Epic Europe

We were not at all taken to Decin the first evening. We missed the turn from the railway station shown on the walking map our host sent us and ended up walking on the main road past a long row of stinky bins. We also went to what we thought was the budget bigger supermarket, Lindl, for our groceries, amongst a dreary bunch of tired people. Did not help that we stayed in a budget Airbnb apartment near the train station for ease of transfers to and from hikes. You really get what you pay for.

The sun rose on everything this morning. We enjoyed a nice bath last night, slept well, walked to the train station via the correct route, amongst rowdy happy school kids, and pretty colourful buildings. No stinky bins. The day was looking much better. We even waited at the correct bus stop and caught the correct bus, after Grace asked about 5 people, just to be sure, to be sure, to be really really sure.

The first hike up to Pravčická brána passed the burnt area from the fires of 2022. We passed one man clearing the logs from a steep face, and another taking the cut logs down in a small tractor. It looked like moving a beach, cup by cup. We met a young Indian couple who had just finished their Masters in Germany and are celebrating with this trip. They are planning to work in Germany for a few years before returning to India. People return home after being away for various reasons. Our waiter yesterday worked in the UK for 2 years as a barmaid (what he said) and returned home as he missed his mummy's cooking.

Lunch was 1.5km off track at U Fořta Mezní Louka, a restaurant that had been in the same family for 4 generations. We had to purchase water whilst dining in the restaurant, but they happily refilled our water bottle. We had Moravian Sparrow, a pork stew with pickled cabbage and dumplings, and boar cutlet on a bed of mash. I had to confirm the the former dish was really not from the feathered boney species as I was really not in the mood for lunch with effort. Picking my way through rocks and uneven paths up steep inclines and declines was enough for me to want to be able to just shovel food into my mouth, least effort. Dessert was chocolate cake with as much ganache as cake. Surprisingly, Czech desserts are not sweet nor rich.

There is a significant Vietnamese presence in Czech Republic. They own most of the small grocery shops, bitsy sundry shops and Vietnamese restaurants. We overheard a tour guide explain to her group that they were invited here by the Czechoslovakia communist regime to fulfil a need for cheap labour. However, with their value on hard work and emphasis on education, the second generation Vietnamese are mostly university graduates with professional careers.

Afternoon hike included a 15 minute boat ride along the Kamenice River at Wild Gorge. We reached a sign that said 1.5km to the boat ride. It was a steep 1km descent and 0.5 km flat along the river banks to the boat. Our boat man missed his calling as an entertainer. The boat was his stage. He was animated in his Czech tour of the gorge with English words interspersed. It was czech blah blah czech czech, Albert Einstein, ..... River..... Gorge czech blah blah czech czech I speaka no English czech blah blah czech czech Titanic Leonardo DiCaprio as he pointed out the sculpture of a boy helping a girl up from the river. Then he swooned the Titanic theme song on his harmonica. I laughed for the whole 15 minutes scenic boat ride.

Grace very graciously took a long time looking at the map at the bottom of the ascent so we were the last to leave the gorge. I think she wanted to save me the embarrassment of being overtaken by everyone. I pufff like an emphysematous smoker on ascent and had to take it slowly. This ascent was so steep I felt my heels trying to break from the heel of my boots despite tightening the laces at the mid foot and ankle. Finishing the last of our snack halfway up gave us a nice quiet break as everyone else was probably on their second beer at the pub. We even saw a squirrel scampering across a few fallen trees. It's my first sighting of a European squirrel, and it's much smaller than I'd imagined, and a very bushy tail almost bigger than its body.

It was rather busy in the track today, but not noisy. Even the kids were well behaved. Grace and I are finding that Czech kids are really lovely. We sat amongst teenage school boys for the an hour on the train to Decin yesterday, and it was a very pleasant experience. They chatted quietly amongst each other, and happily helped us open our window.

Blistering 23.2 km today.Read more