Sunday April 24th was, for me, the conclusion of a long quest. It was the time that I would find, see, and touch the lake that my father used as a means to escape the regime in 1948. It was the conclusion to many years of wonder, not only for me but for the whole family here as well. The stories that were told about Dad leaving were always incomplete and now, with research from Milena and translations by the whole family we have a pretty good idea of what happened and when with the descriptions from September 2-September 14, 1948. This diary, written by one of Dad's travelling companions, Zdenek Volek, is a very special and detailed account of what happened in those early days of travel to unknown possibilities.
I know that the family also has Dad's letter to his family that he wrote when he left, this he sent to them after he had gone. Milena has kept it all these years as she did Dad's helmet and medals.
This whole quest has been the work of so many people to make it happen. I can never begin to thank them enough for what they've done and just "thank you" seems so inadequate but it's all I have at the moment.
Near the Kuchar cottage is a town named Chlum U Trebone and there is a train station that is mentioned in the diary. The town now is a cross roads for cyclists travelling to different parts of south Bohemia, because there is a train station, small grocery store and is very flat it is a haven. We stopped at the train station and were lucky enough to have a train pull in, this is similar to what Dad would have done but without the fancy bicycles coming off of one car. From here we traveled to the town and saw a "castle" there. This building, now owned privately, is somewhat in disrepair but it is mentioned that Dad and his travelling companions met here.
The grounds are away from any sight lines of the town and would have been a good location to be in.
From there we took the road to Stankov a few kilometers away. This town has a large lake and it is here that he and his friends got a canoe and paddled across to the Austrian border.
This sounds very easy! But on the other side is a forest. A thick forest. A forest that you had to know where you were going to get through it. (They had a compass the diary states). This part of the area is either forest, field or water. From the account Dad had camped with Scouts in the area not too long before his escape. I wonder if he had "cased" the place to figure if this was a good place to cross the border.
The lake now, very quiet and serene, with only fishermen and women (though mostly men I note) enjoying an Easter Sunday afternoon in the sun. Tomas tells me that until the 1989 revolution there were still metal barracades in the middle of the lake to prevent passing over to Austian territory and the small road that we took to the forest was blocked from entry. It is something to know that even recently there were measures taken to keep Czech people in their own country.
We strolled along the shores of Lake Stankov where there is now a camp ground and from a point that after Tomas and I read and re read the diary figure might be the point where Dad took off from the shoreline I stopped and put my feet in the water and had some pictures taken with me with my hand in the water. This was something else. Very emotional for me and for the rest of the family too. This is (most likely) where he went in and paddled away.
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| A Vejvara returns to Stankov lake 63 years later |
Wow. What a dangerous thing to do! And they made it too. They had help from local people where ever they travelled. Sometimes it was challenging but they made it out.
I am so honoured to know of this tale now and SEE it with my own eyes.
Once I have received all the translations of various diaries and letters I will put it on the blog for everyone to read, right now it's in bits and pieces and I don't have it all electronically. The parts I have are so fascinating to read!
Tomas, Jana and I walked into the forest that Dad would landed in. Milena, being a trooper came part way then settled on a nice spot to wait for us as we trecked about 5 kilometers.
The forest was rimmed by the lake on one side and very tall trees on the other. A few kilometers in there was a marker. This very short, white indicator is the border between the Czech Republic and Austria! I had made it to another European country! How cool is that!
The marker with C on one side and an O (with two dots on the top of the O) is for Austria. From this point on every 50 meters or so there was another marker making no mistake that you were on the border. Tomas told me that before the Revolution in '89 you could camp and fish here but you MUST have proper documentation to say where you were from and the army checked quite frequently on you. We walked along and I imagined what it might have been like to have the adrenalin running as Dad escaped his home country.
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| I'm in Austria! From this point on we walked in and out of Austria as the trail continued to wind it's way around the lake. The forest was beautiful and the trail nice to walk on. In parts the wild forest boars had dug up the ground to find roots and bulbs to eat. I wish I had seen one! Tomas told me they are well camouflaged and with us talking and making noise they would be hiding. Something we certainly don't have in Canada. At one point there was a sign which certainly reminded us where we were! |
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| Warning! State Border (with small marker) |
The historical part of our journey over we walked back to where Milena was waiting for us. I had so many thoughts going through my mind. Again, a truly emotional day.
Upon returning to the cottage it was time for a pivo and a snack. Then we were to go on a short bike ride but Tomas and Jana's son, Honza (John) and his girlfriend Kate arrived for early dinner. Honza is a "reconstructionist" or builder as they call them here and also plays for a division of the local soccer team as a goalie! Hey, I was a goalie too but when looking at Honza and how tall he is I know why I didn't go very far! Kate is an executive assistant in a lighting manufacturing company in Prague. They are both doing well and enjoy life as 30 something's in Prague. It is men Honza's age that have just missed the mandatory army service and I think the whole country has changed because of that and obviously from the Velvet Revolution.
Honza drives Tomas' old car. A Jag! Not just any Jag, a Jaguar station wagon. I've never seen such a thing and had to take a picture. I told him that a Jag in Canada is a big thing. He told me that his Dad's Volvo in Czech Republic is a big thing. I still thought it was pretty cool!
We enjoyed a lovely Easter BBQ chicken feast, lots of beverages and a traditional cake that Milena made in the shape of a Czech carp! I was to cut big slabs of it and we all ate it with "spray cream" as they call it. (Whipped cream in a can!) We ate outside at the table near the grill and then shared presents for Easter. I did not have anything to give but was told by me being there, that was present enough! Oh my!
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| Traditional Easter cake |
After a great meal, some good conversation and a lovely visit from Honza and Kate they departed back to a friends cottage they were staying at for the weekend.
One last picture and yes, I really did feel like a shrimp in the family, we called it a day.
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| Tomas Kuchar, Jana (behind me), me, Honza Kuchar and Milena Kucharova |
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