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.