His Lordship had a great idea – for once. He suggested we take the train to Plzeň (a good hour away) rather than driving there. Good plan: time to enjoy the scenery in comfort, arriving directly in the city centre, no parking challenges and all for only 8 euros per return ticket. We enjoyed our stroll around town, taking in the impressive architecture … and meeting the locals. The highlights for us included the Great Synagogue, the third largest synagogue…
Well, I should feel at home here. The weather is positively Irish: cool and drizzly. And that’s when it’s not raining cats and dogs. But like in Ireland, it doesn’t really matter. It somehow suits the territory, and it certainly explains why the soft, rolling hills are so lush and green. There is so much to do and see here in any case, the weather is not really an issue. We are spoiled for choice. Our very friendly campsite owners…
We packed up again and moved on from the Bohemian Forest. Northward, unfortunately. Will I never see the sea again? At least we are in spa country now, so there’s no shortage of water. The Oldies originally planned to stay near Karlovy Vary, the world-famous spa town otherwise known as Carlsbad, but the only campsite they could find was firmly stuck in the nineteen sixties. It was perfectly functional but positively grim. It gave us all the willies! So we…
Talking about mushrooms (I was, wasn’t I?), something that seems to pop up like mushrooms all around the landscape here is castles. They’re everywhere. I particularly liked this one, Kašperk, which at almost 900m, is the highest castle in Bohemia. See, we’ve not only been trampling through forests and crashing bicycles, we’ve also been touring around and taking in a bit of the history and culture of the area. In the village of Hartmanice, we came across a synagogue which…
We hit the road again and talk about the blind leading the blind! Her Ladyship, fiddling around with sunglasses, reading glasses and a road map, failed to spot a crucial road sign at a crucial point in the journey. His Lordship spotted the road sign but failed to spot how crucial it was. To cut a long story short, what should have been a short journey ended up being a long one. It’s bad enough to drive unnecessary miles, but…