It feels like we just started. We turned the bikes back in today with 3000+ miles on them. Very fun trip with lots of new experiences. We traveled through 10 countries, some we were not supposed to go through. Lol...hope the rental office does not find out. I guess his insurance did not cover us. Oh well that kept me from hitting those pedestrians in Prague.
Well the next trip is coming up...Vietnam in October....the Ho Chi Man trail
We had a brisk morning ride over to Germany. The time flew by until we hit the downtown central area. The navigation program had us on a direct route to our hotel and right into a road block. No problem we will just reroute, another road block. Ok we will just go further around and come back to central from the north....another road block. An hour later after trying all roads leading to the center we stopped and ask a guy in a orange vest if he spoke english. He explained that the city center is closed for the entire day. Once a year they have a big bike race around the city center and you have to pedal or walk, or wait until evening when all the streets open again. Nice! This is like our 3rd bike race we have been in the middle of. With this many bikers in Europe how is it that Americans ever finish in the top 10. We have literally seen thousands of bikers, going up mountains and back down, 4 wide taking up the entire road.
We finally talked him into letting us join the race and cross track, but we first had to push our bikes up a sidewalk path with pedestrians, 100 feet or so. It was easy with the bike running and using the clutch the bike basically pulled up up hill. The next security guard very happily opened the barricade, although Lisa had to run over and help him. More racers were coming and we are in the middle of the track. Finally on the other side we hit more blockades and one way streets, but no traffic so we made our own rules and drove up to a very surprised hotel reception.....How did you get here they asked?
Now we are ready to tour the town. First off a beer and then probably an old church or castle, seems to be the norm.
Well how about 2 old churches and then a beer. There are a lot of people mulling around within the city center. The racers are routed through the mid section and then back out to the ring around the city center...some are cheering and some dragging their suitcases wondering how to find a taxi or other means outside the closed off roads. I tnought Venice had the sad tourist dragging luggage...we were not the only ones surprised by the yearly closure.
Off to the castle and more beer.
The race is finally over and it is 6:30 pm, boy that would have been a long wait for getting to our hotel. Instead we explored the town, watched a bike race, enjoyed a nice lunch downtown and a dinner in front of an old church and drank more beer. Oh and Paul found his Jäger Schnitzel and Ronda a bottle of her new favorite "Prosecco", they are both happy.
Tomorrow we head back to Munich where we started. :-(
We had a pretty good day in Prague, a few sprinkles and lots of sites. We booked a 6 hour walking tour with an english speaking guide. We had a short bus ride up to the castle and a 40 minute tour on a boat under the famous King Charles bridge built in 1347-1400.
The tour was a brief stop at all the important points in Prague. They have an astronomical clock and tower that was built in 1410 and still functions today. It is the third oldest such clock and the only one still functioning. There is an hourly show with live trumpet player as the clock mechanically parades the 12 apostles through various windows. Prague was not bombed during the second world war, so much of its history is still preserved today. It is full of small one way streets that angle in every direction. Driving in them is a challenge and you get turned around very easily. Even walking from point to point you will get lost and need to turn on the GPS to find which way to turn. Paul and I found ourselves walking in the opposite direction and way off course before turning to the phone to get us back.
We ate lunch in a medieval dungeon that was preserved to this day and then finished the tour up on the hill where Prague castle is located. Of course around the corner is yet another gothic monstrosity of a church. This one was started in 900s only the foundation and a pillar. The majority of it was done 1300's and finished in the early 1800's. The hill also houses the main government buildings including the royal castle. The view was pretty incredible looking down at the city.
Off to Nuremberg, Germany in the morning.
