It stopped raining in Prague...

A trip to Prague brought back memories of the few days Catherine and I spent there in 1993. Then it was cold and brisk, gypsies roamed around on alert for hapless tourists, and the premium entertainment was Blacklight Puppetry. Now the traders have moved in big time and the plethora of cheap and gaudy puppets, Bohemian crystal - not cheap and not always gaudy - painted enamelware and the usual claptrap of flags, fridge magnets, postcards and the like dominate the old town. It is hard to find a smoke-filled sausage shop selling dark beer peopled by locals. In fact, the only locals on display were hidden deep in the reside trial areas away from the hustle and bustle. A constant police presence ensured touts were kept at bay and Thai massage places had popped up everywhere including the little fish treatment to be had in full view of the passing parade along Wenceslas Square. Highlights for me this time were seeing it through Des and Ruby's eyes, wandering home along the river one evening and having a drink in Hotel Europa, still resplendent in its gloriously untouched secessionist or art deco, not sure which really, splendour.

Hotel Europa

From Prague we returned by train to Magdeburg via Dresden then onto our camping platz for the night before taking off westwards across Germany for four days of cycling, our first three in glorious sunshine. Perhaps even a tadge too hot for long days in the saddle over gravel, cobble, dirt, mud and paved cycle ways. Following Radweg 1 has been scenic, but hardly direct or easy at times. There have been hills and climbs aplenty as we have skirted the Hartz mountains; rivers and streams burbled by; and corn, wheat, oats and barley to keep us company in the farmlands. Many crops have suffered damage on account of the inclement weather of recent weeks and are unharvestable. The aromas of shed-kept cattle have been constant, doing battle with the enormous community silage repositories.

Camping at Hoxter

The Silver Fox

Our crew have been keeping us well fed and watered for which we are very grateful. It is lovely to arrive in camp to a cold beer and tasty snacks. Dinners are full of flavour with lots of salads and veggies. Yum. And we have dessert every evening too. Des visits bakeries and loads up on butter cakes of a solid German style, and tops them with berries sof all sorts. I fear I am gaining poundage regardless of the kilometres whizzing by under my wheels.

The trip has not been without drama. Liz fell on Saturday and is in hospital undergoing surgery. Maureen has had bad news from home. The weather has made some of us more fractious than others. To date we have covered about 1200 kms I think.

Munster is the most amazing place for bikes. I took the Silver Fox to the bike wash housed in the bike park, a huge hall housing thousands of bikes positioned close to the railway station. Apparently 40% of trips in the city are bike trips, and it shows in the amazing attitudes and infrastructure. I dream of such an approach in Melbourne, which I gather has just become the world's second bike city. When I mentioned this to a German man a few days ago he fell about laughing. He had been to Melbourne you see.

The Silver Fox gets clean

Bike park

 

It seems that we are still dogged by bad weather. Rain is ever threatening. There was a sudden and long lasting thunderstorm two nights ago which wiped the sweat from our brows and the smiles from our faces. Let's hope we might find blue skies and paved paths in Holland.

Posted with Blogsy