9/21/06 - Melnik-Litomerice-Decin (65mi)

It was almost a shame to leave our huge apartment this morning as 6:30am came real quick. The frigid air at that hour cut right through our jackets.

The route in the AM was nice, flat, and easy. We travelled thru some real small villages including Vlineves and Dolni Berkovice. We saw a lot of pipe bridges today. Pipes containing water, oil, hey..maybe even beer extended across and over entire rivers. Rode past the main electric plan for the Melnik region which seemed exciting only to an engineer.

It was a straight shot to Litomerice (pronounced Lit-tim-erich). About 22.4 km into our ride our route sheets read "Entering a little wood." What can I say...I was excited.

Litomerice was a quick pit stop. My attempt to order a sandwich and a Coke sounded like a dysfuntional child. One word ever 3 seconds and pointing and smiling.

We took a side trip of about 2 miles to Terrazin. This was once a transfer point for thousands of Jews during the Holocaust to the death camps. There were so many that ended up dying here that they built a Crematorium to handle the dead. The cemetary and surrounding memorials were quite moving. They had rooms where actual autopsys were performed. Incredible this happened only 60 or so years ago.

The 2nd half of our trip to Decin (pronounced Dech-in), took place across miles of dirt and asphalt bike paths along the River Labe. Just after Castle Streckov, we found an acutal beach bar along the river called Vlak Beach Bar. A nice small bar with a hollowed out ship for a dance floor and a kitty litter size patch of sand along the river's edge. The Krusovice beer was cold and well worth the stop. No food except for the bag of peanuts we bought.

In Decin, we stayed at the Ceska Koruna hotel. Really nice place. After a much needed "Coca-Cola light at the nearby market, we had dinner a local spot near the hotel. Our waitress spoke Czech, Italian, and Spanish but no English. Nonetheless we prevailed in our food choices and are still in disbelief that one can get full on a great meal with drinks for under $12.

In Germany tomorrow, back to the damn Euro.

9/20/06 - Prague-Melnik (55km/33mi)

Once again I am amazed at how one can pack 10lbs of crap into a 5lb space. At least we have some clean undies from our laundromat stop a couple of nights ago in Prague. They were nice to have some Czech Playboys in the waiting area just waiting my arrival.

After breakfast, our driver picked us up at 8:00am in a minivan not equipped with a bike rack. With some "flexibility" we managed to cram 2 bikes, 3 people and our bags into this van which transported us to our startpoint just adjacent to the Prague Zoo. Our trip today would be along bike paths pretty much the whole day. The path would go from asphalt..to gravel..to dirt..to rocks..to grass. I was afraid what would come after grass.

At around 18km in, near the town of Vodochody, we spot these baby pigs in a field behind a make shift fence. We stop to take a picture and they all came running over. We took out some cookies to feed them and we watched them eat like...well...pigs. I was craving bacon at that time and cannot figure out why. (Yes I'm kidding...ham and cheese was more like it)

We got a bit lost when we hit civilization near Nelahozeves. Turns out the directions per our guide which read "Come to a road and turn left on it" needs a bit more explanation. We ended up (after asking some folks) figuring out where we were and ended up on a really nice dirt trailthrough the woods which led us to the Nelahozeves Chateau. A great place for a potty break and a stop to walk around.

Speaking of potty breaks..toilet paper in these parts is by far the thickest stuff I have ever..uh..felt. Don't ask me why I am bringing this up..just food for thought I suppose.

I was in heaven when I rode by actual hop fields (you know the main ingredient in beer). They grow like vines along long wooden poles approximately 20 feet high. Some German cyclists were probably wondering what these dumb Americans were doing.

The route was basically flat most of the day but the terrain continued to be interesting. Our conversations always started with.."This can't be right?" and sure enough we would see a bike route sign in the middle of a tractor field. I can imagine the guy laying out this route. Probably ran out of beer and just let imagination take its course.

We arrived in Melnik (pronounced Me-el-nick) rather early for us (around 2pm) and checked out the town. We gorged on some pasta and pizza and were enjoying our beers until Christine realized she ordered a non-alcoholic beer.

Melnik is quite nice and like most towns they have a large center town square. The buildings all look like Hollywood backdrops. Our room at the U Rytiru was awesome, basically a mini apartment complete with even a washing machine (wish we would have found it sooner..it was located behind panels in the kitchen area)

Dinner at a local restaurant consisted of a stuffed veal cutlet with ham, mushrooms, and cheese, along with a side of potatoes and a Budvar beer. All of this will set you back less than $10 US. Gotta love this place.

We finally arrived. The flight was no big to do. Get on plane...eat like a pig..attempt to fall asleep on a seat too small for you...watch some half decent movies..listen to man in 4D fart all night..wake up with sore back...you get the drift. But we are finally here.

We arrived in Vienna and took a high speed train from the airport to the hotel. We are staying at the hotel Imperial. A really nice turn of the century hotel. The room looks like quarters from the Hapsburg palace. We immediately hit the downtown area and found some great places to eat, drink, and walk around. We went to the Hofburg Mansion and saw the Imperial Apartments where the Hapsburgs lived their days during their dynasty. 5 rooms of just silverware...I mean..c'mon..

We went to the Stephansplatz church and today saw the Lippazanner stallions perform during their practice. A lot of work for those horses...and then the guy cleaning up after them...man..what a job.

This city is really amazing. The parks are beautiful. Christine and I keep grabbing some really good food on the street and you have to love a place that has vendors serves beer in real glasses. The wiener schnitzel and Gosser beer makes for a wonderful dinner. We must have walked over 5 miles the first day. Beware of the men dressed like Mozart who try to get you to see concerts..their everywhere. How dare they try to show me culture..I'm a dumb American dammit.

We took a quick horse and buggy ride around a few of the main streets. Luckily for us we passed one of the oldest beer houses in this area so naturally after our tour ended (and skipping on a tip because we only had the exact amount of euros for the tour at the time)..we walked around till we found the place. Great beer in an old fashioned setting..off the beaten path. What could a man ask for.

Last night we hopped the tram and went to the town of Nussberg..home of the wine gardens. Although we managed to hit two beer gardens that evening. We met some people from AZ and GA and lucky for us the lady from GA was married to an Austrian so we had an interpreter to help us order food. The palces their have a so called buffet which consists of going to a counter and ordering food..salads, breads, meat, and spreads. Then after paying you grab a table to order beer and wine. For under 20 euro..two people can get their bellies full. (Having it rubbed will cost you extra)

In just a little while we are hopping on a train over to Stockerau where we will officially start our bike tour tomorrow. It should be a start of an adventure.