Hop Country to Žatec

A 39.6 km winter weekend down the Ohře. A short Friday leg to Louny and the Šalanda pub, then Saturday through the hop country past Stekník into UNESCO Žatec.

This is a winter čundr with a simple weekend plan. You walk a short Friday leg, a long Saturday, and take the Sunday morning train home. The country is the flat hop and grain land along the Ohře. It has no summits and no crowds, just the river, the fields and two good towns.

Friday

An afternoon train to Slavětín nad Ohří leaves you a comfortable eight-kilometre evening walk along the river through Počedělice into Louny. We had dinner at Šalanda, our favourite pub in town, and slept in Louny.

Saturday

The long day heads west out of Louny, following the Ohře through Skupice and Březno u Postoloprt, where one of the country’s best-researched prehistoric settlement sites lies under the fields. Past Mradice the hop poles begin, first scattered, then everywhere. Then you reach Stekník on its low spur, a château alone in the hop fields. The final stretch follows the Zlatý potok country into Žatec, arriving through the warehouse quarter that earned the town its UNESCO listing. Beds, pubs and the Sunday train home are all within the old town.