We set off this morning full of trepidation. We knew Karlovy Vary was only about 25 km
away, but we also knew it was in a mountainous environment and we were not
looking forward to any more hills. So it
was a slow start to the morning, due in no small part to the dread we were
feeling at the expected hills to come, compounded by the fact it was already
stinking hot when we first rolled out of bed at 7.30am – luckily we had pitched
the tent in the shade, otherwise there would be no way we could have stayed in
the tent past 5.30am. Unfortunately we
couldn’t linger too long as we had no breakfast, which was a shame as we didn’t
see Herbert before we left.
We had a good start with a nice flat road right outside the
aero club and welcomed the gentle crosswind which cooled us down a little. The roads we had chosen were very quiet with
hardly any traffic, although the road surface on a few was pretty bad.
We turned northwards and the wind was now a tailwind as we
cycled through Hlinky and got a long downhill section, thinking all the way
down it uh-oh, here we go, uphill in a minute.
But no, it was a mostly flat ride through to Stanevice where we finally
found a shop. And he had big wooden
tables and chairs set up in the shade outside, with no drunk man lurking
around. So we sat there and enjoyed our
breakfast, cycled out of town about half a kilometre before hitting another
downhill stretch. We couldn’t believe
it. Surely we must be almost through to
the middle of the planet by now? No
wonder we were exhausted yesterday – we must have climbed a long way. This downhill stretch went on for 5km, and
the road surface was immaculate hotmix.
We were in shade all the way with a tailwind – a cyclist’s dream…….we
were just waiting for the nightmare to start.
We cycled through the village of Brezova and followed the
signs to Karlovy Vary, only 5 km away.
But we came across an unexpected bridge and an extra turn, so stopped to
check our directions. Just then a racing
cyclist pedalled up the slight incline behind us, so we asked him if this was
the way to Karlovy Vary. We thought it
must be as the compass was pointing North and that’s the direction we
wanted. To our surprise he said we were
better to turn around and go South and that road would take us right into the
old part of Karlovy Vary and continued on his way. We looked at each other in disbelief – do we
believe this guy or is he a mate of Rudi’s?
It made us re-examine our map though to see if this could be
possible……and we realised he was right. So
we turned around and had the most beautiful flat ride through a valley
following a river, on our beloved hotmix, with very little traffic, in the
shade. Fantastic! It was only for the last km that the hill
finally appeared, and it was a good one, full of switchbacks and full sun, but
we did have some marvellous views to distract us.
Karlovy Vary is a stunningly beautiful town, full of ornate
old buildings and with a pedestrian zone to walk through to admire it. They have mineral water here flowing out of
taps in the main street that you can fill your bottles with for free, which we
took full advantage of. There are masses
of high priced shops, fashion, watches, jewellery etc which we did not take
advantage of.
Karlovy Vary is a
well-known spa town and it looks like many people come here to treat
themselves, us included. In fact first
order of the day was a McFlurry each as they had an outside deck in the shade
and at 34C, man we needed cooling down!
We also took advantage of their free wifi to upload the blog which we
hadn’t been able to do for two days.
We tried in vain to find the Tourist Info but could only
find a rip-off place trying to sell maps and exchange your money – we already
had Czech Kroner and there was no way we were going to pay for a map. So using Google Maps we found our way to the
only campground in town, cycling our way halfway up a hill (at least it was
only halfway!) in the heat, only to find they took mobile homes only. Groan!
So it was back into town to grab some groceries for a picnic by the
river. We were hoping for a dip in the
river but it was filthy – we had wondered why people were only sunbathing and
not in the water. So, no campground,
stinking hot…would have to be one of our hottest days and we are on the tourist
trail, heading into the town to see what it had to offer.
Karlovy Vary is situated amongst dense forest in a valley
and just the setting alone is beautiful, but then you throw in some of the most
gorgeous buildings, from churches to hotels, ornate pavilions to fantastic
homes and your camera never stops. Anyone wanting a wellness and spa holiday,
this is the place to come. The heat by now was overbearing and after we parked
and locked the trusty steeds by the side of the canal, we decided to take the
cable car to the lookout, whereas we were thinking about walking it. The ride
up takes about three minutes, but with no opening windows, it felt like thirty
three. We were gasping at the top and it was only a light breeze that cooled us
somewhat.
Once again the views were incredible. Vistas of the town and
surrounding forested areas, all very alpine, which is in fact what it is. Shot
after shot and then down the one hundred and fifty stairs, because the bloody
lift wouldn’t work…and yes…I counted every one!
Nobody had nicked the bikes so that we could claim
exorbitant amounts on the insurance, so next time we leave them, I’ll leave a
little note with a couple of beers as enticement. Our next point of interest
involved a friggin big hill, not long, but really steep.
It did however provide
us with more great photos and a good finish to our tourist gig. Then, back into
town for dinner and to check our outward bound route, before we stocked up for
breakfast and hit the road. Must have had the Gods looking down on us tonight
and they took pity on two weary travellers, because we navigated our way to our
campground at Sadov along the river and up some shady lanes, where we first of
all crashed on the groundsheet with two cold beers before Ju went for a shower,
I carried on with the blog, we put up the tent and then I showered. Great way
to end the day.
Just as a footnote. For those of you who have previously
read our blogs, you may be familiar with some mention of campgrounds and their
vicinity to railway lines. In fact, as we were winding down for the evening
around 10.00pm, it suddenly occurred to us just how close this campsite was to
the noise of locomotives. Now, as a boy I loved my first train set, eventually
building on it, until I had a fine array of engines, carriages and a good
length of track. Let’s face it….it’s all about the length of track. Anyway I
digress….I had wonderful times with that model railway….until after moving out
of the family home…..my father sold or gave away the bloody lot! Over the years whilst travelling, Julia and I
have found it strange how we are drawn to campsites in close proximity to
railway tracks.
So I have come up with a rating system for these sites.
1 star……within 10 feet of tracks…freight trains only,
passing time..no less than half an hour, night time hours predominantly.
2 star……within 50 feet of tracks…freight trains with a
couple of passenger cars, operating no later than 1.30am and no sooner than
5am.
3 star…..within 100 feet of tracks…local commuter trains
operating until 12.30am and not beginning until 6am
4 star…..high speed trains running between normal waking
hours at a distance of 500 feet
5 star…..Not a friggin train to be seen or heard anywhere…!
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