Roudnice to Prague Czech Republic

June 1 2023

This morning the view from my hotel room in Roudnice across the main square was absolutely stunning.  I couldn't help but throwing open the window and taking a picture.  

We got a very early start this morning at 7:55 am, which is good and bad. The good part of leaving early is that you get in early however the bad part of leaving early is that by the time you get to the one third point in the ride nothing is open.  So you wind up riding to the two thirds point in the ride and then you are really hungry and thirsty. 

As we rolled down the last few kms of the Elbe the views were great with the sun reflecting river and shinning on the opposite bank.  At the 35 kms mark in the ride we left the Elbe River and started up Vltava river.  The Vltava river is the longest and largest river in the Czech Republic.  We rode along the banks of the Vltava all the way into Prague and will foolow it for a couple of days on our way to Vienna.  

We crossed the river several times today some times on pathways which were part of canal locks.  Some locks were very old, probably in the 1800's to more modern ones probably from the Soviet era.  We also took several bridges which also ranged from very old and rusty to very new and modern.

At the 50 kms mark we came to a magnificent estate which was all set out for a wedding.  We weren't invited but we stopped at a nearby cafe and watched the wedding guests arrive while we had our lunch. It looked like a pretty big affair. 

It wasn't long afterwards when we caught our first glimpse of the the Prague castle and cathedral.  The walk way along the river was unbelievably crowded and there was no way to ride along the path so we were on the street.  The street was very scary to ride on as it was right in the middle of very heavy traffic.  There was the worse kind of cobble stones and then parallel trolley tracks which were trying to grab your wheel and throw you down. It was about three kms down the road  before we had to make a left turn up to our hotel.  The hotel was about 4-5 blocks up an also very busy street but we were on the side walk.  Garmin took us right to the hotel.  We are now 868 kms into the tour by Ken;s reckoning, which is just over half way.  

The hotel is one of the strangest hotels on the tour.  The main lobby is on the street level and is about 15 feet wide but most of the room is taken up by the front desk.  A wooden spiral stair case takes you up to the rooms (no elevator).  Ken and I are on the third floor looking into a court yard. Lugging bikes up was a chore.  

Tomorrow is a rest day and tomorrow evening we have a special cultural event which Marlene has organized.  I think it is some sort of modern dance production.  I am sure we will fit right in wearing our just out of stuff sack clothes. 

Terry