A Night in Úštěk

A two-day solo crossing of the eastern České středohoří: a Friday evening at the Ostré Calvary, a night in Úštěk, then over Sedlo and the Kalich ruin down to the railway at Křešice.

Vědlice is easy to reach from Prague even after work: train from hlavní nádraží to Hněvice, then a bus up into the hills. That makes a Friday evening start practical — the short first leg leaves the whole of Saturday for the long one, and it puts you at the Calvary above Ostré at the hour the place is at its best. That timing was the whole point of my plan.

Day one — an evening walk to Úštěk

From Vědlice the route follows the road north through Tetčiněves, then picks up the blue trail to the parking spot below Ostré and climbs the sandstone staircase to the three chapels.

Give the Calvary time — the evening view is the standout of the first day. From there it is two downhill kilometres into Úštěk, where the day ends. The town has several places to stay; I took a room at Hotel Racek.

Day two — over Sedlo and Kalich to the Elbe

The second day is the long one: nearly thirty kilometres from Úštěk to the railway at Křešice. Pick up breakfast in town — Úštěk has cafés, bakeries and pubs — and follow the red waymarks out through Habřina and Srdov to the foot of Sedlo. The climb gets steep near the top, but the summit view is worth every metre; it was the standout of my second day. Neighbouring Malé Sedlo adds little — not much of a view, you can skip it.

From Sedlo, green waymarks lead down through Liběšice and Řepčice to Kalich Castle. The hilltop surprised me: it is well looked after now, in noticeably better shape than when I last stood there in 2017.

Check the last train from Křešice before you set out, and keep an eye on the clock from Kalich on. In my case it got late by Třebušín, so I swapped the marked route for the direct road through Býčkovice and pushed the pace — and made the last train. The stop sits right by the Elbe at Zahořany.

Water and food are no problem on this route: beyond Úštěk there is a pub and a shop in both Třebušín and Křešice.