Cheb & Loket, Czech Republic

Dobrý den (that’s good day in Czech). I’ve gotten used to saying that to everyone I pass in the street and whenever I walk into a store.

I purposely planned a slower itinerary for my last full day in the Czech Republic. Late in the morning, I walked down the hill to the tiny Loket train station. The dated, one-car train was there waiting for me. I’ve named it the “Loket Rocket” ha.

After transferring to a modern České Dráhy (Czech Rail) train, I rode an hour west to the border town of Cheb. We’re almost in Bavaria. In fact, prior to 1945, this town had the German name of Eger.

After bringing the Sudetenland into the Reich, Hitler triumphantly visited here on October 3, 1938. Compare the photos below. You can see the buildings and church spires haven’t changed much.

On that day, the ethnic Germans were overjoyed. The Czechs were stunned.

After the war, the town of Eger converted to its current Czech name of Cheb. The German-speaking majority were dispossessed of their homes and forcibly expelled from the country. The population of the town dropped from 45k in 1945 to under 15k in 1947. Today, the population is still only about 33k.

Cheb is famous for its castle ruins. The most interesting building was intact, a two-story chapel. The commoners congregated below while the royalty worshipped upstairs. I was intrigued by the carvings including an ingenious lion. Its head, projecting from the corner, was shared by two bodies.

Another ingenious detail, this more modern, was the staggered steps leading up to the tower. The incline would have been much too steep for traditional stairs. But this design allowed you to step one foot and then the other slightly higher, greatly easing the climb.

After absorbing the sights of Cheb, I returned on the train to Loket. The afternoon was warm and I hiked around the town on the opposite bank of the slow-moving river. People floated by in kayaks.

A decrepit building in town caught my eye. It had a relatively modern Beaux Arts style, probably built in the late 1800s. The intricate wood, stone and iron detailing are simply not seen in today’s architecture.

I maneuvered my phone camera inside a broken window and snapped an image of the main entrance. What a grand interior this must have been.

Continuing my trek back into town, I came around a corner and was jolted by the sight of this guy climbing the face of the stone bridge. It’s difficult to see in the photo but he does have a safety line. Still, people are crazy.

I took one last walk around the square in Loket this evening. The town looks completely different at night glowing in the amber lights.

In the morning, I’m on the train headed north for Berlin. One last time, ahoj from the Czech Republic.

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