Courier reporter Aileen Robertson was hoping for the holiday of her dreams when she and husband Iain set off for Central Europe. However, they have found themselves caught up in some of the worst flooding ever seen in the region. Still on the continent, she has been in touch to share her story with fellow Fife reporter Leeza Clark.
Like many Scots, Aileen was looking forward to her holidays to catch some sun while seeing the sights of central Europe.
But she and husband Iain have had to tear up their carefully organised travel plans, as they arrived in the Czech capital, Prague, in the middle of some of the worst flooding seen in years.
The Vltava was a “huge muddy mass of raging water” but with the army called in to bolster flood defences, the city was coping.
“Quite the tourist, I put on a cagoule, bought a pair of cheap wellies and went round the castle,” she said.
“The Charles Bridge was closed but the police officers guarding the closed off areas didn’t seem to mind having their photos taken by tourists.”
The couple were due to spend some time exploring the countryside around the village of Hrensko.
“We took the train to Decin and asked a taxi driver to take us to our hotel. He didn’t speak any English, just said ‘Hrensko, kaputt’.
“We later found out that most of the village had been evacuated.”
Thinking they could salvage the trip, and encouraged by the fact the station at Bad Schandau just over the border was still open, they headed off.
“But as the train trundled slowly along the banks of the heavily swollen Elbe it started to dawn on us how serious the situation was.”
With tracks following the river, it felt more like a causeway.
“We passed Hrensko. We could see much of the town centre had been engulfed by the Elbe.
“That part of our holiday may not have gone to plan, but our inconvenience was nothing compared to what so many people who live and work along the river have gone through. The floods have claimed lives and destroyed homes and livelihoods.”