Day 6
Dresden > Decin > Usti nad Labem > Litomerice
118.7km
5 hours 51 mins
1328m elevation gain
Today we pushed ourselves one step further and we completed over 100km! The conditions were perfect for cycling, cloudy and cool with no wind, and the scenery just kept getting better. We crossed the border into Czech Republic and carried along the River Elbe. The last hour we had to push on but arriving into Litomerice at sunset was beautiful.
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| Litomerice main square |
Crossing into Czech Republic
Pretty much as soon as we crossed the border, although there was no obvious marking, bugs started flying into us at a ferocious rate. This lasted for 20 minutes, Shanky was slapping his arms all over and trying to waft the flies from his face. We hoped that this would not be happening the whole way through Czech Republic but thankfully the bugs stopped coming and the views were fantastic. The route was clearly marked with yellow signs with a bicycle and the number 2. The path was more undulating and in some parts a bit rough on the tyres but overall pretty good. Across the river the hillside grew and there were coloured cliff walls and even a bridge high up on the hill.
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| Czech Republic hillside |
Sights of note:
- On one section of the path there were scores of chickens and geese in the way which we had to dodge, Shanky rang his bell and they all ran across the path (CR)
- A train crossing - we saw all sorts of trains all day long (Germany)
- A huge dam - a little annoying as we had to go up and down loads of stairs (CR)
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| Train crossing |
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| Some of the Dam/Lock |
Party on the bike path
We came to a junction in Czech Republic and a big party was going on in front of us, a full band under a canapy, food, dancing etc. We almost turned left, when out of the corner of my eye I saw one of our yellow route signs on the other side of the party. The band were set up right on top of our path, we had to dismount our bikes and walk through the party!
Lunch stop
We had a break for lunch in Decin which was a welcome break from cycling and we had a fantastic view. We had forgotten that they have another currency here but luckily most places accept euros so we have been fine so far. So far they seem to have more vegetarian options and at dinner Shanky got a side of chilli with his pizza so he's pleased with the food here so far. The only drama to occur at lunch was that we set off onto the road, a little way up the path I went over a small bump and my leg was splashed with water, I looked down and my bottle had no lid on it! I had to trace my steps back and I found the lid at the entrance to the cafe - I had refilled my bottle but hadn't screwed the top back on. I was very glad we hadn't traveled far before I noticed.
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| Shanky and homemade lemonade |
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| Beautiful Decin |
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