Day 48
Wednesday 17th August 2016 - A warm sunny day


And of course, we were probably only about half way through our 25 mile ride when we all decided we were hungry, so a sharp lookout was kept for a picnic spot. Our first option was a pile of logs at the side of the trail, but faces were pulled when we noted numerous crawly things that resided there - so I looked in my ‘crystal ball’ and reassured everyone that there would be a better place a little further on (there nearly always is)! So we carried on a little further, and low and behold, my perfect place materialised - however, maybe Sharon didn’t agree cos she has quite an aversion to butterflies of which there were plenty!
Once fed and watered we continued on our way, but only to be interrupted by an untimely puncture, where while it was being fixed the insects managed their own picnic, so once we were back on our bikes it was full steam ahead to outrun them.
Day 49
Thursday 18th August 2016


Once parked we toddled up to the castle which was started in the 14th century and added to many times over the next 3. It and it’s beautiful tower sit high up on a narrow rocky promontory above the River Vltava, but of the many castles we’ve seen on our travels, this one at first seemed quite strange!
The outer walls of all the buildings and the tower are painted with Fresco's - but even the bricks were painted on giving them a 3 dimensional effect.
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Another Cheddar Man |
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I'm not sure how you pour your tea from this! |
We walked up though it’s 5 court yards, pausing in one to visit the cellars where we found some bizarre sculptures - I think the Artist was trying to demonstrate the effects that Czech repression during the war had on him - but it was all quite deep even though the explanatory plaques were in English!
We continued our journey through the castle grounds and it eventually topped out in a very well manicured 11 acre garden which was complete with water features and a special wooden platform. One of the guides explained that it had been installed especially for Asian people to stand on to take their photos - he said it was because they were to small to see properly without it’s aid!
Later we walked though the old cobbled streets of the town where we found numerous touristy shops selling all manner of goods and goodies in the effort to get visitors to part with their money. However, the medieval character was well preserved within the winding labyrinth of cobbled streets, and once you entered the buildings many of them were like dark cellars with their goods displayed on little ledges.
After our browsing we finished off our visit with a very pleasant drink down by the river, and then it was time for a quick trip to Lidl and Tesco to replenish our fodder for the rest of the holiday. Eventually we managed to acquire a trolley full of goodies but deciphering some of the labels was quite a challenge - it’s a good job we’d got Google Translate on our side!
Day 50
Friday 19th August 2016 - A bit cloudy at times but with plenty of sunny intervals.
Today Sharon, Paul and Ben have gone out on their own so they will have to tell us about their adventure when they get back, but John and I have stopped at home to have a ‘rest day’! We’ve scrubbed and polished T4rdis2, we’ve caught up with our washing and John has serviced our bikes - hopefully stopping mine from making a horrible clicking noise!
So really, I’ve got nothing much to add, but it’s nice to be lazy sometimes!
Day 51
Saturday 20th August 2016 - Hot and Sunny
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The Watch Tower on a High Hill |
Today we packed our picnic, saddled up our bikes and headed for the ferry to take us across the lake to Frydava.

From there we picked up another quiet cycle route that took us, first along by the lake side, and then up, up, up and evermore up to a watchtower high on a hill called Zricenina Vitkuv Hradek!

It was only an old ruin but there was a gentleman wandering around in authentic costume telling us something in Czech, music playing from deep in the bowels of the ancient building and a very nice little cafe from where cool drinks could be purchased.
So all in all, it was a lovely place to pause for lunch - poor Ben even got crucified!

Here people could try out various sports equipments, so while we supped a cool cider Ben played on a Segway. Then, having spent our ferry fare on booze we were forced to remount and peddle the last few miles home - about 30 in total.
Day 52
Sunday 21st August 2016 - Rain - and lots of it overnight then cloudy and a bit showery in the day.
Because of the weather it was really not a day for cycling, so we decided to do a bit of cultural sight seeing instead. We all jumped in Paul’s car and headed for the city of Linz - a place found on a bend of the Danube just over the Austrian border. However, what we hadn’t bargained on was all the shops being closed (it was Sunday), maybe a good thing cos window shopping is much cheaper!
So as we walked along one of the main streets, drooling over what we were being deprived off, and we hadn’t really got any plan as to what we were going to do, but our problem was solved when we entered one of the many churches.
It just happened to be The Church of the Ursuline Sister’s - a place where over 400 angels are displayed, and a 360 degree light system is available to illuminate them individually along with an explanation of their origin.
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Another Cheddar Man |




In the end we landed in a roadside fish restaurant were we consumed delicious barbecued mackerel and enjoyed another black beer before continuing on our way home.
Day 53
Monday 22nd August 2016 - a bit cloudy and overcast but with good sunny periods.
John and I have opted for another day off today - we’re going to potter around doing odd jobs, and then later we’ll go for a little walk down to the lake and maybe enjoy Pizza for lunch.
Sharon, Paul and Ben have gone off out on their bikes with the possible plan of going tobogganing!
I’m sure we’ll all meet up later for another evening of good food and maybe a game or two of cards, and the time will fly by because we’re sharing it with our very dear friends.
So once again, bye for now and take care x
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