Sightseeing in Prague

Today I had a day off the bike doing some sightseeing here in Prague. It’s really a beautiful city with many old buildings. But I feel it gets very crowded with tourists especially at the castle. It loses a bit of its charm when there are tourists everywhere. But there is not much to do about that. In the city a met a couple from Dresten who cycled on a tandem bicycle that was really cool. 

Tomorrow I’m going south and have decided that the next big city will be Vienna. But there is still more of the Czech Republic to see before crossing the border into Austria.

Czech Hills

After a great time with the Dietzel family I left for Czech Republc. It was only about 30 km to the border so I was there after lunch. It’s always a little different coming into a new country. Even if it’s only 1 km between the cities you can instantly feel the difference. I entered the Czech Republic in a mountain region so after mostly flat ground through Europe I had to work a little bit more. It was also colder, especially during the night and in the morning. So after packing up it was nice to get on the bike and get warm by cycling uphill. But yesterday the weather got warmer and was exited to go to Prague. I slept about 60 km from Prague so I didn’t think there would be any problem getting in to the city in time. But there were much more hills on the way then what I had expected, especially around Krivoklat. But the reward is the beautiful scenery in regions like that and it’s definitely worth it.

After lunch today the hills got smaller and the last bit into Prague was very relaxing. Until I got in to the city and had to deal with the traffic and finding my way in a new and big city. But after a while a found a big straight road into the center. And because it was almost 6 a clock in the evening when I found a Hostel I decided to stay another day in Prague and see the city tomorrow.

I’m also trying to decide where to go from here. It's leaning towards going down to Vienna and then to Slovakia and Hungary. Any suggestions?

International language of Lego

Yesterday I had a nice and relaxing day in Plauen. I fixed the tube that was flat and then I, Maria, Anna and Emilie took a little trip in to the center of Plauen. And it was nice to be on the bike without the panniers for once even if it takes a little while to find the balance when you are used to having the bags on the bike.

In the afternoon I followed the family to their church where the kids had built an impressing Lego city. And I even got to help out and I and Emilie built two nice houses. And in a way Lego brings people together much like sports do. Because me and Emilie couldn’t really talk, but we managed to communicate well enough to build together. And I felt like a little kid again playing with Lego=)

Today I’m going east towards the border into Czech Republic. And I’m looking forward to seeing a new country again after three great weeks here in Germany.

First flat tyre

Yesterday I left Thurm and the kind and generous Lambrecht’s family and set my sight on Plauen where I would stay with the family I met close to Arboga about a month ago. I wasn’t that far from Thurm so I didn’t have to stress to get there in the evening. But it took me a little longer because there were a lot of hills on my way here. And after I had only cycled for a couple of kilometers I had my first flat tire.

 

I had no problem finding their house because after about a week without detailed maps on my GPS it’s now working just fine and it feels a little luxurious to have that again. And when I was looking for the right number on the house I saw a sign saying “welcome Samuel” in Swedish.

So I’m staying here another night and later I will be heading east towards the Czech Republic border. Tonight it wasn’t to bed to have a bed inside because I was told it was only 3 degrees outside last night.

Let’s go Bayern

When leaving Leipzig I had some problems with finding the right road. One road that I thought I could cycle turned out to be a highway, but after talking to some helpful people along the way I was able to find some nice roads. A set up camp by a lake and had just set up my tent when a storm came in. There was a lot of rain but by the morning the rain had stopped and I continued on south.

This evening I found a little lake where I could wash of and I had scouted a nice place in the forest to set up the tent. But when I had eaten dinner and was sitting and reading two men came by and we started talking. And when I said I was sleeping in the forest one of the men offered me to stay at his place for the night. So I followed his car through the dark for about 5 km to his house where a got ever more food, some beer and we watched Bayern Munich beat Valencia in the Champions League. It doesn’t get any better then that=)

And tomorrow I will also be sleeping indoors in Plauen where a family that a met while cycling in Sweden lives.