Kings & Castles CKC2501
Maureen and Robert decided to arrive a bit earlier to go on a city tour through Vienna with Felix. Together we went to see some of Viennas famous landmarks, like the St. Stephan Cathedral, the parliament, Schönbrunn Castle and many more. Starting in the morning from the Hotel and leaving with the subway to the first District, also known as the old town, of Vienna. The St. Stephan Cathedral is located right in the centre of the old town, we took a look inside and walked over to have a look at the City Hall and the Hofburg Palace, the main residence of the emperor of Austria during its time as a monarchy After having a Coffee in the same Café that Sigmund Freud used to go to, next to the theatre, we headed over to the opera and then took the subway to the other side of town to enjoy some "Tafelspitz", an austrian dish, for Lunch. Having finsihed a really filling lunch we went for a digestive walk over to the Schönbrunn Castle, the holiday residence of the emperor.
The Blue Danube escorted us out of Vienna and, cruising among vineyards and forests, and we crossed this important river on a raft before entering the Wachau valley, situated between the towns of Krems and Melk. It is only 25 miles long but its impressive wealth of castles, abbeys, historic towns and gorgeous scenery made it an Unesco World Heritage site. We stopped for lunch at Maria Taferl, a very important pilgrimage site in Austria, overlooking the Danube, before heading northwards direction Czech Republic. Tonight we are sleeping in the pretty town of České Budějovice, hometown of the original Budweiser Beer! It was a beautiful day!
We started the morning with a new experience for all of us, an elevator for cars and motocycles! Our first stop today was the beautiful town of Český Krumlov. The town carries a lot of history but was left somewhat abandoned during the time of the soviet unioin. It was restored and is part of the UNESCO world heritage since 1993. After exploring the old town we sat down near the river to enjoy some hot beverages on this rather chilly day. We hit the road once again deeper into the Bohemian Forest away from the busy streets and into the deep forest with narrow roads. In the afternoon we stopped to have a look at two more castles (one had a cat museum inside!) before heading on the highway straight into the city of prague.
Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, so today we left our motorcycles in the hotel parking lot and went to explore the city. One day is not a lot, but we still managed to see the most beautiful places. After leaving the hotel, we went up Petřín Hill to admire the view from above and then we headed to the beautiful castle, a vaste complex that has been a site of power for Czech monarchs, religious leaders, Holy Roman emperors, and heads of state (it is now the official residence of the Czech Republic's president). Then, on the way down, we had lunch by the river and finally, crossing the magnificent Charles Bridge, a medieval stone arch bridge that crosses the Vltava river, we arrived back in the old town, with its beautiful square. A bit of relaxation in the afternoon and then we had dinner in a typical Czech restaurant. What a beautiful day!
The city on monday morning was very busy, so we left the city using the highway and first stopped for a coffee break in the beautiful square of Mělník, a small town north of Prague. After that, we left the main road and continued north to the Bohemian Switzerland, a beautiful, mountainous region full of dense forest and rugged rock formations. We had time for a great picnic and then finally crossed the border to Germany, where we cruised along the Elbe river and stopped for a last break near a great rock formation known as "Bastei" from where we enjoyed an astonishing view of the river before heading down to Dresden.
On this restday, we decided to go for a morning ride to the Weeser Castle. On the road we stopped for some coffee and came back just in time before the dark clouds could catch up to us. After taking a little rest we went into the centre of the town, where Jette gave us a tour through the old town. She told us a lot about the intersting history of the town and how most of the 'old' buildings are actually built not even 20 years ago.
Our first stop for the day was the beautiful town of Görlitz. What's so special about this town is that its buildings all survived the war so everything is historically acurate! The border of Poland and Germany runs right through this town. After having a look at the different historic buildings we drove over the bridge inside the town and entered Poland. We crossed the border from Poland into the Czech Republic again and found a nice place for lunch. It has been raining quite a lot this day so after Lunch we decided to cut the day a bit short and go straight to the Hotel to enjoy the Spa a little bit.
Today's route offered not much sightseeing but a lot of good riding. We first rode in the Eagle's Mountains, a small but pretty mountain range right on the border to Poland. Narrow curvy roads through dense forest, no traffic, beautiful scenery, what else could we ask for? Well a nice cafe in the beautiful little town of Nové Město and a few photo stops, of course! After lunch, we left the mountains behind the land became more mellow. We finally arrived in Moravia, one of the historical Czech lands and, passing through forgotten little villages, the traffic became more intense but we reached our destination in time to relax a bit before dinner!
Today was a short, but still nice day. Our first stop for the day was the church of Wisła Mała, which is completely made out of wood! After taking a quick walk around we continued riding to Pszczyna and enjoyed some coffee, with the towns beautiful main square. The next stop was the Birkenau concentration camp, just to have a look from the outside. And then before heading to Krakow we stopped along the road for some Polish street food.
Many options for today, but the great weather brought many tourists to Krakow (it was also weekend) and many sights were overcrowded, like the concentration camp in Auschwitz. So we decided to visit the impressive Salt Mine of Wieliczka. Dating back to the 13th century, it is one of the oldest salt mines in Europe and part of the UNESCO World Heritage List. It reaches a depth of 327 meters (1,073 ft) and there are over 287 kilometers (178 mi) of tunnels! We took a guided tour (you can't go inside alone) and we were amazed from what we saw! Back in the town, a nice walk through the beautiful center and dinner all together!
A long ride today! After looking at the amazing wooden church of Dębno we cross the border to Slovakia and circled around the High Tatras clockwise, enjoying some amazing views of the mountains and a tasty lunch in the best ski resort of former Eastern Europe. The weather was a bit crazy, sunny and warm and sudden rain showers, and we had to limit the number of stops to cover the whole distance in time, but we really enjoyed the day!
Today has been the hottest day so far, but also no rain! In the moring we stopped in the town of Čičmany and had a look at the tradtional houses. Then we hopped back on the bikes to ride to the fairytale Bojnice Castle. After enjoying the views and a cup of coffee we drove to the Bohunice, where our master chef Domenico prepared our lunch. From there we had one more stop right before the hungarian border to have some beverages and the rode straight into Budapest!
Today's program: a nice short motorbike ride in the morning, and the afternoon free to visit this beautiful city. After leaving the city traffic behind us, we followed the Danube (but going against the current) northwards, up to Visegrad, where the river forms a wide curve. Then, on the way back, after crossing the hills, we stopped for a coffee break in the picturesque town of Szentendre before returning to the hotel. Free afternoon, sightseeing, relaxing, shopping, postcards... then dinner together and after dinner we went to a rooftop bar on the Buda hill to admire the city... what a show!
Unfortunately today was our last riding day, a long one, not very challenging, but the warm (almost hot!) weather made it quite tiring! Our first stop was in Esztergom, Hungary's first capital, where we stopped at the impressive Basilica for a few pictures. Then we crossed a bridge and were back in Slovakia, where we continued on the northern side of the river until we crossed another bridge in Komarno and entered Hungary again. After another break in Győr, we finally arrived at the site of the Pan-European Picnic, an historic event of 1989, where Felix was waiting for us with a picnic of our own! Back in Austria, we faced some traffic entering Vienna, but we made it in time! Goodbye everybody, see you hopefully soon on another Edelweiss tour!