Along the peaks of the Krkonoše Mountains on a wheelchair, to the source of the Elbe
You learn something new all your life. Thanks to our involvement in the project of mapping barrier-free accessibility for disway.cz, my mother and I recently found out that there is a barrier-free bus from Harrachov to the famous Zlaté vrchší (Golden Hill) near Vrbatova bouda and not far from the Hanč and Vrbata Mound.
They were calling for sunny weather for the weekend, so why not take a trip. The bus driver at the bus stop helpfully tipped out a 350kg capacity ramp, so comfort for my little electric wheelchair. Here we go!
In less than two hours we were there. A beautiful view of the mountains awaited us as soon as we got off the bus. We wanted to stop first at Vrbatova bouda. It has stood there since 1964 and is named after Václav Vrbat, who died in 1913 during the unsuccessful rescue of his friend Bohumil Hanč.
But how to get to the hut itself was a bit of a mystery. First, with the help of my mom, I had to cross a wooden footbridge from the road, and then we had to find out "which way" to Vrbat's hut. It looked like the area was undergoing some pretty major construction. Healthy visitors walked to the restaurant via the terrace, which was inaccessible to wheelchair users. The surprise for us was the wheelchair accessible main (winter) entrance, which the staff helpfully opened for us.
Inside, another surprise awaited us - a barrier-free toilet. It was on a Euro key. Unfortunately, we forgot ours at home. The staff has one available, but 3 times visitors have "left" with it and thus don't like to give it out of their hands. But eventually the gentleman let us use the toilet.
Nearby on the hill we saw the famous cairn of Hanč and Vrbata, built in 1925. It commemorates the tragic event when the vagaries of the mountain weather took the lives of two friends during a 50 km race. It happened on March 24, 1913. Mountain Service Day falls on that day. I tried to walk up the unpaved path to the monument, but the crampons got deeper and deeper and I couldn't... Mom ran out to take a picture of the cairn without me...
I prefer to go back to the road and head towards the crossroads U čtyř pánů. All the time you can enjoy the beautiful views of the natural jewels of the Giant Mountains. The source of the Elbe is just a stone's throw away, about 2 km away. The asphalt eventually turns into an unpaved road with drifts, which can be passed quite calmly, sometimes on the sides. The source of the Elbe is paved with large smooth stones, a bit difficult for a cart. They can be crossed, but slowly and carefully. On the wall at the source there are 26 interesting coats of arms of the towns where the Elbe flows to the sea.
We continued with my mother along the unpaved road to Labská bouda. Occasionally there were stones in our way, which we had to go around, but only almost at the end, about 50 m from Labská, the road was quite rocky. Drive slowly and carefully.
The current form of this building, which was inaugurated in November 1975, still evokes emotions. Many people think that architecturally it does not fit in with its surroundings. It also serves as accommodation, but the rooms are up a steep flight of stairs, so there are no wheelchair accessible rooms.
The restaurant is spacious enough to manoeuvre a trolley. The double door entrance was wide open to allow people to flow in. Avoiding was not a problem (even for a large dog). Inside, there was a suitable table where one could entertain oneself with the cart in peace. There were classic picnic tables on the patio that you can't park under comfortably with a cart.
After our refreshment stop, my mother and I meditated for a while on how we would get back from Labská to the road leading to our familiar Four Masters. We could see the asphalt road from the terrace for supplies, but unfortunately, according to the staff... The elevator would be fine, but there are stairs by the ramp. So we had to negotiate the more difficult descent down a walkway of large stones, like everyone else. It was doable, but my advice is to look under the wheels and go down slowly and carefully at the end.
Then go along the road as you please and from the crossroads U Čtyř pánů follow the tourist signs to Vrbatova bouda on Zlatý vrch vrchší, where the bus stops.
This day trip from Harrachov to Zlaté návrší and further to the source of the Elbe and Labská bouda was a very pleasant surprise for us. We can definitely recommend it to wheelchair users, but it is better with an escort. Here and there the path is more challenging because of the crickets and rocks.
Maruška Harcubová