Tag 9 (Penzion Muflon Smolov, Czech Republik! Monday 99.04.19; distance =
69; time = 3:50) -- It rained during the night, which wasn't too bad. I do
wish I had cut the tarp a bit larger. Oh well -- it's not really too bad.
What was bad was that I was so damn cold. Little wonder -- when I finally
pried myself out of the body bag, it was still only 3 degrees C. What a
suck! I took forever to take down. I was pretty freaked about getting my
hands wet. The new rubber gloves worked great! So I finally rolled at about
10:00. Oh, I did eat some breakfast here before going. It wasn't exactly
raining, but it was damn cold, and I knew it was about to rain, so I went
out shivering in full battle gear. A quick stop at the post office taught
me that Deutschland postcard stamps are a bit pricey, too. Not long out of
this town, it did start to rain. Not bad, though. I managed to draft a
tractor hauling bricks into "Neunburg Vorm Wald." It wasn't raining when I
stopped at the bakery and stocked up. Then, I went to the grocery store
where my basket worked great. While I was packing my food for travel, it
started plopping bits of ice from the sky. I hadn't got 500 m away when the
sky just opened up and dumped on me -- ice and rain. "How long can this
last?" I thought. This kind of hail storm lasts only about 10 minutes in
Ohio. After waiting in a bus stop for 15, I put on the cape and off I went.
It continued to just drop with water and ice for at least « hour of riding.
The slush was collecting on my hand baggies and in the cape. Then I
descended into a river valley and crossed a bridge. The hail stopped
instantly. More precisely, it hadn't even touched this side of the river!
The road was dry going into the hail and wet tracks led out. When I got to
Schonthal, I had to go to the bathroom, and I was ready to rest, despite
only having very few kms so far. I tried my 1st Gasthaus. Not too bad. They
were pretty stand-offish. There were some guys at a table labeled
"Stammtische," which my German book prepared me for -- this is where
regulars just hang out. I ordered a pizza, and the girl who worked there
was a bit more friendly (in that German kind of way). Not bad. Thanks to a
good exchange rate, it wasn't bad at all. So very full, I set off again.
When I got to Waldmunchen -- the town that's about 4 km from the Czech
border, I went into a bank to get some Czech cash -- none!! What? This
country's right next door, and I could see it from the bank!! And they have
none of their cash. Wow! Well, despite battling wicked weather all day, I
felt pretty lame only getting 50 km in (if that!). I decided that I'd just
take the plunge and dive into Eastern Europe. Best move of my trip! The
border guards checked my passport from both sides -- I got my first stamp
-- CR = Ceska Republika -- cool. The little exchange bank right over the
border had weird hours, and they were closed at 15:30, but there was a
nifty machine that slurped up my Deutsche Marks (100) and gave me an
incalculable amount of Krone. It seems a U.S. $ busy 34.5 of these suckers.
And then I was rolling in the CR. Wow. What a different universe! It was
quite a change. First, I, of course, could understand nothing. I did match
up a road sign with a good target on my map. I figured I'd just always hang
left and if a mistake was made, I'd pop out in Deutschland. Second, the
roads suck! But it's great! They're full-sized roads (OK, they're narrow),
but there's pot holes all over. No problem for a bike to deal with -- it is
paved. But! You can't drive your Mercedes at 200 kph here -- and they
don't. Almost NO cars. In about 30 km, I saw maybe 5, and they all were
going nice and slow. At least 3 were German plates. So #3, since these
people don't drive much, they all live in little villages (like Germany).
Unlike Germany, in between is nothing! No farm houses, no stores, just
forest, forest, fields, forest. Incredible. A great place to ride! I was
contemplating camping in the woods, since I didn't have an RV park
outlined. I was really excited about camping in such perfect woods -- miles
from anyone, easily hidden with no chance of being found. Perfect. I was
still into that plan when it started raining again -- the trees in this
thick forest were great cover -- dry under. It got worse and worse, until
it was doing the hail thing. I went through a couple of tiny villages with
a totally different look from German ones. Much poorer looking. Then woods
-- only woods. Then I popped out into an unmarked tiny village (smaller
than Sigigen). I was doing a map check when I noticed an electric lit sign
"Penzion." Ah, I know that, and it must be swanky for these parts, since
this was the only such sign I'd seen. I walked up to it and a guy working
on the exterior of the building figured out that I wanted a room. He then
started clearing out a storage shed that looked pretty wretched, but still
dry. Then I realized, he was making a garage for my bike. Ah, cool. So, I
parked and locked it and pulled off my gear and went inside. The manager
woman mercifully spoke one of my languages -- schlect Deutsch! She took me
to my room, which is totally excellent with private shower/bath AND working
radiator! And how much? 250 Krone. So, let's see ... at 34.5 units, $10.
Holy Christ! I could take a limo across this country! So she told me to
come down for food. For $3, I had an awesome soup, meat and fries meal with
an omelette on top. Wow. I got to talking with another (the other) person
who speaks good schlect Deutsch. He was very friendly and helpful. I got my
notebook out and started making a Czechische phrase book with his help. Why
does he speak German? He's a border guard! They're all very nice here, and
they really got a kick out of my serious effort to learn some critical
words. I have been sitting here writing while they all play cards. I
ordered my meal using my trademark "whatever you recommend" technique. Now,
I'm drinking an insanely thick coffee on the same principal. Good deal, and
it's all cost about nothing. Well, I think I'll do some more planning and
then to bed for a warm shower in a warm room for a change and then a good
sleep in a bed. And, so I don't lose this:
Josef Vachal Penzion Muflon
Smolov 2 Smolov 40
Hostoun Bela and Radbuzou
34525 34526
CZ CZ
![[Bike]](./only2500b.gif)
