The day dawned overcast and threatened rain, with a brisk breeze. Rather than face the slight risk of disorientation and frustration on a wet, chilly cycle track, I opted to follow one of the roads. Simple!

Yet a day of eternal frustration! What should have been a ride of about 28 km became 51 km! Twice the distance! How could this be? All I had to do was follow route 160. I even had the iPhone GPS set up.

Well it all started when I was SO confident that I knew where I was that I ignored the iPhone and at a T intersection turned left rather than right!

My neurological colleagues are well aware of an unusual constellation of signs that comprise Gerstmann syndrome!

To save you Googling, here is the definition:

Dysgraphia/agraphia: deficiency in the ability to write

Dyscalculia/acalculia: difficulty in learning or comprehending mathematics

Finger agnosia: inability to distinguish the fingers on the hand

Left-right disorientation.

I have this syndrome in “spades”!

Now the actual ride was in truth, not a big deal. Pleasant, smooth new bitumen, reminiscent of the roads we ride in the Adelaide Hills, with gorgeous scenery and ups and downs. Those cars that I met or passed were universally courteous – wide berth and slowed down. It’s just that when I had calculated that I was about 5 km from Vissy Brod, it failed to materialize around the next bend or at the crest of the next hill.

After another hour of riding I suddenly arrived at a major T intersection with what can only be described as a Czech Autobahn!

At this stage I rescued my iPhone from its pocket and it faithfully calculated that it was 23 km to Vissy Brod. In terms of distance I had not left Cesky Krumlov! The answer to where I actually rode this day, remains an unfathomable mystery, and will need to wait till I return home and interrogate the Garmin!

Today for the first time I cycled passed several hitchhikers. I did feel sorry for them on many levels. Firstly they were all girls, indeed somewhat young and with not much luggage and surprisingly given the weather, rather scantily clothed. I remember thinking after passing the fourth or fifth, “golly they must be feeling the cold, I hope they get a ride soon”.

The Moldau river is a paradise for water sports and especially kayaking.

This is the route 160 that I followed – you will see that it was a pleasure to cycle.

This is a memorable World Heritage Listed town, justifiably so. Put it on your list of places to visit. The inevitable consequence is, as with Prague that

It is seething with tourists

It has a significant number of 5 star hotels out of proportion to the population

Expensive craft shops alternate with food shops and ice creameries and clothing stores.

Restaurants specializing in “genuine” bohemian food and finally and most impressively the tourist office have produced its own app – in the Apple store.

But why is it that in all of these heritage towns, alongside the usual cultural museums and performing arts venues, there is around the corner a

Museum of medieval torture
Museum of sex toys
A Wax Museum.

I had roast pork, cabbage and ham and “dumplings” for dinner. Now here I face a dilemma. My mother’s dumplings were flour, water, a knob of butter and a pinch of salt, all kneaded into dough and then rolled into balls and dropped into the gravy of the casserole at the right time, so to cook in the gravy.

The Czech version is so different that I can’t believe it’s the same animal! Whilst it may have a knob of butter, it’s definitely not a ball but a soft, doughy, chewy white log. This log is cut onto 1 – 2 cm thick circles. How it is cooked I have no idea! It certainly has never been anywhere near gravy, although its consistency – a cross between tofu and Wettex, is quite appropriate to mop up the plate at the end of the meal. In summary this alleged traditional Bohemian food is left wanting! In my case , just “left”!

The highlight of this town is the castle and its grounds as well as the entire ancient village. I was there on a Saturday and at about 3pm about 50 bikies and their molls, roared up the hill and took a group photo shoot – men, bikes and Sheila’s!

The 3 pictures above are of the Cesky Krumlov Palace/Castle complex from the other side of the river

Part of the gardens of the Castle

The L-Club hotel at Hluboka was quite a find, thanks to Trip Adviser. A ground floor bar/hotel with rooms on the first floor! The ambience was distinctly 1968 – if I described lots of dark varnished wood, amber coloured beveled glass window treatments and vases of plastic coloured floral arrangements, you would get the picture?

But the rooms were as I have come to expect, clean, airy with fresh linen and hot shower. But there were nice touches by the attentive Madame de hotel! She had class and was genuinely caring. Breakfast was above average.

Did she have “Wi-Fi” I asked? Of course was the reply but the “signal may be a little weak in the rooms.” In reality it did not connect at all and one had to venture down stairs to sit within 2m of the modem to connect!

The next morning as she puffed on a fag at about 8am, (it was not her first for the day) she chatted on and eventually bemoaned the fact that working 7 days a week from 7 am till 11 pm, she had only last year had her first holiday in 12 years! I commiserated and said that in Australia, I had colleagues who had a holiday every 12 weeks. This only aggravated the situation, she puffed vigorously on her cigarette, exhaling in my general direction so I modestly explained that I sat somewhere between 12 years and 12 weeks in terms of the holiday time line.

It has dawned on me that Japanese tourists can now be readily identified by the camera they tout. They are the world experts of miniaturization, they are addicted to their iPhones, yet they eschew Apple or “small” when it comes to taking pictures. Invariably they snap anything and everything with the latest Nikon or Canon SLR! This of course only applies to Japanese younger than 28. The rest have an iPad which I have described in a previous blog.

Some pictures of the cycle day from Hluboka to Cesky Krumlov. Today I did not get lost except mildy so in a large town on the way! It was route 12 all the time and other than about 3 km on a main road, the rest of the 45km was on quiet country lanes or dedicated cycle ways.

However the universal “no cars or motor bikes” sign – stylized car and bike on a blue background with red circumference and bold red line through the centre, occasionally is ignored! This leads to the sudden and totally unexpected appearance of a small, clunky car careering around a bend, startling the cyclist and driven by an equally startled elderly woman who gives the definite appearance of not exactly knowing how she actually ended up on this narrow lane anyway!

My room in the Penzion Delanta Cesky Krumlov

I had no idea that this castle was in this sleepy stop over today at Hluboka.

What a find!

The Hluboká Castle (German: Schloss Frauenberg) is considered one of the most beautiful castles of the Czech Republic and I stumbled across it by chance! In the second half of the 13th century a gothic castle was built at the site. During its history it was rebuilt several times. It was first expanded during the Renaissance period, then rebuilt into a Baroque castle at the order of Adam Franz von Schwarzenberg in the beginning of the 18th century. It reached its current appearance during the 19th century when Johann Adolf II von Schwarzenberg ordered the reconstruction of the castle in the romantic style of the Windsor Castle!

Yes you read correctly. He dictated that it should be a Windsor castle look alike!

The words “nad Vltavou” translate as “on the Vltavou” – hence any old town “on the river”.

Pisek to Hluboka nad Vltavou

Today was warm but with a couple of rides through cool pine forests (one of which was an “I am bloody lost” experience”), it was the first day that I had to rely on a Czech cycle map. In general the route was on quiet country roads and there is a reasonably well developed and numbered cycle path system. For example I am basically following routes 1017,1016, and intermittently without realizing it 1015, 1051, 1052, 1071 and 1071A and finally a fire track in the state forest outside Vestec.

It was also this first day that I passed many cyclists out for a weekend ride. Perhaps one or two road bikes but the vast majority were hybrids or mountain style. It rivaled some of the busy cycle tracks along the linear park and was very much a family activity.

I stopped for a late lunch – at a pub/restaurant at Purkarec. I resisted the urge to photograph the Goulash! But it was a cyclists heaven – not just middle aged men on Lycra but all ages and gender!

The final 10 or so km into Hluboka was a joy! It followed the river on my left but mostly the water was not visible as I cycled along a well maintained track several metres inland and through cool tall fir trees. “Dappled” is a hackneyed word, but it really does describe the sunlight through the pines. What was exhilarating was the gentle undulations every 200m. I gained some momentum descending, especially with the extra weight of the panniers which, mostly, would get me almost to the top of the next ascent with too many gear changes, but enough to get my heart rate and a sweat, up!

Another passing observation- Czech pubs don’t “do” ice! And completely unrelated, the European wasps are just as aggressive and troublesome here as in Australia!

I had “wild boar in red wine and fresh plums” for dinner! I could try this at home, but not sure where I would source the wild boar?

A great start.. Sun shining

I defy anyone to not not get lost when one comes to an intersection with 5 roads and 2 sign posts to a town pointing in different directions – look carefully! It’s Kluky that I want to go to!!!

Something is not quite right about this serene pastoral scene. Outside Tyn nad Vltavau.

I stopped for a late lunch – at this pub/restaurant at Purkarec. It’s the Czech answer to Meadows Bakery!

My room at the L-Club Pensione at Hluboka. No idea why it’s called the L-Club’

This is quite one of the most delightful villages. It sits on a river and the clean running water provided electricity and a huge malt house that fermented hops to make of course, beer.

As a consequence it was one of the first villages in Bohemia to switch on street electric lighting in 1789.

This led to a dramatic and almost instantaneous decrease in accidental deaths by drowning in the river. The explanation was in retrospect, blindingly obvious! The beer swilling natives could stagger home at night and not face the danger of falling in the river.

As it happens there is a “beer festival” today. It was not all that unique! Think of a food and wind festival on “The Parade” perhaps a quarter the size. However there is the ubiquitous stage with rock band and singer and at a volume that is universally unbearably loud. The music was definitely not Smetana!

Again I am in a delightful B & B in Pisek.

Will let the pictures tell the story!

The high speed intercity express that took me from Prague to Pisek!

This remarkable baroque “house” is in the town square- it’s now a specialist medical centre! Truely!

A delightful street scene and street – note the comparison to Prague and the lack of humanity!

This is the Dvorecek Hotel – one of the most luxurious in all South Bohemia. It was originally built by the local pharmacist Dvorecek in 1899. It was a violin school in the early 20th century.

The impressive Town Hall in the square

This 7 arched stone bridge over the Otava River was built in the late 13th century – it is the oldest preserved granite bridge of its type in the country!