Postscript: Down but not out in London (thanks George)

48 hours in London just felt like it should be written about. I landed Friday afternoon and left Sunday evening but allowing for travel in and out, 48 hours was close.

Just a perfect day

Circled three times.
Lost our place at the gate.
Joined three other flights at the immigration queue
"Why are you only here for two days?"
"To see my daughter."
"You're only seeing her for two days?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Time to bite my tongue ...

Drink sangria in
the backyard

Let the weekend begin ...
Rehydration at The Chapel on Edgeware Rd to combat the muggy heat.
London Pilsener is the butter chicken of beer.
Out to Blackheath.
Dinner at the local and it does pies, pies and more pies. If I'd had a week ...
One beef and blue cheese with spud, mushy peas and onions later ... contentment.

And then later

Into the city.
Slow stroll along the south bank from London Bridge.
Stop for sideshows. Cross at Westminster Bridge past the hordes of tour groups. Most of Europe's schools are on holiday and it feels like most have come to London.
Stroll through St James Park and some shade. Past Buckingham Palace, no sign of Hamish's 2004 legacy.

When it gets dark

Tube to Brixton. A riot of cultures and colour. Also crowded. The jerk chicken smelt to good to pass by. Food and rehydration in the shade.
Back to Blackheath Standard. 
Walk through Blackheath (the paddock) to Blackheath village. The heath didn't match the romantic expectation in my mind, just a browned off open paddock.
Coffee and a wander through the village High St.
Stroll to and through Greenwich Park. Pretty good view from the observatory to the city.
Rehydration and a snack at The Royal Standard.
Back home to have a drink in the backyard (with piccies).

Up and out, eventually. 

We go home

Dropped the bags at Kings Cross and began the weave towards East London.
Tube, bus, walk to Shoreditch and beyond to the Columbia Rd flowers market.
As good a dose of old cockney as you're likely to get. 
Looking for coffee and our first and only celeb moment for the weekend. Russell Brand charging out of a shop and yabbering 50 to the dozen.
Back towards Shoreditch and tubes across to Camden.
To the market and the locks. Packed and then peace, packed and then peace. Wandered the length to see what was beyond.
Rehydration stop at the Camden Head.
More wandering.
Rehydration and nourishment stop at the Camden Eye.
Time to go, more walking as Camden Stn is exit only on Sunday.
Kings Cross for the bags and a farewell at Green Park Stn.

48 hours in London, most compass points covered, we walked a marathon ... really we did, the app doesn't lie.

Day 8: Karlstejn to Prague

Hrad Karlstejn - not
much has changed since 2004

Last day of the cycle trip and the day I choose to sleep later than usual. I was woken at 8am by a knock on the door from Hank. Must have been tired. After breakfast, it was on the road again. Hank decided to visit the castle, Stan and I waited in the shade of a tree.

The sun moves round the Linden tree
There is no sign of Henery

Say A Little Prayer For Me

After Hank's visit, it was off to face the last set of climbs. These weren't too bad and generally under the shade on forest tracks. At what was reportedly the highest point of the ride we found a religious statue where we took the opportunity to pray for no more assents. Once we got onto roads the ride was easier. The day was quite hot, around 30 degrees. 

Live Streaming in
the Wop-wops

Late morning we decided it was time for a break and a refreshment at Jinocany. As this was a short ride we had plenty of time to goof off. After a couple of beers, we headed to the reservoir just out of the township and it was good enough for a swim. This is the same place we went swimming on the last day in 2014. So, we goofed off for a couple of hours swimming, played some cards and snoozed in the sun.

Day 8 Marker

After a short ride from Jinocany we reached the outskirts of Prague and headed home via cycleways. We arrived home at 3.30. Today's distance was ~35kms with a top speed of ~40kph. A short trip but at a leisurely pace. Today's marker is from the dinner table at Hrad Kavale.

But wait. As usual, there's more. There was one last act. Tennis. Stan and I headed off for the traditional clash of the titans in the early evening heat. However, as this is the last blog, dear reader, you'll never know the result as we'll complete the match tomorrow morning before I fly to London. However, it is fair to say, it would have been a close, hard fought contest played in a fierce and competitive manner with a few laughs.

As mentioned, this is the last blog of the cycle trip. We've cycled ~450kms over 8 days. Whilst it seems leisurely there have been some challenging hills. However, to enjoy the good times, you have to expect a few challenges. This year's top speed was ~62kph. With all that's been written, the trip has been another success but all I got from it was this t-shirt.

This has been my trip. Here's today's map.

Day 7: Cheb to Beroun ... er ... Karlstejn

Day 7: Cheb to Beroun
Today hasn’t been a very interesting day blog wise. Point A to C with B in-between. We left Cheb about 9.30am and headed southeast for route 36 (and about half the kicks). Today’s leg was a mix of quieter minor roads, forest tracks and cycle tracks. There were a number of climbs again. Some were deceptive in that they looked relatively flat but after several kms the legs were feeling some pressure. 

Day 7, Marker #1

Stan and I had lost Hank after a long gentle climb. We stopped at Palic to wait for Hank to catch up but  … no Hank. We’d been separated. What happened? Well, good detective work found the answer. Hank took the right turn off. We didn’t. A bus went past and in our anxiety to avoid it, we also missed the turn off sign. However, by the time we’d caught up , the beer was good. We did get to look at a ruined church in restoration mode though, so culturally, this mishap was not a waste of time. We radioed ahead and caught him for a break and lunch in Dolni Zandov. due to circumstances, here's today's first marker at the Putyka Pod Kostelem (Pub Beneath The Church) in Dolni Zandov.


Over the course of this trip the days have been getting warmer and it has been noticeable with the amount of water being drunk during the day. Thankfully, it’s cheap. Today it was ~NZ$0.35 for 1.5l. And it can be fizzy.

After lunch we continued our route cycle towards Mariánské Lázně, another spa town. We had a look around but it was a bit over populated and inflated. The jazz band along one of the promenades would have been nice to have a longer listen to but we are on a mission. The old building lining the main street through the older part were quite lavish and ornate but a little run down. We opted for plan A and headed to the railway station to catch the train to Beroun filling in the wait with beer and pizza.

Ban Nadvedouci
Honza Kavacs

Ah, the train system. When you buy a ticket and ask for a seat and your bike onboard you’d expect the ticket agent to give you all the right ticketing. Then you get the bored conductor with the whistle telling you that you need to reserve seats and he shouldn’t let you on because it’s more than his job’s worth (my Czech is improving). After much haggling  about it being someone else’s problem, there seems a disconnect between the ticket issuer and the ticket validator. It’s like two separate companies. Finally, he acquiesced but grudgingly. Then just when we thought everything was good, he had another go when he validated the tickets. We thought of taking his whistle off him. Here he is. Ban Nadvedouci Honza Kavacs.

Serious Writer at Work

I decided to kill some time on the train and draft today's blog entry. Whilst engrossed in my own imagination I became the subject of artistic intent.

to put things in perspective, the train ride from Mariánské Lázně to Beroun took just over two hours and we headed west to wards Prague.

Today’s distance cycled was ~55kms with a top speed of ~51kph. Here’s the map between Cheb and Marianske Lazne.

But wait ... there's more.

Day 7, Marker #2

We arrived in Beroun just after 7pm and couldn't find any accommodation. Enter plan A-1. Cycle on to Karlstejn about 15kms further downstream. After trying a few hotel sand pensions along the way it seemed there might be not accommodation available. One last try. Up the hill towards Hrad Karlstejn and along numerous closed restaurants and hotels. But finally success. We set up rooms with the landlady and then headed to the eatery next door before it closed. After being well hosted for dinner, we decided it was worth a second marker. Now we're ready for our final push to Prague in the morning. 

The revised distance is ~70kms and here's a map of the second leg.

Day 6: Bad Elster to Cheb

Deutsch/Czech border
at Bad Elster

Today should be a short ride. That's an ominous start. After a later the usual breakfast it was off on today's ride, the memory lane section. Not long out of Bad Elster we were at the German/Czech border. In this part of the country, the border is always close by. We crossed just over a km out of the town. no much further on were the ruins of a castle from ~11th century so we had a look around it. The ground also had those intensely flavoured strawberries so we had a snack on those as well. Must have been a day for enjoying the bounty of the land. We also had a nibble on wide blueberries.

Wild Fruit

As usual we began the ride, following a river but this soon turned into hillier country. It was a bit of a shock to the body to have to do this so soon. Our first destination was Aš. This town is where Hank spent a few early years and Stan was born. After a quick look around, it was morning tea time.

Rooftop Ballerina

While there were some sights to see, the most interesting for me was watching the worker on top of a 5-6 story building installing lightning earth cables. No scaffolding, no roof barriers, no harness, no additional taxes in the form of compliance costs. Never in NZ. A ballerina of his trade. 

From Aš, it was on the Cheb. Our trail was to take us through old border roads through forests. That was nice but there were some nice hill climbs as well and welcome relief on the downhill. We didn't need to worry about food as there were enough flies around that you just had to keep your mouth open to catch one of the little buggers. We enjoyed the border trails so much that we did some twice. Today must have been a day for wildlife. On today's journey we saw a hare, a deer and a snake that nearly didn't get to cross the road.

Františkovy Lázně Promenade

Eventually, we left the forest and the road levelled out. We stopped for a lunch break and some shade in Liba before heading on to Františkovy Lázně. This is spa town and not that old in comparison to others. However, it was a lovely looking town, clean and well kept. For a weekday, there were people everywhere. Must be something in the water. We stopped to see František who is reputed to be a symbol of fertility. Folklore has it that if a woman rubs his left foot, she will get pregnant. Our question is, why are there other shiny parts. After a traditional wafer the size of a discus but very tasty, we headed to Cheb. 

František

As the remainder of the trip is flexible in terms of travel and stops, Cheb was to be our final destination of the day. On the way into town, we stopped at Hrad Cheb. This castle had a long history from the early ~10th century. It was a residence of Fredrich Barbarossa in the 12th century, parts destroyed in the 30 year war in the 17th century, parts of it were burnt down and it eventually feel into disrepair. However, some interesting parts have been preserved such as the chapel and the tower. Part of the tower housed implements of coercion and punishment. sure to say, some wouldn't have been a pleasant experience and the chopping block and guillotine would have been the most humane instruments displayed.

Looking over Cheb from
the tower at Hrad Cheb

Day 6 Marker

Off to find accommodation. That we did after the first option being rejected as it was run by Russian prostitutes and did look a bit seedy. Then it was time for the usual dinner, refreshments and games of cards, finishing up with a couple of slivovitz. Whilst enjoying these we placed today's marker.

After a wander around the centre of town, it was bedtime. 

Todays distance was ~55kms and a top speed of ~62kph down a slightly dodgy border track. Here's the map.

Day 5: Zwickau to Bad Elster

In Zwickau our safehouse was under the shadow of the old town church. It was an imposing structure and very pretty. So were the bells that tolled every hour, on the hour. Still, it was an imposing structure and very pretty.

We headed out of town at about 8am for a day that was to test our fortitude as we headed towards the border.

Height Profile

There's not too much to report on the ride. There were a number of villages we passed through but not a lot to write about. As we are leaving early a lot of places are closed. today's ride was shorter then yesterday but with a lot more hills. So, climb we did, Thighs burning, lungs heaving, sweat dripping, we ground our way skywards. The benefit of climbing is that there are nice downhill runs. The problem with downhill runs is that there's usually a climb. 

Slog

There was a stop in Rodewisch for food. It was supposed to be a snack to get us through but for Stan and I it turned into a full meal at a kebab/pizza joint. Refuelled on we rode.

Battle of Wounded Knee

The highest point of the ride was just north on Schoneck. However, it was also the location of "the incident". Feeling weak through loss of fluid and beginning to waiver in the heat of the heat, Hank's bike took on a mind of it's own and veered into the verge.  We were quite a way ahead and missed "the incident". A friendly local stopped and starting telling us in German and with sign language that we could find a place to sleep in the town. Only later did we realise that wasn't what he said. However, it was a minor scuff with no real damage to either Hank or the bike. Injury #2 in year #3.


Onward we soldiered making our own trail in the absence of anything else in this part of eastern Germany. The tracks were getting easier. We had a nice ride from to Adorf alongside the railway line. This had to be flatter as we'd hoped. Not long now ... Ah, the sign. Destination reached after a more challenging day's ride. Bad Elster is one of a number of spa towns around the German/Czech border region. IT was bigger than I thought and a very nice looking town. ~75kms travelled, top speed ~56kmph.

But wait ... there's more.

Bad Elster Town Square

After a refreshment and finding accommodation, it was time to have a look around and find somewhere to settle down for the evening bier, food and game of Marisias. Across the road is a nice park like area so we found a place to eat and sit outside for the evening. As usual the food was good and the Marisias competitive with no mercy shown by anyone and great delight in taking someone down. An entertaining aspect of the evening was that our waitron was proud to show us the menu in six languages from Google. It was interesting and caused some laughs.

Day 5 Marker -
Katja Gliem

As the evening drew to a close we had to place today's marker. In broken German, we asked our waitress if she'd like to be a celebrity and have her photo published. Finally, she agreed.  So, here, in full Day 5 marker glory is Katja Gliem. She was a good sport and even asked for the blog link. 

Note the eyes are a feature of women in this part of Germany. Local folklore is that in ancient times a sign of beauty was to replace the eyes with cherries, hence the natural red colour of the eyes. 

The day is over and time for snoozing. Here's todays map.

Day 4: Colditz to Zwichau

The fateful day has arrived. Today is the day we execute our plan to escape from Colditz. We've been planning it for several months and have everything in place.

Red Cross parcel

Our Red Cross parcels have arrived with the necessary items to aid our daring escape plan. These included items of uniform disguised as mementos from home and, most importantly, an escape manual with vital route information and contacts disguised as some light reading material.

Red Cross parcel contents

 Our escape bid was bold as we planned to escape via the front gates of the German guard quarters and nonchalantly ride off in full daylight. We are working on the theory that it will be totally unexpected and no-one will be looking for us under their noses. Our plan was to take back country roads, tracks and trails and head south.

We have assumed different identities to help in our escape. They are;

• Colonel 'Hank' Minnesota of the USAF
• Porucznik Pawel Dzuchajmczyokowski of the Free Polish AF
• Officer U/T 'Wheelbarrow' Kavale of the RNZAF

The Escape

Everything was set. There was to be a staged distraction so we could make our way to the bicycles and leave via the main gate. Hopefully, all would go to plan. The moment arrived. The ruckus began. We mounted up. Out we rode. There was no-one around. That in itself should have been suspicious. Were we being set up. We would soon find out.

Schloss Rochlitz 

Our first leg was to Rochlitz. Not far down the road but we were hoping to gain the surprise of an early morning escape. We arrived to a village still half asleep and after circling the town square to see if we were being tailed, headed out along the river. We took some photos along the way that might prove useful intel if we made it back to old Blighty. Pacing ourselves we took to riverside trails to avoid detection. Via small country roads we rode. Through forest tracks. Back streets. By mid morning we were feeling hungry and in need of some food. Thankfully, there was an abundance of food along the roadside so we gorged ourselves on fresh cherries. This provided enough fuel for us to push on. We pushed on ... and pushed on ... and pushed a bit more until it became late morning. 

Abundant German cherries

Feeling in need of food again to sustain the frantic pace of our getaway, we decided to stop in the small village of Penig and see if we could acquire food. Luckily for us, it being Sunday, there were very few people around but there was one backerei open. We fuelled up on delish chocolate raspberry cake and coffee. More than enough sugar and caffeine for a few more kilometres.

What did we do next. Yep, kept on riding. Through Waldenburg and Remse. We were powering through the kilometres and putting good distance between us and Colditz. 

For us?

A bit further along the journey we decided to stop at Glauchau to get a sense of the local 'temperature' and to see if we can find any good intel on our escape. As we arrived into the town we were greeted with flags and banners and people lining the street. It appeared the town had heard about us and were putting on a civic reception. How strange. We thought that they'd lay a trap for us. As we rode towards the town center we realised the reception wasn't for us but to celebrate the 775th anniversary of the town. That was a relief. We were able to hide by mingling amongst the throng of townsfolk. We played it calm and joined the locals for a bite to eat and something to drink while we watched the town brass band run through period favourites such as I Love Rock'n'Roll and Smoke On The Water. We decided not to push our luck and thought it best to push on. It was tense leaving town and having to cycle ~2kms along packed roads, past polizei and security officials and trying to remember not to let our guard down, especially when a flippant "Good luck" was tossed our way by a suspicious official.

They drinking my bier hier

We kept heading south by following the river along good roads and making good time. not far from our destination, we took the opportunity to stop for a quick ale at Schlunzig.

Day 4 Marker

Then it was off on the final short leg of the day. We entered Zwickau at ~3.30pm and made our way to the safe house. After exchanging passcodes we were shown our rooms. They were luxury compared to the previous conditions. We settled in and after a short walk around the town to orient ourselves and scope out the landscape, we blended in with the locals in the biergarten. This provided today's opportunity for the marker.


Approximately 82kms travelled and a top speed of ~57kph. Here's today's map.

Day 3: Colditz to Colditz

I’ll get the stats out of the way first. 0 kms travelled and a top speed of 0kph.

Not bad accommodation in the old castle. We are in a bunkroom in the old German guard quarters. It got better when we found out the price included all meals. Today is a rest day and a time to explore.

Colditz Zentrum below Schloss Colditz

After breakfast we headed into town and had a look around which really was just wandering around the streets looking for and at interesting things. Then it was off on our tour of the castle and a bit of a history lesson. Very interesting. The castle is officially 750 years old so there was a lot to hear and read about on the tour. As expected, the focus was on the escapades of those inventive and mischievous allied prisoners and the attics they got up to. Very interesting and very resourceful.  Do not believe everything you may have seen in any movies and TV series. We never saw Robert Wagner or David McCallum. However, the castle has been used as a hunting lodge, a lunatic asylum, a poor house and an old folks home as well as the prison so it's had a chequered history.

The afternoon was very relaxing. We scouted out the locale for a dinner location and came upon a biergarten close by. After sampling the bier we decided it was good enough to eat at. Then it was off to read and relax. I think I got hit by the book I was reading and eventually gave up trying to hold it upright.

Manuela

The evening was spent at the biergarten playing Marisias eating and joking around. There was much mirth over dinner including some provided by Manuela, the local hostess and our interpretation of overheard conversations and the stories we created from them. So much laughter that my sides hurt. I don’t think we will forget Manuela’s schwarzbier mit mutter’s milch. That shall, however, remain on tour.

Day 3 Marker

The biergarten was also the scene of today's marker.

Finally, it is time to retire for the night and ensure we are prepared for tomorrow’s trials and tribulations.