Staying at Camp Matyas: - an oasis on the outskirts of Prague
We are very happy with our choice to stay at Camp Matyas on the Vlatva River south of Prague in the village of Vrane nad Vltavou. We can walk to the train station in 10 minutes which takes us directly in to the centre of Prague. Return trip: 140 kronur for 2 of us (4.5 euros) and our deluxe cabin is 850 kronur (30 euros). The camping here is good and the amenities give a tenter everything they need, including a well appointed lounge room with a large flat screen TV. But, we couldn't resist the excellent value and comfort of the cabin - so our tent remains packed in our trailer. This family run place is low key with a pretty setting on the river looking across at steep forested and rocky cliffs. As well as being a well run and pretty campground, we opted to stay out of Prague because of its reputation as a city with a sophisticated network of thieves who prey on tourists. In talking to other cyclists who have camped in Prague, we heard about bikes being stolen and tents broken into at camp. Behind the campground are also high cliffs - for provisions, we walk up the hill to a very good corner shop run by a Chinese family. Having amenities like a well stocked kitchen and our own bathroom are indeed luxuries for a cycling traveller. We plan to stay here for a few days - sightsee in Prague and have a day at camp to use their laundry facilities, write postcards and just relax. Last night we joined the Dutch campers in the TV room and shared their anxiety and joy watching the World Cup game against Mexico. The room went from complete silence with their heads in their hands to an eruption of yelling and clapping when Holland scored and ultimately won. This game was critical as a defeat meant elimination. When they shared congratulations all around, there was a deep sigh of relief and everybody went back to their campers. The game was won in extra time with a questionable penalty shot. We could see by the reaction of our Dutch friends, that they knew that the Dutch player embellished the 'hit". This so often happens in sport - we wonder why they don't use video replay as we do in hockey. That being said, we know that there is no easy solution as "diving" is also a problem in hockey. No matter how it's done, sport always has questionable calls. We were rooting for Holland, but this was a heartbreaker for Mexico.
Barry putting tracks of the Elbe River route on our Garmin GPS - yeah!!
