A Petrol-Station New Year

A 23.3 km New Year's Eve walk through the Máchův kraj, with the rock castle of Jestřebí, a petrol-station lunch and Starý Berštejn's basalt cone before the finish in Dubá.

This was one of our New Year’s Eve hikes. It has two castle ruins, empty winter country, and lunch wherever you can find it. Transport works even on December 31st. A train takes you to the Zahrádky stop on the way out, and a direct bus to Prague runs at the end.

From the stop the route passes through Zahrádky and climbs to the Pruský kámen, a small rock top above the valley. Then it drops to Jestřebí. The castle carved into its sandstone block is the sight of the day, and from the top you get the view over the pond country. Don’t count on food here. On December 31st nothing in the village was open, and our festive lunch was a beer and a hot dog at the petrol station. That story gave the trip its name.

The second half climbs steadily through Vrchovany onto the basalt cone of Starý Berštejn. This is the one real climb of the day, with castle walls and winter views over the whole rolling country. The route then drops into Dubá. The bus back to Prague leaves from Nový Berštejn on the edge of town.