Riding the Czech Republic

"It doesn't get much better than this," I must have said to Amanda about two dozen times on this one particular day while riding peaceful roads through fields of grain in the middle of the Czech Republic. Then a few more times when we passed the first hilltop castle... of three... all in one day. We were in a park called Cesky raj which translates to "Czech paradise." We both thought it was a fitting name. Over two weeks we saw about half a dozen more castles as well as picturesque towns with cobblestone streets, tiny farm villages, dramatic rock formations, and more with all of it connected by serene country roads. Evenings were spent walking around historic town centres sampling some of the best beer Europe has to offer. It doesn't get much better than this.

Our first day of riding was the only one that was formally planned. The plan was to cross the border following the Elberadweg, a bike path that follows the river Elbe into the Czech Republic. As with many river trails it was mostly flat and popular with joggers, inline skaters and other cyclists. The towns along the route were somewhat popular with tourists and were full of hotels and restaurants. I wanted to stop by the fortress in Konigstein on the way but one look up the hill it was perched upon was enough to give us second thoughts. A few miles later we crossed the river in Bad Schandau and the road took us into the Czech Republic. A couple of road markers are the only way you'd know you crossed a border into a different country. Once on the Czech side of the border we were in a park called Ceske Svycarsko (which translates to Czech Switzerland). We stayed in a tiny town called Mezna which has a bunch of hotels catering to visitors coming to see the park.

Staying inside the park gave us the opportunity to spend the next day exploring its sights. The first of which was saunstejn, a former castle built into formidable rocks with stunning views of the surrounding nature. We took a short hiking trail to get there and also saw a small rock arch which was on the way. The second attraction was a much bigger stone arch, in fact the largest in Europe, called Pravcicka brana. The red-roofed building next to the arch is a 19th century hotel that now serves as a restaurant. The ride towards Decin started with a long climb then passed through some farmland and tiny towns before ending with a couple steep downhills back to the river Elbe.

Decin was an example of why I've been wanting to ride this country for so long. It's not a town I've ever heard of and there were few tourists but it had a beautiful cobblestoned square in the center lined with attractive old buildings with detailed facades. It also has a castle and we spent the first part of the day exploring it. It was originally built in the 14th century and was renovated several times. Once we saw as much as we felt we needed to we set off towards Liberec. The main road leading out of town was a little hairy so we took an alternative route with the help of a very useful app. It connected short bike trails with quiter roads and eventually we were climbing up a hill. I thought the country was fairly flat and was surprised how much climbing we were doing. I was getting hungry and it was late in the afternoon. I checked the app and we were barely more than 10 miles into the trip. We started to worry about not being able to get to town before the sun set. Most of the towns we passed had little open but I managed to find a corner store. I shoved a bunch of candy bars in my mouth for fuel and kept going. Eventually we got to the top of the hilly part and the vistas that opened up were spectacular. The next few hours were much less challenging and included wonderful descents down roads with forest on both sides. We got to the center of Liberec right around last light.

Liberec was a slightly larger version of Decin with an even more charming central square and gothic city hall building. After a stroll around town and a visit to a bike shop we hit the road towards Cesky raj. Near the top of a small hill in a wooded area we happened upon a small artificial castle ruin. It had stones sticking out forming a kind of staircase and not wanting to have any regrets I figured I'd climb it. Not five minutes later we were passing by a real castle, Sychrov. It had a huge territory with English gardens and several towers. There were many curious artifacts inside including a chair that folds out into a staircase to reach books on higher shelves in the library. A few miles further down the road we entered the northern portion of "paradise." Almost immediately we rode right past another castle, Valdstejn. They had sadly just closed so we could only take a peek at the exterior and keep riding. The park felt magical with castles and stunning overlooks almost everywhere we looked. Right next to our hotel in Hruba Skala there were hiking trails that took us on paths through enormous stones with views of yet another castle; this one was originally built in the 14th century and had been converted to a hotel/restaurant. This day alone was worth the price of the whole trip.

Prior to leaving Cesky raj we passed, you guessed it, another castle. Trosky Castle is actually two castle structures perched on two jagged rocks. We admired them from down below. On the road heading southeast from the park is a small touristy town called Jicin. We stopped there for lunch and climbed the tower in the town square. Amanda took lots of photos of storks who set up their nests on light poles. A driver gave me a piece of his mind in Czech as we were leaving, shouting something out his passenger window. I understood nothing but it was probably a strongly worded, "best wishes and ride safely." Right back at ya, amigo! The rest of the ride to Hradec wasn't too challenging and we got there right as the light began to fade.

Hradec Kralove was a beautiful small medieval city with excellent food and impressive architecture. As we prepared to get on the road it started raining. This was our first day of rainy riding so far. The navigation app was so useful I paid for full access after the first day. The roads it took us on were incredible and this day was no exception. We rode on what looked like one day old pavement going through a forest. The rain wasn't too heavy and it was the riding felt great. Until about 20 miles in when I realized my wallet was missing. I put it somewhere safe that wasn't going to get wet and it turned out not to be particularly safe at all. I went searching for it most of the way back but eventually faced the reality that I probably wouldn't find it. My expedition added at least 20 miles to the day's total and we were trying to go a little further than average to get to Olomouc the next day. We rode through Litomysl which looked beautiful and would have been nice to see but we decided to go one town further. As luck would have it the road to the next town was almost all uphill. Near the top of the hill we were surrounded by darkness and trees. No cars passed us on this road the whole way. If we ran into any mechanical problems we'd be stuck walking a long way in the dark. Luckily our bikes carried us where we needed to go and we showed up in Svitavy just as the hotel restaurant was closing up for the night. We were both relieved to have made it. I was also relieved I thought to stash a spare credit card in my pannier and would be able to still pay my own way.

Svitavy was a smaller town than some of the others we've stayed at. We had kebabs at the only place still open in town when we arrived. The morning of our departure they were having some sort of festival with a live jazz band, a bunch of vintage cars, some military vehicles and other curiosities. So far during the trip we've been riding south and east through Bohemia. This was the day we would cross into the region of Moravia. As we rode the landscape was becoming sparse and very rural. Many towns didn't seem to have any stores or restaurants to refuel in. We stopped by Bouzov Castle on the way to Olomouc. It looked like it was straight out of a fairy tale with a moat, draw bridge, ominous tower and everything else one would expect. The rest of the ride to Olomouc included riding some picturesque bike lanes through fields, cobblestone streets, dirt paths and everything in between. Curiously we didn't encounter many animals apart from livestock, even in the more wooded areas. We planned to take a rest day in Olomouc and we felt like we earned it.

Olomouc is a city I've been to before and loved. I first heard of it from a magazine clipping I read in the bathroom of a hostel in Vienna when I was traveling Europe for the first time as a student. Something about it stuck with me and I traveled there five years before this trip. One of the people I met on that trip, Michal, was luckily available and took us out with some of his friends. It was a pleasure to spend time with some locals and share stories. We got to be a little more like normal tourists with our rest day and went to a museum. I also bought a new wallet so I could feel normal again. Our ride towards Brno took us through Plumlov, a small town with a unique castle that sits in front of a reservoir. Apparently only part of it was finished before the proprietor's funds ran out. After Plumlov we connected with one of the Eurovelo routes (#9 Baltic-Adriatic). It was pretty steep and woodsy on all sides. When we got to the top we saw the road was blocked off so cars were not allowed on this stretch. Amanda got stung by nettle for the first time going around the roadblock. The riding on the summit was spectacular. All on a road through farmland with scarcely a car in sight. I was getting pretty good at telling barley from wheat by this point in the trip. The last stretch of the ride to Brno was along a series of dirt trails alongside a road leading into town. A long descent took us into Brno, the second largest Czech city and capital of Moravia.

Brno is a lively city with lots of great bars and restaurants. We were relaxed in town til the afternoon before starting our ride. Our route again followed the Eurovelo for part of the way. As we approached a large reservoir on our way to Mikulov I spotted some sort of ruin on a hill. We revised our path ever so slightly to go up to it. The road turned into a dirt path through small vineyards. Then a hiking trail going straight up. We did some of the most intense hike-a-bike to get up to the Devicky castle ruins. It looked spectacular in the late day sun. We had to walk our bikes down clutching the brakes to keep them from flying down the hill. The rest of the ride was mostly downhill through more vineyards and grain fields. When we arrived in Mikulov I was thrilled to learn our hotel was also a brewpub.

Mikulov was a picturesque town with ruins, hilltop churches and another castle right in the center of the town. It had a bit more of a touristy vibe than most of the places we've stayed but was still by no means crowded. This being Czech Republic's wine region there were several wine bars sprinkled around town. Our hotel had a pool and hot tub on the roof with views of all the main sights. We made good use of it before heading out for our last day of riding. Being so close we decided we should cross the border in order to complete our north to south traversal of the country. The closest road into Austria was a narrow two-laner with nothing but giant trucks driving bumper to bumper. Needless to say we couldn't wait to get off of it. When we did get off of it a few miles further over the border, it was back to empty road bliss as we rode through several rural Austrian towns. We crossed back in the Czech Republic a few miles later and headed towards Breclav to take the train to Prague.

We spent our last two nights in Prague seeing the sights and getting ready for departure. Walking around the main square was the first time all trip we were surrounded by hordes of tourists. It was a little jarring. Having seen a lot of places in the country we still felt like there were many more place we would happily have gone given more time. I ended up getting lucky sourcing a box for Amanda's bike on our last day. A bike store used to be located in a building full of furniture showrooms and in the process of finding out that the store had moved I noticed two guys putting a table together in the hallway. The box they were taking it out of was the perfect size and they let me have it when they were done. My technique of folding the bike down real small paid off. I didn't have to pay the $150 airline fee each way but getting the bike into the bag was definitely a hassle.