Traversing the Czech Republic

Day 154, Mile 6,493

About 10 days ago we left the Donau (Danube) River cycleway and headed to the border of the Czech Republic.  We knew where the border was, but there really wasn't a road that went there.  But there was a path, so we took that.  Let's just say that riding loaded touring bicycles on a bumpy deer path is not the fastest means of locomotion, but it sure was fun to hit the Czech Republic sign in the middle of the woods.

It is truly amazing how an invisible country border line really does separate two completely different worlds.  Right after hitting an actual road in our new country, we could see that in no way were we in Germany any more.  Of course, the signs look nothing like anything we're ever read, but everything looked different.  The roads were now a patchwork of tar....layers and layers of patches (or holes).  But the roads were quiet and even with their bumps and hills, were really wonderful to cycle.  The towns were surrounded by countryside and crops and then BOOM, we'd be in the middle of a little town full of apartment buildings.

The big American style grocery stores were gone and were replaced by little, quite old fashioned, stores in every little village.  There would be a lady behind the counter who we gave our request for each and every item.  One by one she'd get our mystery meat loaf, apples, bread, etc, while everyone else is just waited in line behind us.  And the Czech people, well, um.....lets just say they are not the most smiley people in the world.  Maybe they had a moment of happiness when we were not around, but they definitely didn't show it to us.

That being said, we did have one really great encounter with a Czech person.  On our first night in the country we went out to dinner.  When a man at the next table saw us looking at our menus with perplexed looks, he offered to translate to the waitress for us.  We told him we wanted a traditional Czech meal. He said "oh, that's easy, it is Sviocova."  We said ok, we'll take two of those.  Out came a plate of beef in a sweetish gravy with a pile of nedlicky (dumplings) on the side.  OK, that may not sound that great, but it was fantastic.

In fact, every meal we got in Czech (a total of 9 plates of food between us) was similar with meat, gravy and dumplings.  And every single meal was great.  Probably the best food, as a whole, we've gotten since the American South.  And it was cheap.  A lunch dropped in price from about $15+ to about $5.  And a glass a beer is a buck.  We're not huge beer drinkers, but for a buck, we love it!  And we got many.

On our third day into the country we stopped by a little bar at 9 AM and walked past the people drinking beer and smoking to use the bathroom.  When we came out we saw there was a little free internet kiosk and decided to have a bonus email checking session.  I have to tell you all that it is so nice to get your notes and stories and good wishes.  We think about it for the rest of the day and it leaves a smile on our faces as we curl into our sleeping bags. Thanks!

Other observations about the Czech Republic:  Jesus Crucifixes are abundant.  We probably passed 30-50 per day.  (see above picture).  The country may not be "thriving," but it seems like it is doing well and steadily recovering from its Communist past.  It is clean and many of the buildings have a nice new coat of paint (think bright orange or green).  There would be a big, huge, gray communist era apartment block and right next to it would be a similar looking one but now brightly painted and fixed up.  The people are up and at it bright and early in the morning, and they don't close their stores in the middle of the day (the first since we arrived in Europe).  The country was really pleasant to traverse.  We really enjoyed the food, but were kind of put off by the people.

The imaginary line in the sand worked its magic again as this morning we crossed into Southern Poland and were welcomed like long lost relatives.  We stopped at the local library and after we started to check our email, we were invited to coffee and cakes with the librarian.  She then proceeded to call a friend to be a translator, and we are leaving with gifts of bread, vodka, chocolate, tomatoes, and nectarines.  Ten miles ago the people wouldn't talk to us, and now its hard to write this because of the attention.  I was just about to post this, when our library hosts (which now numbers 8 people) told us we cannot leave too soon because they are making us barbecue.  This is too much.  What a welcome to Poland.

Ok, its three minutes later.  We are now invited to spend the night in a local person's home. I'm sure that will be another story for the next blog update.

Across Switzerland and Germany

Day 142, Mile 6,078
Regensburg, Germany

We are happily resting our weary bodies after a rain sodden couple of weeks across Switzerland and Germany, and looking forward to arriving in the Czech Republic after another day of riding Northeast. We had such an enjoyable time on the easy to follow, flat Danube River bike path, that it was hard to make the decision to leave it.

Us riding in Switzerland with friends

We had looked forward to cycling in Switzerland since we were in the early planning stages of our trip.  Unfortunately, it proved to be a dissapointement.  Maybe it was the weather (rainy most days), or maybe it was the area of the country we traversed, but it was busy and ugly, with big industrial buildings littering the landscape, large apartment buildings instead of the quaint villages we picutred, and cars, cars, cars everywhere.  We were told by a friend that there are so many Swiss people living in such a small area, that the government has issued a moratorium on building new houses. 

Sharing fondue with Manuela & Christian

 They can only be built higher (i.e., more apartment buildings), and we were also told that only 30% of Swiss own their own homes because of the extreme cost.  It was definitely an eye opening experience being there.  The Swiss people, however were extremely kind and generous.  We were taken in by a nice couple upon entering the country, and also spent a night with friends we originally met in New Zealand two years ago.  We were able to share a traditional meal of Fondue with them, which was definitely the highlight of our time in the country. 

Apartments, cranes & construction, OH MY!

However, after trying our best for a few days to find a picturesque and cycle friendly way through the countryside, we said "let´s get out of here," and headed straight for Germany. 

Enjoying a beer as soon as we crossed the German border

When leaving Switzerland, we headed for the Danube River, the longest in Europe, which was traveling pretty much the exact direction we wanted to go (East).  As soon as we crossed into Germany, the countryside was no longer filled with industrial uglyness, the towns became quaint and historic, and the traffic was much quieter. 

Quiet bike path along the Danube Rive

We heard about the bike route along the Danube River from another traveler in France and decided to head directly for it.  Traveling along this river is an absolute dream for cyclists.  It is a marked cycleway, mostly off the roads and along the river.  For a few hundred miles we have been following the little bicycle signs, not having to worry about navigating, or traffic, and saw our first bike shops in all of Europe.  And we´ve seen other bikers galore!  Since it is mostly flat, and is a pretty easy trip to plan, the pathway is just loaded with other bikers out for a week or two, mostly staying at hotels along the way. 


The route has taken us through beautiful historic German towns, including Regensburg, the one we are currently in, which was the northernmost point in the Roman Empire. We are taking several days off here, two nights in a hostel, and a couple more in a campground to get well rested. We are quite tired after bicycling almost non-stop for five months.

Beautiful Regensburg and the Dom Cathedral

The German people have been very nice, and many speak English, which has given us a break from any language struggle. Even when they do speak German, the language is so similar to English that we can usually understand what they are saying.

Many words have almost the same sounds and meanings as English, with a few notable exceptions including if you want to tell someone "Have a Good Trip", you need to tell them to Have a "Gute Fahrt"! But best of all, the Germans know how to eat!  No more little meals here, when we order dinner, out comes a pile of meat (not sure exactly what) and potatoes, and huge goblets of beer.  Bakeries are abundant, and they now have seats so we can sit and eat our pastries there (this is the first we´ve seen of this since arriving in Portugal seven weeks ago).  Our favorite, by far, have been the big soft pretzels (brez´ns).  They are absolutely everywhere.  I swear that if I walked into a hardware store, there would be brez´ns for sale somewhere.  They´re delicious and cheap and we´ve certainly eaten our fill.

Dirt path on the Danube cycle way

Another lasting impression of Gemany for us is the way the people use their bicyles as transportation as well as recreation.  It seems like everyone is riding a bike.  They´re riding to the store or the beer garden.  Or they´re out for a family ride on Sunday.  Men are riding in their loafers and little sweater vests, and the old women are riding in dresses.  The bikes are not the racey, racey types you usually see in America.  They all have fenders, and lights, and racks, and baskets (picture what the wicked witch of the west rode in the Wizard of Oz).  Americans wouldn´t be caught dead on one of these, but they look so practical and comfortable, and seem just a part of the German lifestyle.  It made quite an impression on us.

Brian´s favorite treat

In another day we leave Western Europe and cross through the old Iron Curtain into Eastern Europe and the Czech Republic.  We´re not sure of our route, but we are generally heading for Odessa, Ukraine on the Black Sea.  It is still probably still a couple thousand miles away, and we have a variety of possible ways to get there.  We´re taking it country by country, and day by day.  We´re still seeking out the quiet roads, looking for bakeries and local foods to fill our bellies, and local conversation when it works to learn something of the people. 

Raddler Mass = A mix of lemonade and beer, Excellent!

But mostly our day is filled with us just cycling along, looking at the countryside, the people, the towns, and the scenery.  What we are taking away is certainly a limited view of each country, but each one we´ve been though so far has been unique and will linger in our minds for a long time to come.

From France to Switzerland

Day 128, Mile 5,545
St.Cergue, Switzerland

We bookended our arrival into, and our departure out of France, with stormy skies and the kindness of strangers.  In between the two we spent 16 days cycling 677 miles through the French countryside. 
 



Riding by vineyards



Southern France was a paradise for these two cyclists.  It wasn't just the network of small roads, or the bakeries, or the friendly people, or the bakeries, or the ease of resuppling our camping food, or the bakeries, or the clear skies and beautiful scenery, but a combination of all of these that made this part of the country such a dream.  Soon after our arrival, we were invited into Dominique and Olivier's French villa and were able to rest our weary legs and enjoy some French hospitality. 

Sharing lunch with Dominique & Olivier at their home in Houilles

It seemed to us after this experience, and as we cycled through the villages and countryside, that the French as a whole are living like they are retired.  They get up, walk or cycle into town for their baguettes, make a large fresh lunch, take naps and eat between noon and 2 (when the whole country shuts down).  The houses that dot the countryside all have beautiful gardens, with roses and ivy growing up the walls.  They drink, they smoke, they cycle and they spend time with family and friends.  The only time we saw any sense of urgency was between 11 AM and noon when they manically shop for food before the stores shut down.  Do NOT get between a 60 year old woman driving her little Citroen as she heads to the store at 11:45! 



Buying our daily baguette


We rode through forest and farmland, long valleys and longer mountains, and it was all quite pleasant. Our favorite part of the country, though, was the bakeries (or boulangeries).  They dotted the countryside with such regularity that we would just pick up the day's baguette sometime in the morning, slice it up with butter and jelly and then save the rest for lunch.  Every day we were able to give oursleves an additional little treat of a French pastry of some kind (including apple turnovers, pain au chocolats, donuts, eclaires, almond tarts, etc).  They're a little treat, with guilt free affordability, and oh so good!  We also got a couple French dinners that were fine, but we think the fancier cooking is more in the cities than in the countryside that we traveled.  We did get totally stuffed at a restaurant that by the name sounds Scottish.  Mc... something or other.


Buying half a kilo of cherries to eat with lunch


France was actually difficult for us to photograph.  We could capture an entire Portuguese village in a photo, but in France it was the roses that climbed the stuccoed villas that dotted the countryside that were so beautiful.  It was the amazing centuries-old mansions, churches, and roman baths.  It was the sweeping vineyards that lay between the villages.  It was the woman sweeping her sidewalk at noon.  It was the enthusiastic "Bonjour" that greeted us as we cycled past or the "Bon Appetite" that greeted us again and again as people wandered past us as we ate our lunch in a park. It was the farms that were finally producing fruit and the road side stands with cherries, melons, and strawberries for sale. 

Brian learning the thow technique from a French bocce ball expert

It was the men playing bocce ball in the town square. It was even the toilets that weren't toilet bowls, but rather just a whole in the floor that we squatted over.  These might not be photo's we can post on our blog, but they are what make us want to retire here in twenty years (well, everything but the squat toilets).





 

A Frenchman giving us directions at an unsigned intersection

 As wonderful as France was, after a couple of weeks we were eager to get to Switzerland.  We rode later than usual a couple evenings as we rode up then down one ridge after another through the Jura Mountains that separate the two countries.  Finally, at 40 degrees and under sheets of pouring rain, we crossed the border.  We were wet and frozen and were looking for a house door to knock on to ask for water so we could crawl in our tent for the night, when a car stopped and a fellow was flagging us down.  The driver, Dave, saw us riding and turned around to tell us that we could hop on a train to take us up the hill we were climbing.  We thanked him, but explained that we were riding through Europe, so we wouldn't be doing that, but were looking for camping for the night. 


Our generous hosts Jill and David in St. Cergue Switzerland


After a bit of chatting, he mentioned that he had an extra apartment about 10 kilometers up the road and it might be available for us to spend the night in.  With chattering teeth we said "that would be great!"  But he had to check with his wife.  We pushed on, got to the town, and still did not see him again.  We checked at the local hotel, but with a $150 price tag for the night, that was not an option.  But while we were sitting there drinking a cup of hot tea and getting ready to head back out into the rain, in came Dave and he said "OK, we're all set, follow me to the house."  We each took 20 minute HOT showers, warmed up, had a home cooked meal of duck with all the trimmings prepared by his wife Jill, and are currently dozing away the day with the storm still brewing outside.  We can look out the window and see Lake Geneve a thousand feet below us and are waiting for snow covered Mount Blanc to appear when the clouds lift.

We've written about people taking us in, and the kindness of strangers of all types, all during this trip. It doesn't happen every week, but it has happened with astonishing regularity.  Some of these people seek out cyclists to help, but more often it is someone who never even thought of such a thing.  We're not exactly sure what the difference is between the hundreds of cars that travel by us, and the one that stops, but whatever it is, it really is amazing.  We aren't surprised anymore at the kindness of these people we've never met before, but it never fails to impress us.  One of the best things about a trip like this is that it reaffirms our faith in humanity and the goodness of people.  You can't have this many positive interactions with people and not feel that way.

We'll be in Switzerland about a week as we ride the Lac Route east and then up through Zurich and onto the Danube river bike path in Germany.