September 16, 2019: Jindřichův Hradec to Nová Bystřice

September 16, 2019

One wrong turn deserves a right one

Hotel: Penzion Mnich, € 44,10

THOUGH up early again, we didn't go down for breakfast until a little later. Later meaning 7:30 am instead of 7 am. Time is relative.

The bikes were still safely in the storage room and after loading up, we went up into the square then returned to the little corner store to load up our water bottles. Then the fun began. I knew that I had charted our gps track from the other place I had initially booked, so had to 'find' the pink line from the gps on actual land. That proved trickier than expected and I ended up making a wrong turn twice, though stuck with the second wrong turn since it would re-join with the Greenway within a couple of km. What this meant is that we headed out of town on a rather busy road with fast vehicles until I found a bridge which brought us to the Greenway on the other side of the river and along quiet little roads and paths again.

There were two longer climbs today but already, after the first four days of riding plus one day off, getting up the climbs was much easier. This part of the country is known as Czech Canada, I believe for its similarity to Canadian topography and I have to say that long portions did remind me of my favourite type of terrain that we have back in our area of northern Ontario - namely, tall pines, sandy terrain, blueberry bushes and 'that smell' that I know and love so much. I might even say that I preferred today's forest rides to yesterday's. Both were great, but just a different sort of 'enchanted' I suppose.

There were climbs and descents but I didn't really notice. I was watching the sunlight filter through the trees and onto the ground as the newly-paved path undulated along. A few times there were little villages and at one point we came upon a spot where there had been a church at one point, but it had been destroyed in 1948, I am guessing by the Soviet regime. It was at a point that seemed to be less than 1 km from the Austrian border and the Soviets emptied whole towns to keep people away from the fences and borders. There was a sign indicating that they were going to rebuild.

From that point was the second longish climb of the day which brought us up to an altitude of about 615 m, which I believe is the highest point to date on the Greenway. Again, it was not difficult, but just a steady slow go until the summit was reached. Then we noticed the sign saying it was only 4 km to NB, most of which was downhill to the signpost. There was a slight climb right at the centre into the main square but nothing to mention.

NB is a fairly small town of just over 3 000 but looks like it might have been mightier at one time. Indeed for three hundred years it had a very strong textile industry but the changes that came in the new millenium saw everything cease in 2006. Very sad. The square, though small, was quite pretty, with a somewhat ruinous castle, the St. Peter and Paul Church, and a handful of restaurants and pubs, which we planned to visit for lunch before long.

The guesthouse was just past the church in a building that, too, had been in bad shape and the owners gutted and rebuilt to a beautiful guesthouse with the stone inner walls showing in many places, as well as beams and stone staircases. I had messaged yesterday asking if we could arrive early to which I had been told yes. I came in and met the owner/staff (not a word of English, so I am not sure) who checked us in then offered us a capuccino and sweets - for free. We were able to lock our bikes to the railing in the entrance, and finally, the room is quite attractive.

Once cleaned up, we headed to the square to one of the restaurants for lunch. This proved to be really interesting. The smaller the town and the further from Prague, it seems, the less likely it is to find anyone who can speak English or French. The young girls who served us spoke only Czech. When we finally figured out something on the menu via our devices to translate, the girl looked dismayed and said no, it was not available, though she had given us the menu. She suggested they had chicken schnitzel and fries, which was not even showing on the menu, so we ordered that to get at least something to eat. It was tricky, but fun, actually.

After lunch we went to the Coop supermarket for a few things for the road tomorrow, including... Milka, of course. We checked out the square, the nearby park with beautiful and huge trees, then called it a day as the town rolled up its streets.

Shortly after we started along our route through Czech Canada, near Nová Bystřice, Czechia.

St. Peter and Paul Church. -- Nová Bystřice, Czechia

Tourist in the main square. -- Nová Bystřice, Czechia

Main Square in town with St. Peter and Paul Church in the background. -- Nová Bystřice, Czechia

It's no wonder they call this Czech Canada. Pines, sand and blueberry bushes. Very enchanted once again. -- en route to Nová Bystřice, Czechia

St. Peter and Paul Church through the windows of our Penzion Mnich. -- Nová Bystřice, Czechia

The winding staircase in our Penzion Mnich. Before being a B&B it was an old dilapidated building and they have restored it beautifully. -- Nová Bystřice, Czechia

Today's ride: 26 km (16 miles)
Total: 225 km (140 miles)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	1
Comment on this entry	Comment	0