An Expesive Beer - Day 3

Short and Sweet, the walk today was a solo endeavor. A peaceful retreat.

The path up to Tetín from the train station in Srbsko took me to the edge of a giant quarry, where the green meadows fall into an empty landfill. The contrast was startling. Fortunately, it was not too far to walk around.

All this time, walking up along a narrow road that had what seemed to be an unusual amount of traffic. It is not unusual for there to be more people in the countryside on a Sat., during a truly beautiful Autumn. The air was cleaned by rain the night before, and the temperature was ideal for walking. It was no wonder that there would be more visitors to the countryside, than on a weekday. But this road, in particular, seemed to be here only for the giant earth moving vehicles that served the quarry.

I kept Otik leashed, as he has not yet learned to walk close to me on the busy asphalt paths. He behaves as if he is trying to coral cars, like sheep, into an order that only he knows. We were both glad to get off this road, so he could run free, and I could finally relax. The last two days had been stressful. Following my previous day’s walk with Justin, I returned home by train to a wonderful dinner. Unfortunately, this ended when I accidentally spilled a beer on Marie’s laptop. From that moment on, for two days, I was consumed by the necessary repairs. These were completed on Fri. evening, so that I could continue walking on Sat. morning. The lost peace of mind could now be retrieved. I was free to roam again, and today I walked alone.

Through recently harvested fields, I followed the tracks of farm equipment for more than an hour. There were no other walkers here, and no sign warning me not to trespass. I continued to the forest edge, looking for a way in, but the sound of movement in the brush, and fresh boar tracks, motivated me to keep going, quickly. It had not been a concern on well-marked trails before, but now it dawned on me that this would be an eventuality. I would meet such animals, and I wondered just how to prepare myself for this.

We finally found our way to an asphalt road, apparently not open to cars, and no wider than a single lane. Here, we passed other pedestrians, pushing prams and walking their dogs. We were nearing a village, and before long found ourselves before the Tetín cemetery, just across from a fotbal pitch, tennis courts and a children’s playground. There was also a bench to sit and rest, and a chance to consider our next steps.

The day was warm now, and the Autumn colors were glowing brightly gold, yellow and red. We could go at our own pace, there was no rush, no urgency. There was a continual stream of people, however, all out from under the troubling news, to enjoy this perfect Autumn day. I followed their path into a wooded ravine, and climbed up the far slope to the village core. Here I found another bench to rest and drink in a splendid view of the Berounka River Valley, bathed in colors, that now included the deep blue sky with slow moving clouds of pure white.

These were the highlights of my 3^rd day. A return to calm meditation, taking one step at a time, and letting go of anxious worries, unknown risks, and the limits of a not so young body, to reach this special place, the place where Saint Ludmila died.

·      Oct 24, 2020 -  https://en.mapy.cz/s/durerafake