GENERAL INFO (Jump to Diary) The currency is Czech koruna (CZK) with are worth 0,28 Danish Krone and €0,037. The GDP is US$189.982 billion. The climate is a temperate continental climate, although the high mountains are Alpine. Among the more The flora is, like the climate pretty diverse. However, I fail to find any I will look for in particular.
DIARY I soon reach the big river of Dyje, and follow it for some time, way up on a hillside. It have not rained for some time to judge from the dust the farmer make on his field, but everything look nicely lush and green. Here are a lot of small crosses with a Jesus figure on, along the small roads. Every village have a small church, and every abandon chimney a stork's nest. There are numerous small and bigger lakes everywhere.
Then As I head on through the farmland, it does seem richer. Better roads, better maintained houses. I try to find a camp along the road, but they are real small and does look closed for now. Finally, I find one, and as I have no Czech koruna, he agree on €5. So far, it have been such a nice country, and I look forward for tomorrow! The south and Tlec town
12/5.
The
flat areas have a almost sandy soil, but only a few are growing potatoes on
it. Wheat is the most common around here. To judge from the stacks, everyone
heat their houses with firewood, and the winters are cold!
It is through even more beautiful landscapes, reminding
me of the golden age in painting. The next stop is Hluboka Nad Vltavou;
a "fine village with a château ". I try desperately to capture it, but I can't get fare enough away due to the surounding trees, and the sun is not helping. I find it strange, I haven't seen it in a movie, but maybe it have just been restored? I am sure one can get to see the inside as well, but I have seen enough. I try to get some good pictures from the town, but that is hard after the château.
I head down to the Austrian border, then up along the
German. It is generally farmland,
The first is Rožmberk nad Vltavou, but 18,5 kilometres before, signs are warning about it is a blind road. And there are 18 kilometres to Rožmberk nad Vltavou! Well, unless a bridge is missing, I fail to see how they will stop me and my Lupo! I experienced the same yesterday, and got through. The landscape changes a bit into more hilly, almost mountain like.
The
castle of Rožmberk nad Vltavou is seen on a hilltop, and then a sign
tells: The road is closed. But it kind of isn't, and I pass a German, looking at the
sign. The road leads nicely into town, where the central square is being
renovated. But I have been driving more challenging areas in Africa, and get
through easily.
Here are a lot of nice old houses, most with a restaurant in. The river runs right through town, and create some great motives. I start the assent to the castle along with several others, but when I reach it, I am disappointed. It look great from a distance, but more like a film-set close by. I try to find some lunch, but it is meat and gravy all around. Well, I have chocolate biscuits for these occasions, and I'm not afraid to eat them.
I continues along the German border, and this is not a
rich part of Czech.
In the areas along lakes and rivers, numerous restaurants, hotels, camps and pensions are found. Canoeing seems to be the thing to do in the weekend. I pass an enclosure with Emus - I think, but most are with cows. The deep blue sky and the perfect lamb-clouds make any photo great. Then the horizon start to get darker and darker, as I approach the forest of Sumava.
It is up-hill, and with more and more forest. Then, just
before I reach the dense forest of Sumava, the sky opens. The
bicycle-riders don't
The rain have slowed down a bit, when I reach the spot in the forest I was aiming for, and I get the umbrella and head into to it. It look just like a Danish forest, and it does not take me long to have seen enough. I cross the road to see the shallow river, which look like tea. Then I set the GPS for the next sight, knowing I won't make it today.
After
a lot of real nice farmland, I reach the big city of Plzen. Here are
some impressing buildings, trams and factories. Then, just as soon as it
I have found a pension near next sight, but I rather have a camp. The GPS know one, and I give it a try. It is a lot of barracks, almost military-like, but I get to park and use the bathroom in one of them. No internet again, but as long as here are hot water. He don't understand why I won't pay for a room, I can't understand anyone can breath in that mouldy air it have. Landscape, Holasovice, Hluboka nad Vltavou, Rožmberk nad Vltavou, Sumava, Plzen
13/5.
It is rather flat, but here are still a lot of forest patches along the farmland. Here start to be quite some hob on the fields. Or at least the giant constructions to support it, later in the season. Just eight kilometres before the centre, Prague start with the airport, a few factories and then the older town.
Next target is
Kokorinsko, I head further up north, and many houses are timber huts with white lines. Others are brick houses, which might have had a layer of plaster, way back then. It turns more hilly, and eventually, I reach Decin. I'm not sure what the target was, but the drive was great, and I return, and then head east towards Cesky Raj.
From here, it is a three hour drive to next sight, and I set the GPS and hope for a camp on the way. I find one half pass six, and it is almost open. I get to sleep here, and everything works fine. Loket Nad Ohre, Prague, Kokorinsko, Decin and Prachovske Skaly
14/5.
I passes bye a few larger cities to find new tires, but
the few shops I find, don't have the right size. They claim it should have
185/65-14 tires - which they happen to have, but it is
borne
with 155/65-14, which are three centimetres more narrow. Well, there are
still several layers of cotton back.... I enjoy the three hour drive and the sun, but get a bit suspicious when the parking is free. I walk all the way up on the top of the mountain to the Pernštejn Castle, just to discover; it is only open in the weekends. I might be hard to keep out in situations like this, but a fortress on a mountaintop - watched closely by a watchman - is a challenge. And I'm not really interested anyway: I skipped most of the others anyway.
I enjoy the forest on the way down, brew some tea and
start the long drive to Stramberk Village
I
reach Stramberk, and the first one notes, is the blacken timber
houses. It is fare from all, but the rest are quite little homes as well. I
park the car outside the old town, and start seeing the square with the
church. It seems like the carnival is coming to town, but right now, it is
quiet. I see some of the narrow alleys and the nice gardens. The sealing is natural rocks, the angle steep. Then I find the way up to the little castle, almost only consisting of the big tower. There is a great view to the surounding lowlands and forest on this clear day.
I
head down again, and seek some of the old timber huts along the old road. It
is on a hillside, and the roof touches the copplestones on the backside of
the huts. It is real hard to get any photos, as the houses are almost black
by age, and the alleys narrow. But it is a great sight and adventure to walk
here.
My next target is yet another long drive away, and in Slovakia. It remains a flat and fertile landscape until close to the border. Then some forest covered mountains raises, and only by paying real attention, I see the border sign. Czech have been a great experience, and fairly cheap on top of that. I have driven 1366 kilometres, taken 1020 photos and spend €102. Next up is Slovakia. The last photo: Pernštejn Castle, Western farmland, Stramberk Village. |