CKC2301 The Kings and Castles Tour
Vienna calling - not only the famous Austrian singer Falco loved Austria's Capital. We, too, want to go and explore this beautiful historical city. Joanna and Eric from the United States of America and myself, on the day ahead of the start of our Kings and Castles Tour, took the time to walk and enjoy a selection of Vienna's highlights.
Today we are leaving Budweis to make our way into Prague, the Czech capital city. We have also some highlights to see and visit along the way. Our first stop was the beautiful city of Ceske Krumlov. Probably the most well-kept medival city I know of. The second half of the ride takes us through a large part of the remote area of the Bohemian forest before we take the faster roads into Prague.
Prague is rightly one of the most beautiful cities in the world and this wonderful metropolis should definitely be discovered on the rest day. Even then, you can only explore a fraction of the sights. Zu Recht ist Prag eine der schönsten Städte der Welt und diese wunderbare Metropole sollte man unbedingt am Rasttag entdecken. Selbst da kann man nur einen Bruchteil der Sehenswürdigkeiten erkunden.
On our rest day in Dresden it turns out that some people of the group want to visit the city and some prefer to go for the rest day's ride. It is a tough decision, as both options are very promising. For the people who went on the ride, we got to see and visit the fascinating castle of Weesenstein. Later in the day we went to the village of Glashütte to visit the Museum of the watchmakers there. What a beautiful ride it was!
Today, we are leaving Germany again, returning back to Czech Republic for our next overnight stay. During the day, however, we will add a loop into Poland. Even though those countries are located right next to each other, you can tell the difference in culture almost as soon as you cross the borders. This is what makes Europe so interesting - even though we all live in a Union, each country has kept its wonderful character to it. The city of Görlitz will be the border point for our short day visit to Poland. Soon after, already for lunch, we will cross back into Czech Republic. The Giant Mountains (Riesengebirge) will be our riding playground for the afternoon. Another wonderful and warm day is about to start.
Once again, we have another rest day in another outstanding city - Krakau will host us for the next two nights. While Roland and Gavin where going on a ride with Michael, Angela took Dave & Carol, Eric & Joanne, Aline and John to the Wieliczka Saltmines near the city of Krakow. Back again in the afternoon some of us added a visit to the Jewish Quarter near the old town of Krakow. A delicious dinner in one of the typical polish restaurants rounded up the fantastic time we spent here.