taking this scenic, peaceful route largely through the Czech Republic. Towns along the way included Domažlice, Horšovský Týn, Chodová Planá, Mariánské Lázné, Becˇov nad Teplou and Loket.

These old towns were not damaged in World War II, although they did suffer 50 years of neglect under the Nazis and Soviets. They’ve now been restored and were an absolute delight to visit.

Our hotels, which also had good restaurants, cost $50-$90 a night for two, with breakfast. In Loket we stayed at the Bílý Ku˚n (T.G. Masaryka 109/53, 357 33 Loket; phone +420 352 661 809, www.hotel-bilykun.cz/?lg=en).

I had delicious Cordon bleu and beer for $6 at Hotel Gurmán (Nám. Republiky 2, Horsovský Týn 3460; phone +420 379 410 020, www.plzen-info.cz/gurman [in Czech only]), located at the entrance to a castle.

Next to Hotel U Sladka (Pivovarska 107, Chodová Planá 34813; phone +420 374 617 100, www.hotel-u-sladka-chodova-plana.az-ubytovani.info), a large, 3-star hotel with its own spa facilities, there were two Chodovar Brewery restaurants, each with a super atmosphere. 

One of them was in a large, very old stone building that used to be the malt house. The other was in the 800-year-old beer-storage caves under the brewery.

DAN SCHIPPER

Lakeside, MT