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South to the Czech Republic After leaving Steinbach, Germany, we headed south along the Elbe River toward Dresden where we met a 70 year old retired electrical engineer who averages 7,000 km per year on his 1923 one speed bicycle. After inviting him to lunch, he pedalled along with us for over 30 km pointing out sights and telling us about his family. He showed us the building where he attended grammar school before sending us on our way. From there we rode to the Czech Republic. Crossing the border had the same sad feel as crossing from San Diego to Tijuana, as we suspect is usually the case when crossing into less affluent countries. The roadside was lined with Vietnamese immigrants selling cigarettes, alcohol, and those ceramic elves seen throughout the front yards in Germany. Later down the road were prostitutes in the middle of the day standing among the beautiful pine forests. It was a dreary introduction into what turned out to be a fabulous country.
Kunta Hora We cycled for 5 days on our way to this town which lies 60 km east of Prague. On the last day we rode in with a 24 year old Prague college student who was the consummate budget traveler. He was returning from a month long cycle tour in Romania for which he had budgeted a dollar a day. He supplemented his savings by sleeping in the forest (no tent) and selling many of his possessions to eager Romanians including his helmet and 3 tee shirts. For his next trip, he wants to ride through Libya. We bought him dinner and wished him luck. Kunta Hora once was a thriving metropolis during the region's silver mining boom, but what we enjoyed most was how peaceful the town was once the Prague day trippers left. It was amazing how few cars there were in the main square. Just outside of town in Sedlec, is the soon to be famous All Saints Chapel which houses a collection of the bones of tens of thousands of plague victims from the 11th century. As part of the display, there is a magnificent chandelier containing at least one of every human bone. Unfortunately, it was closed to the public because they were filming the upcoming "Dungeon and Dragons", staring Jeremy Irons. After telling them that we had ridden all the way from CA to visit this particular sight, we were let in for a quick peak.
Our other memorable experience in Kunta Hora was that this was the first time on this trip that either of us needed medical attention. We set off to the hospital armed with a note from the young girl at the tourist office describing asthma symptoms in Czech. Embarrassingly, Jim was whisked ahead of the other patients. Fifteen dollars and eleven minutes later, we were out the door. Prague The city of Kafka, art deco, Bohemian crystal, and Mucha posters. We spent 3 fun filled days with our friends Ann from Sacramento, her 22 year old daughter Asha from D.C., and her 18 year old niece Meagan. Now we understand why everyone raves about this city. It has everything, a gorgeous castle, affordable classical concerts, 50 cent steins of the best beer in the world, and even an international skate board competition. The simple cross in front of the bullet riddled National Museum honouring the victims of communism and the names of Prague's 80,000 Nazi victims inscribed on the walls in the Pinkas synagogue were powerful, moving tributes. We had expected to find throngs of tourists, but once we threaded our way through the gawkers and crafts peddlers on Charles' bridge, we found plenty of back streets with lazy outdoor cafes. We left reluctantly.
Marianske Lazne Arriving in this quaint town felt like we and taken a step back in time. It is incredibly manicured, with pristine parks, art nouveau mustard colored building, lack of traffic, and very few people under the age of 50. Even our well worn hotel with its bald headed plaid sports coat manger, added to this impression. This is the Czech Republic's second most popular spa town where people traditionally come for a minmum of 3 weeks to take a "cure" in the area's thermal springs. The baths are elegantly tiled with large arched marbled rooms with Roman columns attended by white uniformed men and women. Fortunately, we found the one spa that offered single day use. Ann, Asha, Meagan, and Maria had a hilarious time communicating their desire for a massage and not one of the other "cures" available, particularly not the vaginal mud tampon treatment.
Cesky Krumlov With the old town nearly surrounded by the Vlatva river, it is hard to argue with the description of Chesky Krumlov as one of Europe's most charming towns. With 5 of us, it was one of the few times that we had trouble fining accommodations. Eventually, the owner of a pension telephoned a friend who had a 2 bedroom flat available. Even though the owner didn't speak a word of English, we were in hysterics as he painstakingly explained the function of every single appliance in the entire flat. We enjoyed walking through the cobblestone streets of the old town while the flood lit hill top castle loomed above us. We also had one of our best meals in the Czech republic in a vegetarian restaurant on the river. Our 2 day stay was much too short. Czech Greenways We returned to Prague for a few days to bid our friends good bye and retrieve our bicycles. We headed south toward Vienna along the Czech Greenways, a gorgeous well marked hiking and biking route. Virtually unpopulated during the cold war, the green beltway parallels the Austrian border. Even now it is a lightly populated region without many grocery stores, pensions, or campgrounds. We averaged about 70 km per day through the area. We spent two nights in Helvin before crossing into Austria, a day's ride from Vienna.
As was true in most of the Czech Republic, our limited French and Spanish was useless, and we had to rely on our very limited German to communicate. Vienna Entering the city was a breeze as we followed the bike path along the Danube River right to the city center. We had spent less than a day here 9 years ago, so we decided to stay for three days. Even at the height of the tourist season, we were able to find a reasonably priced centrally located hotel, the Accordia. We headed straight for the Naschmarkt with its huge variety of local and ethnic food stalls and restaurants. When we weren't eating, we alternated our time between people watching over espressos and admiring the beautiful building and squares - truly Vienna at its best. No stay would be complete without a trip to the Prater, Vienna's huge amusement park. This time we skipped a ride on the world's largest ferris wheel and headed straight for the Schweizenhaus, home of the huge pork knuckle. This lively outdoor beer garden is always packed, but we found seating across from an Austrian businessman, his Greek associate, and his 12 year old son. Many hours and beers later, we were discussing everything from the relative contributions of the Mayan vs. the ancient Greek civilizations to American politics and the war in Kosovo. The evening ended with each of them urging us to visit them in their home towns.
Austrian Wine Region It took us three tries and 20 km to thread our way out of Vienna's city limits. That afternoon the wind had picked up dramatically and as the skies darkened we spotted the entrance to a construction yard and quickly took refuge in an old barn where we squeezed our bikes among the machinery. As we huddled in the leaky structure watching the gale force winds and horizontal rain, we watch helplessly as the electric gate silently closed. Since it was Friday afternoon, we wondered if we would be locked in for the weekend. As the storm ended, workman returned and let us out. The next day, we stopped in the village of Weinerischstadt to listen to a marching band while we ate our picnic lunch. We saw a couple eyeing our bikes and struck up a conversation. We were delighted to find out that they had biked the area extensively and knew the best restaurants and wineries in the region. We left with a detailed itinerary which we followed all the way to the Slovenian border. This route took us through picturesque tiny villages, green rolling hills, crystal clear rivers, and acres and acres of vineyards. As part of this route, we crossed into Hungary for a night. At that campground we met a Kenny Rogers look-alike who, no matter what time of day we saw him, only wore swimming trunks, a tan, and a thick gold chain. In Austria's red wine growing region, we stopped in Lutzmannsburg for their annual wine fair which included live music, food booths, and tasting from 11 local wineries. A fun afternoon, but California still has the edge on red wines.
Slovenia After considering our options, we decided to cross the mountains through Slovenia, and are glad that we did as it had been the most scenic riding to date. The long uphills were rewarded with breath-taking vistas of the Julian alps. After 10 days of cycling from Vienna, we reached Lake Bled where we "Maria says finally" planted ourselves for 3 days. Bled is one of those picture perfect places reminiscent of Emerald Bay in Lake Tahoe. The tiny island, the only one in the country, sits at one end of the lake, and is just large enough for its white washed church. On the north side is the castle, built on a granite wall, which towers above the town. We splurged by renting a room whose best feature was a balcony twice the size of our average pension room. We spent one misty morning walking the 6 km path around the lake and another hiking along the nearby Radovna River to the dramatic Vintgar Gorge. From Bled, we followed the same river 30 km upstream into Triglav National Park where we camped for 3 days at Lake Bohinj. The jade green lake is nestled in a valley surrounded on 3 sides by steep mountains reminiscent of Yosemite valley, but without the crowds. We spent one morning hiking up to the Slap Savica falls, and swam in the pristine lake. When it rained, we worked on the update in the cafe. As is true of most
European campgrounds, this one had an outdoor cafe and fresh bread delivered every morning. This is great for us since we are not carrying (Maria says "yea") cooking equipment. The day that it rained we expected them to charge us rent as we occupied the same table for over 12 hours. Ljubljana When we arrived in Slovenia's capital, we took a 2 hour walking tour of its pretty, compact center. Since it was our wedding anniversary, we decided to celebrate with an authentic American meal - chips & salsa, burritos and margaritas. As we cycled west, we stopped to take a two hour tour of one of Slovenia's natural wonders, the Skocjan Caves. The highlight was crossing the narrow bridge suspended 150 feet above the river that flows through the largest cavern. By the time we reached the Adriatic Sea in Koper, we had pedaled over 4,000 km. Rovinj This quaint seaport lies on the west side of the Istrian peninsula in Croatia. It is a major tourist destination for Germans, Austrians, and Croatians. We planted ourselvesffor an entire week at an all-inclusive resort. We relaxed on the beach, swam in the clear warm water, and windsurfed. The only drawback was eating the bland food that appeals to the German palate. From there we took the 2 1/2 hour high speed ferry to Venice, arriving in country number 14. Until next time - Ciao |
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