Sept 25th - 28th: Prague

Prague is big, blowsy, raucous and full of tourists; how dare they visit when I'm here?  There are many Czechs, every second one of whom seems to be blowing cigarette smoke in your eyes.  It has its beggars, its sharks and innumerable eateries and shops all baying for a share of the tourist koruna.  In short, Prague is easy to criticise.

And yet Prague is immensely attractive - the quality and diversity of its architecture and culture rise above the petty complaints of a carping visitor.  Go for a walk, turn a corner and be amazed by another panoramic view, baroque alter, or medieval castle.  The sheer scale of the city and its treasures overcome the tawdry elements of modern life that overlay it.

The view from our pension was of a bustling metropolis - the mixture of old and modern trams reminiscent of a Melbourne trademark.

Three important jobs on day one in Prague - when you travel by bike, flexibility is important and achieved by not booking too far ahead.

1. Find bike boxes for the pending flight to Florence - having identified five bike shops in central Prague from the Internet, I set out on foot - one kilometre later I arrived at the first one to find it being refitted for ladies fashion - not an auspicious start.  I set out for the second shop, a little dispirited.  After another kilometre, I spied a bike shop not on the list - after being directed to the English speaking manager, I was gifted two boxes that matched the dimensions required. It now took two trips to get them home - Rosemary was busy shopping!

Lugging bike boxes around the streets of Prague - not a cool look, but who cares?

2. Confirm ticket arrangements for Florence flight - having booked Prague/Florence flights online with eDreams.com we were keen to see if we had got it right.  A visit to the Czech Aiirlines office confirmed luggage allowances and acceptance of bikes as part of it - tickets for for the same flight would cost $100 more if brought in Prague.

3. An hour's Internet research on Airbnb and we had identified a Florentine apartment that suited - this was soon confirmed and the owner Luca arranged a meeting place and time consistent with our flight.

In completing theses tasks we had wonderful assistance from our pension manager, pictured below with Rosemary

As well being a great host she had a name to conjure with: Ivana Fidlerova - neither a violinist,, nor a lap dancer, Ivana was a gem.

Housekeeping complete, we could relax and explore Prague.

What to do in Prague?  See a church.........

Listen to someone play the wine glasses!

See a palace or five.........

See another church.....

Go to a jazz club........

Go to a chamber music recital.......

Stare at the ceiling.......

Go watch the Grand Final in a Prague sportsbar at 6.30 am - breakfast included for $13.50 - great way to start the day.

Prague in three and a half days - hardly scratched the surface!

Sept 22nd - 24th Dresden to Prague

Who's a goose?

Time for refreshment - coffee of course at 10 AM

Spectacular river views continue.

This limestone cliff area was recommended by a Dresden barmaid as the "Bohemian Switzerland"

The occasional ferry crossing fuels the local economy and provides a welcome rest from peddling.

By now, we had crossed the German / Czech Republic border and the natural beauty continued.

However, we suffered something of a culture shock as we entered the Czech city of Decin for our first night in the republic.  This was our lodging, perfectly adequate, inexpensive but austere like the city itself.  I was moved to agree with a web quote that claimed "In Decin you can only gaze in wonder at how Socialist planners brutalized most of the old town to put up ugly soviet tenements and bombastic public buildings. "

While the landscape was still vibrant, the buildings and infrastructure were chipped - failing render not repaired, grass not cut beside roads, and footpaths, the people not as keen to respond to greetings.

Next morning, we found the bike path unreliable as the runway gave way to this!

And this; after terrible winter floods in Saxony, Czech Republic and other parts of Europe, we expected some issues - we sometimes resorted to the road when confronted by such conditions.

Upon arrival in Melnik, our spirits were restored - old world charm was abundant.

The views from above the river were heart lifting.

Melnik sees the confluence of the Elbe and Vltava rivers.  From here we would follow the Vltava on to Prague.

Ready to roll on the last leg of our cycle tour - sixty kilometres to Prague.

An early snag - a ferry crossing, but the tillerman was at tea!  

I eventually realised that you should press the green button - a ferryman's head appeared from a nearby window - he announced that he would be ready in ten minutes.

The motorless crossing was achieved with use of the current, the tiller and wire that was erected above the river.

As in Myrtleford, the Czechs are hopping to it.  They do like their beer here.

Having mastered the German language, I was now charmed by the sound of Czech voices, but gobstopped when it came to uttering such strange consonant blends.

This country estate was undergoing a substantial renovation - Rosemary was looking for much the same!

Bohemian grandeur under repair.

Beautiful vistas continued to accompany us, but ......

The bike route and the riders were on their last legs.

A local rider had led us astray - one slip here and we would land in the drink - the path turned to flinty rubble and got perilously close to the edge - we were too focused to photograph it - a rider may have scrambled out of the river - a loaded bike would have gone straight to the bottom.  This continued for a laborious four kilometres.

Relief of a kind - but now the surface was like a beach - sand that was unrideable.

A minor impediment.

Approaching Prague - this would have been the course where young Australian Jessica Fox secured the world championship just a couple of weeks ago.

I had seen many fishermen with expensive gear trying their luck, but no fish.  I observed this lump of a carp put up a twenty minute struggle before being landed - the fish is about two feet long - it is a big net.  The Czechs manage to make carp edible; the presence of carp does not auger well for other species in this waterway.

Prague central, at last.

After nearly 1400 kilometres, we were glad to dismount and contemplate alternative means of transport - walking sounds good.

Sept. 20th - 21st: Meissen and Dresden

Gone fishing!  The mighty river Elbe on our left as we leave Reisa for the flat ride to Meissen.

Beautiful scenes this morning .... can you identify this crop?

Busy bees.

A good place to be a cow!

Or a sheep.

The Germans are great gardeners - vegetables and flowers, especially marigolds and dahlias.

Nearing Meissen

In Meissen, after caffe und kuchen, about to make the long slog up to the Dom, sans bikes.

The view from the Dom.

Inside the Dom.

View from the loft.

The Elbe below Meissen altstadt.

Meissen's famous porcelain.

Off to Dresden.

Friendly locals.

Our villa in Dresden.

Salubrious digs - no cheap options in Dresden!  This suite had a kitchen and dining area that we used to good effect. Located 3.5 klm from the centre proved no obstacle to hardy cyclists.

On the other hand, east Germany's penchant for cobblestones represent a serious curse for cyclists!

So many spectacular begrimed buildings in Dresden; it is hard to believe so much of it was bombed and rebuilt.

Our Lady's in Dresden - amazing Gothic / Baroque

I can do selfies - unfortunately!

Now, that's a mural.

When real men rode real bikes!

And ladies were stumped!

Farewell Dresden.