THE LS 600h L TOURS THE
CZECH REPUBLIC
It’s dawn and we’re warming to one of Europe’s most intriguing destinations. The Czech Republic is equal parts ancient nobility and a restless drive for progress. We are here to learn about how today’s big thinking can change the rules. Powered by the most advanced hybrid drive technology on the road, the LS 600h L is a suitable companion for the journey.
FIRST NIGHT IN PRAGUE
Our first night is spent unwinding at the hip Hotel Josef. We have morning coffee in the Lexus lounge by L’Angolo on Dlouhá street. The hospitality offered here was unheard of before Lexus entered the automotive scene, making this stylish restaurant-cum-customer centre a fitting starting point for our trip.
A SPA WITH BOND
We head out of town, following a path shaped by the country’s fascinating history – there are 12 UNESCO-protected sites here. Our first destination, Karlovy Vary, hasn’t made the list yet but the fabled West Bohemian spa town is under consideration. I eagerly tap the name into the touch-screen satellite navigation system.
Beyond the industrial outskirts of Prague the roads are light on traffic but uneven. The perfect time to explore the outer reaches of Lexus performance. Switching the car to ‘comfort’ mode makes a noticeable difference to the ride, while the eight-speed automatic transmission also guarantees blissfully smooth progress. In less than two hours we’re making a slow, twisting descent to the River Teplá, where Karlovy Vary sits in its 19th-century grandeur. It looks more like a Bond movie set the closer we get. In fact, our home for the night, the Grand Hotel Pupp, played a part in Casino Royale in 2006.
THE SMOOTH AND SILENT RIDE
The following morning we drive 250km to Ceský Krumlov, the unpredictable dips and turns tamed by the powers of the variable ratio steering, air suspension and permanent all-wheel drive in the LS 600h L. Once isolated during the communist era, the medieval town’s cobbled streets now buzz with crowds and an Egon Schiele museum draws fans of the Austrian master, who moved here in 1911.
After a night in the Hotel Růže, we head three hours east to Brno to meet a dynamic young chef ‘shaking things up’ in the Republic’s Moravian capital. His name is Roman Hadrbolec and he’s the 34-year-old owner of Noem Arch Design Hotel and Restaurant. He gives us a sample from his new ‘world’ menu. It’s grasshopper, nicely caramelised.
‘People haven’t really seen this kind of place around here,’ he explains. ‘We do have a lot of very happy customers but also guys who say, “Why are your ceilings exposed? It’s too dark. That’s not beef!” It’s because many people here – not all – are wary of change. Some are even a little jealous – they don’t like it when someone stands out from the crowd.’ It’s all food for thought on the journey to Mcely in Central Bohemia.
Throughout the drive, the Lexus has been entertaining us. The back seat soothes with its massage function, the 19-speaker Mark Levinson audio system helps dispatch the less interesting roads and the Lexus Hybrid Drive system has seen us overtaking with quiet certainty at least 30 of the tractors that endlessly ply the roads out here.
FORWARD LIVING AT CHATEAU MCELY
As we near our final leg, I pull over for some fresh air. It’s sweet with pine. It’s a taste of what’s to come at the idyllic Chateau Mcely, only the second five-star hotel in Europe to be awarded the EU’s coveted Eco-label. Inside, we catch up with Jim Cusumano, 66, former sixties pop star, Silicon Valley entrepreneur and Lexus RX 400h driver.
Cusamano attributes the success of the chateau to a combination of skills, experience and the fact that the place was so dilapidated to start with. ‘We’re showing how ecological sense and luxury need not be mutually exclusive,’ he says.
We turn to ideas of progress and change. ‘Within Prague and the circle around it, you’ve got relatively high GDP growth and smart people. This is a new frontier. Not all the rules have been written. There is a chance to do brave, innovative things.’
'THIS IS A NEW FRONTIER. NOT ALL THE RULES HAVE BEEN WRITTEN YET. THERE IS A CHANCE TO DO BRAVE THINGS'
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