Czech Republic and Home

Heading away from Brno with the weather still very hot I stopped at Mikulov with its impressive castle overlooking the town which was built in the 13th Century, used as a store for hoarded art objects by the Nazis and burnt down at the end of WW2 but rebuilt in the 1950's.

 I took one of the tour options (Czech language only) which gave us access to some of the more private rooms and the chapel before passing through Slavonice close to the Austrian border with its two squares containing many fine examples of Rennaissance architecture. Further west at Telc I stopped at a small site and bar next to a lake within easy walking distance of the centre. Here the large castle was closed for renovations but you could still ascend the nearby Black Tower passing the bells and supporting timbers for a good view over the centre and across the many ponds that surround the town. Whilst walking through the old centre sirens could be heard and a number of fire appliances arrived outside the castle but were unable to pass through the narrow gates. Miles of hose pipes were unfurled and an ancient tender eventually turned up carrying several crew that was able to pass through and deal with the incident - all very Camberwick Green. Back at the site I enjoyed a beer and an excellent steak grilled on the outdoor BBQ before a quiet but warm night. Before leaving the following day I walked over to the small motor museum which had ancient Skodas, various Rolls Royces and a range of other vehicles plus a surprisingly extensive collection of old prams alongside household artefacts going back over the decades.

 

Cesky Krumlov on the Vitava River was well worth a visit although the campsite on the river bank north of the town was very busy as it is a staging post or end point for the many rafting businesses on the river. A large covered area provided beer and grilled food and minibus and trailer combos were returning rafts and rafters constantly. I walked in to town where the Vitava follows numerous tight meanders with various weirs and sluices offering paddlers an exciting experience beneath the castle walls. I stopped to watch various groups pass through before exploring the streets and alleys of the Old Town.

 

 

Ceske Budejovice provided a much quieter place to stay with basic camping on a sports field by the river with a cycle track in to town. A music festival was underway in the centre on the opposite bank but I enjoyed cycling round the largely traffic free cobbled centre before choosing a riverside cafe for pizza and beer. The impressive town hall dominated the square (one of Europe's largest) which featured a range of fine buildings and some lovely floral displays after which I returned to the field and had a quiet beer in the clubhouse bar.

 

 

 Heading north through Bohemia I arrived at Karlstejn which has a remarkable castle perched high above the village and river. The site sandwiched between the river, a road and a railway was again busy but I found a spot and walked back to the village passing a lovely old T2 VW van sadly rotting away under a tree. The steep walk up to the castle reached the outer walls and then an inner courtyard from where a choice of tours began. I took one with an English audio guide that allowed me to appreciate the splendour of the various rooms and chambers we passed through whilst from terraces and courtyards we could enjoy views over the village and surrounding countryside.

 

Whilst walking back I detoured across to the railway station to check out the trains in to Prague before returning to the site where every last space had been filled, and more. Early next morning I was away for the 40 minute journey in to Prague and spent the day in the city which for a few hours after I arrived was reasonably quiet. I walked up to the huge castle for the views and then crossed the famous King Charles Bridge where buskers and caricature artists were gearing up for the increasing throng. Cities are not really my thing and I hadn't planned to visit this one but it was worth the effort and I caught a late afternoon train back glad to have made the effort.

 

A Czech family's large garden provided a small but pleasant site at Kutna Hora a couple of miles outside the town, easily reached by bike, which allowed me to visit the stunning Gothic St. Barbara's Cathedral with its magnificent central nave, vaulted ceilings and external flying buttresses. From there I stopped at the Italian Court whose terraces gave good views back up to the Cathedral and stopped again during my return at the Sedlec ossuary with it's macabre collection of bones and skulls many used to line the vaulted ceiling and form a bizarre central chandelier - unfortunately photography was not permitted.

Hradec Kralove was worth a stop whilst heading north with its large square reached through a long stone tunnel beneath the White Tower. Another beautiful array of old buildings with colourful facades surrounded the large square with a quirky clock whose small hand pointed to the minutes, whilst the large did the hours.

Hard up against the Polish border the Ardspach Teplice Rocks were a remarkable jumble of sandstone pillars and towers with gorges and the odd lake extending over many square miles - it was again busy and entrance was by timed admission with parking needing to be reserved in advance online as well and a rip off at £20 for a camper. Bizarrely half a mile up the road camping with EHU was only £15 a night via an honesty box so I parked up and walked back to the entrance to reserve a ticket for 9 the following morning. 

 

Thus I was away early ahead of most people and had the impressive stones largely to myself before following the Wolf's Gorge for a couple of hours down to Teplice and taking the ten minute train journey back to the start point - all in all well worth doing - if you beat the crowds.

Beneath the twin keeps of Trosky Castle Michael runs a cracking little site in a wooded valley and provided a map with a selection of walking and cycling routes which combined with my SatMap enabled me to pass through another (and much quieter) area of sandstone pillars and gorges before the steep climb up to the castle for the chance to climb both towers, admire the views and enjoy a pork schnitzel, chips and a beer before the ride home. That night there was a spectacular thunderstorm and heavy rain which heralded a change in the weather for the next fortnight or so.

 

On considering my options I decided that after 10 months away and with the fridge and water heater requiring attention it was time to head west. My leisure battery was also showing signs of failure, probably due to ite being run low when I stupidly left the switch on allowing the water pump to kick in but as there was an airlock it just ran for several hours so I booked a ferry from Dunkirk for 3 days hence and crossed in to Germany later that day.

By chance friends from Derbyshire were nearby and we arranged to meet up for me to have a good look over their new Dreamer van. We met in a park up in the woods only to find they had their second puncture in a week so we set to to change the wheel in a steady drizzle. These are heavy old vans so it was a bit nerve wracking raising it with the scissor jack but before long we were sorted and then educating ourselves in the peculiarities of the Ducato spare wheel mounting system. After a good evening's catch up we drove in to the nearby town where a garage said the repair would be ready after lunch giving us time to catch up further over coffee and cake before going our separate ways.

Half way across Germany I tucked away in woodland before crossing in to Belgium the following day in heavy rain which seemed to vindicate my decision. 90 minutes short of Dunkirk I stopped overnight in a French village observing how much more supportive France is of van dwellers. The local Leclerc supermarket was the most well stocked retail outlet I'd seen since Caceres in January. With a reasonable command of French it was nice to eat out in the local cafe and understand more or less everything that was said, the tricky languages of the last 6 weeks have been quite trying at times.

 

I arrived at Dunkirk with a few hours to spare and was bumped on to the midday sailing instead for no extra charge which was great. Two hours later we arrived beneath the grey cliffs of Dover and after some expected delays on the rain sodden M25 I was barreling along the M4 to Wales where I parked up in an old haunt in Brecon.

This last week has been busy and productive - the fridge flue was dismantled, cleaned and reassembled with new insulation so all works fine now - a good jet of air blew out the inlet and outlet flues of the Truma water heater and that is also fine whilst a new leisure battery was delivered to Sennybridge followed eventually by the required terminal adapters so all is well on that front. I chased up annual blood tests for myself and booked the van in for a small area of rust to be seen to in September as well as ordering a new bike cover.

Now the van is more than 20 years old UK/EU breakdown cover is perhaps understandably proving hard to secure so I may well be just even more proactive on pre departure maintenance so to this end will be changing all discs and pads, the ancillary belt and all filters in the Autumn. I will also have a new starter motor fitted as I think this one is the original but will then keep it on board as a spare, as I have done with an alternator.

I caught up with friends in Brecon as well with a good badminton session and went to the cinema to see the new Mission Impossible film - a confusing plot line and reworked tricks were at least saved by some impressive stunts and memory inducing scenes in Venice.

So I head north after this weekend with lots to look forward to including house sits in Brecon and Lynton, a stay on Lundy Island and the annual visit to the Lake District. I expect to be away again by Christmas but my destination is at present uncertain.

Yesterday I walked in to our bothy above the Elan Valley and was pleased to find everything in good order - it is a decade since the project was completed and given the location and weather the sturdy building has withstood the test of time.

 

 A couple of nights off grid at the peaceful Glangwy campsite outside Llangurig are a chance to rest and reflect plus test the capabilities of the new battery and after a day of heavy rain with luck I'll be out on the bike to two more nearby bothies in better weather tomorrow. 

Pics as ever here......