Cool, Breezy, and Happy

Terezin to Prague, Czechia -- 41.3 mi, 11.9 mph, 1670 ft

We were not in a particular hurry this morning, which is often the case after a really hard day. It was a warm evening last night, so we went to sleep without covers and with the windows wide open. This morning, though, the sky was gray and a steady was rain falling.  We weren't excited about riding in the rain, but packed up and headed downstairs anyway.  Fortunately, when we walked outside to leave, the rain had temporarily stopped.

For the start of the ride, Kylie and I practiced our state capitals (somehow we kept forgetting to include Maryland) and pedaled out across green fields. Although we were rained on a few times, it never got bad enough to dig out our rain jackets. Instead, we hardly broke a sweat as we made it up the first climb then enjoyed a tailwind along rolling farmland, reminiscent of Minnesota. What a change from the day before! There is nothing better than smooth, lightly-traveled roads, nice scenery, cool weather… and a tailwind! Not only do you fly along unusually fast with a tailwind, it is also unusually quiet, making for easy conversation. The blue-grey sky against the golden wheat fields was fantastic.

This is more like it.  Feeling much better today

Cool and Breezy 

Although we were in good spirits and making great time, we opted for a lunch sitting outside a LIDL supermarket in the town of Veltrusy. This filled our bellies and left us with only one climb before dropping into Prague. The anticipated climb came and went with nowhere near the effort we expected. Unlike our arrival in Dresden, we somehow managed to make it within a couple miles of town without getting onto any busy streets.  Much of the final part of the ride was along the Vitava River, which joins the Elbe north of the city. The hardest part of the ride was the last couple blocks through a walking tunnel and up some steep brick roads. Our Air B&B host wasn’t there when we arrived, so we sat in a small pub across the street and enjoyed some cold drinks and a round of cards.

Lunch break outside the market

Smooth sailing along the Vitara

Fighting with the lock of our accommodations

For dinner, we walked down into the old town of Prague, about a half hour away.  It's always fun to look around a new city for the first time.  Prague is clearly a relatively wealthy city, judging from the excellent condition of the centuries-old buildings, the modern tram system, and a high number of luxury cars.  As we got close to the main tourist area (nearer the river), we started to spy some incredibly steep roofs and super pointy spires.  The Powder Gate and towers on the old town church (Chruch of our Lady before Tyn) definitely reminded me of something out of Harry Potter and the small narrow bricked streets were like Diagon Alley.  There was no doubt we were in the tourist area judging from the number of restaurants, bars, souvenir shops, and ice cream parlors. We settled on a small Italian restaurant after abandoning a crowded Czech food bar/restaurant.  Tomorrow, we would start the sightseeing in earnest.