Tuesday 11th May

Today we boarded a bus which took us to a nearby town called Letohrad. Even though the weather report promised rain we were treated to bright sunshine from the beginning. Just beyond Letohrad was a very special place, Zampach Arboretum.

The arboretum was not just a place for caring for trees but it also cared for a special group of people. Zampach is also an institution which cares for people with special needs. It provides them with accommodation and training in self-sufficiency by allowing them to take care of the trees, a few horses and a donkey.

On arrival we were shown an introductory presentation and then we walked around the grounds following the worksheet which was prepared for us. The Turkish team was by far the best at this. Well done.

The arboretum was at the foot of a large, forest-covered hill. At the top of the hill stood a castle, but we didn't have time to visit it, unfortunately. The surrounding countryside was beautiful and bathed in a golden light. Large deer were seen dashing across distant fields.

After the arboretum we went back to Letohrad and stopped at a museum of old craft. There were old farm machines and workshop tools covering a variety of metal and wood crafts. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take any photographs inside the museum.

Lunch was in the restaurant at the museum. Some of us had the typical Czech menu with dumplings.

After lunch the coach took us to a flooded section of the river above the Pastviny Dam. Here we were able to hire pedalos or a rowing boat for an hour of fun on the water. It did rain a little but we were not bothered at all.

Last stop before returning to school was the dam itself. The dam was fairly tall but the volume of water coming out of the bottom was fairly small. The river itself is no more than a few metres wide and it is not very deep. The amount of electricity generated must be quite small.