Crossing Europe from West to East and back. Part 4: Czech Republic in the return

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Here wo go again. Ray Charles sang it in 1979 already. Now it is our turn to sing it. And Linda and I have reasons to sing. After three years of self imposed quarantine we hit the road again. With our little Volkswagen Polo we'll leave The Netherlands, cross Germany, cross Czech Republic, cross Slovakia, slowly traveling from spot to spot. Near the border with the Ukraine we will turn and travel back via another route, slowly again, enjoying the trip. It will take us one month.

Driving in Czech Republic is not always that easy. Luckily we are with two; Linda navigates and I drive. It works as long you don't meet ghostriders on the highway. Ghostriders are normal in Slovakia, says Vlado, Linda's father. If so, you can better join them, I think.
Also here in Czech Republic it is a hell of a job. We came from Trencin in Slovakia, passed the border and are now heading to Hradec Králové in North-East Bohemia. It is said that Hradec Králové is the most beautiful town of Bohemia. But before you may see it, you first have to drive over a network of bad narrow roads, hanging behind trucs, while trying to read the signposts which send you in all directions save the right ones. A life-threatening undertaking. Late in the afternoon we arrived in Hradec Králové however, exhausted but save.

Hradec Králové

Our pension is half an hour walking from the centre. The centre is beautiful indeed. But to say it is the most beautiful town of Bohemia is maybe a little bit too much. Sure the buildings are beautiful and almost every building is decorated with sculptures. But the terraces of the pubs and restaurants at the central square are roofed with plastic, so that you don't see so much of all this splendor. Moreover these restaurants are more and more mcdonaldlized, so that you only can eat taco's, siskebabs and pizza's. Luckily the weather is fine.

One of the highlights of the town is The Modern Art Gallery, though the Jugendstil museum is more beautiful than the art. Also the people we liked more than the art. They are so friendly. They are curious where we are from and stupefied when Linda suddenly begins to talk in Czech. Maybe that is the reason that we got a cup of coffee for free.

After the museum we sat on a bench along the Labe river (Elbe) and ate our lunch. We loved the quietness here.

Plzen

The road from Hradec Králové to Plzen in West Bohemia is excellent. We didn't expect so much of Plzen. We only used it as a stop over on our way back to Germany. But we were wrong. Plzen surpassed our expectations. Apparently the city has been upgraded. We have an excellent hotel in the centre of the city: Hotel Continental. At the entrance we see posters of Gerry Mulligan, Earl Hines, Miles Davis and Charlie Parker.

The town has beautiful Art Deco and Jugenstil buildings. In the afternoon we visited the Pivovarské Museum, where you can see how beer is brewed and why Plzen became the centre of beer. And of course we got a glass of that famous Czech pils, called Pilsner Urquell.

So we have left Czech republic with nice memories. Our next stop will be in Germany. I will write about in our next blog.

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