Albert Fikáček, an adventurer and inventor based in Brno, has repurposed an old train wagon as a sauna, in collaboration with many volunteers and travel enthusiasts. His project was funded by donors, and similar projects are on the way under the VlakFest initiative. Photo Credit: Freepik / Illustrative Photo.
Brno, March 9 (BD) – Albert Fikáček, a native of Opava living in Brno, is an adventurer who started his journeys as an elementary school student, travelling around the world by hitchhiking and crossing the Mediterranean Sea on a ship made of plastic bottles. A former student of International Relations at Masaryk University, he has created projects including the Expedition Club, VlakFest, and many others related to travel and inventions. His most recent initiative is a sauna built on an old train wagon. When asked about how he came up with the idea of this project, Fikáček said: “The idea for a sauna train came out of life. Ideas are like germs, they fly in the air and wait for the right person. Certainly more people had this idea, but we took it and made it happen,” as reported in Brnensky Denik.
How Was It Built?
Fikáček purchased the old wagon from Kroměříž for CZK 90,000, and transferred it to Veselí nad Lužnicí in South Bohemia. 25 volunteers and enthusiasts took part in the reconstruction of the old wagon, spending thousands of hours to bring the wagon a new life. Yet the process of turning it into a sauna has been an improvisation, according to Fikáček. The sauna’s construction manager, Zdeněk Procházka, said that the project kept going throughout the pandemic, even though it was difficult to obtain some of the necessary materials to build it. The reconstruction has been carried out in such a way as to protect the nostalgic value of the wagon, yet give it a modern touch. The construction is now complete, and the sauna wagon will be ready to host sauna enthusiasts and travel after a safety and functionality test drive, and as the anti-epidemic measures are relaxed.
Great Enthusiasm for Railways
The sauna wagon is just one part of Fikáček’s VlakFest initiative, which started in 2018 when he organized a train trip to Chernobyl on New Year’s Eve. “The next year we set off our own train and went to Transnistria (Moldova). Since then, we have organized various events and travel festivals not only in the Czech Republic but also abroad,” he says. Fikáček’s interest in railways and being among young, enthusiastic people has opened up new ways to promote his VlakFest projects. The sauna wagon is designed to be transported and used during festivals and other large public events, just like the other VlakFest repurposing projects. The initiative is currently crowdfunding for their next steps, and has raised almost CZK 230,000 for the repurposing of old wagons. More information on the crowdfunding campaign can be found here.
