DISTANCE COVERED:  78.8 KM

CYCLE TIME:  4:26

AVERAGE SPEED:  17.8 kph

Tom was sick today!  He steadfastly refused to get out of bed.  Something he had eaten was not sitting well with him.  Paul and Kevin went for breakfast, hoping that Tom ’s condition would eventually pass.  As it was very foggy this morning anyway, we were not in a big rush to get cycling.  Upon their return to the hotel room, Tom was still flaked out on the bed.  He said that he would not cycle today!  This threw us all into somewhat of a conundrum.  Walking the short distance back to the town square (namesti), they found a very good and helpful information office, where they were able to get information on train schedules to Cesky Krumlov .  One train was leaving almost immediately, while another would be leaving at 12:30 from a small town about two kilometres away.  Paul and Kevin offered to accompany Tom on the train, but Tom said “no way”.  He didn’t even think he could cycle the two kilometres to the train station.  A plan was then formulated whereby Paul and Kevin would leave Tom behind to recover, complete the cycle trip to Vienna on their own, and try to reconnect at the Vienna train station for the last leg of our journey to Munich .

Paul and Kevin then bid adieu to Tom and then started cycling on their way to World Heritage site, Cesky Krumlov. 

CHURCH ACROSS FROM THE TOWN SQUARE IN VODNANY - THE FOG HAD ALMOST LIFTED BY THE TIME WE STARTED OFF (photo by Paul Delconte)

The first part of today's trip was quite easy, with very nice cycle paths.  We ended up taking a "wrong" road through an area bounded by numerous lakes.  Even before turning onto the road, we "confirmed" it was the correct one by looking at the lakes and confirming they were in fact the "correct" ones.  At the time, I even said to Paul, "...but the other road also has two lakes in the same place.  I hope this is the right one".  The mistake cost us an additional seven kilometres.  Paul and I ate lunch in Borsov n. Vltavou, a town just 7 km south of České Budějovice, on the Vltava River, as its name indicates. We ate and drank what we could read from the menu  - pizza and “Fanta” soft drinks.  The bill came to 100 Kr apiece – about the equivalent of $5.00 Canadian.

CZECH COUNTRYSIDE WITH COOLING TOWERS FOR NUCLEAR GENERATOR IN THE BACKGROUND (photo by Kevin Rodger)

RIVER SCENE AFTER A NICE DOWNHILL SECTION OF BIKE PATH (photo by Paul Delconte)

A SECTION OF QUIET CYCLING THROUGH FARMLAND (photo by Kevin Rodger)

The last 20 km into Český Krumlov were much slower, and there was lots of hill climbing.  Most of the hills were up and down, but there was a 3 kilometer stretch of uphill just before Český Krumlov.  The map indicated that the cycle path ended just above the town of Český Krumlov, and true to form the path ended, and we once again found ourselves retracing our steps to find the town, after adding an additional two kilometres over a gravel road.  This was not unpleasant, as the scenery was fantastic, and the neighbourhood we were cycling through seemed very affluent.  We admired the local architecture.

Český Krumlov proved to be very busy.  As it was Friday, the roads were clogged with cars carrying German and Austrian tourists. We decided to get rid of the bikes by checking into a bed and breakfast, and we would then explore the town with what remaining light we had. The first B & B we tried was already fully occupied, so we tried another just across the street.  There appeared to be nobody home here, as the doorbell went unanswered.  We rode on a couple of kilometres, following a sign for a hotel.  This took us up over an overpass, then right into the old town, with its cobbled streets.  The hotel we tried U Mesta Vidne looked very modern. They had one double room left, for the equivalent of $160 CAN for the two of us.  Since it seemed very busy, and it was the start of the weekend, we decided to take it.  As usual, the hotel also gave secure accommodation to our bikes in the inner courtyard.  After placing our bikes there, and removing our gear, the hotel was inundated with a busload of Japanese tourists and a million pieces of very heavy luggage.  The check in clerk gave us a key to our room, and told us to check in after the crownd dispersed.

OUR HOTEL IN CESKY KRUMLOV - U MESTA VIDNE (photo by Paul Delconte)

After a quick shower, we decided to take advantage of the waning light to take some pictures of the castle.  Just after strolling into the castle courtyard we received quite a shock – there was Tom taking our picture!  How on earth did Tom find us!

PAUL CAUGHT BY SURPRISE BY THE RE-UNION WITH TOM (photo by Tom Jolliffe)

WOW!!! (photo by Kevin Rodger)

Tom had awoken to the clanging of church bells at noon .  Feeling much improved he got up, packed his gear and set out on his bike for the train station in the nearby town of Cicenice .  He arrived at the train station with 5 minutes to spare and caught a train to Ceske Budějovice.  He then transferred to another train that took him to Cesky Krumlov .  Arriving in Český Krumlov an hour ahead of Paul and Kevin , Tom secured a B&B, then strolled about the town for 30 minutes looking for Paul and Kevin .  Tom finally spotted them touring the chateau. After touring the castle, we all sent e-mails back home from a small cyber-café located on the castle grounds.

KEVIN AND TOM AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE CASTLE IN CESKY KRUMLOV (photo by Paul Delconte)

FRESCO ON WALL OF CASTLE BUILDING (photo by Kevin Rodger)

CITY SKYLINE IN THE FADING SUNLIGHT (photo by Kevin Rodger)

We had dinner that evening, compared stories, and related our amazement about our reunion. We figured the odds on accomplishing this reunion were in the neighbourhood of 1:50,000.  And this was Tom ’s second time accomplishing such a feat - in 1999, while cycling in Germany he performed a similar feat!  You can read about that by going here.

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