Our stay at the Hotel Koruna in Roudnice seemed all too brief. Nobody here could speak English. It was a substantial Hotel, just inside the city gate off the bike path on which we entered from along the Elbe River. The young woman on reception was wonderful. It is amazing how we manage to communicate although we can't speak each other's languages. The room included a hearty breakfast which we enjoyed immensely. As the morning dawned we were confronted with the challenging reality that it was raining. It had rained through the night, and it was a very wet scene that confronted us as we sat inside at breakfast but watching the rain fall. However, being hard core Aussie touring cyclsts, we were not fazed. We just dressed for the occasion and were packed and ready to leave by just after 8:30am. It was about 6 degrees, so not very warm either, a lovely combination!
We had the choice of crossing the river and riding on the right bank, which is the recommended path to take. However, we chose the left bank because we were initially heading for the village of Terezin, some 20k along the river on the left bank opposite the beautiful town of Litomerice across the river on the right bank. The path in which we came in last night was beautiful, but once we turned out into the rain and on to the path for Terezin, it immediately turned into a very narrow packed gravel path which was very difficult to negotiate. It was also very close to the embankment down to the river, so you had to concentrate unless you wanted to tumble off into the Elbe! Being wet, our bikes and shoes were already being sprayed with mud and muck.
Eventually though the difficult narrow section improved, and then we found ourselves on small village roads shared with traffic that also took us through some amazingly beautiful farmlands and open fields. Negotiating the roads though was always tricky, which meant that we were often double checking ourselves against our trusty map.
After tracking through some 5-6 beautiful little rural villages situated along or near the Elbe River, we eventually came to Terezin. This small town was originally built as a fortress by Emperor Josef II between 1780-1790 as a defence system against invading armies from the north. It was named after his mother, Empress Maria Theresa which is where we get the word Terezin today. It was built as a series of two fortresses, one a smaller fortress than the other, but intended to house a small army of some 5,000 soldiers overall. It was basically a fortress village. It was never needed for defence, but the small fortress was used as a prison from the early 19th century. With the outbreak of WW2, the Nazis took over the small fortress and used it as a prison for political prisoners (including some Australian POW escapees), and the larger fortress they turned into a Jewish ghetto, the now infamous 'Theresienstadt Ghetto'. The photo below shows our arrival outside the small fortress which is the only structure now open to visitors.
Incidentally, Gavrilo Princip who assassinated Franz Ferdinand, the Archduke of Austria and his wife in 19414 which sparked WW1, was imprisoned here and died of tuberculosis in 1918.
In 1941 the Nazis turned the large fortress into a ghetto for Jews. Between 1941 and 1945 some 140,000 Jews were deported to Terezin, plus a further 13,000 in the final stages of the war. From Terezin, some 87,000 Jews were transported to death camps, and of these only 4,000 survived. We realised that we didn't have time to do the full tour of Terezin, and there was a reasonable entry fee to be paid for the 'small fortress' tour which is the only part of Terezin now open to the public. We were however, allowed inside at no cost to enjoy the coffee at the little shop and also visit the small bookstore where we purchased a book on the Terezin story. Having said all that, being inside we were able to walk about and see enough to have an appreciation of the horrors of this infamous SS prison. There is a large cemetery alongside the prison for many of those who died while interned at Terezin.
The coffee had warmed us a little, but we had to face the rain and the cold in order to move on. We rode away from the small fortress and joined the road with lots of traffic splashing water and mud at us, on the road that wound its way through the village of Terezin which took us also through the middle of the old fortress, the now disused 'Thereseienstadt Ghetto'. It was not possible to stop because we were on the traffic lane also crowded with trucks and cars bustling around us all the time, but we were amazed at the size and the complexity of the series of rows of earth covered blocks of the original fortress housing with moats and small streams running between. From above it would look like a maze of interconnecting structures, intended to house 5,000 soldiers but which became the ghetto for up to 50,000 people at a time. This photo is taken from the net, but was typical of what we saw as we battled our way through with busy traffic in the rain.
We crossed the Elbe River on a very long, narrow bridge crowded with traffic queued because of repair work being done on the bridge, into the beautiful town of Litomerice. Sadly, we couldn't stay because of our desire to make Decin by nightfall. We swung under the bridge and away from traffic at last, enjoying a not so great bike path that followed the river on the right bank now all the way to Decin. These paths today were all too rarely bitumen. For a lot of this section, we cycled through mud and gravel paths. Being so wet, the muck spewed all over our bikes and especially over our shoes and up to our knees. By the end of day we looked a pretty sight. However, despite the rain and cold, we enjoyed ourselves and the time spent together.
We were now entering some of the most spectacular country that we have seen on our travels. The 'Porta Bohemica' (or Czech Gateway) is the lengthy valley through which the Elbe passes, having cut a deep path between the huge mountains as the river makes it way from Czech Republic to Germany. The valley is impressive with tall steep sides with massive rock formations rising sharply at places along the river. The river was also dotted with beautiful houses and properties which unfortunately were not easy to photograph due to the rain and misty conditions today.
We left the muddy bike track and were pushed onto the road that climbed a massive long hill between Velke Zernoseky and Libochovahy. We were meant to follow the river according to the map, but the bike signs sent us into the hinterland which then climbed for a long way, ultimately showing us a 12% gradient sign as we continued to tough it out up this very long and steep climb. The climb was invigorating, making us work very hard but the views of the countryside were glorious. The only other benefit was the nice long run down the other side, having to show caution of course due to the very wet road. SJ was first (again) to top the climb, but followed not far behind by her father with his 45kg's of loaded bike. Julie maintained her steady rhythm. It was a long climb but spectacular. Both girls had been complaining about their lack of rear brakes. Inspection at the top revealed the brake pads were fully worn out. It was a great way to begin a long, steep descent in the slippery wet conditions. By prayer and some skill we all made it safely down and back to the bike path on the river.
The ride through long sections of forest with their beautiful golden brown carpet of leaves was always enchanting.......
We dodged and weaved over and back several times with he railway line which also followed the Elbe River. For some inexplicable reason though, we crossed over a high bridge over the railway, and headed off on a rising country road believeing it to be the bike path. We should have known something was wrong as it veered away from the river and started to climb, gradually at first then very steeply. In fact we just kept climbing, now encased in beautiful forest. It was still wet and the road was narrow with constant cars, even roadworks where we were required to stand in the rain for ages waiting to be let through. We continued to climb, still none of us twigged. We climbed mercilessly for some 3k until we pulled into a bus shelter at the crest, where there was a small sign pointing to a village. I just through to look at the map to see where we were on the bike path, because we were due at the ancient town of Usti am Laben at about this distance. To our horror, we should have turned left at the big railway bridge instead of right. A left turn would have put us back on the river and a flat run to USti. Instead, we climbe this savage climb to the top of a forested mountain in the rain, and now we had to go all the way back, the girls with no rear brakes! So down we went, the workmen at the roadworks staring at us as if we must really be hard core cyclists after all, just climbing a 3k category 2 mountain with loaded packs just for fun.
Within 6km we could see Usti am Laben, with some spectacular sights!
As we rounded the bend in the river on the approach to Usti, we were breathless by the spectacular ruins of the
Schreckenstein (the Strekov Castle) perched way up on top of a rocky mount high above the village of Strekov. We had to stop and enjoy the sight, probably one of the most imposing sights of our journey. Again, photos do not do justice.
Usti am Laben was situated on the left bank, opposite to us. Just past the Strekov Castle, we were confronted with this beautiful castle on the left bank at Usti, but sadly like a lot of spectacular things, we dud not have time to cross the river to explore. We were running late with darkness closing all too quickly. We stopped at Strekov (right bank from Usti) for a genuine Czech meal in a local pub - Goulash and 'pommes frits' (chips). It was cheap and very delicious.
It was now past 3pm and we were definitely not going to beat the darkness. We were headed for Decin, some 25k further along the river. It was head down, throttle down and we made our loaded bikes move like they had not moved before. Sights all along the river were glorious though in the dimming light. The bike path in this section was brand new, making our map outdated. We simply glided along on the new path which was still not entirely completed, but it was an easy ride, with occasional interruptions by having to join the road traffic, which we now did not want to do because it was getting harder to see (and to be seen).
Some 8k from Decin it was dark. Fortunately, the final 5k was bike path again, all the way in to town. We still needed to take care because of pedestrians and other cyclists. There were occasional poles on the pathway normally intended to slow down bikes. They were difficult to see in the dark. By the time we hit Decin, it was completely dark. We had no lights on our bikes (they were packed away) but as we turned the final curve just before the main city square of this ancient town, the most glorious sights filled our vision - a beautiful chapel built way up on the mountaintop on the left bank opposite Decin, and just as spectacularly the famous Decin Palace.
We were due to leave tomorrow morning over the bridge at the base of the Palace, so we promised ourselves to get better photos in the morning.
Three wet, cold and dirty cyclists found our way in to the beautifully charming historic main square of this ancient city by the Elbe, and made straight for the Koruna Hotel. We had not made a booking, but we arrived in hope. The beautiful young lady who served us must have felt sorry for us - she gave us the family suite for no extra cost - it had a huge double bed, two singles, a separate lounge room with cable TV, and separate ensuite plus loads of space. She was not concerned about our muddy condition. She was so gracious.
Everything had a shower, including our bike panniers. The receptionist also supplied a bucket of hot sudsy water so I could wash all the bikes, which were then locked away in their own bike 'suite' for the night. It was the best night's sleep we had enjoyed for days if not weeks in the best beds in the Czech Republic!
It had been a great day. A long day, cold and wet - but despite all of that we saw many spectacular sights and enjoyed many wonderful experiences. Actually, it was a very tough day. It is no fun cycling in rain, but when combined with very cold temperatures it can be borderline misery at times. The hills were challenging, but the disappointment of climbing so far as we did to the top of a tough mountain only to realise that we had done it all for nothing, was disappointing to say the least.
The Psalmist understood the realities of life. The too often overlooked verse in Psalm 30:5 is a reflection of the reality of life. He says "Weeping may last for a night, but joy comes with the morning". This is no shallow truth. Suffice it to say that when we have the confidence that our lives are fully entrusted to the love and grace of God, that he will never leave us estranged and alone in our trials and challenges in life. When God is in control, there will always be a 'morning' after our times of challenge, by his work and grace in our lives.
From the banks of the great Elbe river just below the beautiful Decin Palace, we send our love
Kelvin, Julie and Sarah-Jane
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