kozmopolit.de

…

Bohemian Rhapsodies

what can i tell you about it...
I will start with some (completely subjective) Facts:

My attempts to be friendly on the road were almost not crowned with success. There was no reaction from the czech Side...When we get in touch it was always extremely friendly, heartily and interesting. I was in the luck to rest in the flat of an english speaking Czech Woman. She confirmed my impressions of the czech people to stick with one´s kind.

The czech is purchasing in the same Stores as the germans do. I expected to discover a totally different System, but there are more Kaufland, Lidl, Netto, KIK,Rossmann Stores than at home. According to this the inner Cities almost looks the same than in Germany. Inside you can´t buy food and in front of the City the shops accumulate. There is a large number of vietnamese People who keep the small Stores alife. Always open with a stock of all the essential stuff you can also find them in the smaller Villages. Nice...

The Czech knows how to brew a good Beer. In almost every bigger City theres a brewery and i did not taste any worse beer on my way. You also get a Menu in the simple Restaurants for about 3 € in Addition to the Beer (not more than 1€) it´s a real good offer.

On my way through the Country i found a lot of german remains. Almost every City i visited had an (no longer used) german Name and a History closely related to the germans. Near Zatec i came along a chain of german bunkers from the WW2. The Rivers all have czech Names so the Elbe called Labe and the Moldau Vltava. In the Giants Mountains in the North you find a lot of Memorials from the WW1 with german inscriptions.

My first greater Target Prague i can´t really enjoy cause of a cold that hit me there. No wonder because of the weather that was following me. exactly one day stays total dry. On the other days there was everything from short showers to constant rain. I bundled the tent wet to pitch it up also wet in the evening. They told me afterwards that i just touched the worse depression that hit the Balkan so hard.... So the sleeping was always a pleasure. the humidity crawls into the Sleepingbag and the clothes, wet from the rain, they were as wet and cold in the morning... such things kill your motivation, but the returning Sun brought back the Lust for Life and the Journey just in time...

In Prague i got the Pleasure to try „Warm Showers“. Some Kind of Couchsurfing but exclusively for traveling Cyclists. You have to register and after that you can contact the Hosts (almost) in the Cities. If the Person is at home and generally available you can stay for free. The only considerations is to do it the same when you are back at home. Klara, my Host in Prague was a fantastic person and, in spite of a broken ancle, extremely helpful. She did everything to make the stay comfortly. A shower and a washingmashine later i was able to enjoy this :-) Warmshowers is my absolut favorite for upcoming visits in the Metropoles of the East...

I had a lot of very idyllic Campsites in Forrests and along the Rivers. Mostly the Weather took away a lot of the scenic Atmosphere but i enjoyed everyone of them. I hope when the weather gets better i can sit down and relax the Evening long in front of the tent instead of lying inside the wet Sleeping-Bag. I really look forward to the Summer :-)

Czech Cyclepaths had been a book with seven seals for me. you can find Signs with Numbers all over the Country but there are (almost) no descriptions where the paths are going to. At some crossings you find 5 signs so you can´t miss the way at other confusing crossings the signs miss at all. I think they can really do this a better way. For this reasons i followed exept along the rivers smaller Sidestreets instead this funny markings.

In the North of the Country i found the absolut Nature-Highlight of my Trip till now. The Adrspach Skaly are a small Region full with tall Rock Formations in a fabulous Countryside and with fantastic forms. A mystical magical trip through breathtaking Nature.

After i crossed a higher ridge just behind Marianske Lazni at almost 800m i followed the Rivervalleys through the Country. When i reached the Giants Mountains (Krkonnos) in the North i was able to train my condition a little bit. On the last Ascent to the Border I reached 887m the highest Point on my Trip.
the Giant Mountains, the highest Ridge in Czech Republic goes up to 1600m and there are a lot of Wintersport Villages so it appears to be snowsafe in the Winter...

After Prague i cracked the first thousand Kilometers. The Equipment also felt the distance and the first breakdowns came along. One of the Hooks of a Pannier broke, but Vaude send me a new one without any complaint to Poland where i picked it up now. Also my Therm-a-Rest reached the end of Lifetime. Therm-a-Rest give a Lifetime-warranty so they changed it for a new one, i like it when it works well :-)

So, enough of my impressions of the Czech Republic, you will read news when i finished Poland