Leaving Germany arriving in the Czech Republic
Wow what a lot of riding today but I made it to the Czech republic! Crossing the non-existent (but mysteriously implied by the lack of a sense of the German byroad going anywhere) EU border gave me extra energy when it was flagging. My plan was to load a string of interesting German towns into my GPS instead of let it take me on boring motorways as it usually does. Unfortunately all didn't go according to plan: Eisenach was an interesting town. Now I know where all the cool young people are – certainly not in the small conservative towns I've visited up to now. Weimar, or at least what my route showed me of it seemed labouring under something, large groups of brooding men shambling down the street dressed in dark colours and cynical groups of youths (don't ask me how I could tell that from my bike). Then the main road to Jena (where the Jena romantics came from as well as my Carl Zeiss lenses for my old SLR in the 1970s) was closed and the day was wearing on and rain threatening so I thought forget this and knuckled down to another stint on the motorway. I rode for 6 hours 25 minutes. My riding time was over 8 hours yesterday.
Finally I found a campsite mentioned in my green book on the Czech side of the border after a lady with a baby in a pushchair managed to tell me that the one I was aiming for was being refurbished – by Americans if I understood properly. That town seemed poor, reminding me of Ulrich Siedel films (strange as his films were set in Austria or Ukraine), and the campsite was meant to be right next to a Siedelesque housing estate. So, 20 miles down yet another motorway I found this place which I'd downloaded from the useful Dutch camping site. It is so informal. A young guy seems to run it with his friends hanging out, practising a band and drinking beer. He made me some fried chicken and chips which I ate eagerly with some beer, surrounded by people talking Czech and enjoyed so much more than the meal I had in my last hotel, then smoked a cigarette outside with another nice cold beer. It was one of those moments when I felt satisfied with my geographical achievement and relaxed. Hearing Czech seems so familiar after nearly every other person at home is speaking Polish. (to my ear I am afraid to say they sound the same.) Oh yes, my tent is up (it is the only one in the field) and I am smeared with insect repellant.
Even as I unpacked the bike I was welcomed to the site by a gang of mosquitos. Ha – let them deal with my 100 percent plus (how can that be possible?) Deet! This place would be perfect if I could connect to the wireless network which I can't. In the picture my Triumph Sprint with the great panniers I bought on Ebay. And the Triumph rack. I had so much more room for luggage in this trip than my first jaunt the year before.