The (motor) bikers at the campground had a whale of a time last night and into early this morning. At least they drowned out the noise of the nearby trains. Regardless, it was an ok sleep in the new tent.
An old guy, cycletouring with a million panniers and bags camped beside me. He was up and on his way well before 8am. You’ve got to be dedicated to do that every day. I couldn’t contemplate getting up and away that early. We didn’t have a common language so his conversation petered out mid sentence. It was hilarious. He simply lost interest, probably because he could see I didn’t understand. He abruptly stopped talking and went about his business. Too funny. I went past him before Děčín and gave him a big wave. (He must have been slow).
My first job this morning was to go and get some bananas and yoghurt for my muesli breakfast from the nearby supermarket. After breakfast, I packed up and took down the tent for the first time. Luckily, it all fitted into the bag – camping stuff rarely fits into the bag after first use ! It’s just one of the rules of life.
Then I needed a coffee. I faffed around in the main square, but opted for a small place outside the main area. I was the only customer but the coffee was superb. That meant I could start the day 😁
The route was initially beautiful with lots of people out on the trail as it was a weekend. As I neared Děčín, it became more industrial, and I think it told the story of this country.
There is amazing beauty through the countryside but the place has been modernised and industrialised in part and it all mixes in.
Today, there was about a half hour or so, of drizzle. During that time, I saw nobody on the trail. I thought it was strange until I saw a crowd of eBikers huddled under a bridge. Surely, riding an eBike in light rain is ok ? Maybe they are more precious than their bikes.
I stopped for lunch by the river at Ústí nad Labem, made some rolls like yesterday and the drizzle returned. Luckily, there was a coffee shop (closed) across the path with some shelter.
I’m surprised how quiet the towns are here. It seems like a sizable town, but on this side of the river, there’s hardly anyone around. At the supermarket, there were just two old guys loading up with beer and cigarettes – two national pastimes. Beer is ridiculously cheap.
Děčín, like most towns I’ve visited in Czechia, is a really nice place with some well preserved old stuff, which means churches on steep hills, cobbled streets and a nice river – the Elbe.
The camping ground is interesting. It’s spotless, has a big open area, friendly staff, close to town, a cafe / bar, but it’s partly under a freeway. Maybe tonight, I’ll wish the bikers were here for some ambient noise.
