Route: Mikulov - Brno - Telc - Vlashim - Prague
On the clock: 3150 kms
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| Country number 6 |
It was already getting dark by the time I cycled through the
Austrian/Czech border and I was still 50 kms from my Couch Surfing host in the city of Brno. A hideous ride battling headwinds had
thwarted my plan of getting from Vienna to Brno in a day. The first town I
reached in the Czech Republic was Mikulov. I cycled to the train station and
jumped on the first train to Brno.
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| Spidla |
I arrived at my CS host Petr’s house at 9pm, had a quick chat and some food and then took my weary body to bed. Petr went
to his job of Professor in French at the local university the next morning and
I had a lazy morning of lounging around with Spidla the cat, my new best pal. Petr and I enjoyed several
days and nights of fine wine and Francophile chat. I was happy to have chosen him over all the other CS hosts in Brno. My planned 2 days in Brno
turned into 5 when I discovered that my two favourite cycling superstar
adventurers Katya and Mirko were going to be in town and lovely Petr was happy
for me to stay.
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| After hearing what Henri the existentialist cat had to say, Spidla started questioning her motivation, smoking Gauloises and wearing a beret. |
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| Torture reenactment at Spilberk castle: nice |
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View of Brno from Spilberk castle
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On the day of their arrival, we all piled back to Petr’s
and spent the night reminiscing about our first meeting in Dali, China. As a couple who have funded almost 10 years of bicycle touring through selling handmade jewellry
and doing street performances, it’s hard not to respect them. The great
thing about Katya and Mirko is that they remind me that anything
is possible. Mirko asked me my plans for Winter and I said I wasn’t entirely
sure. His response was simple: “Well you have your bike here and some money,
why not fly to Vietnam with us and go on another cycle trip?” I have no
intentions of going to Vietnam but the point is .......... I COULD!
If you would like to find out how Ben and I met these two and read about our travels in Yunnan province then click here:
www.cyclingnomads.org
The next morning was leaving day. We said our goodbyes then
Petr and I headed out of town on our bikes. Petr was heading to his cottage,
30 kms from Brno in the countryside. I had decided to go with him en route to
my next Couch Surfing host in Telc over 100 kms away. After 20 kms we stopped
for a lunchtime beer in the beautiful sunshine. It had became obvious that it
was highly overambitious to try to visit Petr’s cottage(which was kind of in the wrong direction) and make it to Telc that evening. After finishing our beers we rode
another few kms to a turn-off which led to the 23 road. It was here I said goodbye
to Petr, already knowing that I was pushing it to arrive in Telc in the
daylight.
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| Petr |
It didn’t take long before I began to regret my decision not
to go to the cottage. It had been such a nice offer, especially with the
promise of a bonfire and sauna. I put the thought out of my mind, consoling
myself with the idea that it would not be my final visit to the Czech Republic
and thus there would in fact be a next time.
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| I passed through Rudka whilst they were having their village festival. These girls forced me to drink wine and eat cake. |
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| And gave me this for good luck...... |
The weather was glorious and had been every day of
my stay in the Czech Republic. The hills in this part of the country were not
too steep but never-ending. I made my way on country roads as far as Namest nad Oslavu, wanting to join the busy 23 road as late as possible. Once on
the main road, I sped along as fast as I could to the town to Trebic. By the
time I arrived there it was almost 6.30. I had only 30 mins of light and 35 kms
still to do. Cycling in the dark on the busy main road was not an appealing
option but I just had to get on with it. I stuffed my face with a falafel
kebab, donned my hi-viz jacket and put my lights on. By the time complete
darkness came, it was 7.15 and I was not having fun. Cars sped passed
me in the darkness as I was being simultaneously blinded by the full beam of
oncoming motorists. I passed through only the occasional village, cycling the
rest of the time in total darkness through forests and countryside. I felt
cold, lonely and vulnerable so sung a medley of my favourite songs to keep me
going. When I realised I was only 10 kms from Telc, my mood improved and I
began to feel the end was in sight. I cycled into Telc just before 10 pm,
exhausted and wired to the moon.
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| Night cycling in the Czech Republic |
I felt bad at turning up so late at my Couch Surfer’s house
but when I arrived, Ivana came out to greet me with a smile and welcome me in
to the house. After my shower, I was sat down to some wild mushroom soup and
plum dumplings. Life was good again. A peaceful guest room and freshly made bed
were waiting for me upstairs. I couldn’t wait to get horizontal.
It was a pleasure to meet 23 year old Ivana, such a lovely
young woman with a beautiful family. Ivana’s main reason for becoming a CS host
was to improve her English and I hoped that she’d made some progress during the
short time we spent together. The next morning, we went for a walk around the beautiful town of Telc,
stopping in for tea and cake at her grandmothers before returning home for
lunch.
I said my goodbyes to the family and thanked them for what
had been a short but very enjoyable stay then Ivana set off on her bike with me
to show me out of town. We said our goodbyes at the turn-off to the 112 road
and I set off for Vlashim, 80 kms away. I would have to get a move on as it was
already 2pm. The 112 road North was ideal for cycling. I still had
constant climbing and descending but the road was quiet and led me through some
beautiful countryside. My fist stop was Pelhrimov, 35 kms away. I munched on
some bread and cheese and the organic apples and plums Ivana had given me from
her garden before setting off again. I cranked up my MP3 player and zoomed
along feeling on top of the world.
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| Ivana |
I was around 10 kms or so from Vlashim by the time it got dark. Compared to the previous night however, this was nothing and I knew I would be there in no time. Reaching the town centre I made my way to the house of Iva and Yann, 2 friends
of Katya and Mirko who had invited me to stay. As it turned out, they were not at home but actually 10 kms away in their caravan. I didn't have to wait long for Yann to turn up with the keys however and in the interim made friends with the lovely Algerian family in the local kebab shop. They had assured me that if Yann didn't turn up I could have a bed at theirs for the night. I enjoyed a cup of tea and plate of fried rice while I waited and played with the owner's 2 year old daughter. When I left little Meriem gave me a hug and kiss and tried to follow me up the road!.
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| "Snakes on the road". The sequel to "Snakes on a plane". |
Yann let me in the went back to the caravan leaving me the house to myself. I had a good nights
sleep and cycled the following morning to see where Yann and Iva were working.
It was a beautiful ride to Buchov 10 kms away through quiet country roads and
friendly villages. Yann and Iva do the cooking in a meditation centre here and
have bought a large piece of land there where they will soon be building a house.
Yann walked me around, proudly showing me the many trees he has planted and where the
house will be when it is finished. He then asked me if I would like to see some
3 week old kittens. I told him no thanks. Don’t be silly, of course I wanted to
see them. Here they are..............
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| Yann |
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| How can you say that to Emo kitty? |
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| Iva with tent cat |
I spent the night camped in my tent, having a
sleepover with one of the mummy cats who obviously fancied a night away from the kids. Despite having
borrowed a second sleeping bag, I was freezing the whole night. Not too much body heat was to be had from the cat but I'm sure she had a snug night snuggled against me in my sleeping bag. I woke up to a frost covered tent and decided that that
would be my last night of camping of this trip. It didn’t take me long to thaw
out in the morning sun and it had been a beautiful camp spot. I
shared some tea with Yann while Iva got on with the cooking, said my goodbyes
and set off for Prague, an easy 60 kms away.
It was another beautiful day for cycling. I made my way on country roads to the city of Benesov then followed the 106 road through Tynec and the mountain-top town of Jilove. I carried on on the back roads through Liber and Dolni Brezany, happy to have found such a quiet road to get into such a big city. Arriving in the southern outskirts of Prague however, I realised I would have to find a cycle path soon. The roads were not set up for cycling and being rush hour, it was chaotic to say the least. I asked a few cyclists how to get to the area of Letna and was directed onto a cycle path which would take me down to to the Vitava river which I would then follow to my destination. I was still a good 15 kms away but the ride was really nice and completely off-road. I eventually reached the city centre and could see the hill behind which Letna sat on the other side of the river. It was just getting dark by the time I rang Graeme's buzzer. I had made it.
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| Arriving in Prague |
I had only met Graeme once before but as a friend of my good friend Mark, he had invited me to stay for a few days. In fact, he even moved into his girlfriend's place while I was there so I could have some privacy. What a guy. I spent an amazing few days in Prague and fell in love with this vibrant capital city. Letna is an interesting, arty part of the city with loads of chilled out bars selling Czech lager for 80p a pint. This is a far cry from the city centre where everything is geared for tourists and triple the price.
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| Graeme and Christiana |
I was happy to be able to meet up with Katya and Mirko again. Mirko took us to a Cajovna, a traditional Czech tea house where you can sample hundreds of different teas. We have our very own Cajovna in Glasgow(or at least we did last time I checked - shame on you Glasgow city council) and to be honest, it is pretty similar to those found in the Czech Republic.
Sometimes in life you just know when enough is enough and arriving in Prague I knew my cycling for this year was over. I had done enough and arriving in Prague signaled the end of what had been a beautiful 3000 km summer journey. I booked a ticket to Berlin only to discover that I couldn't get my bike on the train. I won't bore you with the details but the upshot is, my faithful steed is still at Graeme's and I am now in Berlin with backpack. I plan to spend the next 6 weeks in amazing Berlin catching up with friends and improving my German before I head for the French Alps again. I will be working as a chalet host from December till April, enjoying the Alpine winter vibe, topping up my bank balance and improving my currently non-existent skiing-skills. Then who knows what Spring will bring but finances and health willing, hopefully another bike trip.
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| What home wouldn't be enhanced with this beautiful hand-embroidered William and Kate cushion? |
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Thanks to my sponsors at the local tanning salon in Berlin. Nice billboard: subtle, not too much.
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Also, if you have a bit of spare cash and would like to donate a couple of pounds/euros/czech crowns to a worthwhile charity, then please click on the link for the Cedar Centre on the top right hand side. Thank you in advance from the animals.
And thank you to everyone who has read my blog. Not long to go till the next one. Till then...........
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