13 – 14 August Swiss Saxony and into Czech

Just a short ride today along the Elbe with hills both sides, castles on hills fully circled by fortress walls,  We stop at Pirna for info and maps of the Walerweg – a walking route through Swiss Saxony. We lock our bikes in a pretty little village full of cafes and tourists and take the path to Bastei, a very photogenic group of rocky outcrops bisected by a footbridge and exceptional views of the Elbe River.

Next town boasts a scenic tram ride up a pretty valley to a small waterfall. The tram ride was relaxing and the waterfall was small. not worth the detour. Our guesthouse is just down the road at Schmilke, the last village on the Elbe in Germany. Hikers also stop here after day 4 of the 6 day Malerweg trip. Camping is not allowed in the National Park and most hikers have their pack delivered from one hotel to the next. In the morning, we pick the best out of the walk in 4 hours, climbing up to Schlamenstein and plummeting down Heilige Stiege (Holy Steps).

Tony had his ritual shave that morning for the border crossing, but there was nobody at the abandoned tollgate. The ride into Czech was uneventful except that we missed a ferry crossing and were on the wrong side of the river. We cycled up and down hills, sharing the road with cars and trucks and looked sadly at the riders on the flat path on the other side.  Ten years ago we entered Czech by car from Germany and remember the paperwork. We were warned this time the police would not be interested in our passports but rather that our bikes had lights. Last time the ladies stood a mere hundred metres apart on the roadside, this time the Venus Hotels discreetly advertised that they were open for business. Decin straddled the river, now called the Labe; the pretty cobbled altstatd and marketsquare on one side, the ugly railway station district on the other.

The cashcard coughed up some new money – 2000 Czech krona (abot $100). For two weeks now we thought we should have bought a tent in Hamburg, so Liz checked out the local Tesco store and bought a $40 tent and a $15 mat and $6 food for dinner. A short way out of town, we found a paddock by the river and set up camp. Ten minutes the harvesters and huge tractors and trucks arrived. They smiled and waved as fortunately our tent was about 20 m from their turning circle.