From Prague to Meissen

Saturday 12th July
Day 31, 1127 miles done.

It's a small world...as we were leaving Prague, we met a cycle tourist coming the other way. He seemed familiar and as soon as we got into conversation we realised that we had met him at the airport in Sri Lanka, 18 months ago. How amazing is that?!

The path going North out of Prague was very pleasant to start with, but we had read that it would become quite difficult and indeed it did!  The track became very narrow and rocky, only inches from a long drop into the river in places, winding through thick, prickly vegetation for about 5 km. I had to walk.

On Tuesday,  we crossed the Czech border back into Germany and enjoyed the ride past grand palaces and pretty villages before we were caught in torrential rain. We donned our waterproofs once again and made a dash for Dresden. We spent a couple of days here, visiting the old city and marvelling at the mix of grand buildings, old and new. Repair work seems to be ongoing...In Zwinger, a hall in the open air, dozens of statuettes are carefully being replaced. Everywhere, lots of buildings are covered with scaffolding and blue and green drapes whilst work is carried out. 

For the past few days, the cycle path has been very good. Smooth tarmac interspersed with short stretches of cobbles has become the norm, so the going is a little less tiring and progress is made more easily. We have enjoyed stopping off at Radebeul and Meissen for coffee and cake and are still looking forward to our first icecream in one of the many 'eis cafés'...