Bohemia Retreat Farmhouse - perfect for families!

A new, ground floor living space in a stone farmhouse - large gardens, quiet, safe village, surrounded by hills, forests and walking trails, just 45 km from Prague. Lots of activities for children, enjoy the nearby indoor/outdoor pools, water park plus beaches, swimming, water slide, bars, restaurants at the nearby recreational lake. Supermarkets, shops and restaurants a few minutes away plus explore local historical towns and castles - perfect for families. British/Czech owners. This spacious ground floor apartment is around 50 sq mts, newly renovated and decorated, it is fitted out with very stylish hand made rustic wood furniture, up-cycled items as well as modern fixtures, fittings and appliances. The stone walls are over half a metre thick which keeps the whole space pleasantly cool even when the outside summer temperature exceeds 30C and equally warm in the cooler months when the heating is on. There is a 6 seater dining table and chairs, fully equipped kitchen area, storage space/shelves and a bathroom with wc, wash basin and shower. In the main bedroom there are two single beds that can be put together to make a double bed and in a curtained off section of the large hallway is a space with bunk beds for two persons. An extra single bed can be provided if needed. The entrance door opens onto a natural stone patio and overlooks the beautiful garden, which is very large with separate areas to provide different relaxation and activity space. In the garden there is a bbq, wood fired oven for making pizzas or baking, a fireplace and guests can also make a wood fire in the evenings for grilling sausages or enjoying the evening atmosphere. The gardens are ideal for children, there is a large lawn for playing games, such as petang, etc., which are provided, plus for older kids there is a high zip line, climbing wall with safety harness, and trees to climb. Immediately behind the house is a kids playground and tennis court and extensive marked walking trails through the forest and meadows. The apartment is private with its own exclusive garden area with table and benches for dining out. There are other areas of the enormous gardens that guests are welcome to use. We are a British-Czech family and you can expect the best of both worlds – 'Western' standards combined with local knowledge and connections and we will be pleased to answer any questions about Czech culture or life. We are usually resident in our own apartment in the house and will be pleased to provide any help, advice or support you may require before or during your stay, including grocery buying service and interpreting/translations if needed - we are never further than a phone call away! We can assist with arranging airport transfers, vehicle rental, public transport, taxi services during your stay or any combination of these, plus advise on places worth visiting and day trips. Our little village is pleasant to stroll around and observe typical Czech life - there is a good bar and restaurant a few minutes walk down the road that is open friday to sunday and 6 minutes away is a much bigger village with shops, small supermarkets, bars, restaurants [including an authentic Vietnamese restaurant run by Vietnamese people] , cafes, that can provide all your shopping and dining needs. Twenty minutes away is a town with big supermarkets, restaurants serving traditional Czech food, chinese, pizzas and a famous game restaurant, plus all types of shops. Just a few metres from the apartment start marked walking trails that take you through almost endless forests and a beautiful rolling countryside of meadows and hills - choose a short stroll or longer one will get you to Lake Slapy - see below. Explore the forests and try the national hobby of "mushroom hunting" - we can identify the edible varieties for you cook and eat. But there is much more to do and all within 10 to 15 minutes drive: Lake Slapy, the enormous recreational lake with clean water swimming, sandy and grass "beaches", water sports (big water slide, pedalos, paddle-boarding, windsurfing, motorboats, etc), mini golf, etc., plus cafes, bars and discos. Slapy is a popular venue for course fishing and there is also a small stocked lake within five minutes from us that holds specimen carp. In the wider area you can immerse yourself in history - just 15 minutes drive away is Konopiště Castle, the elaborately furnished former home of Franz Ferdinand d´Este, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, with beautiful gardens that are free to access and guided tours of the interior in various languages available for a fee. A little further is Český Štemberk and Jemniště castles, medieval towns (the walled town of Tábor named after the biblical mountain that was the fortified home of the Hussite religious sect), gold mining museums and many picturesque villages as well as other cultural attractions. With Prague being so close, you can do day trips and then escape back to the peace and tranquility of your apartment and our village. You can also try kayaking/rafting down one of the most scenic small rivers in CZ where they also rent out mountain bikes, visit an adventure rope park or play golf at a beautiful 45 hole golf park - all within 15 minutes. There are many stables offering horse riding (you can hack cross country without restrictions if you take care not to damage forests, meadows or farmers crops) or take a carriage ride pulled by the famous Kladruby breed of horses. There is also a squash and an indoor swimming pool nearby, together with massage/spa treatments. Popular are also hot air balloon flights over the lake and light aircraft flights from a nearby airstrip. For the fans of transport history there are museums of vintage motorcycles and the biggest military/ tank museum to explore. More things for children: Close by is a famous horse breeding stables that as a animal/pet section for kids and thirty minutes away is the big shopping complex where there is an 9000 sq mt WATER PARK with all the usual slides and fun pools, do a search ...aquapalace. cz Our village has a bus stop which allows access to the whole public transport network, plus there is a main line railway station in the nearest town - visitors have come to us from Prague using public transport, which takes a bit over one hour and we can provide detailed instructions to make this easy. We can also arrange a rental car to be delivered to the house and may also be able to organize transfers from/to Prague.