Melnik

September 2, 2010

Last night we ate at what seemed to be the best restaurant in town. I had what was the nicest meal I have had since we have been in Europe. I had fricasseed tripe with boiled potatoes which might not sound amazing but it is. This was followed by honey cake with whipped cream which is the most delicious desert I have ever tasted. We are sticking to the local beer rather than wine as the reer is so good . The amazing thing as well as the taste was the cost - when we did the calculations it pnly came to about 15 Euros. Certainly a lot less expensive than Germany. As far as accommodation is concerned in Germany we were mainly paying between 50 and 70 Euros a night with breakfast. Here it is between about 35 and 55.

After a very good breakfast which included John's mother's homemade wild blackberry and sour cherry jam we left our beautiful room with the intention of riding to Prague today. Our first excitement was riding into the middle of a large building site amid much whistle blowing , waving of arms and unintelligble yelling by the workmen. One had a little English and was able to explain there was no way through and we would have to go back a couple of kilometers and take a side track. This was a mere goat track and we were pleased our bikes are mountain bikes. At Litomerice things open out onto a plain. As we have been getting closer to Prague things are looking more prosperous. Yesterday we felt at Decin, the first town we came to, it all looked as if life was a bit of a struggle. Cars were old as were the trucks many of which were belching huge plumes of smoke but as we ride along it is changing. The route has been challenging because much of it has been on unpaved tracks with huge pot holes filled with mud and slush so the going is fairly slow and once more we are filfthy. Part however on roads which is faster but sometime hair raising. One of the most noticeable things is that we now see very few cycle tourists - it seems that German cyclists come only as far as the German Resort towns on the other side of the Czech border. When we looked up and saw the Chateau of Melnik on the hill beside us although it was only lunchtime we went up to have a look and got a room. Ken loves this place, our room is above a rustic looking bar and on arrival we had a large local beer and a massive meal. This means that Ken is now fast asleep rather than exploring the sights.

This place at Litomerice is lovely and we were loathto leave it.

Tjis is Roudnice nad Labem - there are so many beautiful and interestng places in the world I know nothing about.

I have never been so close to a cooling tower - it was for a huge thermal generator not a nuclear one.

We couldnt make ourselves pedal past here and what a nice place it is to stay too. almost feel we have had the day off.

Today's ride: 54 km (34 miles)
Total: 1,308 km (812 miles)

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