Skiing in Czech mountains: Karolinka

This year was actually the first time we set up for a winter break with kids. Last year Alicja attended the private kindergarten, which basically run non-stop, so we didn’t even notice there was a school break.

Why there

Because of our bad experience with long car travels with Zuzia, I wanted to go relatively close this year. My condition was also that we visit a place we haven’t been to. And so a 2-hour trip to Beskids was a perfect idea.

Velke Karlovice and surroundings

I read about the picturesque Velke Karlovice, found some great photos and thought this is it.

Searching for an accommodation took ages, because everything was already booked.

Hotel Konik

Going through Google maps I came across Kycerka Resort–13 wooden cottage houses and guesthouses spread in Velke Karlovice. All renoved, with modern interiors and fully equipped. Just flawless- everything you need. So I opened the reservation page, found some free rooms, surprisingly in a completely different place. It turned out that the Resort Kycerka bought Hotel Konik, which is situated in Karolinka village, 3 kilometers away from Velke Karlovice. Since this was our last resort I had no choice, but to book it. This is how we ended up here. Looking at the photos we expected the worst, but the rooms were spacious, clean, equipped with a small fridge and a laundry dryer, each with a bathroom. The only thing missing was an electric kettle.

ski karolinka

500 meters away from the hotel, there was a ski Karolinka, where our adventure begun. I booked a ski school for Alicja for the whole stay. The instructors were enthusiastic, full of energy and had a really good approach to kids. Of course they were able to handle adults as well. Overall we were very satisfied not only with instructors but also with the prices there. The ski lesson itself cost 450 czech crowns plus ski rent 100 kc for an hour (ski school) or 250 kc for the whole day. Another advantage was also no need to purchase a ski lift ticket, because it was free of charge when skiing with the ski school.

top of the mountain

Alicja started at the kids trail, advancing to the very top the next day. The Ski Karolinka is a red difficulty slope. Definitely not the one for me, I thought. Especially once I’ve seen the steep hill with the T-bar lift. It took me three days of climbing, to the middle of the slope until I tried the lift. It turned out it was all just in my head-it wasn’t that bad after all.

While I enjoyed the snowboarding, Alice had fun skiing, Zuzia and daddy were sledging like crazy. There was a separate place designated for that only.

Because of the weather, the snow was nowhere to be found except the slope. It didn’t really matter to us. Firstly we still enjoyed the artificial one, secondly we didn’t freeze to death with those 10 plus Celsius degrees.

Restaurant

Kids couldn’t get enough with sledging and skiing, it was difficult to force them to eat. Right at the slope there is a restaurant called U vleku, opened all year round. Once we found out they have a kids corner it was much easier to convince them. They offer pizzas, soups and some regular Czech cuisine. Everything tasty, made of local products and at reasonable prices.