Czech Please.: September 8th, 2013

Our second day in the countryside of the Czech Republic began with some amazing pastries that Marie's mother brought to us. They were obviously made that day and were wonderful, one filled with apricots and the other chocolate. It really was the perfect start to any day. Once Marie picked us up and drove us off to who knows where, we ended up by a bunker which is a common sight around the border. The bunkers were put in place because during WWII, some of the major super powers such as France, UK and the US gave up the Czech Republic to Hitler as a bargain for him to stop his advances. The Czech Republic set up bunkers all around the boarder to keep out the advancing troops but it obviously did not work. Marie's hometown was the first town to be taken over once the troops moved in.

"The Czechoslovak government built a system of border fortifications, as well as some fortified defensive lines inland, from 1935 to 1938 as a defensive countermeasure against the rising threat of Nazi Germany that later materialized in the German offensive plan called Fall Grün. The objective of the fortifications was to prevent the taking of key areas by an enemy (not only Germany but also Hungary) by means of a sudden attack before the mobilization of the Czechoslovak army could be completed, and to enable effective defense until allies (Britain and France and possibly the Soviet Union) could help."

(WWII Bunker)

After we finished looking at the bunker, Marie took us to what she referred to as "Rock Town." What Rock Town really was, was a spot where a glacier had come to rest and created a very deep and clear lake the is fed by snow runoff now. Surrounding the lake are hundred foot tall bluffs and rocks that really cannot be put into words but we spent three hours hiking through Rock Town before heading home on the train. The night ended with us all laying in bed, sore from all the stairs we had climbed and exhausted from our first weekend abroad.

"The Adršpach-Teplice Rocks (Czech: Adršpašsko-teplické skály, German: Wekelsdorfer felsen) are an unusual set of sandstone formations covering 17 km² in northeastern Bohemia, Czech Republic. The rocks have been protected as a national nature reserve since 1933, and since 1991 the whole adjacent region of Broumovsko has enjoyed the status of protected landscape area."