Our country cottage is in a little village on the river Sázava called Zlenice. It is just outside Prague, to the southeast, in the direction of Brno. By car it takes exactly 30 minutes to reach Wenceslas Square, in the heart of Prague. For those without a car, the cottage can be reached very easily by train too, in just over an hour.
Although there are some permanent residents, this hamlet is mainly made up of weekend cottages for people living in Prague. They leave Prague on a Friday afternoon, when work finishes, and make their way to their cottages, cars piled high with food, bits and pieces for the garden and other goodies.
"Prague Cottage" is on a quiet country lane with other cottages. It stands in a gently sloping garden (500m2) overlooking fields and woodland. With the peace and quiet it is sometimes hard to believe that we are so close to Prague! In fact, deer are regular visitors and can be spotted on moonlit nights foraging by the fence in the fields behind the house.
Although we do spend time here ourselves in the snowy winter months, the best time to visit is between April and October, when the weather is warm enough to head off for long walks in the forests or bike rides to nearby castles. The pool is available from 1st June to 30th September, unless we have a particularly warm spring, in which case we have it ready earlier.
The garden is perfect for children, even young ones (of responsible parents!). It is completely fenced, the steps of the pool can be easily removed and there are no poisonous or prickly plants! We have a swing for the little ones, a barbecue and camp fire area for the slightly older ones, and four comfortable lounger chairs for all ages!
For outdoor dining there is a wood and stone table and benches that comfortably seats eight, as well as a round plastic table with four chairs and a sunshade in case the sun gets a bit hot.
If you fancy some exercise but don't feel like getting wet or going on the bikes, there's a badminton set with four rackets and a net.
