Birmabright Weekend 2013, Kutna Hora, CZ, 31 May – 2 June 20

[Originally posted by 1960SeriesII]

Birmabright Weekend 2013, Kutna Hora, Czech Republic, 31st May – 2nd June 2013

Would like to invite again all leaf-sprung Land-Rover owners to the the annual Birmabright Weekend in Kutna Hora, Czech Republic. As always all kinds of leaf-sprung Land-Rovers are welcome and the greenlaning trip will include only these.

We will stay at the same campsite we used in 2012, i.e. the Santa Barbara camp site with nice eating/washing/toilet facilities, adress as follows: Santa Barbara Camping, Tyrsova 988, Kutna Hora (49.954157, 15.260267 / +49° 57′ 14.97", +15° 15′ 36.96" or Google Maps).

The event’s programme

Friday, 31st May 2013:
– Arrival of participants during the day, the campsite is open so early or late evening/night arrival is no problem.
– We will then proceed to taste whichever beer will be available at the local pub/bar establishment, continuing until late hours in anticipation of late arrivals.

Saturday, 1st June 2013
– During the morning hours we will stand, sit, lie around the campsite, shout at each other, moan/brag/cry/chuckle about what we did last night, chat together and stare under open bonnets. In general, we usually wait for those who can’t force themselves to wake up in time for the announced time of departure for the laning trip…
– Breakfast can be had in the local "pub", in 2012 this was in a very homely manner.
– Departure for the laning trip is usually not before 11:00 – on the contrary, usually we depart with at least 20-30 minutes delay.
– The trip includes lanes and tarmac roads totalling some 70-100 kilometres in length, depending on how much time I can spare during April weekends to prepare the route. Fuel tank at least half-full (or half-empty) is advisable, I can help people with directions (or guide a little low-on-fuel convoy) to the nearest petrol station. The 2013 route is planned to include a stop at the small medieval fortress/stronghold at Malesov, with some hearty meal prepared for us at one of the local pubs. Another stop is included for the traditional group photo at the Vysoka hill.
– Another beer-drinking spree will follow in the evening.

Sunday, 2nd June 2013:
– Most participants usually bid farewell to others already during breakfast (some already leave on Saturday), but the programme will continue with a 9:00 departure for the National Agricultural Museum in Caslav, where the event called Grand Granddad’s Tractor is taking place (2012 participants will know what it’s like), with most of the museum’s exhibit’s (plus a lot of those from visitors) are shown running. In 2013, it is likely that we will have already two PTO’s shown in action, although one is still missing the belt pulley and the protective shield.
– There will be an exhibition of our vehicles at the museum grounds, the plan is for our part of the programme to end about noon. From there we can continue on for some more laning or we can end the meeting there in the same manner like this year, depends on each participants’ itinerary.

Additional info:

Facilities:
The meeting will take place at a public campsite, with space for tents and one small challet, which can accommodate 4-6 people. There are shared showers and toilets, built about 3 years ago, nice and clean. There’s a small pub behind the reception desk which serves (except beer) some basic food, like sausages, bread and some cold meals. It’s not exactly a luxury standard but people used to drive Land-Rovers should find the facilities sufficient. Beer usually costs around one euro per 0.5 litre glass, about the same costs a loaf of bread, for 7 or 8 euros you can get a hearty meal here.

Driving regulations:
The most apparent difference (apart from driving on the right) is the daylight lights-on rule, i.e. your lights need to be switched all the time. You should have an internationally valid proof of liability insurance (which is locally called the green card, showing that your vehicle is insured and the validity of the document), the speed limit for cities/towns/villages is 50 kph. Other than that it’s 90 kph outside cities/towns/villages and 130 kph on motorways. Motorways are toll-roads, you need to have a motorway sticker/vignette attached to the lower right part of your windscreen, proving you have paid the toll. The toll sticker for 10 days costs CZK 310 in 2013. To put this into context, the maximum fine for not having that sticker is CZK 5000.

Currency:
CZK (approx. CZK 26-27 = 1 EUR) / if you need to change on week days, you can do so at banks or exchange counters (there should be a few in Kutna Hora as well, not sure about the weekend office hours, better to stock up for the weekend on Friday). VISA/MasterCard credit cards will be accepted in 90% of the shops incl. most supermarkets, but not at the campsite.

Petrol prices:
About CZK 37-39 per litre (unleaded = called Natural 95 here) / some stations here still sell the so called Special 91 (with the lead-substituting additive included), which is usually slightly cheaper. There are two fuel stations in Kutna Hora, availability elsewhere is no problem, both on motorways and main roads (most or all of them nowadays accept VISA/MasterCard credit cards).

Other expected costs at CZ:
Campsite: see http://www.santabarbara.cz/cenik_en.php
Breakfast: EUR 3
Certificate + sticker: EUR 4
T-Shirt: EUR 12
Roasted pork dinner on Saturday: EUR 6

Have now established a Facebook page under http://www.facebook.com/BirmabrightWeekend – there are photos from all past 6 installments of the event.