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.
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.
posted by skatzer at 12:24 PM
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