To the top of the Schneekoppe

Possibly most people who climb to the top of the Schneekoppe, or, to use its Polish name, the 'Snezka', use the chairlift, but the four of us took the hard way, climbing to the top on foot.  Parking the car at Karpacz and commencing at 11.30, we climbed up, up, up and further up.  We walked constantly up hill with no moments of walking on flat surfaces. 

It was nearly two hours later when we arrived at the first restaurant about two and a half kilometres up, where we had coffees and lunch.

For the first part, the track was reasonable quality, but then it became like in the above picture - bad for Jean's knee when coming down.

After lunch, we were ready to go, but were prevented from moving on because rain suddenly set in and stayed for ages.

It was after 3 when we pushed on.  It took another hour to climb the remaining stretch.

Several hundred metres from the first stop, we passed a second restaurant.  Outside that restaurant, the above photo shows how much further we had yet to go.

After more than three hours' climbing time, we reached the summit of the Schneekoppe, or Snezka, which is the highest mountain in the Riesengebirge (Giant mountains).  The summit marks the border between Poland and the Czech Republic and is 1602 metres above sea level.

Interestingly, very close by, is the source of the river Elbe, which could be several different trickles of water feeding a larger one, which, further down, clearly becomes the river that stretches all the way to the North Sea.  We've seen the Elbe near its mouth, also in Hamburg and Dresden as well as in the Czech Republic.  Tracing the Elbe back to its source was never intentional.

After about 20 minutes, we then spent the next two hours climbing down again, all of us very proud of our achievement - a tremendous feat but with now very tired feet.

The castle at Schosdorf

We returned today to the castle at Schosdorf where my great-grandfather, Felix Thode, lived with his uncle, aunt and cousins in the late 1870s and early 1880s.  We were last here in 2012.

The castle was built in the period in 1850-52 and had several owners.  The Thodes owned it between 1866 and the early 1900s.  It became a ruin gradually in the early 1950s through vandalism, neglect, looting and Russian policy.  All that stands today are the tower, parts of what I believe may have been the kitchen area and the back staircase.

To the right of the tower is the rest of the ruin.  Here we see the old staircase at the back of the castle which reached all floors.  Before its destruction, the castle was 48 metres long.

When I came here four years ago, the place had been severely overtaken by nature.  Someone has recently removed a lot of vegetation, allowing the ruin to be seen more easily from the road.  However, right at the edge of the ruin, it seemed much worse than before, making it very difficult to have a good look.

Christine stands within the old back staircase, and takes a photo of the back door.  I recall on my last visit there was a hinge or some evidence of which way the door used to open.  That evidence seems to have gone.

The back staircase reached each floor in the castle, including the cellar.  In the above picture, the steps leading into the cellar are buried.  Irena Buca, who lives right near the castle, has lived her for over 60 years.  Back then, she grew lots of potatoes and stored them in the castle cellar.  She said the cellar was quite small compared to the rest of the castle.

'Inside' the castle from the back door, is this strange shape in the building.

Looking into various parts of the castle

This is the entrance to the inner part of the back staircase.

Standing outside what used to be the back staircase, at the rear of the building, looking at a piece of the castle that stood between the tower and the castle's middle.

A panoramic showing the tower at left and the remaining ruin.

Christine and Renate 'inside' the castle, near the back staircase.  The ground floor used to contain rooms such as bathrooms, toilets, a flower room, kitchen and dining rooms.  Once inside the front entrance, which no longer exists, two marble staircases used to lead to the first floor. 

The back staircase from the rear.

A non-panoramic showing the tower and the rest of the ruin.

Christine inspecting the ruins of a castle which once belonged to her great-great-great uncle, Robert Thode.

The castle was made of bricks rocks and rendered.  At one time, there was a brickery in the area, and the bricks for the castle may well have come from there.

We met Irena Buca first in 2012, and again now.  She took us around the castle grounds, through its thick vegetation, and gave a good commentary.

Irena pointed out the Schneekoppe in the distance, the highest mountain in the Riesengebirge.