Czech Republic

Crossing the border into Czech Republic we were surprised to find ourselves in Little Vietnam. The border gap contained a little village where you could buy all sorts of fake brand name clothing and trinkets. More importantly though, we found a good phở soup and friendly locals. A little further on we found a series of outlet shops and casinos that built like castles, aeroplanes and other crazy constructions. It seems that there is a lot of money in duty free fakes.

Little Vietnam on the Austria/Czech border

Outlet shopping, Czech style

We entered the small city of Znojmo not knowing what to expect. We found a castle, monasteries, beautiful pensions and a brewery. What a great city! We stayed at a ¨Cyclo Pension¨and enjoyed good views of the river and castle.

Znojmo views

We obtained good maps and followed the Greenways Prague to Vienna cycle route backwards through farmland and forest. Along the way we passed the only remaining part of the Iron Curtain, a physical fence and border gap separating eastern and western Europe during the Cold War.

Iron Curtain

We also got to look back into Austria, down to the oddly-named town of Hardegg.

Hardegg

We cycled down into a river valley at Vranov nad Djyi and then back up the next day to catch a train. The Greenways route was hillier and slower than we expected so we fast-tracked by train to Jindřichův Hradec, another great town with a castle on the river.

Vranov nad Dyji Castle

A red castle

Along the way, in a town called Sedlčany, we met Kyle, a fellow Australian from Dayboro/Albany Creek. He and Roger shared stories of growing up in Brisbane´s north as we relaxed in the backyard of a pension. Kyle's blog makes a good read too.

We cycled into Prague with mixed feelings. While it was good to be finishing our cycling leg of the trip, it was also sad to leave the bikes. We managed to sell them within a few hours of entering the city to a bike rental company. We then had to join the throng of "ordinary" tourists making our way around the busy tourist sites on foot.

Prague

Fred and Ginger Dancing building in Prague

Gothic night skyline

Here's a link to the map of our route. We cycled 3600km in just over three months, through ten countries. It wasn't all fun but a great experience. Let us know if you're thinking of doing something similar and want some information.