Loděnice
Railway station
Loděnice is only a stone's throw from Prague; it will take you roughly thirty minutes by train to get there from the Smíchov station. Maybe you'll be welcomed by the saluting dispatcher Hubička in the red cap, the stationmaster Němeček or the railway rookie Miloš Hrma.
For writing his book, Bohumil Hrabal found inspiration in his personal experience from times when he worked as a dispatcher in the Kostomlaty train station. Another event that strongly influenced him was when a group of partisans blew up a German ammunition train. Jiří Menzel, however, filmed Closely Watched Trains in the station in Loděnice, lying on the road between Prague and Beroun.
The station bears the allure of all those smaller stations where time seems to have stopped. It's surrounded by the Křivoklát Highlands, most appealing in the autumn when the surrounding forests paint the countryside with fascinating colours. After you have finished with the tour of the Oscar-awarded train station, take a walk on the blue line leading to Svatý Jan pod Skalou.
