Frolicking (not only) with animals

Go on a hike from Tojice, through Vrčeň and Klášter, to Nepomuk. Along the way, you can visit a minizoo with famous nutrias, and a potter’s shop … and obviously also the majestic ruins of the Cistercian monastery. This route is suitable for hikers as well as cyclists.

Václav Silovský’s trip

On the outskirts of the village of Tojice, there is a bridge spanning the Víska Creek, from where you can catch sight of a family of nutrias. On the opposite side of the village, there is a little relaxation garden with a path of pebbles to massage your feet, a water reservoir with fish, a trampoline and a large chessboard for visitors to play checkers. The park is the perfect place to recover before your next stop, the Historical and Model Railroad Museum in Vrčeň, the second largest electrified model railroad track in Bohemia. Mr. Navrátil, a train fan, has a number of historical items from an actual train station (uniforms, lamps, signs, pins, train tickets, stamps, etc.).

Another place to entertain you is the U Mistrů (Master’s) ceramic workshop. The name refers to an iron-mill master from 18th and 19th century Vrčeň, but Mr. and Mrs. Kahoun, the workshop’s current owners, continue to use the name for their workshop, where you can get your hands dirty handling clay. They say that when Mr. Kahoun set up their ceramic atelier and furnace, and when Mrs. Kahoun first sat down at her pottery wheel, there were no more hot dinners for the family any more. In this little workshop, you can see for yourselves whether you would enjoy pottery. Mr. and Mrs. Kahoun promise that both parents and children can create something nice in their workshop. Their barn and barnyard can offer visitors a bit of creative relaxation, as clay can supposedly heal the soul.

A few houses down, you will find the Šulc family farm. Helena and Karel Šulc have made their childhood dreams come true and moved here from the city, giving up a comfortable life in an apartment and replacing it with daily labour looking after their pig, goats, poultry, rabbits, pigeons, quails and cats. Some of the animals are tame enough to let themselves be fed and even petted by visitors. Children will learn more about each and every one of them. The Šulces thus keep the village tradition of raising farm animals alive. Visitors can also try using some of the old farm tools on site, which are still used to this day.