Kvilda to Železná Ruda

October 31, 2022

More downs than ups today, and it feels warmer. When we leave our hotel we see that there is already activity on the construction site, everyone out in their hi-viz work clothes. Then I recognize one of them from last night, the lad from the bar. Today he looks fine, strong and healthy, hard to imagine, considering his condition the evening before. I don't think he recognizes us, though.

Before setting out we have a look at Kvilda's pretty wood-shingled church.

The church wasn't open except for the entry with a metal grating, through which I poked my lens.

Wood carving outside the church. Perhaps a pilgrim missing his walking pole.

This is Gabréta, at one time the tallest spruce tree in the country.

We have just discovered how miraculous the Google translator app is. Until now I have used it for translating text on my phone. I didn't realize I could photograph a text and regardless of the script used, a translation would appear instantaneously. To translate a menu I don't have to type the words on my phone, just take a picture and the Czech menu is no longer a mystery. So brilliant! My basic Czech vocabulary didn't cover much more than dumplings and potatoes.

Now back to Gabréta. Although the sign, explaining who Gabréta is, is in German and I didn't need help to understand it, I used the app to save myself the trouble of translating it into English for your edification.

A shortened version: "As part of the project in the footsteps of the past of the Sumava and Bavarian Forests, the statue of the Sumava - Gabréta was created on the site of the 27.5 m high coniferous tree, which was the tallest free-growing Christmas tree in our country. Gabréta is a Celtic name for the Bohemian Forest, which was already used by ancient Roman geographers. According to old photos, the spruce tree was at least a hundred years old. However, it did not survive the attack of the bark beetle in 2019. The author of the statue is the well-known Bohemian woodcarver Jiri Nekova."

The ride today is for the most part on good roads, we see little traffic and as on the day before, our route takes us through dense forests. Again we have no provisions for lunch, the previous day being a Sunday. But we know we will pass through Srní after about 17 km, a small town where we stayed overnight on our tour in 2009.

Uphill leaving Kvilda, looking back to the church

Deep snow can be expected in the winter, snow poles will show where the sides of the road are.

Janos guides us to this photogenic spot on the Hamerský potok that he discovered on his ride in September.

We find a grocery store in Srní and set ourselves up for a picnic.

There is always a church, but will there be a grocery store?

Bench in the sun for our rolls and salami picnic

Next to our picnic bench is a rock suspended from a chain, it's called a "weather station". I've seen it before in other places and never found it all that humorous, but I am delighted that, using the translator app, I can read the sign.

Amusing myself with the translator app: If the rock is wet, it's raining.If the rock is swinging, the wind is blowing.If the rock casts a shadow, the sun is shining.If the rock is difficult to see, it is foggy.If there are two rocks, stop drinking, you are drunk.

We ride on. The countryside we pass through is sparsely populated and peaceful, we don't pass through any more towns before we reach Železná Ruda but there are many bike paths next to the roads. Often they seem quite unnecessary as there is hardly any traffic on the roads. Sometimes we use them, sometimes not. For the final four kilometers Janos opts for the highway instead of the bike path through the forest which would have been bumpier, granted, and might have involved a bit of climbing. It was kind of a shock to be on a road with fast traffic again.

On this part of the path there were signs indicating the gradient. They said either 8% or 12%. I think they got the signs mixed up, it always felt like either less or more.

Soon enough we are in our tiny little room, fine for one night. The heating's not on yet when we check in, but the shower is hot. Železná Ruda is on the Czech-German border, just a short distance from Bayrisch-Eisenstein in Germany. It is quiet here and the place where Janos had eaten on his stay in September is closed. This leaves the Vietnamese restaurant. They have a fire going in the wood stove and it's nice and warm, that's good for a start. The beer is warm, too, and the food is so-so la-la. But it's a friendly place. We are entertained by the son of the owners as he scoots back and forth on his little balance bike while munching on a nori leaf.

He was so sweet and really very quiet as he whizzed back and forth, not boisterous at all.

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Today's ride: 46 km (29 miles)
Total: 144 km (89 miles)

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