Na kole za zvířátky do Ždírce

To the south of Pzn there is a gently undulating landscape, suitable for relaxing family outings. And today we will embark on one such trip. We will take the train to Nepomuk and from there we will return to Pzn along roads outside of the traffic bustle. Given the elevations of Nepomuk and Pzn, it is clear that the entire route has a gentle slope towards Pzn, which is a very pleasant discovery. The whole trip we will also follow the course of the Úhlava River. So let's head to Nepomuk! After alighting from the train, we can make a short detour into the town, possibly even with a climb to the "Zelená Hora and the local castle (49.4965303N, 13.5814619E)", residence of the Black barons from the novel by Miloslav Švandrlík, which is occasionally open to the public. But today we are going for the animals. There is a bike path No. 31 leading by the station, which we will take to a railway crossing, cross the tracks and immediately afterwards turn left. We will pass through Srbky, then 1.5 km through the forest, and we will arrive at Ždírec. Right at the edge of the village, the bike path No. 2148 turns left. We will follow it and after 800 meters of gentle ascent we already see between the trees a mighty stag, in whose antlers there is an eagle's nest with an eagle. We are at the spot. We can park our bikes and then leisurely explore the entire area of the "Ždírecká ZOO (49.5452775N, 13.5710778E)". Some exhibits are placed in their natural environment - that is, in the treetops, so we need to occasionally lift our heads to not miss anything. At the very beginning, the idea was to do something for our children and to help a polluted piece of forest behind the village. First, cleaning took place and then the first objects began to appear - animals, benches, information panels... From the beginning it was established - it must be about animals that live with us, the material used must be exclusively natural, i.e. wood or wrought iron, and first and foremost all objects must be absolutely safe for children. And don't think that the exhibits are clumsy creations of overenthusiastic amateurs - they are the works of real artists and the animals are lifelike. There is a decorated bike rack here, however you must leave your cars in the parking lot in front of the inn. We return back to bike path No. 31 and continue further. We will pass through Vlčice and we are on the edge of Blovice. If we turn right across the river into the local section of "Bohušov (49.5789592N, 13.5476728E)", we will discover a nook with a bell tower and two baroque sculptures. It is definitely worth the detour of about 1.5 km. Further along route No. 31 there is a castle park with a castle on the right side of the road, where the Museum of Southwest Pilsen is located. Be sure to stop here and take a walk in the park. The next passage through Blovice itself requires special attention due to automotive traffic. The next villages are Zdemyslice, Žákava, and we arrive at "Nezvěstic (49.6404267N, 13.5196183E)." Here, watch out for the busy road No. 19, but we will only travel along it for about 600 meters and turn right before the church. This way, we avoid a busy and dangerous section. We keep the direction, on our left we have an agricultural area, and we are at the end of the village. We ride on a field path through meadows to the river, passing under the railway bridge, we emerge onto the road which the bike path No. 2039 runs along. We pass through Šťáhlavice and to our right is a parking lot for the "Kozel Castle (49.6707269N, 13.5300211E)." If it is not peak season, it is also possible to stop here, refresh ourselves, and take a look at the park. Otherwise, we continue to Šťáhlavy, from where the route will again lead us along path No. 31. We will pass through Starý Plzenec to Koterov, where we have two options on how to get to the center. One is to continue on bike path No. 31, the other, which I prefer, leads from the bridge in Koterov across the meadows via the educational trail "Údolí Úslavy" along the river to the bridge on Rokycanská Street. From there then along bike path No. 3 into the center around the brewery.