Elbe Cycle Route - Day 4

Day 4 - only 600 or so miles left to go.

Our camper stay at the marina was comfortable, but we hadn’t planned far enough ahead for breakfast. The only option was a 1 km uphill trek to a “Penny Market,” and that just wasn’t happening.

Instead, we made do with orange juice and nuts we’d picked up at the beer garden the night before. Not exactly a champion’s breakfast, but it powered us a couple of hours until we found a bakery.

…and the bakery carried us to lunchtime…

…where we happily refueled at a beer garden with grilled sausages and cold drinks. There were so many beer gardens along our path today. We picked the first one we came to and it was fabulous!

We started and ended today on very bumpy single track trail, but in between we were treated to some of the smoothest riding yet.

The temperature climbed into the high 80s, so it was a toasty one.

The Elbe flowing quietly here, in contrast to the jostling trail that awaited us.

Some bridge construction led us on a detour. We were happy to find this trail under a highway!

The detour also led us through a corn field. Lots of agriculture today.

It was a pleasant day. Most of the steep climbs are behind us now.

Over the last couple of days, the river trail was lively with fishermen—though their style is… hands-off. Most sat in tents or canopies, shirts off, phones in hand, and poles propped tens of feet away. They rely on alarms to tell them if they have a bite. At one point, a fisherman sprinted across the trail in front of us to get to his pole just as we were passing. (No photos of the fisherman yet - they’re not a particularly friendly lot)

Later, we rolled through a town buzzing with carnival preparations along the riverbank. It looked like it would have been a fun place to linger.

Tonight, we’re only 30 miles north of Prague, staying in a guesthouse attached to a restaurant. It’s comfortable and welcoming.

Dinner had a distinctly German vibe, and thanks to a little miscommunication with our waiter, we ended up sharing a starter and just one main dish. It turned out to be perfect—more than enough food. We split a massive potato pancake wrapped around a thin piece of pork, plus fried toast topped with blue cheese crumbles. (Poor Bobby didn’t get his schnitzel)

Sharing a main left room for dessert, which we didn’t pass up.

We enjoyed a bit of Czech hockey at dinner. Although it originated in Canada, the Czech’s are very fond of ice hockey.

Tomorrow we’re meeting up with Elise! She’s been exploring Prague for a couple of days and rented a bike to join us. We’ll rendezvous in Melnik, then ride together for a few days before she heads off on her own adventures.

As of today, we’ve covered 170 miles. Rain is in the forecast tomorrow afternoon, so after meeting Elise we’ll just go a few more miles downstream to another guesthouse. It should be a nice, low-key day.

Only a few more days in the Czech Republic before we pass into Germany!

Adio for now!