Ahoj, Czech Mate.

Sunday 8th September 2024. Grandparents Day.

Litomerice to Decin – 56km.

It is a very important day for two reasons. Mainly because I am a Grandparent on Grandparent Day (I’ve never celebrated it before) but also because it is my last full day in Czechia.

I set off this morning at a leisurely pace. I didn’t have a long way to go and it is a Sunday too.

I had little stops to cool down but the temperature kept rising. So, when I came across this…..

It was an outdoor swimming complex with chutes and three major pools. One pool was Olympic sized., the others were big too.

I carried on to the only major town on the route. Usti nam Labem was not worth the visit. I didn’t even take any photos. The railway station looked very modern but I can’t say anything positive otherwise.

Cycling along the river was lovely…

Decin was my destination for tonight. I had booked a cabin on a camping site. It was good value, so why not.

Janice called it Clamping….a good name for it!

I had 300 Czech Koruna left to spend today, the equivalent of £10. I thought I could perhaps spend it all on ice creams but at the current prices I would have needed to have about 8 ice creams.

The town was dominated by its castle.

When I returned to the camp site I got chatting to a local cyclist called Zbynek….what a great name. I started with ‘Ahoj’ (hello in Czech, sounds like Ahoy) and we talked from there. He became my Czech mate of the day. He was very interested in my trip and we discussed the difference between Germany and the Czech Republic.

It seems to be quite a significant moment in my journey. Tomorrow the weather will change….it will be wet and down to 21 degrees and I will move into Germany. Czechia has been a real eye opener. I have enjoyed its differences and the history that I hadn’t been aware of. There have been some real surprises, particularly Mikulov and Kutna Hora. The rural areas have been a pleasure to cycle through. In general it is a bit of a ‘no frills’ country, which works for me….as a nation they seem to ‘get on with it’. Prague is a city out on its own for culture and beauty and is worth a visit any time of the year.

So, I will settle into bed and start ‘clamping’ for one night only. It sounds painful but I will get over it. By the way, my Koruna coins are all gone….I had to buy a beer and a Magnum ice cream to use it up, it’s tough.

It will be sad to say ‘Ahoj’ (it also means goodbye in Czech) to Czechia tomorrow. Ahoj!