A Night on Hazmburk

A 15.9 km Friday-into-Saturday leg from Třebenice up to Hazmburk — a night on the castle hill — then down to Libochovice; first half of a summer čundr weekend.

The opening leg of a summer čundr weekend, built around one idea: climb Hazmburk on a Friday evening and have the twin towers to yourself. An afternoon train to Třebenice gives exactly the right start.

From Třebenice the way runs south-east through Chodovlice and Sedlec, easy field walking with the castle rock growing in front of you the whole time — Hazmburk dominates this side of the Ohře plain like nothing else. The climb itself comes late in the day, which in summer means golden light on the basalt and the crowds long gone.

We slept up on the hill. The castle grounds were formally closed by then, and getting in involved a gate that should have stopped us — I can’t recommend copying that part, but the night up there was worth remembering. Saturday morning is a short, all-downhill walk through Klapý’s orchard country into Libochovice, with the château park and shops for breakfast; the track ends just beyond at Poplze, where the weekend’s second leg begins.