The fall apple, pear, and plum harvests are stored away for the long Central European winter.
Fields are fallow.
In the decade since the Communist retreat, this town nestled in the Sumava foothills has carried out dramatic social, political and economic reforms. But schools have been host to some of the country's most striking changes. New principals and administrators were needed to fill the vacuum left by Communist Party members who were voted out of their positions by their respective school boards. In December 1989, Mr. Bican was asked to manage the school, which includes Grades 1 to 9 and has 266 pupils and 17 teachers. In those times, we could not openly protest against the government, but it was generally known which families supported the regime and which families did not.