Bidding a fond farewell to Prague, headed north, through some industrial towns of soviet era concrete apartment blocks, and then just as I was hit a nice woodland track, something went badly wrong - the "other" bolt which holds on the front pannier rack sheared off. A clean break, flush on one side, but encouragingly slightly protruding on the other, if only I had some pliers to try and twist it out, but I dont, and its past closing time for most shops.
Fate had not deserted me though, as while I stood in the wood pondering, Veronica and Michael walked past, and having worked abroad and being fluent English speakers, immediately saved my bacon by revealing that the landlord of the nearby pub they were heading to had a garage full of tools and would be happy to help.
And so it transpired, after some fiddling and a spare bolt, and a beer of much relief, some fresh peas, and rare boob clouds, an hour later I was on the road again, only now with a thunderstorm hot on my tails.
Wild camped in a tranquil spot with the lightning remaining at a distance providing some entertainment, but more interestingly and a first for me, at dusk a load of bees showed up and seemed either interested in or unable to avoid my tent. Somewhat relieved that as it got dark they buzzed off.
Another little Switzerland
The north part of Czechia, North Bohemia, is characterised by interesting sandstone rock formations, gorges, forests etc, but my first point of interest stop was at an old lava flow of hexagonal basalt, a miniature giants causeway.
Village architecture is pretty, with houses built with horizontal wooden framing, which I've managed to get zero photos of, as the occupants always seem to be bustling around in their gardens.
Reached the German border by the Elbe river, with the Czech side being crammed with Chinese run souvenir and discount booze shops.
The Race for Berlin
Things happen in threes they say? Well, soon after departure this morning, two of the bolts on a rear pannier failed, leaving it hanging precariously and flapping all over the place, not ideal as I was flying down a hill at the time. Fortunately? This has happened before, and i carry spares for such occasions, although bits of string have also proved a successful fix.
An overcast, drizzly day, the hills recede until the landscape is completely flat, pastoral, the architecture dull, and nowhere obvious to refill water.
The rest of the distance to Berlin is a series of lakes and forests, with a lot of the lakes being mad made, the result of strip mining activities. One of the giant excavators is left to rust in a field. Part of a village lies abandoned due to underground mining causing "geological instabilities"
Anyway, the scenery is not unpleasant, there are dedicated cycle paths of smooth tarmac, and a couple of nice camps by lakes, one wild, one at a youth hostel.
Getting into the centre of the city seems to take an age, miles of absorbed satellite towns and suburbs, and then here we are, the Brandenburg Gate.
- ich bin ein Berliner!
- 14/06/2017
Couldn't resist. Not THAT Berlin, obviously. A small village with the same name, presumably to confuse people following satnavs
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