Leaving the murmur of rushing towns behind, longing for winter, for snow and for calm, we packed some snowshoes, thermos flasks and cameras and drove towards Krkonoše, the Giant Mountains.
Oh, how dejected you looked, my mountains, even last month - devoid of snow, tormented by warm winter. Where are the drifts, those masses of snow we remeber from our youth? What will remain, but a sorrow for withering tundra and a bit of gratitude for the few flakes that the wind from the sea will bring? It's a sad shift, bringing gloomy indignation.
But now, at least some snow lies up there, on your shoulders, on the harsh ridge dividing Bohemia and Silesia, Czechia and Poland, the vast northern plains and the basins of Central Europe.
And so we came, craving peace in your western heart, eager for a crisp winter day and - above all - for the evening light, for the theatre of the setting sun observed from the "roof of the world".
A photographer's prayer
Thanks for the random posing, guys.
We took it easy, set out from Špindlerovka, heading for Martinovka and Labská bouda through the sparse forest. Later, we wanted to ascent to The Devil's Pulpit (Teifelstein, Czarcia Ambona) high above glacial cirques on the Silesian side and then return, following the path upon the ridge.
Petrovka, built upon ashes of a heritage-protected hut which burned down by "sheer accident".
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Hochwiesenberg, Luční hora, the second highest peak of Krkonoše.
The Magnificent Hohes Rad, the emperor of western Krkonoše.
At 1509 m a. s. l. a monument to Wilhelm I. of Germany rises scourged by the unrelenting gales.
Views to the White Elbe valley.
Martinovka. Certain Martina Navratilova is supposed to be named after this hut.
The legendary brutalist beauty of neglected Labská bouda.
On that meadow the river Elbe springs.
A brook called Elbe, covered by snow.
Schneegruben to the left, to Martinovka to the right. Muttich's silent marks.
Labská bouda, a modernist folly. After the mid-19th century Elbfallbaude hut burned down in 1965, a new, bigger one - or rather a hotel - was to be erected at the waterfall by which the stream of Elbe plunges into the abyss of it's deep valley.
Architect Řihák rejected the local architectural tradition and experimented with a bold concept. All rooms were built to offer a view of the Elbe valley and the bigger "hut-el" should blend in with the surrounding landscape. Nowadays, in it's ramshackle state the hut is but a sad example of our disrespect for the legacy of the past.
We proceeded past Labská bouda, guarded by giant statues carved by snow and wind, enjoying the calm, crisp winter day. Gradually we ascended to the Teifelstein and the highest parts of the western Giant Mountains. Here the spectacular views of Snowy Cirques opens up. Usualy, this place is tormented by fierce wind - but today the weather is exceptionaly calm. Up until now, the air has holded still and even here, only light breeze blows.
Ještěd on the horizon
Violík, Velichenstein, Łabski Szczyt
The Schneegruben - or Snowy Cirques - the pearl of the Silesian side of the mountains.
Hohes Rad, Vysoké kolo, Wielki Szyszak.
Névé, carved by the wind.
And to think they say Labská bouda is ugly...
We traversed the ridge towards the double peak of Mannsteine and Mädelsteine (Men's Rocks and Maiden's Rocks; also known as Bohemian and Silesian Rocks).
Rising above the forest line the ridge is exposed to the vagaries of the weather, but today everything is cold, calm and silent. We meet an unusualy small number of people. The sun is approaching the horizon, illuminating the landscape with dramatic directional light.
The view of eastern Krkonoše. Sněžka - Schneekoppe rises above Střbrný hřbet - Mittagsberg on the left, Studniční a Luční hora - Brunnberg and Hochwiesenberg on the right.
Now the Sun contemplates it's time to set, it's time to shine on other hemispheres. To say "so long" it casts the mellow light of eventide, yellow and orange and rosy, colourful, but tender.
It's the light of ending, perhaps, but it never grieves for the approaching darkness, it just dances through the landscape, shining, rejoicing in colours, bright here, pastel there; filling the atmosphere with the merry palette of some mad painter in love.
Struggling with the biting cold while watching the theatre of colour, we find ourselves surrounded by the relaxing peace of perfect silence.
Photographer's prayer of gratitude
Time to kneel before it's highness the Alpenglow.
The Sun set behind Hohes Rad, giving way to the purple, violet and blue tones of twilight, postponing the onset of darkness with last gasps of residual light.
And so the time came for pilgrims to pause their roving, to descent those ridges and retreat before nightfall. The time came to return home.
Dusk is casting tones of ultramarine over the landscape. The silver Hochwiesenberg glows in the background.
(Ultron 28/2 VM and Planar 50/2 ZM; with few images on Color-Skopar 21/3.5 VM
and Apo-Skopar 90/2.8 VM.)
and Apo-Skopar 90/2.8 VM.)