Day 20_ From Bad Schandau to Roudnice nad Labem (CZ)

Day 20_ From Bad Schandau to Roudnice nad Labem (CZ)

 

We saw: the last part of Germany and the first of Czech Republic

We ate: chicken schnitzel with potatoes and sopsky salad

We pedaled: 64 Km

Our average speed: varied very much along the day

We slept: Hotel Amber Vavrinec, Roudnice nad Labem

 

This day was very long, very hot, very unusual to the rest of our days so far. We started pedaling quite late. We crossed over to the other side of the river with the ferry and left Bad Schandau, the last German town before crossing the Czech border. From the boat we could already  the first Czech mountain ahead of us. We pedaled along the cycle path and nothing changed except for a discrete post with the national shield of Czech Republic. Close to this post, there was also a peculiar sign with interesting advice from the German police. It showed a car with a big black hand over it saying:

"Stop the stealing! Do not leave any of your belongings inside your car! Lock your vehicle! Your Police."

 

Boris was not impressed…this was the way we  were welcomed to his country.

Perhaps it was just a typical German paranoia. So we kept pedaling, hoping to reach Decin, the first Czech town, where we could have a nice real Czech beer, real Czech sausage and so on. My first thought of this town was: "Where are the nice colorful houses with the geraniums on the window sills and the grandmothers watering them?"

It was a gray city, dirty, poor and sad. The only Czech people that we saw were gypsies poorly dressed and  that was it. But we were hot and extremely thirsty so we try to find a hospoda  which is a bier tavern that you find in every corner of the Czech Republic I used to know… Even this was difficult. But we found one. There we had some bier and a cold sausage but as we were going to pay, we realized we had no Czech crowns so we went to the closest bank machine, to only find out a sign that said "Out of Order". The truth was that it was completely "out". Someone had stolen that entire machine and there was only one hole in the wall!!!!!!!

 

I honestly felt bad for Boris, this was for him shocking, disappointing and I suppose also embarrassing to experience in front of me. I completely understand the feeling because this is how I feel about my country (Colombia). The feeling of impotence is overwhelming.

 

So finally, Boris paid the man in euros and we left. Another cyclist who was having a beer there with us, recommended to stop in the next town at some restaurant called Tivoli, where a nice waitress would serve us.We pedaled away although the cycle path was suddenly over and we had to take the normal roads with trucks and cars not giving a damn about the cyclists on the road.

 

We stopped at Tivoli restaurant, as the man suggested and indeed, the waitress was there…what was nice about her were her tits. She served us beer, chicken schnitzel with potatoes and we left again. We still had a long way ahead of us. But he heat was unbearable and the landscape was very industrial, so we reach a train station to cut some time and decided to finally stay in Roudnice nad Labem and call it a night.