Cesky Krumlov to Horni Plana (Czechia) (Sept. 30, 2022)

October 1, 2022

Today was a fun day that reminds you why you cycle tour. We had a short ride to Horni Plana - and before we get any off-color snickers— “horni” in Czech means “upper” so the translated name of the town is the “Upper Plain”. This town sits on the edge of the Lipno Reservoir in the far western part of Czechia and, as it turns out, is a small but pretty resort destination.

The famous Austrian author Adelbert Stifter was born here - the significance of that will become more clear later on.

The day was cold and overcast with rain predicted when we started. We stopped in the Cesky Krumlov old town to have a final breakfast and coffee at a place we had enjoyed previously. It is a wonderful coffee shop, and to our delight, dogs were plentiful. The old town was busier in the morning and getting in and out on bikes on wet cobbles with some crowds required concentration.

The bike route I planned was one I found on the Cesky Krumlov tourist site and it was off the main road and really pleasant. Small, rural and forested roads with little or no traffic. We passed the Boletice military training site - you couldn’t see much- and 25 k in we stopped for soup at a small resort on Lake Olsina. I was cold and needed to warm up so even the beef with liver soup tasted good. It’s weird how cycle touring reduces your needs to the lowest common denominator and how much joy you take in small pleasures.

Despite iffy weather conditions, we enjoyed some wonderful paths to ride.

Shortly before Horni Plana was saw an observation tower so we took a minor detour and did a short hike up to this modern tower opened in 2021 -the Rozhledna Dobra Voda- and climbed the 170 steps up to survey the whole area. The day was cloudy but clear enough so we could get the lay of the land. The views of the surrounding countryside were splendid.

Our scheduled accommodation was at Resort Orsina on Lipno Reservoir which was one of the places where I had very limited choices. It exceeded expectations. It was basic but clean, new and had the most convenient bike charging garage we have seen, right underneath our unit. We were so cold that taking a shower was heaven. Dave even commented he wished we could stay a second night to explore the area. We had the buffet Friday night (10 euros apiece!) in a crowded dining room with a bunch of Czech families. We were glad to see regular Czech families doing their weekend thing because Cesky Krumlov was so clearly for tourists. I also got to try a new Czech liqueur which was some type of eggnog flavored liquor. Not bad.

And these 2 specimens were well suited to the weather as well! 🍄

When we checked out the next morning we had 1400 korunas in cash left to pay our bill before we left Czechia, and our bill turned out to be 1399 korunas. We felt it was koruna karma…..

The room was spare but clean and comfortable.

So, on to Germany.

Today's ride: 34 km (21 miles)
Total: 1,595 km (990 miles)

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