Advertisement
Staroměstský Penzion
We lived here for 2 nights - excellent.Rags has already changed his mind a couple of times about continuing this ride, he is probably worrying too much about Judy. He has realised that tiredness has caught up with him and that a 2 day break will do him a lot of good.
We arrived at the Staroměstský Penzion, which was only a short distance from where we were and within 50m of the restaurant we had dinner at last night, at about 0930. We knew we were much too early to book in but we were welcomed in, our luggage was stored, and the bikes were placed in a corner of the lovely dining room as they “would get wet outside”. What a lovely welcome. We were also invited to sit down and have breakfast, but even though what we saw was far superior to what we had at the previous place we declined and went out exploring as the rain had stopped.
Walking down past the old fort we came across the bridge that Kev and Jan must have crossed an hour earlier and after discussion we both felt confident we would follow in a few days. We
"The" Bridge
This where Kev & Jan crossed the river after the steep descent. We intend approaching from the other side. enjoyed walking around, a little aimlessly, the narrow cobbled streets and just relaxing. By 1100 we were at the tourist information centre where we purchased another map for the Greenways as well as brochures on local sights.
A beer and cider at the friendly bar we found yesterday had us ready to look around a little further, this time just across the way to the church on the other side where we climbed the bell tower. Just as we stopped in the bell area itself after a 200 step climb up stone steps and wooden ladders the bells started their midday chimes. We stood there with hands to ears, the noise quite deafening. When the peels subsided we continued up to the top where we were rewarded with views all over the region. Even though it was a little misty from light rain you could see the next town in the distance, separated by small wooded areas, green fields and a few bright yellow canola fields. Very picturesque.
More beer and ciders together with a pizza was our lunch before returning to our new abode where we spent the rest of the afternoon in its warmth and comfort
Jordan
Water sport area under repair whilst catching up on a few chores and generally resting.
Monday 19th May 2014 Woke up to a lovely blue sky, no wind and an expected maximum of about 21 degrees. We spent the morning doing the touristy thing, checking out the botanical gardens, which weren't that good, which sit adjacent to an dam called the Jordan. This is a man-made reservoir built in 1492 to give the town a more reliable water supply. As Tabor is built on a stone hill the water they previously used was from run-off after rain, stored in rock tanks. An engineer built an ingenious pump and the water was stored above the town so that they had water easily.
At the moment the reservoir is nearly empty as they are repairing it. This was the first time since the 15th century and they have found many old relics as well as a complete village. It no longer serves as a water supply but is used for recreation such as fishing, swimming and sailing.
After a stroll through the “new” town with its supermarkets and various shops we returned to the
town square where we found a cafe just off it. Two delicious soups were had, leek soup and a chicken and noodle soup. Main courses were a fried cheese with fries, and chicken and boiled potato, followed with a dessert of some slice and cream. Interesting combinations, we need to get onto our bikes again to keep the weight off!
We took ourselves to the town museum where we hired audio-phones with English information so that we could explore the history of the Hussites and of Tabor itself. The founder of the Hussite following was Jan Huss, and the exhibition follows his building up of the breakaway catholic group, the battles that were fought, and how he was burnt at the stake. Catholicism eventually returned to Tabor, historians and the church admitting the execution was wrong and Huss wasn't guilty.
An interesting part of the museum visit was the tour through some tunnels which exist under the square. Many years ago about 35kms of tunnels were dug out of the solid rock, connecting all the houses. These were used during battle, to shelter from the fires which have destroyed the town 3 times before most buildings were made
of stone. As the temperature is a steady 6 degrees all year round, beer was brewed in the tunnels when the town obtained its independence. Now many are blocked off from each other and are used by owners as cellars to store wine, beer, meat and vegetables.
Before we returned to our room we walked down the road near us to find the route for tomorrow's departure. The one Kev and Jan took was very steep and Judy is not confident since her fall. The one we chose still goes all the way to the river but from a different angle and not as steep. All should be fine tomorrow.
A late dinner was had at our favourite bar/restaurant but we didn't find it as good with the weekday staff as we had with the weekenders. We both had pasta dishes that were very filling and the usual black beer and cider. However, service wasn't as good and at the end when the bill came it included 3 main courses. When we queried it the waitress tried to argue with us in Czech but we insisted using charades to say there were only 2 of us and we
had one each. She eventually refunded the extra meal but was then concerned (in English) if she was in trouble. We pondered on our walk back to our penzion whether this was a scam - how many would pay without checking? A shame as we have so enjoyed Tabor and its people!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.46s; Tpl: 0.017s; cc: 28; qc: 127; dbt: 0.1614s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.5mb
