Valtice and Lednice, Czechia
For my last day in Czechia, before going into Slovakia, I wanted to do a walk between the two palaces in Valtice and Lednice. These used to be the home of the Liechtenstein family, but I guess they just have to make do with their country now.
I didn’t actually go in to either of the palaces — I feel like I’ve seen enough of grand interiors for now and have a good idea of what’s going to be inside. Between them, however, the landscape is filled with various buildings, monuments and lakes. There’s a good trail leading between some of the highlights that, thankfully, is mostly in the forest so it’s possible to avoid the worst of the heat.
I started at Valtice and soon came across the Rendezvous. This was used as a rather grand meeting place for breakfast before going hunting. On the way to Lednice, I also came across a large Roman-style temple, a smaller palace used for breeding horses and the ornamental gardens at Lednice palace itself. These are constructed around a series of lakes and are towered over by a minaret which used to be the tallest outside of the Muslim world. The sheer size of the surrounding area and number of grand monuments under the Liechtenstein control is staggering.
Mostly, I just enjoyed being out in the countryside walking again after having been in towns and cities for some time. I’m now heading into Slovakia and hoping to get more hiking done there.
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