Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Pavlov and the Pálava Hills
The traditional village of Pavlov, stretching from the banks of the
Nové Mlýny dam up toward the dramatic hilltop ruin of Dívčí
Hrady (“Girls' Castle”), has everything you need for a fun one-
or two-day wine adventure. In deep brick cellars, you can taste
local wines and spicy Hungarian salami while hearing the dreamy
tunes of Moravian songs. You'll see Moravian village architecture;
choose from a wealth of neat, family-run pensions; take nature
walks along the wooded slopes of the white Pálava Hills; and
tackle an expanse of water however you like, from swimming to
windsurfing.
The only drawback is communication: While German works
well, few locals speak more than broken English. But fear not—
the genuine hospitality of the locals makes struggling with the
language barrier both fun and rewarding. So be brave, and pull
your hands and your phrase books out of those pockets.
AcTIvITIES
Wandering the Town
—Česká street, stretching from Restaurace
u Venuše (described on page 254) to the parking lot above the
church, is lined with traditional vintners' houses. The owners live
on the first floor, wine is pressed on the ground floor, and exten-
sive cellars run deep into the mountain. The farmsteads along the
park by the church are some of the finest examples of Moravian
Baroque village architecture.
Wine Cellars
—Ask your host whether a dulcimer band is playing
in any of the wine cellars. Locals often bring their guitars along.
September is a wild month here—the whole country converges on
the region, and everyone drinks the hugely popular young wine
(burčák)
.
Floating on the River
—During the day, the Yacht Club at the
bottom of the village rents a variety of floatables, including paddle-
boats, canoes, and windsurfing boards. The shallow water is warm
for most of the summer, and the beaches seem endless.
Three successive dams, planned for decades as part of an
immense irrigation project intended to water most of southern
Moravia, were completed in the early 1990s. By then, the collectiv-
ized fields and vineyards had been returned to individual owners.
For these small producers, building channels or pumping water
from the dams turned out to be too expensive. So in the end,
the costly project boosted the local economy only indirectly—by
drawing in thousands of fishing and sailing enthusiasts.
