Escape from Benešov!

All of the shops and businesses in Czech shut down at about noon on Saturday and don't reopen until Monday. Everyone goes out to enjoy the weekend in the countryside. We set out on Saturday in the direction of Tabor (the next big town). We made it to our planned stop of Bystřice, which is just a "one-horse" town, and ran into our usual problem...where to stay for the night. There is a hotel there, which was full (the usual), and a penzion (guest house), at which we couldn't find anyone there. We were getting very discouraged as it seems that our entire trip plans were in jeopardy. We can only manage about 10 trail miles or so a day, which doesn't get us far and requires us to find a place to stay in all sorts of small villages and towns. At this time of the year it is really tough to find accomodation without advance reservations, which are hard to make if you can't speak the language.

As I said, we were feeling pretty "down" and looking around for some other option when Bird flagged down a car and asked for any other hotels. They didn't know of any but suggested Benešov, from where we just came, and offered us a ride there since they were on their way. We took them up on the offer, since everthing was closed for the next two days anyway and we needed to figure out another strategy. After a brief 5-minute or so car drive they dropped us off at the same cheesy motor-lodge that we had passed on foot several hours before...oh, well. It was overpriced, since it was next to a major tourist attraction (the Konopiště chateau), but we got a room anyway. We spent Sunday playing tourists on the chateau grounds and waited for Monday, when we could check out some other options.

We thought about simply taking a bus or train from major town to major town and then dayhiking in the area (like most tourists do), since lodging is a little easier to find in the larger cities. We also considered buying a tent (should have brought mine) so we could "stealth camp" in the woods somewhere if we couldn't find accomodation. Another option we came up with was buying cheap bicycles, since we had seen some in the local department store, and continuing on the Prague to Vienna route on two wheels, since we could cover more ground and bypass some of the smaller towns. After some deliberation we decided to look into the bicycle idea.

There is a good bicycle shop in Benešov but the cheapest bike they have is about $400 US, which is a decent investment for a 2-week trip. We could bring the bikes home by plane but that would cost even more money and be a hassle. The department store (supermarket type) had a couple of bikes that would work at $200 US each (we can just abandon them when we are done with them) , as well as helmets, pump, and other needed accessories. With our budget shrinking even more, we made the leap and bought "el cheapo" Czech department store bikes and set back out, leaving Benešov yet again.

This time we made it to Votice, where I now sit, in about 4 hours, which would have taken 2 full days of hiking to acheive. We stuck to a paved bike route, of which there are many and which is just a back road, but with little traffic and with signage to direct us. The bikes are very "plasticky" but otherwise okay, other than the shifting which doesn't work very well at all. We pretty much stayed in one or two gears, and ended up walking up the hills towards the end of the day since there are indeed many hills. At least we can coast down them now, which helps a lot.

Upon reaching Votice, we were again turned away of the first penzion but managed to get a room at the second (and last) one we tried. I called Tabor the other day and made reservations at a penzion there so we should be okay when we reach there. Not being sure we can make that in one day from here (we are not seasoned cyclists and are riding what are basically single-speeds -- and with full backpacks on), and not thrilled about the prospects of lodging in between, we might take a bus, with the bikes, to somewhere in between and then bike the rest of the way in. This is a main bus hub so that should be no trouble.

I was asked a few questions in an email so will answer them here:

What time is it over there? Czech is 6 hours ahead of eastern time.

Are you meeting other tourists/are locals used to seeing tourists? There are plenty of people "on holiday" around here but they are mostly Czechs or Germans (hardly ever any Americans). While we have seen some bicyclists on the tourist trails we never did run across anyone else backpacking like we were. For the most part we were alone on the trails. Even when walking through small towns or settlements there was not much activity (probably weekend retreats). Locals hardly ever make eye contact or speak to you. They seem kind of cold but a few that we have actually talked to were friendly. I don't think they care much for foreign tourists, though.

What is the terrain like? The terrain is hilly now and we are entering more farmland than before, when we were in the outskirts of the Prague area and there were many weekend cabins, etc. A lot of the trails were narrow roads, sometimes used for house access, or dirt roads across fields, etc. There were some sections that were actual singletrack trails through forest and along beautiful creeks. It gets cloudy and rains about every evening so it's almost always a bit muddy. Although most "hiking" trails would also be perfectly fine on a mountain bike, they are not the shortest way to get around since they meander quite a bit, and we are on hybrid-type bikes, so I think we'll stick to the marked bike trails more, being mostly back roads. We are also still trying to make it to Vienna, which will neccessitate a somewhat direct route.

What is the lodging like? The place we stayed in Benešov was sort of a rooming house for mostly locals - road workers, etc., but was fine for us and very cheap. We shared a bathroom and kitchen with the others and it was "off the beaten path" -- on the outskirts of town and we had to walk across an open field to get to town. The place before that was a "privat", which is basically a bed and breakfast. We've stayed in a couple of real "hotels", which aren't much different but more expensive. "Penzions" are the usual thing to look for, basically being cheaper hotels for travellers, etc. They are just as nice but about half the price. They can be above resteraunts, stand alone....whatever. In some you probably have to share some facilities but the one we're in now has a private bath (and is only a block or so from the center of town).

Enough for now....