Jáchymov, like most villages in the Czechen mountains, sat in a valley, so my day had an uphill start. Light rain was falling, shreds of clouds moved across the trees on the far side of the valley. I was led by the E3, now following blue waymarks, up through trees to a tower, and then the higher village of Nové Město. Other settlements I have been through also have this name which means "New Town".
Continuing through woods I dropped down into the next valley and inevitably had to climb up the other side. On this next slope loose rock was piled up over a large area. I wondered if it was waste from mining, an assumption apparently confirmed by mapy.com which said that the Eva Mine was at this site. Initially a silver mine, more recently uranium was extracted. It now lies abandoned.
Plešivic was the next mountain top and several chairlifts connected to it. Visibility was poor at the summit which was completely swallowed by cloud. Apart from the funny wooden sculptures on the approach there was nothing to see and as I was over an hour early for the restaurant I started my descent down the other side. Steep and slippery at first, requiring the stabilising action of my trekking poles, the track descended more gently lower down, delivering me to the bottom of one of the chairlifts. A café was open, although you had to enter a door with a large "No Entry" sign as the door designated as the entrance was locked. This caused confusion for me and other customers as well as extra work for the waitress, beckoning in people wondering what to do.
I knew there was another big hill coming up which I overcame, and then switched to a yellow waymarked path for the descent to Karlovy Vary. At the base of the mountains the forest ended and there was a mixture of farmland with a few cows, woodland with lakes, trees turning yellow, and villages.
On the approach to Karlovy Vary I walked through a park, beyond which I viewed the highways which served the city. The ocasional yellow waymark led me under one of the them and I was in the city outskirts, walking passed a pole dancing club to reach the pedestrianised centre.
After steak and chips I am now celebrating the conclusion of my walk with a glass of red in a wine bar.
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