We’ve shared some great meals with visitors over the last six months, and each person who comes to us brings with them food ideas from their own family and culture. Here is some inspiration for when we forget what we could have for dinner:
Our experience of living at Nový Mlýn so far has made us realise that it is essential for the house to have visitors. It’s way to big for two people, and we are happy to share our good fortune. We are only going to be able to invite multiple volunteer visitors if we can find a way of covering costs, and we need to begin to think about how the house can be income generating in the future. Initially we thought that we would eventually have some kind of hotel or guest house. When I think of a hotel – I think of strangers visiting and not interacting with the house or the community, and who really feels ‘at home’ in a hotel?
When we have volunteer visitors, Nový Mlýn feels very much like a fairly tightly organised house-share. Everyone contributes to the running of the household in terms of cooking meals & clearing away afterwards , as well as other household chores (we have discovered that this works best with a timetable). One great thing about the workaway visitors is that they make themselves at home… anyone can have a look in the fridge for something interesting, bake a cake or make a round of tea - when we have paying visitors, I don’t want to lose this feeling of house-share rather than service, though how to make it work?
Well, how about it being available as a short term house-share for long term travellers? People can rent a bed for a night (including simple breakfast), with full board available for a slightly higher fee. We can build up to the vision of a sustainable country house hoštel in time, now that we’ve realised that we’d probably never want to run Nový Mlýn as a hotel.
At it’s deepest, the winter has given us the experience of twenty five degrees below zero. I have fond memories of the days when I thought ten degrees c was cold… I noticed myself thinking when I saw this temperature on the thermometer on my bedroom wall - “oh good, it’s not too cold then.” Luckily, manual labour is very warming.
The week in which we experienced minus twenty five was rather catastrophic. Over the weekend we lost drainage, and then a chimney fire on Monday night meant that we had no heating at the house until we had a certificate to say that the chimneys had been swept. A couple of weeks before the chimney fire we had texted a chimney sweep, but had not chased it up when there was no immediate reply. Next time we will know that when the fires start to burn less strongly, it’s time to get the sweep to visit. I’d thought it was just because of damp wood. Anyway, the net result is that the core temperature of the house has fallen dramatically. We are down to zero. Read the rest of this entry »
Nový Mlýn is a sustainability project set in beautiful South Bohemia. Nový Mlýn is a large, ramshackle country house which is being slowly and lovingly restored by many caring hands. Like slow food, slow restoration is not about the quickest and cheapest solution – rip out and replace, but instead what is best for our entire being, including the eco-system on which we depend. We repair, re-purpose & recycle, and try our hardest to be responsible custodians of this land. Our vision is to be able to share our experience of Nový Mlýn with as many people as possible. We are creating space for year round visitors, and look forward to offering guests the use of a countryside hostel, including a sustainable swimming pond and spring water hot tub.
Breathtaking countryside surrounds the property, both forests and open fields. The country roads are lined with pear, apple and cherry trees, and there’s an abundance of wild flowers – you’ll see chamomile, poppies and cornflowers. Visitors to the area often spend time picking mushrooms and wild fruit (bilberries, strawberries & raspberries all grow in the forest near the house). Other local wildlife include dears & wild boars. In the summer the garden is lively with birdsong. You can visit the bats in the attic, and watch the firefly in the evening. In the winter there are wood fires, snow cover, blue skies and beautiful frosted trees.
Nový Mlýn is located on the edge of the Czech Highlands, 70 miles from Prague & 35 miles from Austria. The house is two miles from the site of the last Hussite battle on Czech soil, on the 19th August 1435. The property is well situated for those wishing to visit the World Heritage sites in the area:
Historic Centre of Český Krumlov
Holašovice Historical Village Reservation
Pilgrimage Church of St John of Nepomuk at Zelená Hora
Jewish Quarter and St Procopius’ Basilica in Třebíč
Local sights include the Hussite fortress town Tábor, countless outdoor swimming opportunities, plentiful walks and cycle routes (on well marked out tracks – we are less than 10 miles from the Prague to Vienna cycle route), a narrow gauge railway, Cervena Lhota – a red castle in the lake – with an outdoor theatre & and international restaurant. The largest mechanised nativity scene in the world(!) is located in a pretty nearby town – Jindřichův Hradec, and an annual world record festival is held every June in Pelhřimov.
Volunteer Visitors:
We follow the standard instructions from Workaway.info i.e. – How long am I expected to work for? The standard Workaway volunteer rate is 5 hours per day 5 days a week in exchange for food and board (Please note that we do not include alcoholic drinks or junk food – an honesty box is available for those wanting to indulge). Apart from the work what else is expected from me? You are expected to share in any household tasks where you are living, and generally clear up after yourself!
Advance booking:
To make a reservation more than a month in advance we ask for a 10 euro deposit via our paypal account. Otherwise, just check the calendar a few days before you want to arrive to check there is space.
Short term house share:
If you don’t feel like working during your time at Nový Mlýn, we can offer a limited number of visitors a a short term house-share opportunity. Bed & breakfast for 10 euros a night. Please let us know if you’d like to try this.
Nový Mlýn has been created thanks to the help of many supporters and volunteers. We are grateful for the contributions made by: