Made it to Prague!

Ok...Got up this morning, loaded up the shuttle van after breakfast, and set off for Prague. We were supposed to be dropped off at the central train station and make our own way to our respective hotels, but other folks in the group asked if they could pay extra and be dropped off at their hotels directly. Turned out to be a horrible idea, because the driver did NOT know his way around the city at all. I swear, he was just driving around aimlessly, looking for ANY signs that had the word "hotel" on them. When he pulled over to ask directions for the third time, we all decided to just get out right there and either walk or get taxis. Tom (Uber-Hubby) had been keep track of where we were in the city using our Prague guidebook map and we knew the name of the street our hotel is on, so when we bailed on the driver we had an idea of where to go. In fact, I tried to get the driver to turn on our street when we would have only walked 4 blocks, but he wouldn't stop. So the beginning of our time in Prague entailed U-H and I schlepping our bags across what seemed like half the city. NEVER, and I mean never, travel without suitcases on wheels. Ours are getting a bit battered, but I can't imagine having done this without rollies.

This is the first hotel we've had the entire trip that had functioning air conditioning. We are thrilled, to say the least. There is also free wifi service, so feel free to click on over to U-H's Flickr page to see how far he's gotten with photo uploads. It will take some time to get it all done nicely, because as usual he's taken THOUSANDS of pictures and they're all pretty cool. I also like his captioning.

So far in Prague, we've been to see the Astronomical Clock and the Dancing Building, but other than that we just walked around a lot. First impression is that there are definitely a lot of neat things to see (Prague Castle is the largest ancient castle complex in the world), but the "tourist trap" feel of everything is kind of depressing after all the great little Czech towns we've been to in the last 2 weeks. Also, unlikely the smaller towns, many people here speak English, so you try going into a restaurant or shop and use what little Czech you know, only to have them respond in English. It certainly helps in a pinch, but we are really trying to absorb the local flavor and set a good example to try and dispel that whole "ugly American" image our countrymen so often have.

Tomorrow morning, we're going to Charles Bridge at sunrise...It's supposed to be truly spectacular, but you have to get there early to avoid all the tourists. That's the thing about this city...U-H and I have discovered that large crowds of other tourists really kind of annoy us. I think these bike trips with Experience Plus are going to be our chosen form of active travel for quite some time to come. We're already looking at where to go next year.

More later...Until then, get off the couch and
Pedal Your Fat Ass Off

Update 'til I get more time & better Internet

Fast forward to the last riding day of our trip. We're now in Cesky Krumlov, which has the 2nd largest castle complex in the Czech Republic, second only to Prague. Short riding day today, we're having a medieval style dinner tonight & then we take a shuttle to Prague tomorrow (Thursday morning). We have a day and a half or so before flying home on Saturday.

More later...I'll fill in the days I skipped & be a bit more thorough about descriptions. Having trouble accessing email just now, so this is pretty much the only way I could get word out that we're still alive. :-)

Until next time, get off the couch and
Pedal Your Fat Ass Off

Day 7: Telc to Jindrichuv Hradec

(6-1-08) The eye swelling thing is weird. I'm pretty much alright during the day, but at night while I'm sleeping it swells up again. Whatever bee crap I got injected with is taking it's sweet time processing it's way through my body, I guess. At least I was able to get my contacts in today. We rode a total of 35.6 miles today, from Telc ("telch") to Jindrichuv Hradec ("jin-drich-uhv huh-rod-ets"), which literally means Henry's Castle. Seems that every big town has a castle around here, but some look more like a hillside chateau.

Side note: They've done an amazing job of preservation in this country. The buildings themselves seem to have lasted a good long time, and the people seem to be VERY eco-conscious. Very little in the way of public litter, and they are actually in the process of converting the old Iron Curtain "no man's land" areas into one huge greenway for bikes and hikers. At some point a few days ago, we saw the last remaining piece of Iron Curtain fenceline in the Czech Republic that has been preserved for tourism, but I forget right now exactly which day.

Almost forgot...On the way to Jindrichuv Hradec, we took the optional loop for extra mileage, and on the way back in we saw some old MiG war planes in someone's yard. Never mind that there's no possible area for them to ever take off, but I guess it would be a fun restoration project.

As long as you're awake, why not get off the couch and
Pedal Your Fat Ass Off

Day 6: Optional loop ride from Telc

(5-31-08) Tom ended up riding this optional day alone, because over night my right eye swelled up so bad I couldn't really open it in the morning. That meant no contact lenses, which meant no sunglasses, which meant no riding. Bummer, but at least it was a scheduled rest day anyway, so I didn't miss anything special. Tom got back in time for us to have a nice lunch at the local pizzeria (I love seeing how different countries do their pizza), and I bought prezzies for Mom.

If you haven't yet already today, get off the couch and
Pedal Your Fat Ass Off

Day 5: Vranov to Telc via Slavonice

Longer mileage today (47.7). We pedaled from Vranov to Slavonice ("slav-o-neet-say"), walked around town to look at old buildings decorated with "sgraffitto", which is basically carved concrete where they lay down one color, cover it with white paint of some kind, then scratch through it to reveal the design. These buildings have existed this way for hundreds of years, and every one seems to be different. The higher up on the wall you have covered with your design, the more wealthy your family. We finished the day by riding into Telc ("telch"), but on the way there I got stung by a bee just forward of my right temple and was lucky not to lose an eye.

Day 4: Znojmo to Vranov

Today we had time to tour the city of Znojmo, where Tom & I bought fun socks at local bike shops. Stupidly, I didn't follow his example in choosing the ones with the shop name on them, but oh well. The clerk thought it was just hilarious that SOMEbody actually bought the shop socks, LOL. Znojmo is also where our current fave Czech beer (Hostan) is brewed, and Tom scored a groovy Hostan shirt. We then rode on to Vranov, with a wonderfully steep downhill through a beautiful forest, and had time at the day's end to tour Vranov Castle.

Daily mileage: 22 miles

Until next time, get off the couch and
Pedal Your Fat Ass Off

Day 3: Lednice to Znojmo via Mikulov

Our first stop on today's ride was Mikulov, where we had time to tour the town and I bought my first ceramic bowl of this trip. I collect them and use them for soups, chili, Tom's ice cream, etc. On the way to Znojmo ("znoy-mo"), we had the option of either stopping for a picnic (using supplies bought in Mikulov) or finding a restaurant along the way. Tom & I chose the restaurant option and had great fun trying to decipher the menu with our phrase books. So far, it remains my favorite lunch meal of the trip.

Side note...Phrase books are the ONLY way to go. I can't imagine traveling to a foreign country without them, though amazingly a lot of people do. When the locals see you making an effort, no matter how badly you butcher the pronunciation, they are MUCH more likely to help you.

That night, we had a wine tasting and dinner at our hotel. We had just traveled through some of the Czech Republic's best wine making regions, so it was really wonderful having a no-kidding sommelier there to tell us about each one we tried.

46 miles today (5-28-08).

Why don't YOU get off the couch and
Pedal Your Fat Ass Off