Crossing the Eastern Frontier

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Now I know it’s not really a frontier any more these days with the EU and all that and they didn’t even look at our passport as we crossed the border from Austria into Czech, although they do still have token customs officers. But what a difference from the places we have just been. We left Munich, followed the Isar river along a beautiful but bumpy car free road until we hit the Danube, followed this east over the German/Austrian border to Linz, then headed north into the Sumava mountains that border Austria and the Czech republic. As we crossed the border, we left perfectly manicured villages and fields, which for all their pristine beauty can be a bit soulless. Then very rapidly the slick surface of the Austrian road was replaced with a bumpy asphalt with no white line in the centre of a fairly main thoroughfare. We descended into Vissy Brod past market stalls run by Asians selling every bootleg item imaginable from China and determined to carry on to the big lake we could see on the Vltava river (it turned out to be a damn). On route there we passed derelict Soviet era factories and crumble-down suburbs, mixed with medieval treasures, and a bubbling mountain stream. BMWs and Audis were replaced by 1980’s Skodas and one classic Trabant.
One thing we have discovered, the Czechs love to camp, they descend on campgrounds on mass with tents, and not in campervans like in Western Europe. Nig described it as like being at one rock festival after another! The pivo (beer) flows,and out come the guitars, and before you know it, fires are crackling all around you.

Trip notes

June 5 Day 52 Rest day Munich - saw Glockenspiel, and visited Hofbrauhaus
Camping 15.40 euro
Bakery 7.5 euro
Bike shop 65 euro (new rear cluster, jockey wheels and chain for Nigel’s bike, new brake parts.)
Internet 1 euro
Food and drink 11.70
Total = 100 euro

June 6 Day 53 Munich - Freising Free Camp next to Isar river 49Km
Unpaved path through forest - Isarradweg (cycle route)
Bakery 4.0 euro
Bike shop 36.00 (new front gear cluster (crank) as chain was not compatible with old crank and no suitable chain was available)
Food and drink 12.50

Total = 52.50 euro

June 7 Day 54 Freising to Memming 80Km (Unpaved - Isarradweg)
Camping 13.60 including electric
Food and drink 20.00

Total = 34.60 euro


June 8 Day 55 Memming to HofKirchen 67Km (Hot day last of gravel road along Isar river-joined Danube)
Camping 13.60 including electric
Supermarket, Food and drink 30.60

Total = 44.20 euro

June 9 Day 56 Rest day HofKirchen (very hot day swam by lake and did all our washing)
Camping 13.60 including electric
Laundry 6 euro
Supermarket, Food and drink 26.50

Total = 46.10 euro

June 10 Day 57 HofKirchen to Obernznell 52Km
Followed Donauradweg.
Camping 15.00 including electric
Lunch 14.50
Map 7.50
Food and drink 4.60

Total = 41.60 euro

June 11 Day 58 Obernznell to Linz (Austria) 82Km
Donauradweg - paved flat cycle route next to Danube.
Camping 12.00
Food and drink 6.60
Supermarket 20.00
Other 31.00
Ferry crossings of Danube 7.80

Total = 77.40 euro

June 12 Day 59 Linz to Lipno ad Vltava (Czech Republic) 59Km Climb from about 280m at Linz to 777m at Hellmondsodt.
Road 126 from Linz to Vyssi Brod, then cycle route 33 to Lipno ( Cycle route 33 turned out to be a mountain bike route, very beautiful uphill next to Vltava river, but virtually impassable with loaded touring bikes - in some sections 2 of us were needed to push one bike at a time uphill.
Camping 9.20
Food and restaurant 21.00
Fuel and Velcro 6.20
Post 2.50

Total = 38.90 euro

June 13 Day 60 Rest day Lipno ad Vltava
Camping 250 Kc
Supermarket 380 Kc
Map 178 Kc
Internet 66 Kc

Total = 874 Kc
Exchange rate = 1 euro = 27Kc ( Czech crowns)
Total = 32 Euro

June 14 Day 61Lipno ad Vltava to Czechy Krumlov 45km (Two months, 3058km, 3310 euro, 54.27 per day euro, appx £40.00 per day)

Bus trip to Czechy Budevojice in pm
Camping 170 Kc
Taxi from camp to centre of town
855 Groceries, Blank CDs, map
68 Beer
10 Internet
395 Video tape head cleaner
124 Buses (return to Bodevojice and one way to Czechy Krumlov)
1000 Tool bag and cycling shoes.

Total = 2622 Kc
Euro = 97.10

June 15 Day 62 Rest day Czechy Krumlov
Camping 110 Kc
Kayaking on river Vltava 400Kc
Eastern European Phrase book 270 Kc
Postcards 40 Kc
Drinks 144 Kc

Total = 964 Kc
36 euro

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Photos

Danube traffic free cycle route
Cycling paths in Austria are better maintained than normal roads are in the Czech republic

With Ingolf and Heidi
We met Ingolf and Heidi on the Danube cycle route and ended up spending 3 nights in the same campgrounds - a great coincidence

Cycle route next to Vltava river
the route before it turned into a mass of boulders and we had to push the bikes over one by one

Comments

[Amanda]

yay!
I knew we weren't through yet! Its reminding me a little bit of On the Road, which of course I read because of you :) I'm so excited to see you both but I hate to break it to you that I'm not sleeping in a tent......we'll have to sort that out later. muchos besitos te queiro mucho xx

[Nick W]

I'm so jealous
Hey guys, It sounds as though you're having such a cool time. I'd love to have done a trip like that. Oh, well, I guess there's still time. I know what you mean about crossing the border into the Czech Republic. I did it on a train from Munich to Prague and it felt like stepping into a John Le Carre novel. I hope you enjoyed Czechy Krumlov. It's a beautiful little place. I'm probably heading over to New Zealand for a week in mid-July. My nephew Lloyd is living in Queenstown so I'm keen to visit and do a few days skiing as well. I'm loving the blog so keep it up! Nick

[Kathie]

great writer
Nig and Sonya I love reading your Blogs you are so enthuseastic and inspiring the photos are orsome have fun keep safe love Kathie