Tournov, Czech Republic, 12 June 2008, ca. 50 deg 38' N
=======================================================
Hi!
Greetings to you all from Tournov in the Czech Republic, close to the border
with Poland. I hope to cross into Poland soon, probably tomorrow. It might have
been tonight, but then I finally found access to the Internet. The Internet cafés
seem to be only in large towns, and I'm usually more interested in finding my way
out of those, rather than looking for Internet access.
;-)
Unfortunately, this computer is set up to speak Czech so, even if they would
let me, which is doubtful, I'd have a job to upload any photos, so you'll have to
make do with text. Maybe I'll get luckier in Poland.
The cycling is going well. 80 km per day is easy; 100 km is possible with
some effort, unless the terrain is difficult. 120km is probably the upper limit
for comfort.
Getting from the area of Lake Constance (Bodensee) to the Danube (Donau) was
quite hard, mainly because of the miserable weather. That was the second day.
Then going down the Danube was dead easy, but for the mucky tracks after all
the rain.
I followed a recommended cycle track from Regensburg to the Czech border,
and it was much easier than expected. The main climb was a disused railway line,
so the gradient was moderate, if long. The weather and views were also very nice.
From the German border to Plzen (Pilsen), the German cycle track (Chalbtal
Radwanderweg) turned into Czech Cycle Route 3. After about 15 km, this then
turned into more of a mountain bike track than a cycle track. I hit a hill
where I was forced to get off and push for the first time. I very nearly had
to ferry my bags up the hill 2 at a time, like on a canoe portage!!! The border
itself was an anticlimax - no steep hill and no border checks.
I find that reading the map and finding one's own way on side roads is
much more satisfactory than following marked tracks. One always knows where
one is and one is not in danger of missing a signpost. All in all, it's been
great fun so far, and nowhere near as hard work as expected. I still have to
test the tent. The weather, although not bad, looks a bit unreliable, and
it's too easy to find a hotel or B&B!
Best wishes to you all,
David