We have put a selection of tour photos in an online album. Click the following link to view
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Saturday 10 September 2011
Monday 5 September 2011
Back to Blighty...
St Valery, at the mouth of the Somme, has a packed yacht marina and many restaurants, their tables spilling out onto the streets. Lots of the customers are holidaying Brits. A long promenade leads under the old walled town, high up on a cliff. This old part, remarkably, has remained very traditional without tourist businesses. The main cobbled square has a flint church on one side and old brick houses on two others. The remaining side, on the cliff top, was totally destroyed by a bomb early in WW2.
Our campsite is handy to the promenade, so we cycle along it in the morning then across the back of the beach, on sand. The only sound from the bird reserve are shots as ducks are blasted out of the blue sky!
The coast route is hilly, but worth it for the cliff top views and the picturesque seaside villages at each dip down to the sea. Very suddenly a sea mist comes in and we are enveloped in a real pea-souper for the last 15 miles into DIEPPE.
At the ferry port, one boat is due to depart at 6.00pm. This is completely booked up and there is a waiting list. Thankfully we want the next early morning one, as we don't fancy arriving in Newhaven at night. We are pleasantly pleased to be only charged 25 euro per person at this peak time. Now we have the evening to explore the old port. As it is Saturday a busy market is in full flow around the large central church, and there are pleasure and fishing boats jostling for space on the busy harbour.
Sitting at a restaurant window table we watch a few heavy drops of rain suddenly become a prolonged deluge. Our poor bikes and panniers are soaked through and the street water rushes round the wheels. We spin our meal out until the rain stops around 10 pm. The TV in the restaurant shows a weather alert for northern France. We cross a swing bridge in the town centre and return to the ferry terminal where a security guard lets us and 3 other cyclists spend the rest of the night inside.
Thankfully the storm had no wind so we enjoy a calm sailing to NEWHAVEN at 5.30 next morning. National Cycle Route 2 takes us put of the town, along a very rough track and then across the cliff tops to Brighton seafront and past the famous Grand Hotel, to Hove. Here we are installed in niece Claire's mews cottage for a few days.
Whilst our tent drys in their courtyard, we walk along the promenade as the wind picks up, crashing powerful waves onto the pebbly beach.
Despite the warning red flag, almost wrenched off it's pole in the gusts, kite surfers race over the crests at frightening speeds.
With a day to spare for sightseeing, we have a very windy walk, taking in the Royal Crescent, the Pavilions, the narrow streets of the Lanes and consume fresh fish, chips and mushy peas by the beach.
We book a van for the one way trip back to Exeter, avoiding a ride into the strong head winds. All that is left now is to warn family and friends that we are homeward bound!
Total miles on tour 4,500
Our campsite is handy to the promenade, so we cycle along it in the morning then across the back of the beach, on sand. The only sound from the bird reserve are shots as ducks are blasted out of the blue sky!
The coast route is hilly, but worth it for the cliff top views and the picturesque seaside villages at each dip down to the sea. Very suddenly a sea mist comes in and we are enveloped in a real pea-souper for the last 15 miles into DIEPPE.
At the ferry port, one boat is due to depart at 6.00pm. This is completely booked up and there is a waiting list. Thankfully we want the next early morning one, as we don't fancy arriving in Newhaven at night. We are pleasantly pleased to be only charged 25 euro per person at this peak time. Now we have the evening to explore the old port. As it is Saturday a busy market is in full flow around the large central church, and there are pleasure and fishing boats jostling for space on the busy harbour.
Sitting at a restaurant window table we watch a few heavy drops of rain suddenly become a prolonged deluge. Our poor bikes and panniers are soaked through and the street water rushes round the wheels. We spin our meal out until the rain stops around 10 pm. The TV in the restaurant shows a weather alert for northern France. We cross a swing bridge in the town centre and return to the ferry terminal where a security guard lets us and 3 other cyclists spend the rest of the night inside.
Thankfully the storm had no wind so we enjoy a calm sailing to NEWHAVEN at 5.30 next morning. National Cycle Route 2 takes us put of the town, along a very rough track and then across the cliff tops to Brighton seafront and past the famous Grand Hotel, to Hove. Here we are installed in niece Claire's mews cottage for a few days.
Whilst our tent drys in their courtyard, we walk along the promenade as the wind picks up, crashing powerful waves onto the pebbly beach.
Despite the warning red flag, almost wrenched off it's pole in the gusts, kite surfers race over the crests at frightening speeds.
With a day to spare for sightseeing, we have a very windy walk, taking in the Royal Crescent, the Pavilions, the narrow streets of the Lanes and consume fresh fish, chips and mushy peas by the beach.
We book a van for the one way trip back to Exeter, avoiding a ride into the strong head winds. All that is left now is to warn family and friends that we are homeward bound!
Total miles on tour 4,500
Location:ST VALERY to BRIGHTON
Saturday 3 September 2011
"They are not lost, they are here"
On our way to Ypres we chance upon Maple Copse Cemetery, literally in the corner of a field, with a Lutyens memorial gate and maple trees, tinged with autumn red, for the Canadians buried here. On the Menin Road into Ypres is a larger cemetery with many Australians killed in September 1917, some heartbreakingly young at just 17.
Also there, a VC holder, a 21 year old Captain from Kent, killed by a sniper only days after almost singlehandedly taking out 2 German machine gun posts.
Then the unmistakable, enormous pale stone arch that is the Menin Gate, through the moat around Ypres, enscribed with thousands of names of fallen soldiers whose remains were never found. "They are not lost, they are here" declared General Fuller when he officially opened the Memorial. The 'Last Post' is played by a bugler here every evening at 8pm.
YPRES is a testimony to revival as the centre was rebuilt exactly as it had been, complete with the enormous cloth trading hall and cathedral.
There is a dedicated cycle path to PASSENDAELE following the train line that was a battle front heroically held by Australians, with remains of bunkers and a farm that somehow survived and still farms today.
Nearby is the enormous Tyn Cot Memorial to the commonwealth soldiers, on a hill with views over the wide battle area.
Warm Showers hosts are Flemish Caroline and David at POELKEPELLE. David has cycled in Canada and all the way down to S. America. Dinner was a delicious typical Flemish meal of ham and Chicory in a cheese sauce with mashed potato spiced with nutmeg.
After only 15 miles next morning we are back in France with our bikes once more referred to as Velos instead of Fiets. The minor roads we take undulate through cattle, potato and fruit farms. We camp at a very pretty farm at VERCHIN. Wandering around the village in the evening we discover the church has a tall twisted spire, as if it is growing towards the sun!
The weather has been fine for days now and is forecast to stay the same for the last few days of our trip. Next morning we start off road on farm tracks then quiet roads for 5pm to the village of AZINCOURT. We search out the famous battle site, now corn fields. A leaflet provided by the tourist office is completely devoid of facts, even omitting to mention that the French were defeated.
At the coast we skirt a large bird reserve. There is a dedicated cycle path down the Somme estuary until we cross to the other bank at the seaside town of ST VALERY SUR SOMME. We have completed the circle now, having first reached the Somme back in June.
Miles to date 4,390
Also there, a VC holder, a 21 year old Captain from Kent, killed by a sniper only days after almost singlehandedly taking out 2 German machine gun posts.
Then the unmistakable, enormous pale stone arch that is the Menin Gate, through the moat around Ypres, enscribed with thousands of names of fallen soldiers whose remains were never found. "They are not lost, they are here" declared General Fuller when he officially opened the Memorial. The 'Last Post' is played by a bugler here every evening at 8pm.
YPRES is a testimony to revival as the centre was rebuilt exactly as it had been, complete with the enormous cloth trading hall and cathedral.
There is a dedicated cycle path to PASSENDAELE following the train line that was a battle front heroically held by Australians, with remains of bunkers and a farm that somehow survived and still farms today.
Nearby is the enormous Tyn Cot Memorial to the commonwealth soldiers, on a hill with views over the wide battle area.
Warm Showers hosts are Flemish Caroline and David at POELKEPELLE. David has cycled in Canada and all the way down to S. America. Dinner was a delicious typical Flemish meal of ham and Chicory in a cheese sauce with mashed potato spiced with nutmeg.
After only 15 miles next morning we are back in France with our bikes once more referred to as Velos instead of Fiets. The minor roads we take undulate through cattle, potato and fruit farms. We camp at a very pretty farm at VERCHIN. Wandering around the village in the evening we discover the church has a tall twisted spire, as if it is growing towards the sun!
The weather has been fine for days now and is forecast to stay the same for the last few days of our trip. Next morning we start off road on farm tracks then quiet roads for 5pm to the village of AZINCOURT. We search out the famous battle site, now corn fields. A leaflet provided by the tourist office is completely devoid of facts, even omitting to mention that the French were defeated.
At the coast we skirt a large bird reserve. There is a dedicated cycle path down the Somme estuary until we cross to the other bank at the seaside town of ST VALERY SUR SOMME. We have completed the circle now, having first reached the Somme back in June.
Miles to date 4,390
Location:MENIN to ST VALERY
Tuesday 30 August 2011
The Big Green Egg...
We are the first people in MONS town square early Monday morning so photograph the beautiful old town hall without anyone in the foreground. There is a lot of the ancient town intact including an enormous bell tower, but it all needs some TLC. Extensive works have just started to spruce everything up for 2014, the 100th anniversary of the battle for Mons. This first battle of the Great War started on the outskirts at NIMY, where the Germans were completely taken by surprise at the arrival of the British Expeditionary Force. The result was the first shot fired by a British soldier on the continent since Waterloo. This was rapidly followed by the awarding of the 1st 2 VCs of the war to 2 machine gunners who held the railway bridge against enormous odds.
We cycle down the side of this canal and under the very same bridge, to carry on for miles without seeing a soul. Then we head south into the low hills of a nature park, near the border with France.
Warm Showers host Lionel and his family live in a renovated village farmhouse here, and have just returned from a trip to Paris Disney, with their 2 little boys. We are treated to delicious homegrown pumpkin soup then a barbecue cooked on a fantastic piece of American kit called a Big Green Egg (A green, egg-shaped ceramic barbie). With the meat cooked, and the fire out, there is enough heat still to cook a perfect loaf of bread for breakfast. Lionel also has some smart cycling kit including an aluminium recumbent bike.
In all we meet 4 generations of the family as Grandma and Great-Grandma arrive in the morning to look after the boys whilst Mum and Dad drive to their jobs in Brussels.
We join the rush hour traffic too for a few miles, then escape to a very wide canal, seeing no-one for hours, only passing coal barges. At an enormous deep lock 2 large pleasure boats are like toys at the bottom. The huge guillotine of a gate lifts up for the boats to pass under after they have risen up this huge water step. The lock was built in the 60s, replacing 13 smaller locks.
The cycle path then goes awry, leading us into a large wharf where coal is being unloaded from barges, swinging overhead and spilling great heaps in front of us! Our escape is through a working quarry so it is with relief we eventually make it over a bridge to a safer path.
TOURNAI is another lovely old town I'd never heard of! As well as the usual fine town hall on a cobbled Market, there is a covered 13c stone bridge, a Cathedral, and the tallest bell tower in Belgium at a whopping 70 m.
Back on the canal for a while, then across country, completing 60 miles at MENEN to look for a campsite and the famous Menen Gate. The tourist information lady pours cold water on both these plans. There is no campsite and the famous gate is at Ypres! We are too deflated to cycle on and stay the night in a bland hotel.
There is no photo with this blog as Mike was planning to take one of the gate - normal service should return with the next instalment.
Miles to date 4,269
We cycle down the side of this canal and under the very same bridge, to carry on for miles without seeing a soul. Then we head south into the low hills of a nature park, near the border with France.
Warm Showers host Lionel and his family live in a renovated village farmhouse here, and have just returned from a trip to Paris Disney, with their 2 little boys. We are treated to delicious homegrown pumpkin soup then a barbecue cooked on a fantastic piece of American kit called a Big Green Egg (A green, egg-shaped ceramic barbie). With the meat cooked, and the fire out, there is enough heat still to cook a perfect loaf of bread for breakfast. Lionel also has some smart cycling kit including an aluminium recumbent bike.
In all we meet 4 generations of the family as Grandma and Great-Grandma arrive in the morning to look after the boys whilst Mum and Dad drive to their jobs in Brussels.
We join the rush hour traffic too for a few miles, then escape to a very wide canal, seeing no-one for hours, only passing coal barges. At an enormous deep lock 2 large pleasure boats are like toys at the bottom. The huge guillotine of a gate lifts up for the boats to pass under after they have risen up this huge water step. The lock was built in the 60s, replacing 13 smaller locks.
The cycle path then goes awry, leading us into a large wharf where coal is being unloaded from barges, swinging overhead and spilling great heaps in front of us! Our escape is through a working quarry so it is with relief we eventually make it over a bridge to a safer path.
TOURNAI is another lovely old town I'd never heard of! As well as the usual fine town hall on a cobbled Market, there is a covered 13c stone bridge, a Cathedral, and the tallest bell tower in Belgium at a whopping 70 m.
Back on the canal for a while, then across country, completing 60 miles at MENEN to look for a campsite and the famous Menen Gate. The tourist information lady pours cold water on both these plans. There is no campsite and the famous gate is at Ypres! We are too deflated to cycle on and stay the night in a bland hotel.
There is no photo with this blog as Mike was planning to take one of the gate - normal service should return with the next instalment.
Miles to date 4,269
Location:MONS to MENEN
Monday 29 August 2011
Battling on...
It is simple to find our way from Ghent in the morning, just follow the river, then cross country, through charmless villages and small towns, where we have to get used to potholes again. Traffic is irksome in places as the Belgium idea of a cycle path is just to paint a picture of a bike on the road!
The villages become prettier now with a very pointy slate spire on the church in ONZE-LIEVE-VROUW-LOMBEEK. Marshalls and police line the road here to stop all the traffic (2 cars and a tractor) allowing a peleton of racing cyclists to whizz past.
The small town of SINT KWINTERNS LENNIK has a cobbled town square around a life-size bronze of a carthorse. As we hop off the bikes we immediately pick up wifi and then their bank gives me money, after 2 ATMs in Ghent failing to be forthcoming. So we like this place! Our Warm Showers host family live on a nearby farm. We are especially grateful for Julie and Dimitri's hospitality as they have nearly-new 3 week old Colleen, and it is Basile's 2nd birthday. They make us feel part of the family and we particularly enjoy playing with Basile's new train set!
J and D persuade us to visit BRUSSELS on our way the next day, and it was great advice as the historic centre was easy to get to and has a wealth of fine old buildings.
There is a simple way out, south, through a park, with the roads shut to traffic on Sundays, then offroad through beech forests. We come out of the trees and enter the French speaking state of Walloon.
At WATERLOO we stand on the spot where Wellington stared through his eyeglass at Napoleon, then cycle to stand on the spot where Napoleon stared back at Wellington. Amazingly after all these years the farms, that were so bitterly fought over, are still intact. The only change that would startle the generals is the heavy traffic on the Chareloi road.
Crossing the canal at RONFRIQUES we are impressed by the inclined-plane where barges are lifted 30ms to the next canal section. After 60 hilly miles we get lost in an enormous cement factory (Mike excitedly admires the huge kiln!?), but eventually find our way to the municipal camp site at Mons. As the food shops are all shut we prepare our emergency meal of pasta and tuna.
Miles to date 4,190
The villages become prettier now with a very pointy slate spire on the church in ONZE-LIEVE-VROUW-LOMBEEK. Marshalls and police line the road here to stop all the traffic (2 cars and a tractor) allowing a peleton of racing cyclists to whizz past.
The small town of SINT KWINTERNS LENNIK has a cobbled town square around a life-size bronze of a carthorse. As we hop off the bikes we immediately pick up wifi and then their bank gives me money, after 2 ATMs in Ghent failing to be forthcoming. So we like this place! Our Warm Showers host family live on a nearby farm. We are especially grateful for Julie and Dimitri's hospitality as they have nearly-new 3 week old Colleen, and it is Basile's 2nd birthday. They make us feel part of the family and we particularly enjoy playing with Basile's new train set!
J and D persuade us to visit BRUSSELS on our way the next day, and it was great advice as the historic centre was easy to get to and has a wealth of fine old buildings.
There is a simple way out, south, through a park, with the roads shut to traffic on Sundays, then offroad through beech forests. We come out of the trees and enter the French speaking state of Walloon.
At WATERLOO we stand on the spot where Wellington stared through his eyeglass at Napoleon, then cycle to stand on the spot where Napoleon stared back at Wellington. Amazingly after all these years the farms, that were so bitterly fought over, are still intact. The only change that would startle the generals is the heavy traffic on the Chareloi road.
Crossing the canal at RONFRIQUES we are impressed by the inclined-plane where barges are lifted 30ms to the next canal section. After 60 hilly miles we get lost in an enormous cement factory (Mike excitedly admires the huge kiln!?), but eventually find our way to the municipal camp site at Mons. As the food shops are all shut we prepare our emergency meal of pasta and tuna.
Miles to date 4,190
Location:GHENT to MONS
Saturday 27 August 2011
In search of Poirot...
The forecast is for intermittent showers, but what we get, as we set off after our laze in Leiden, is rain all morning. Our sandwiches are eaten in a grafittied underpass, but our mood is lightened by a cyclist who spots us sheltering and invites us to have coffee in his nearby church. We don't take up his offer as the rain is easing, but much appreciate the kind thought.
A car ferry takes us over the estuary leading to the enormous Europort of Rotterdam. A massive wall of concave concrete is built as a blast barrier beside an oil tanker dock. Let's hope they never need it! The rest of the delta is bridged by a long flood defence barrier which we cycle over to the traditional village of STELLENDAM and their pristine, spacious farm campsite.
Skeins of geese cross the blue morning sky giving hope of a dry run. The first village we reach as we continue west is about the most charming we have visited in Holland. The narrow streets of GOEDEREEDE are paved with brick and lined with diddy terrace houses. The canal is widened to form a small quay where fresh produce is being sold from stalls.
The cycle path out is through fields where a silly hare runs along in front of us for 1/2 a mile before realising he can escape into the fields at the side. I look after the bikes in the next town while Mike food shops, and as usual, someone stops to chat, this time a retired professional footballer. He tells me he played in goal until he was 35 but it ruined his knees so he can't cycle far now.
We pass over a string of 4 islands, the first two joined by long causeways. Campervans piled high with surf boards line the endless beaches on the north sea side but there is no surf today.
A long bridge takes us over more flood defences and then we pass through wooded dunes.
We are standing looking lost in VLISSINGEN when a local cyclist stops and insists it is easier for him to take us to the ferry than explain the directions. What a lovely chap. The bicycle ferry to the mainland has space in it's "garage" for about 100 bikes. There is a string of large campsites on the other side near BERKENS, so we book in at the first, with 4000 miles completed so far. After a mainly sunny day we are a bit alarmed by our caravanning neighbours telling us they are packing up to go home early as bad weather is coming!
They were right.
At 6.30 am the heavens open for the start of a 2hr thunder storm. Our weather weary tent leaks a little at seams but not in the bed area. We make a dash for the modern facilities, to plug in our travel kettle for tea. Things are worse here with the roof leaking and water pouring through light fittings. We pack up and leave ASAP as the site is below sea level and beginning to fill up with water. Nearby farmworkers in souwesters are up ladders picking the pear harvest. Within 25 miles we are at the village of WATERVLIET and into Belgium (our 8th country). Almost immediately the rain stops (and so do dedicated cycle paths!).
We head into the centre of GHENT down a canalside. What a treasure trove!
Medieval churches and houses surround quays and cobbled squares. Apparently there are 900 listed buildings and this is easy to believe. What makes it all so attractive is the lack of cars as they are excluded from a large area with access only for pedestrians, cyclists and trams. A lot less crowded than Prague, and untouristy.
After a good look round we head back along the canal road to Warm Showers host Roul. An impressive touring cyclist as not long back from a trip via Greece,Iran and China to Thialand, rather raising the bar for us!
Miles to date 4,045
A car ferry takes us over the estuary leading to the enormous Europort of Rotterdam. A massive wall of concave concrete is built as a blast barrier beside an oil tanker dock. Let's hope they never need it! The rest of the delta is bridged by a long flood defence barrier which we cycle over to the traditional village of STELLENDAM and their pristine, spacious farm campsite.
Skeins of geese cross the blue morning sky giving hope of a dry run. The first village we reach as we continue west is about the most charming we have visited in Holland. The narrow streets of GOEDEREEDE are paved with brick and lined with diddy terrace houses. The canal is widened to form a small quay where fresh produce is being sold from stalls.
The cycle path out is through fields where a silly hare runs along in front of us for 1/2 a mile before realising he can escape into the fields at the side. I look after the bikes in the next town while Mike food shops, and as usual, someone stops to chat, this time a retired professional footballer. He tells me he played in goal until he was 35 but it ruined his knees so he can't cycle far now.
We pass over a string of 4 islands, the first two joined by long causeways. Campervans piled high with surf boards line the endless beaches on the north sea side but there is no surf today.
A long bridge takes us over more flood defences and then we pass through wooded dunes.
We are standing looking lost in VLISSINGEN when a local cyclist stops and insists it is easier for him to take us to the ferry than explain the directions. What a lovely chap. The bicycle ferry to the mainland has space in it's "garage" for about 100 bikes. There is a string of large campsites on the other side near BERKENS, so we book in at the first, with 4000 miles completed so far. After a mainly sunny day we are a bit alarmed by our caravanning neighbours telling us they are packing up to go home early as bad weather is coming!
They were right.
At 6.30 am the heavens open for the start of a 2hr thunder storm. Our weather weary tent leaks a little at seams but not in the bed area. We make a dash for the modern facilities, to plug in our travel kettle for tea. Things are worse here with the roof leaking and water pouring through light fittings. We pack up and leave ASAP as the site is below sea level and beginning to fill up with water. Nearby farmworkers in souwesters are up ladders picking the pear harvest. Within 25 miles we are at the village of WATERVLIET and into Belgium (our 8th country). Almost immediately the rain stops (and so do dedicated cycle paths!).
We head into the centre of GHENT down a canalside. What a treasure trove!
Medieval churches and houses surround quays and cobbled squares. Apparently there are 900 listed buildings and this is easy to believe. What makes it all so attractive is the lack of cars as they are excluded from a large area with access only for pedestrians, cyclists and trams. A lot less crowded than Prague, and untouristy.
After a good look round we head back along the canal road to Warm Showers host Roul. An impressive touring cyclist as not long back from a trip via Greece,Iran and China to Thialand, rather raising the bar for us!
Miles to date 4,045
Location:LEIDEN to GHENT
Sunday 21 August 2011
Pottering about...
A day trip to Delft, without the weighty luggage on the bikes, is a pleasant change. The bike paths are really busy on this sunny Saturday morning; Mums with toddlers perched in front of them, youngsters with a friends sitting on luggage racks, and older couples often on electric bikes. No cycle helmets apart from 2 cycling policemen. The paths pass through acres of glass houses, mostly flower factories including lots of Geest's orchids. DELFT is much like Leiden, cobbled narrow streets alongside canals.
Families of coots, with tiny red-headed chicks, feed among the waterlilies. Little humpback bridges have old fashioned bikes piled against the black railings. The enormous tower of the central church is leaning dramatically, and some of the narrow brick houses are a bit wonky too. A large street antiques market displays local old blue pottery and coloured tiles.There are even some lampposts with Delft pottery cladding!
On the way back to Leiden we follow some of the North Sea cycle route through the dunes, but gradually get ensnarled in the heavy traffic of The Haag, eventually escaping the throng by going through a large country estate.
We give the bikes a rest on Sunday, to follow the Leiden walking trail. This takes us through the historic centre, from the ancient university (where Einstein was a professor in the 20s) to St Peters Church.
Here the cross keys symbol of the city originates, St Peter's keys to the gates of heaven. The Pilgrim Fathers, who eventually left for America on the Mayflower via Plymouth, came from this city, and other houses were occupied by famous artists, including Rembrandt and Jan Steen.
The canalside cobbled central square was a cattle and sheep Market for centuries, only the 2002 foot and mouth epidemic finally finishing it off. As we walk back to the apartment on Langebrug (long bridge), we pass the tiny local "coffee" shop. Tobacco smokers are having to puff away outside, but cannabis users are allowed to puff their pot inside!
Miles to date 3,945
Families of coots, with tiny red-headed chicks, feed among the waterlilies. Little humpback bridges have old fashioned bikes piled against the black railings. The enormous tower of the central church is leaning dramatically, and some of the narrow brick houses are a bit wonky too. A large street antiques market displays local old blue pottery and coloured tiles.There are even some lampposts with Delft pottery cladding!
On the way back to Leiden we follow some of the North Sea cycle route through the dunes, but gradually get ensnarled in the heavy traffic of The Haag, eventually escaping the throng by going through a large country estate.
We give the bikes a rest on Sunday, to follow the Leiden walking trail. This takes us through the historic centre, from the ancient university (where Einstein was a professor in the 20s) to St Peters Church.
Here the cross keys symbol of the city originates, St Peter's keys to the gates of heaven. The Pilgrim Fathers, who eventually left for America on the Mayflower via Plymouth, came from this city, and other houses were occupied by famous artists, including Rembrandt and Jan Steen.
The canalside cobbled central square was a cattle and sheep Market for centuries, only the 2002 foot and mouth epidemic finally finishing it off. As we walk back to the apartment on Langebrug (long bridge), we pass the tiny local "coffee" shop. Tobacco smokers are having to puff away outside, but cannabis users are allowed to puff their pot inside!
Miles to date 3,945
Location:LEIDEN
Friday 19 August 2011
Cheese and Quackers...
Vanessa took us on a bike tour next morning along the top of a recently raised dyke, affording us panoramic views of a wetland
bird reserve on one side and yachts sailing on the other. We pose for farewell photos with Amsterdam in the background.
Mike and I spend a happy hour watching thousands of ducks and geese before continuing on through a forest track to UTRECHT.
The city centre is heaving with students (and their bikes) at their Freshers Week, but we manage to squeeze our bikes onto a small gap on the pavement and people watch, before heading out to the suburbs and the flat of W. Showers host, Sake. Recently returned from cycling in China, he made it sound really straight forward but he does understand some Mandarin, a great advantage. Next morning, on the way to his primary school teaching job, he leads us on a route through attractive villages. A row of smart barges, moored on the river, however, turn out to be brothels, with ample young ladies advertising their assets in the picture windows. There are potential customers, even at 7.30 in the morning, with window shopping pedestrians and kerb crawlers.
We are heading to Leiden to stay with friends but take a detour to GOUDA. The route takes us over a large lake, on a narrow causeway. Little bridges from this connect to tiny islands, each with one house and a couple of sheep or goats to keep the grass down. Gouda has a beautiful old triangular cobbled town "square". In the centre is an ancient stone Cheese Market Hall. Stalls crowd around selling mostly cheese, there is a "guess the weight of the cheese" contest and a cheese museum. After eating our lunchtime cheese sandwiches we head into LEIDEN.
This is one of the oldest university cities in Europe , and you've guessed, it is their Freshers Week too. The speciality here is the beer bike bus, a wagon like contraption with 10 students sitting around a bar drinking beer and pedalling away. We could not work out who was steering but they were merrily whizzing around the narrow canalside cobbled streets.
There are 3 enormous bike stores by the station as this is a commuter town for Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Apparently there are more bikes outside this station than all of London's stations put together.
After dodging a rain shower, we are welcomed by our friend Paul, 2 of his graduate sons who now work here, and 2 of their Uni friends.
We remember from a previous visit there is lovely 1920s cinema near their apartment and take ourselves there to see the latest H.Potter, in English but with Dutch sub titles. The owner sells the tickets at the door, operates the projector, then the bar at half time and says goodbye at the end. A wonderful, cosy night out, with no adverts!
Miles to date 3,893
bird reserve on one side and yachts sailing on the other. We pose for farewell photos with Amsterdam in the background.
Mike and I spend a happy hour watching thousands of ducks and geese before continuing on through a forest track to UTRECHT.
The city centre is heaving with students (and their bikes) at their Freshers Week, but we manage to squeeze our bikes onto a small gap on the pavement and people watch, before heading out to the suburbs and the flat of W. Showers host, Sake. Recently returned from cycling in China, he made it sound really straight forward but he does understand some Mandarin, a great advantage. Next morning, on the way to his primary school teaching job, he leads us on a route through attractive villages. A row of smart barges, moored on the river, however, turn out to be brothels, with ample young ladies advertising their assets in the picture windows. There are potential customers, even at 7.30 in the morning, with window shopping pedestrians and kerb crawlers.
We are heading to Leiden to stay with friends but take a detour to GOUDA. The route takes us over a large lake, on a narrow causeway. Little bridges from this connect to tiny islands, each with one house and a couple of sheep or goats to keep the grass down. Gouda has a beautiful old triangular cobbled town "square". In the centre is an ancient stone Cheese Market Hall. Stalls crowd around selling mostly cheese, there is a "guess the weight of the cheese" contest and a cheese museum. After eating our lunchtime cheese sandwiches we head into LEIDEN.
This is one of the oldest university cities in Europe , and you've guessed, it is their Freshers Week too. The speciality here is the beer bike bus, a wagon like contraption with 10 students sitting around a bar drinking beer and pedalling away. We could not work out who was steering but they were merrily whizzing around the narrow canalside cobbled streets.
There are 3 enormous bike stores by the station as this is a commuter town for Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Apparently there are more bikes outside this station than all of London's stations put together.
After dodging a rain shower, we are welcomed by our friend Paul, 2 of his graduate sons who now work here, and 2 of their Uni friends.
We remember from a previous visit there is lovely 1920s cinema near their apartment and take ourselves there to see the latest H.Potter, in English but with Dutch sub titles. The owner sells the tickets at the door, operates the projector, then the bar at half time and says goodbye at the end. A wonderful, cosy night out, with no adverts!
Miles to date 3,893
Location:LELYSTAD to LEIDEN
Wednesday 17 August 2011
Going Dutch...
The wind turbine blades are carving through foggy drizzle this Sunday morning, thick enough to muffle the church bells. With no prospect of coastal views we take a cross country road to JEVER. The townsfolk have stalls lining the streets and a fair, but no punters. Back on the North Sea route, it takes us along a gravelly, former rail track and a famers' road of broken bricks - almost unrideable. Enormous barns have roofs completely covered with solar panels. The harvest is later here and we pass 100s of acres of weather damaged crops.
Lunch is taken in a wooden bus shelter, commodious enough for bikes too. We just beat 4 German tourers to it, who then have to wait to cross the busy road to the shelter on the other side. After lunch a monsoon sets in so I resort to that most attractive of head gear - the plastic bag under the helmet, previously modelled by NZ Judy (sorry for sniggering at you).
Eventually the rain stops as we reach the very attractive little fishing port of EMDEN. Despite it being a 3 day holiday weekend we secure a room with balcony overlooking the fishing boats.
There is a bit of a dash next morning to catch the tiny ferry from PETKUM to DITZUM, as it only runs hourly. The views from it are of the Dollart Bay with avocet, shelduck, curlews and lapwing feeding on the mud.
The weather hots up and after days of everywhere looking like Holland we are now actually there! We are not sure where we crossed the border but by the village of BEERTA all the car regs are NL and we don't understand the signs.
The canal we follow into GRONINGEN is big enough to take massive oil barges, with road and rail bridges opening to let them through. In the old town centre there are thousands of students drinking or on bikes as it is their Freshers week.
Kleis is our warm showers host. A very experienced winter tourer, his last trip was Texas and the Florida area, where he met some fascinating Americans and lots of mozzies.
Next day was our longest mileage so far this trip, at 101miles, all flat and in sunshine, but with a strong headwind. Alongside canals and sometimes waiting at opening bridges for yachts to pass under, finally we cross a large Polder and road bridge to reach the town of LELYSTADT. This has a beautiful new harbour full of tall ships and a few fishing boats. Our W.Showers host, Vanessa, cycles to meet us and takes us to her house.
Miles to date 3,788
Lunch is taken in a wooden bus shelter, commodious enough for bikes too. We just beat 4 German tourers to it, who then have to wait to cross the busy road to the shelter on the other side. After lunch a monsoon sets in so I resort to that most attractive of head gear - the plastic bag under the helmet, previously modelled by NZ Judy (sorry for sniggering at you).
Eventually the rain stops as we reach the very attractive little fishing port of EMDEN. Despite it being a 3 day holiday weekend we secure a room with balcony overlooking the fishing boats.
There is a bit of a dash next morning to catch the tiny ferry from PETKUM to DITZUM, as it only runs hourly. The views from it are of the Dollart Bay with avocet, shelduck, curlews and lapwing feeding on the mud.
The weather hots up and after days of everywhere looking like Holland we are now actually there! We are not sure where we crossed the border but by the village of BEERTA all the car regs are NL and we don't understand the signs.
The canal we follow into GRONINGEN is big enough to take massive oil barges, with road and rail bridges opening to let them through. In the old town centre there are thousands of students drinking or on bikes as it is their Freshers week.
Kleis is our warm showers host. A very experienced winter tourer, his last trip was Texas and the Florida area, where he met some fascinating Americans and lots of mozzies.
Next day was our longest mileage so far this trip, at 101miles, all flat and in sunshine, but with a strong headwind. Alongside canals and sometimes waiting at opening bridges for yachts to pass under, finally we cross a large Polder and road bridge to reach the town of LELYSTADT. This has a beautiful new harbour full of tall ships and a few fishing boats. Our W.Showers host, Vanessa, cycles to meet us and takes us to her house.
Miles to date 3,788
Location:WILHELMSHAVEN to LELYSTAD
Monday 8 August 2011
Friesians...
CUXHAVEN is a bit like Newquay but with a container port attached. Balconied highrise holiday flats line the seafront where the wind on tide had flooded the promenade and cycle path. Hundreds of colourful wicker seats, usually hired out to holiday-makers along the front, had been rescued from the water and are drying out beside the grassy dyke. Waterfront cafes are boarded against the showers and wind but on the town edge a mobile hot fish van is doing a good trade.
Once away from the town the puddly path is unsurfaced, amongst the dunes, skirting a pinewood undergrown with acres of purple heather and wild roses. Then into farm land where sheep and cows graze around the path, covering it (and our bike tyres) with their poo! In the farming hamlets tall pointed thatches cover farms and barns.
As the enormous cranes of BREMERHAVEN docks come into view we turn off towards the town. Too late I notice barbed wire lying across the path. As we untangle Mike's bike we are "shocked" to find it is electrified! As if my hair isn't curly enough with all this rain. Then the canal bridge is shut for repair and the alternative blocked by a frisky bull escorted by a farmer, safe in his tractor. Finally we reach the town centre to discover it easier to find a brothel than an hotel (Blue Nights, Cherbourg Strasse, if anyone is interested) but an App comes to our rescue and we are happily installed in a cosy room near an excellent Italian restaurant.
Next morning I spend an hour sheltering from the rain with the bikes in the local shopping mall whilst Mike finds a bank. As always with the bikes, people come up to chat. This time they include a trawler-man, a local cyclist, a Jehovah's Witness and an ancient old man keen to practice the English he had not used since his schooldays.
We catch the ferry west over the Weser river. Having just disembarked my rear wheel gives a horrible twang as the rim splits (well it had done 23,000 miles - we had just rather hoped it would last until we got home).
There was nothing for it but to take the next ferry back to Bremerhaven. With our Rohloff hubs, a specialist bike repairer is needed and a town centre bike shop gives us directions to the Rohloff dealer 5 miles to the south. On the way we pass the best bits of town we had missed first time including a "Burj" style hotel and tall masted ships in the Maritime Museum.
A giraffe tethered outside the travelling circus leans right over the fence to give us a close inspection.
We did not get to them until 2pm, but the lovely bike shop (Bastler on Weserstrasse) had everything needed for my wheel rebuild, and had it ready by 5pm! Then it finally stopped raining and the sun came out!
We are not choosy about where we pick up free Wifi and get a good signal, this time, outside a funeral parlour, to catch up with remainder of Ted and Sue's Norway blog.
With deja vu we approach the ferry terminal next morning, just as the barrier comes down on the gangway and the lights turn red, but they reverse the ferry engine thrust, lift the barrier and let us on - heroes!
As the wind has disappeared we do not now need to shelter behind the dyke, taking instead an estuary farm track for magnificent views including a 3 masted tall ship in sail. Curlew, oystercatchers and avocets feed on the mud, and a large flock of spoonbill cover a small lake.
At a small seaside resort, there is a brisk Saturday trade in 4 wheel family size hire bikes. One lot are having to half carry theirs back to base as a wheel has dropped off!
The path then wends through fields, and we are briefly delayed by a farmer (on his bike) bringing in his friesian herd to milk. Well we assume they are friesians as this is West Friesia. We spend the night at WILHELMSHAVEN.
Miles to date 3,564
Once away from the town the puddly path is unsurfaced, amongst the dunes, skirting a pinewood undergrown with acres of purple heather and wild roses. Then into farm land where sheep and cows graze around the path, covering it (and our bike tyres) with their poo! In the farming hamlets tall pointed thatches cover farms and barns.
As the enormous cranes of BREMERHAVEN docks come into view we turn off towards the town. Too late I notice barbed wire lying across the path. As we untangle Mike's bike we are "shocked" to find it is electrified! As if my hair isn't curly enough with all this rain. Then the canal bridge is shut for repair and the alternative blocked by a frisky bull escorted by a farmer, safe in his tractor. Finally we reach the town centre to discover it easier to find a brothel than an hotel (Blue Nights, Cherbourg Strasse, if anyone is interested) but an App comes to our rescue and we are happily installed in a cosy room near an excellent Italian restaurant.
Next morning I spend an hour sheltering from the rain with the bikes in the local shopping mall whilst Mike finds a bank. As always with the bikes, people come up to chat. This time they include a trawler-man, a local cyclist, a Jehovah's Witness and an ancient old man keen to practice the English he had not used since his schooldays.
We catch the ferry west over the Weser river. Having just disembarked my rear wheel gives a horrible twang as the rim splits (well it had done 23,000 miles - we had just rather hoped it would last until we got home).
There was nothing for it but to take the next ferry back to Bremerhaven. With our Rohloff hubs, a specialist bike repairer is needed and a town centre bike shop gives us directions to the Rohloff dealer 5 miles to the south. On the way we pass the best bits of town we had missed first time including a "Burj" style hotel and tall masted ships in the Maritime Museum.
A giraffe tethered outside the travelling circus leans right over the fence to give us a close inspection.
We did not get to them until 2pm, but the lovely bike shop (Bastler on Weserstrasse) had everything needed for my wheel rebuild, and had it ready by 5pm! Then it finally stopped raining and the sun came out!
We are not choosy about where we pick up free Wifi and get a good signal, this time, outside a funeral parlour, to catch up with remainder of Ted and Sue's Norway blog.
With deja vu we approach the ferry terminal next morning, just as the barrier comes down on the gangway and the lights turn red, but they reverse the ferry engine thrust, lift the barrier and let us on - heroes!
As the wind has disappeared we do not now need to shelter behind the dyke, taking instead an estuary farm track for magnificent views including a 3 masted tall ship in sail. Curlew, oystercatchers and avocets feed on the mud, and a large flock of spoonbill cover a small lake.
At a small seaside resort, there is a brisk Saturday trade in 4 wheel family size hire bikes. One lot are having to half carry theirs back to base as a wheel has dropped off!
The path then wends through fields, and we are briefly delayed by a farmer (on his bike) bringing in his friesian herd to milk. Well we assume they are friesians as this is West Friesia. We spend the night at WILHELMSHAVEN.
Miles to date 3,564
Location:CUXHAVEN to WILHELMSHAVEN
To the North Sea...
The other cycling campers in the woodland site are 3 middle aged ladies from N Holland, a German couple and 2 Irish girl students.
The next morning we soon encounter 10 miles of very rough, forest track, especially tricky over slippy roots. We had wondered why a whole gaggle of cyclists had taken the ferry across to the other side just before this section!
Then we are back to the typical flat dyke path, with thousands of geese and lapwing feeding alongside cattle on the partially flooded meadows.
The weather deteriorates, with driving rain slowing us for the last couple of hours, so it is 7.30 by the time we complete 70 miles and reach HAMBURG. A recumbent cyclist hails us to warn that the cycle track is blocked by roadworks. We ask for directions to a hotel and he points out we are only round the corner from a Holiday Inn. Despite 2 coach loads of excitable Italians and Spaniards booking in just as we arrive, there is room for us, on the 10th floor with a fantastic view northwest down the estuary.
We marvel at the enormous busy docks and the church towers of the old district. Our luck holds as we secure the last table in their restaurant.
The World News channel headlines are shocking pictures of London burning and looted shops.
Free wifi at StarBucks next morning brings a cheery email from Kirby and his photo of "our" cygnets from back home.
Despite the intensive battering of Hamburg in the war there are a surprising number of fine Art Nouveaux office blocks, quaint old bridges and churches. One burnt out church remains as a memorial, as in Plymouth. By the huge statue of Bismarck lots of homeless people are sleeping under a bridge.
The cycle route takes us along the cobbled quay in front of the old Fish Market, restored as a function venue, then past the current Fish Market and little restaurants specialising in caviar and crab. The long estuary side parkland path leads us northwest for miles. The very strong wind on tide is causing floods across lawns and beach, to the edge of the path. Cyclists coming the other way assure us it is passable (just!). The majority of park cafes are boarded up as the very strong winds and rain drive away all their customers - only determined touring cyclists are out in these very unseasonal conditions.
There is a lot to see, though, with huge Chinese freighters pulled along by tugs, water taxis battling the waves past a striped lighthouse, and in dock 'The World' cruise liner.
We have to cross a wide canal near Kronsnest or there will be a 20 mile detour. Our map shows a ferry but there is no sign of it! A farming granny confirms it no longer exists but we can cross a swing bridge 5 miles away. The only trouble is it can only be crossed at certain times of the day, and she doesn't know when. We pass through 2 seriously engineered dykes to find the bridge in our favour but a closed red gate. With relief we open the gate and the control tower let us through. We had not seen another soul on this route so had not been hopeful. Now we reach the Elbe estuary car ferry at GLUCKSTADT. There are some benefits to being on a bike as we cycle to the front of a very long vehicle queue to get straight on. At least 50 of the cars we passed will have to wait for the next ferry. The estuary is very wide and choppy here with a strong wind blowing from the north sea. On the other side another dyke cycle path is blissfully free of cars but into a relentless head wind and showers. We give up at OTTERNDORF (the village of otters), just short of the coast, as the rain becomes torrential.
Next morning, under threatening skies and drizzle, we reach CUXHAVEN at the North Sea. There are many windfarms here, so blowy must be the norm. Sorry for the lack of photos but this is not the weather for getting out the phone!
Miles to date 3,480
The next morning we soon encounter 10 miles of very rough, forest track, especially tricky over slippy roots. We had wondered why a whole gaggle of cyclists had taken the ferry across to the other side just before this section!
Then we are back to the typical flat dyke path, with thousands of geese and lapwing feeding alongside cattle on the partially flooded meadows.
The weather deteriorates, with driving rain slowing us for the last couple of hours, so it is 7.30 by the time we complete 70 miles and reach HAMBURG. A recumbent cyclist hails us to warn that the cycle track is blocked by roadworks. We ask for directions to a hotel and he points out we are only round the corner from a Holiday Inn. Despite 2 coach loads of excitable Italians and Spaniards booking in just as we arrive, there is room for us, on the 10th floor with a fantastic view northwest down the estuary.
We marvel at the enormous busy docks and the church towers of the old district. Our luck holds as we secure the last table in their restaurant.
The World News channel headlines are shocking pictures of London burning and looted shops.
Free wifi at StarBucks next morning brings a cheery email from Kirby and his photo of "our" cygnets from back home.
Despite the intensive battering of Hamburg in the war there are a surprising number of fine Art Nouveaux office blocks, quaint old bridges and churches. One burnt out church remains as a memorial, as in Plymouth. By the huge statue of Bismarck lots of homeless people are sleeping under a bridge.
The cycle route takes us along the cobbled quay in front of the old Fish Market, restored as a function venue, then past the current Fish Market and little restaurants specialising in caviar and crab. The long estuary side parkland path leads us northwest for miles. The very strong wind on tide is causing floods across lawns and beach, to the edge of the path. Cyclists coming the other way assure us it is passable (just!). The majority of park cafes are boarded up as the very strong winds and rain drive away all their customers - only determined touring cyclists are out in these very unseasonal conditions.
There is a lot to see, though, with huge Chinese freighters pulled along by tugs, water taxis battling the waves past a striped lighthouse, and in dock 'The World' cruise liner.
We have to cross a wide canal near Kronsnest or there will be a 20 mile detour. Our map shows a ferry but there is no sign of it! A farming granny confirms it no longer exists but we can cross a swing bridge 5 miles away. The only trouble is it can only be crossed at certain times of the day, and she doesn't know when. We pass through 2 seriously engineered dykes to find the bridge in our favour but a closed red gate. With relief we open the gate and the control tower let us through. We had not seen another soul on this route so had not been hopeful. Now we reach the Elbe estuary car ferry at GLUCKSTADT. There are some benefits to being on a bike as we cycle to the front of a very long vehicle queue to get straight on. At least 50 of the cars we passed will have to wait for the next ferry. The estuary is very wide and choppy here with a strong wind blowing from the north sea. On the other side another dyke cycle path is blissfully free of cars but into a relentless head wind and showers. We give up at OTTERNDORF (the village of otters), just short of the coast, as the rain becomes torrential.
Next morning, under threatening skies and drizzle, we reach CUXHAVEN at the North Sea. There are many windfarms here, so blowy must be the norm. Sorry for the lack of photos but this is not the weather for getting out the phone!
Miles to date 3,480
Location:BOIZENBURG to CUXHAVEN
Thursday 4 August 2011
Off the wall...
The "U Bahn" underground and "S Bahn" overground whizz us to the city centre. After the obligatory snap shots of the Brandenburg Gate, we were hoping for a view from the Reichstag glass dome, but a terror alert means only pre-booked parties are admitted. Instead we head, in the hot sunshine, to the large stretch of remaining wall, now called the Eastside Gallery, to view the murals.
Some are messages of peace, others cartoons of the political characters of the time, a few completely incomprehensibly "off the wall". A passing convoy of restored Trabants look a fun way to see the sights.
Then we wander off the tourist trail, past heavily graffitied blocks of flats, home mainly to Muslim immigrants, before ending up at the unique tourist draw of Checkpoint Charlie.
We sit for a beer at a streetside stall, pestered by wasps, a perennial city summer problem. Al-fresco diners and drinkers constantly waft them away.
Bikes of all shapes, sizes and states of (dis)repair are everywhere. Most riders are 'as-the-Dutch' i.e. no helmet or special clothing, just normal everyday clothes, plus the full range of riding styles, from the very upright european, to the posing 'look-at-me-no-hands'.
Some are messages of peace, others cartoons of the political characters of the time, a few completely incomprehensibly "off the wall". A passing convoy of restored Trabants look a fun way to see the sights.
Then we wander off the tourist trail, past heavily graffitied blocks of flats, home mainly to Muslim immigrants, before ending up at the unique tourist draw of Checkpoint Charlie.
We sit for a beer at a streetside stall, pestered by wasps, a perennial city summer problem. Al-fresco diners and drinkers constantly waft them away.
Bikes of all shapes, sizes and states of (dis)repair are everywhere. Most riders are 'as-the-Dutch' i.e. no helmet or special clothing, just normal everyday clothes, plus the full range of riding styles, from the very upright european, to the posing 'look-at-me-no-hands'.
Location:BERLIN
Wednesday 3 August 2011
Rising damp...
As the forecast predicted, it is still slashing down in the morning as we head towards the middle of DRESDEN. However it stops just as we reach the restored centre, so we enjoy sightseeing, magnificent murals, churches, and the enormous cobbled square. We also pick up emails, one from Jane and Mike saying they too are having Scottish weather back in Nestrasovice.
The cycle route follows the river closely now as it meanders through a wide floodplain of meadows, with the occasional, old windmill. Not surprisingly, the Elbe is very full. Every small village and hamlet has flood defences, either ancient stone ones or modern reinforced concrete.
The path is mainly traffic free and a good tarmac surface, however in some places, it is cobbled, rattling our vertebrae and teeth. One large house has, about 15ft up the side wall, a mark showing where the flood water reached in 2002.
Meissen, famous for its porcelain, is surrounded by quarries of muddy red stone so we're not sure if this is used for the china. The town has an impressive castle on a cliff outcrop above the river.
There are no stock hedges and few fences so the long horned cattle, goats and even sheep are often tethered. Three large bulls are prevented from trampling us only by chains pegged into extremely soggy ground - it looks like one sneeze and they would be free!
We take a room in an ancient courtyarded farm in the beautiful old village of BELGERN. The elderly owners make us very welcome. We get up early the next morning to explore all
the cobbled streets, then tuck into a breakfast as only touring cyclists can - eggs, ham, cheese rolls, yoghurt, muesli, plus homemade chocolate cake! Then it's down to the small vehicle ferry, which comes over for us, the only passengers, straightaway.
The Elbe cycle route carries on through Hamburg to the North Sea, but we are leaving it now heading NE. It is 81 miles to WERDER, just west of Potsdam, and our next Warmshower hosts. There is the usual headwind, but no rain and mostly flat so an enjoyable pedal. Dirk and Stella live, with their 3 young children, in a modern apartment overlooking a lake. There is a charming view of willows, water lilies and village centre beyond.
The family have not long returned from several years in Edinburgh so their English is perfect, even the baby can understand us! They help us plan a very good route for the next day, into the historic palace gardens of POTSDAM and then along the Mauerweg cycle route, following the line of the wall and barbed wire that used to isolate the city of WEST BERLIN from East Germany. There are simple, but moving, memorials along the way to those who were killed trying to escape through this route to the West. For instance 33 year-old Eduard, a railway worker who tried to escape where the railway ran close to the border. He was shot in the back by border guards as he reached the 3rd row of barbed wire.
We wend our way into the suburbs of the east side of Berlin, using cycle ways through small parks to avoid the traffic, and then push the bikes through the very crowded Asian area along Karl Marx Strasse. There are Chinese and Vietnamese restaurants, Turkish coffee houses, Indian fabric shops , enormous fruit and veg stalls, goods spilling out onto the pavements, with sudden wafts of spices.
We are staying near here at the apartment of Sarah and Hans, cyclists we met on the trip to Oz. Hot summer weather has returned so we dine at a pavement table, in a vibrant restaurant area, 2 stops down the Underground.
Miles to date 3,100
The cycle route follows the river closely now as it meanders through a wide floodplain of meadows, with the occasional, old windmill. Not surprisingly, the Elbe is very full. Every small village and hamlet has flood defences, either ancient stone ones or modern reinforced concrete.
The path is mainly traffic free and a good tarmac surface, however in some places, it is cobbled, rattling our vertebrae and teeth. One large house has, about 15ft up the side wall, a mark showing where the flood water reached in 2002.
Meissen, famous for its porcelain, is surrounded by quarries of muddy red stone so we're not sure if this is used for the china. The town has an impressive castle on a cliff outcrop above the river.
There are no stock hedges and few fences so the long horned cattle, goats and even sheep are often tethered. Three large bulls are prevented from trampling us only by chains pegged into extremely soggy ground - it looks like one sneeze and they would be free!
We take a room in an ancient courtyarded farm in the beautiful old village of BELGERN. The elderly owners make us very welcome. We get up early the next morning to explore all
the cobbled streets, then tuck into a breakfast as only touring cyclists can - eggs, ham, cheese rolls, yoghurt, muesli, plus homemade chocolate cake! Then it's down to the small vehicle ferry, which comes over for us, the only passengers, straightaway.
The Elbe cycle route carries on through Hamburg to the North Sea, but we are leaving it now heading NE. It is 81 miles to WERDER, just west of Potsdam, and our next Warmshower hosts. There is the usual headwind, but no rain and mostly flat so an enjoyable pedal. Dirk and Stella live, with their 3 young children, in a modern apartment overlooking a lake. There is a charming view of willows, water lilies and village centre beyond.
The family have not long returned from several years in Edinburgh so their English is perfect, even the baby can understand us! They help us plan a very good route for the next day, into the historic palace gardens of POTSDAM and then along the Mauerweg cycle route, following the line of the wall and barbed wire that used to isolate the city of WEST BERLIN from East Germany. There are simple, but moving, memorials along the way to those who were killed trying to escape through this route to the West. For instance 33 year-old Eduard, a railway worker who tried to escape where the railway ran close to the border. He was shot in the back by border guards as he reached the 3rd row of barbed wire.
We wend our way into the suburbs of the east side of Berlin, using cycle ways through small parks to avoid the traffic, and then push the bikes through the very crowded Asian area along Karl Marx Strasse. There are Chinese and Vietnamese restaurants, Turkish coffee houses, Indian fabric shops , enormous fruit and veg stalls, goods spilling out onto the pavements, with sudden wafts of spices.
We are staying near here at the apartment of Sarah and Hans, cyclists we met on the trip to Oz. Hot summer weather has returned so we dine at a pavement table, in a vibrant restaurant area, 2 stops down the Underground.
Miles to date 3,100
Location:DRESDEN to BERLIN
Sunday 31 July 2011
Heading north...
A sunny early start from Jane and Mike's house helps our journey north. They see us off, Jane waving her crutch, as she badly broke her foot just before the holidays and so has been an heroically-hopping-host. Other early risers include 2 deer bobbing through a cornfield, a combine harvester team returning for 2nd breakfast, and lots of people with wicker baskets collecting mushrooms beneath the trees on the wooded hillsides.
We retrace some of last week's trip from Prague, pausing to pick up emails outside an unsuspecting restaurant in Pribram, then head in a new direction as we pass to the west of Prague. This side too is dominated by colourful blocks of high-rise flats. We lunch in a bus shelter as a sudden shower turns to heavy rain with thunder and lightening. It does not feel safe, being essentially a metal box on top of a hill! Waiting for the rain to clear, we read Ted and Sue's Norwegian trip blog, which we had down loaded earlier - ferries, fjords and magnificent views. Then we bypass the airport to reach the small town of KRALUPY NAD VLATAVOU, where our Warmshower host is Kamil. He is a young man who has treked and cycled the world, fascinating to hear his tales of China and Mongolia in particular. He has a small flat so has arranged for us to stay at his family home instead, where they happily give us the keys whilst they all go off south for a long weekend. Kamil takes us on a wander round town, showing us tomorrow's cycle route and introducing us to a very smokey traditional pub doing a great line in local beer and dumplings.
In the morning we return the keys to Kamil's Granny, who lives in a nearby flat. There are many blocks of Soviet grey flats, but they are gradually being modernised with coloured insulating panelling attached externally.
We have to cross the local river. The first bridge is up 3 flights of narrow metal steps, so we give that a miss. It is alongside large pipes, part of the communal hot water system that many towns still have. The heat losses from these must be excessive. The next bridge is an old metal
road bridge but unfortunately 2 cars have become entangled in the middle and the fire brigade have shut it while they sort it out. We have to take a very busy modern road bridge instead, flattening ourselves against the barriers as a Wide Load passes. After this we are on and off road through farm land, where cabbages and new potatoes are being picked by women in aprons, and ripe pears are falling from roadside trees.
ROUDNICE NAD LABEM is a lovely old town with a massive central cobbled square, and for us it is the start of the River Elbe cycle route. We see the large river barges again; the first time since the Danube. There are quite a number of touring cyclists now we are on an official path. The route is mostly alongside the railway and car free as the river enters a narrow gorge. In some places it is only very rough gravel. We camp in the little riverside village of BRNA, in a waterski club grounds, 30 miles from the border with Germany. The owner tells us he is a former national water-ski champion, and has photos on the walls of himself in action. He and the premises have seen better days, but are fine for 1 night. Anyway, he gives us a free bottle of ice-cold beer, so he was ok by us! The other few tents are all German touring cyclists.
It started to rain as we went to sleep and was still raining when we set off next morning. By the time we reach the border and cross into Germany, it has rained non stop and we are like drowned rats.
The river is still in a narrow gorge so the road is restricted and in 2 places rock chunks the size of elephants have recently fallen from the shear cliff bringing the traffic to single file. There is a lot of deep surface water covering nasty potholes so all in all this is not fun!
We do not have a cycle route map up the Elbe, and although you would think it easy to just follow the river, there are confusing rough tracks and dead ends. There are quite a lot of tourers around so we wait until a very competent looking pair of Germans pass us and follow them. It was a good choice as they take us along a dedicated woodland route, and then onto a ferry. The riverside towns and the cliff formations are very photogenic but it is raining too hard to risk taking out the camera. They wave goodbye at the historic town of PIRNA and we proceed into the suburbs of DRESDEN, by early pm, to book into the first apartment we find. We hang all our gear around to dry and have a long soak in the bath. With our own kitchen we need not venture out again.
Miles to date 2,906
We retrace some of last week's trip from Prague, pausing to pick up emails outside an unsuspecting restaurant in Pribram, then head in a new direction as we pass to the west of Prague. This side too is dominated by colourful blocks of high-rise flats. We lunch in a bus shelter as a sudden shower turns to heavy rain with thunder and lightening. It does not feel safe, being essentially a metal box on top of a hill! Waiting for the rain to clear, we read Ted and Sue's Norwegian trip blog, which we had down loaded earlier - ferries, fjords and magnificent views. Then we bypass the airport to reach the small town of KRALUPY NAD VLATAVOU, where our Warmshower host is Kamil. He is a young man who has treked and cycled the world, fascinating to hear his tales of China and Mongolia in particular. He has a small flat so has arranged for us to stay at his family home instead, where they happily give us the keys whilst they all go off south for a long weekend. Kamil takes us on a wander round town, showing us tomorrow's cycle route and introducing us to a very smokey traditional pub doing a great line in local beer and dumplings.
In the morning we return the keys to Kamil's Granny, who lives in a nearby flat. There are many blocks of Soviet grey flats, but they are gradually being modernised with coloured insulating panelling attached externally.
We have to cross the local river. The first bridge is up 3 flights of narrow metal steps, so we give that a miss. It is alongside large pipes, part of the communal hot water system that many towns still have. The heat losses from these must be excessive. The next bridge is an old metal
road bridge but unfortunately 2 cars have become entangled in the middle and the fire brigade have shut it while they sort it out. We have to take a very busy modern road bridge instead, flattening ourselves against the barriers as a Wide Load passes. After this we are on and off road through farm land, where cabbages and new potatoes are being picked by women in aprons, and ripe pears are falling from roadside trees.
ROUDNICE NAD LABEM is a lovely old town with a massive central cobbled square, and for us it is the start of the River Elbe cycle route. We see the large river barges again; the first time since the Danube. There are quite a number of touring cyclists now we are on an official path. The route is mostly alongside the railway and car free as the river enters a narrow gorge. In some places it is only very rough gravel. We camp in the little riverside village of BRNA, in a waterski club grounds, 30 miles from the border with Germany. The owner tells us he is a former national water-ski champion, and has photos on the walls of himself in action. He and the premises have seen better days, but are fine for 1 night. Anyway, he gives us a free bottle of ice-cold beer, so he was ok by us! The other few tents are all German touring cyclists.
It started to rain as we went to sleep and was still raining when we set off next morning. By the time we reach the border and cross into Germany, it has rained non stop and we are like drowned rats.
The river is still in a narrow gorge so the road is restricted and in 2 places rock chunks the size of elephants have recently fallen from the shear cliff bringing the traffic to single file. There is a lot of deep surface water covering nasty potholes so all in all this is not fun!
We do not have a cycle route map up the Elbe, and although you would think it easy to just follow the river, there are confusing rough tracks and dead ends. There are quite a lot of tourers around so we wait until a very competent looking pair of Germans pass us and follow them. It was a good choice as they take us along a dedicated woodland route, and then onto a ferry. The riverside towns and the cliff formations are very photogenic but it is raining too hard to risk taking out the camera. They wave goodbye at the historic town of PIRNA and we proceed into the suburbs of DRESDEN, by early pm, to book into the first apartment we find. We hang all our gear around to dry and have a long soak in the bath. With our own kitchen we need not venture out again.
Miles to date 2,906
Location:NESTRASOVICE to DRESDEN
Wednesday 27 July 2011
Family reunion...
We follow the Vltava River valley south west between steeply wooded hills, and cross the river three times. Firstly by a metal structure covered in worn planks, then a rusty metal, open mesh gangway, attached to the side of a railway bridge. Finally a rather narrow bike lane on a road bridge. Here at DOBRICHOVICE it is clear what the old grannies need their industrial size shopping trollies for, as an old dear leaves the Co-op pushing a very large LPG cylinder, for all her household needs.
The gentle cycling is over as we leave the valley, climbing for 10 miles through wooded hills. The large town of PRIBRAM is quiet of lorries as it's Saturday, and then the final stage through tiny villages amongst arable fields. The GPS brings us straight to sister Jane's door (it was our first visit). Their newly built house is right by the lakeside on the edge of the village of NESTRASOVICE.
From their balcony we watch swallows catching insects over the lake and herons and harriers fly in and out of the reed beds.
Jane tells us the lake is owned by the local major landowner who drains it once a year, to fish out all the carp, and keep them in tanks ready for the very busy demand of the Christmas season. There are flotillas of mallards destined for the table too.
They feed us up with local dishes, including deep fried cauliflower (smazeny kvetak), fist-sized herby meatballs (sekana) and big round biscuits (oplatky), washed down with local beer (budvar).
In the village centre is a large deserted farm and outbuildings, and we have seen similar seemingly abandoned homes and businesses elsewhere. Apparently these were taken from their owners for State ownership during the communist period. Since the fall of communism, they have been "restituted" to former owners, but in some cases there is no one left to return them to, or they cannot afford to repair them, so the buildings fall into decay.
The gentle cycling is over as we leave the valley, climbing for 10 miles through wooded hills. The large town of PRIBRAM is quiet of lorries as it's Saturday, and then the final stage through tiny villages amongst arable fields. The GPS brings us straight to sister Jane's door (it was our first visit). Their newly built house is right by the lakeside on the edge of the village of NESTRASOVICE.
From their balcony we watch swallows catching insects over the lake and herons and harriers fly in and out of the reed beds.
Jane tells us the lake is owned by the local major landowner who drains it once a year, to fish out all the carp, and keep them in tanks ready for the very busy demand of the Christmas season. There are flotillas of mallards destined for the table too.
They feed us up with local dishes, including deep fried cauliflower (smazeny kvetak), fist-sized herby meatballs (sekana) and big round biscuits (oplatky), washed down with local beer (budvar).
In the village centre is a large deserted farm and outbuildings, and we have seen similar seemingly abandoned homes and businesses elsewhere. Apparently these were taken from their owners for State ownership during the communist period. Since the fall of communism, they have been "restituted" to former owners, but in some cases there is no one left to return them to, or they cannot afford to repair them, so the buildings fall into decay.
Location:PRAGUE to NESTRASOVICE
Friday 22 July 2011
Headlines - Velke Voda....
As we are based in Prague for a week, there is the opportunity to follow the local TV news. Two items catch our attention this evening. The first is the number of car driver deaths on unprotected rail crossings. This worries us too, there are so many to negotiate! The rail operatives were shown strimming down tall vegetation so that at least there is a chance of seeing a train coming in time to stop. The second report is about a local who has just "scooted" around the world, pulling a Bobcat trailer, and with front panniers. These scooters are very popular here, with one bike size wheel at the front and a smaller one behind the standing platform. We noticed this tourer has Schwalbe marathon tyres (as we have).
Shamefully, the international Headlines are the News of the World scandal. The statements by the PM and the Opposition Leader are broadcast in full from the recalled Commons. The overdubbed translation is difficult for us to follow but WiFi is easy to pick up in cafes, so we can fill in the gaps in our news from the BBC and online papers.
On our last day of sight seeing in the city it is raining! This turns put to be a blessing as although the rain has stopped by the time we reach Charles Bridge, all the "artists" have taken down their stalls so the bridge is clear to stroll across with ease. There are no Segways chasing us up the street to the Palace either.
Apparently this is the biggest palace in Europe, as a result of being extended by each occupant over 11 centuries. As well as the seat of the President, the site includes 2 churches and the cathedral, all on an elevated site with the surrounding gardens affording panoramic views over the red roofed city below.
We take one last stroll through Wenceslas Square, (not a square actually, more of an avenue) looking up above some unfortunate shop fronts to admire the many fine Art Nouveau facades. Our favourite is the Koruna building with it's enormous, eccentric, burnished, crown on top. Then it's back on the underground for one last time - we never had to wait for more than a minute for a train.
The TV news is now dominated by flooding in the north of the Czech Rep, where rivers have burst their banks and it is still raining. The young lady reporter started out with a pink raincoat on but has now fashioned a second layer over this, out of what looks like a green fertiliser bag. She is stoically standing, in the rain, in front of a road bridge that appears in imminent danger of being swept away by a swollen river.
Our plan now is to cycle south west on Sat 23rd, to the village where my sister and her family hopefully will have arrived to meet us at their summer home.There is no rain forecast for this area.
Shamefully, the international Headlines are the News of the World scandal. The statements by the PM and the Opposition Leader are broadcast in full from the recalled Commons. The overdubbed translation is difficult for us to follow but WiFi is easy to pick up in cafes, so we can fill in the gaps in our news from the BBC and online papers.
On our last day of sight seeing in the city it is raining! This turns put to be a blessing as although the rain has stopped by the time we reach Charles Bridge, all the "artists" have taken down their stalls so the bridge is clear to stroll across with ease. There are no Segways chasing us up the street to the Palace either.
Apparently this is the biggest palace in Europe, as a result of being extended by each occupant over 11 centuries. As well as the seat of the President, the site includes 2 churches and the cathedral, all on an elevated site with the surrounding gardens affording panoramic views over the red roofed city below.
We take one last stroll through Wenceslas Square, (not a square actually, more of an avenue) looking up above some unfortunate shop fronts to admire the many fine Art Nouveau facades. Our favourite is the Koruna building with it's enormous, eccentric, burnished, crown on top. Then it's back on the underground for one last time - we never had to wait for more than a minute for a train.
The TV news is now dominated by flooding in the north of the Czech Rep, where rivers have burst their banks and it is still raining. The young lady reporter started out with a pink raincoat on but has now fashioned a second layer over this, out of what looks like a green fertiliser bag. She is stoically standing, in the rain, in front of a road bridge that appears in imminent danger of being swept away by a swollen river.
Our plan now is to cycle south west on Sat 23rd, to the village where my sister and her family hopefully will have arrived to meet us at their summer home.There is no rain forecast for this area.
Location:PRAGUE
Tuesday 19 July 2011
A pause for Prague...
It's a pleasant change to cycle without the panniers as we leave our gear in the Pension to pedal into Prague. The cycle route is not terribly well marked and a bit complicated, but eventually we are alongside the river approaching the historic centre. For the last mile there are noisy, congesting roadworks as the tram rails are dug up and replaced. It is a Sunday, so less traffic than in the week, but all the tourist spots are heaving with visitors, with many Americans and Japanese amongst the crowds.
We start off at the iconic Charles Bridge. It is a very slow walk across the cobbles as the crowds stop to admire the river views, and so much space is taken up with street portrait "artists" and other purchasing opportunities.
On the West side of the river now we follow the cobbles up a steep hill, overtaken by Segway tours, and are rewarded by panoramic views over the red tiled roofs. We people watch as we lunch on traditional meat and dumplings under a shady umbrella at one of so many small restaurants.
Prague's castle, monastery and the C18 domed St Nicholas church are all within a stone's throw of each other, on pleasant cobbled squares. There is more space up here so we can stop pushing the bikes and ride around the city fortifications, and then down a very steep path through a park, back to the river. We have seen plenty for one day, but will return to start exploring the flatter East bank side.
Before more City sightseeing,we spend a day exploring the outer area, to make sure we can find our way out when we need to move on. As elsewhere in Bohemia there are shops with union jack flags selling only secondhand British clothes. The labels they stock are listed outside, including M&S, River Island & Laura Ashley. We stop at a Tesco Express out of curiosity - similar to British ones, with some English labelling, but otherwise pretty Czech. We are ashamed to say that we bought our evening meal at a Lidl's - well "our" village doesn't have any other. We spot 2 young touring cyclists with a trailer. They are from Belgium, speak good English, but they have not cycled far, having brought their gear most of the way in a van.
Next day we feel overly pleased with our modest achievement of catching a bus to the nearest underground and actually get on the right train to the city centre! We are exploring the flatter area which includes many streets full of wonderful art nouveaux buildings, culminating in the Obecni Dum concert hall with such a richly decorated exterior.
The old town square has wow factor with so many different styles and eras included from the unique 14C clock tower. A newly wed bride and groom emerge from the adjacent church, their photographer having to push aside tourists to nail that iconic photo in front of the clock face. A cheer goes up as they elbow enough space to release 2 white doves.
The Old Jewish quarter around the old synagogue and Jewish cemetery is packed so tight with tourists that we give up trying to look around as there is no chance of reflective walk through an area that witnessed such persecution. There were quite a lot of visitors when I was here 20 years ago, but not this many and now so much circulation space had been lost to cars. There had been just the odd Trabant about in those days.
We start off at the iconic Charles Bridge. It is a very slow walk across the cobbles as the crowds stop to admire the river views, and so much space is taken up with street portrait "artists" and other purchasing opportunities.
On the West side of the river now we follow the cobbles up a steep hill, overtaken by Segway tours, and are rewarded by panoramic views over the red tiled roofs. We people watch as we lunch on traditional meat and dumplings under a shady umbrella at one of so many small restaurants.
Prague's castle, monastery and the C18 domed St Nicholas church are all within a stone's throw of each other, on pleasant cobbled squares. There is more space up here so we can stop pushing the bikes and ride around the city fortifications, and then down a very steep path through a park, back to the river. We have seen plenty for one day, but will return to start exploring the flatter East bank side.
Before more City sightseeing,we spend a day exploring the outer area, to make sure we can find our way out when we need to move on. As elsewhere in Bohemia there are shops with union jack flags selling only secondhand British clothes. The labels they stock are listed outside, including M&S, River Island & Laura Ashley. We stop at a Tesco Express out of curiosity - similar to British ones, with some English labelling, but otherwise pretty Czech. We are ashamed to say that we bought our evening meal at a Lidl's - well "our" village doesn't have any other. We spot 2 young touring cyclists with a trailer. They are from Belgium, speak good English, but they have not cycled far, having brought their gear most of the way in a van.
Next day we feel overly pleased with our modest achievement of catching a bus to the nearest underground and actually get on the right train to the city centre! We are exploring the flatter area which includes many streets full of wonderful art nouveaux buildings, culminating in the Obecni Dum concert hall with such a richly decorated exterior.
The old town square has wow factor with so many different styles and eras included from the unique 14C clock tower. A newly wed bride and groom emerge from the adjacent church, their photographer having to push aside tourists to nail that iconic photo in front of the clock face. A cheer goes up as they elbow enough space to release 2 white doves.
The Old Jewish quarter around the old synagogue and Jewish cemetery is packed so tight with tourists that we give up trying to look around as there is no chance of reflective walk through an area that witnessed such persecution. There were quite a lot of visitors when I was here 20 years ago, but not this many and now so much circulation space had been lost to cars. There had been just the odd Trabant about in those days.
Location:PRAGUE
Saturday 16 July 2011
Bohemian Rhapsody...
CESKY KRUMLOV is clearly visible as we whizz down a steep hill through woods; dozens of blocks of highrise flats all in pastel colours and a large Tescos! Once we reach the River Vlitava the view is much improved, with a decorative castle looking down from a high crag over lots of narrow twisty cobbled streets. All immaculately preserved but unfortunately overrun by tourists, including the first English voices we had heard in ages, and some signs in English. Inflatable canoes are hired out to visitors who then sweep out of control down stream, some sideways or beached, thankfully none upside down.
The town is certainly worth the visit, but we are relieved to escape from the coaches bearing down from the north, as Mike and his GPS finds us a lovely little back road, right through farmyards at times. The little brown chickens and the farmers, picking another crop of cherries, just ignore us.
Now we are on one of the loveliest roads we have ever cycled, an undulating smooth tarmac way shared with hardly a car, past small herds of Herefords, fields of mauve poppies and woods.
Only a handful of tourists have found the peaceful village of ZLATA KORUNA, with it's monastery and ancient cottages, where we pause to eat lunch under a tree.
CESKE BUDEJOVICE, a big city with an old walled centre, is famous as the home of Budweiser beer. Again the outskirts are a large area of high rise coloured flats, and an even bigger Tesco's! There is a good river cycle route all the way through. For the first time in quite a while we meet other touring cyclists, mainly Czech.
We look for a Pension for the night at HLUBOKA NAD VLTAVOU but only see Hotels in the cobbled town centre. The tourist office give us the business card of a private house on a side road. The lady owner shows us the fantastic apartment, furnished totally with antiques and with a conservatory overlooking trees, giving us close views of Woodpeckers, Nuthatches and Redstarts - perfect. We are staying 2 nights as we are way ahead of schedule and it gives us a good chance to do the washing and get maps out to plan the next phase - 2500 miles completed.
We join other diners at tables outside a town centre restaurant. Thunder and lighting have the staff rush us inside just before an enormous deluge. The chap in charge then pulls a screen down, switches on his computer and entertains us with old black and white family photos. The little boy in beret and knickerbockers, looks familiar and then we realise it is the elderly owner, sitting quietly with his wife near us. Their wedding photos looked like something from 100 years ago!
We have castle fatigue so walk up the hill to the local pile mainly for the view, but are so glad we did, as it is a magnificent place, a hunting lodge the size of Hogwarts, with lots of nooks and crannies, though not very old as it was restyled c1850.
There is a new tarmaced cycle route up the side of the Vltava valley where the river has been damned to the stillness of a lake. It leads to tranquill villages such as PUKAREC, where not surprisingly, recreational fishing is the main activity.There is a lot of damage from last weeks storm with apple and rowan trees wrenched to the ground on many farms. We have crossed hundreds of railway lines on this trip, and now most are now without barriers , so we have to try and remember to look! Little local 2 carriage trains in red and cream chugg slowly between tiny rural stations. At BECHYNE the railway line shares a tarmac narrow bridge over a very deep gorge - I suppose the cars just move over when a train comes.
We get back onto the Greenway cycle route to Prague at the large town of TABOR, another walled old town centre with cobbled square. The campsite is in a wood on the outskirts near a small wooden restaurant where Friday night brings a folk band and a large crowd of locals. Many of the tunes sound familiar, but not the Czech words!
The cycle route sign states 100k to Prague. It is signed well most of the way and we make good progress on the village and forest roads. It is a bit of a slog after lunch by a pond as we follow a river up a valley for 20k to get through the high hills just south of Prague. At the top we have a view of Prague's suburbs stretching for miles under the cloudless sky. We stop and take a big modern room in the first pension we spot in the suburb of PRUHOVICE. The lady owner (it always is a lady) lends us her maps of Prague so we can plan how to visit the city over the next few days.
Miles to date 2,618
The town is certainly worth the visit, but we are relieved to escape from the coaches bearing down from the north, as Mike and his GPS finds us a lovely little back road, right through farmyards at times. The little brown chickens and the farmers, picking another crop of cherries, just ignore us.
Now we are on one of the loveliest roads we have ever cycled, an undulating smooth tarmac way shared with hardly a car, past small herds of Herefords, fields of mauve poppies and woods.
Only a handful of tourists have found the peaceful village of ZLATA KORUNA, with it's monastery and ancient cottages, where we pause to eat lunch under a tree.
CESKE BUDEJOVICE, a big city with an old walled centre, is famous as the home of Budweiser beer. Again the outskirts are a large area of high rise coloured flats, and an even bigger Tesco's! There is a good river cycle route all the way through. For the first time in quite a while we meet other touring cyclists, mainly Czech.
We look for a Pension for the night at HLUBOKA NAD VLTAVOU but only see Hotels in the cobbled town centre. The tourist office give us the business card of a private house on a side road. The lady owner shows us the fantastic apartment, furnished totally with antiques and with a conservatory overlooking trees, giving us close views of Woodpeckers, Nuthatches and Redstarts - perfect. We are staying 2 nights as we are way ahead of schedule and it gives us a good chance to do the washing and get maps out to plan the next phase - 2500 miles completed.
We join other diners at tables outside a town centre restaurant. Thunder and lighting have the staff rush us inside just before an enormous deluge. The chap in charge then pulls a screen down, switches on his computer and entertains us with old black and white family photos. The little boy in beret and knickerbockers, looks familiar and then we realise it is the elderly owner, sitting quietly with his wife near us. Their wedding photos looked like something from 100 years ago!
We have castle fatigue so walk up the hill to the local pile mainly for the view, but are so glad we did, as it is a magnificent place, a hunting lodge the size of Hogwarts, with lots of nooks and crannies, though not very old as it was restyled c1850.
There is a new tarmaced cycle route up the side of the Vltava valley where the river has been damned to the stillness of a lake. It leads to tranquill villages such as PUKAREC, where not surprisingly, recreational fishing is the main activity.There is a lot of damage from last weeks storm with apple and rowan trees wrenched to the ground on many farms. We have crossed hundreds of railway lines on this trip, and now most are now without barriers , so we have to try and remember to look! Little local 2 carriage trains in red and cream chugg slowly between tiny rural stations. At BECHYNE the railway line shares a tarmac narrow bridge over a very deep gorge - I suppose the cars just move over when a train comes.
We get back onto the Greenway cycle route to Prague at the large town of TABOR, another walled old town centre with cobbled square. The campsite is in a wood on the outskirts near a small wooden restaurant where Friday night brings a folk band and a large crowd of locals. Many of the tunes sound familiar, but not the Czech words!
The cycle route sign states 100k to Prague. It is signed well most of the way and we make good progress on the village and forest roads. It is a bit of a slog after lunch by a pond as we follow a river up a valley for 20k to get through the high hills just south of Prague. At the top we have a view of Prague's suburbs stretching for miles under the cloudless sky. We stop and take a big modern room in the first pension we spot in the suburb of PRUHOVICE. The lady owner (it always is a lady) lends us her maps of Prague so we can plan how to visit the city over the next few days.
Miles to date 2,618
Location:KAPLICE to PRUHONICE
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