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Czech Trip July 23rd /Aug 6th 2003 Once
upon a time in there was a beautiful warrior princess known to all as Helga (but
for out tale we shall call her Anne) and with her 3 henchmen of the 1100’s
(AKA Dave, Paul and Sean) she lead a vanguard of the hordes of the VSOC across
northern and Eastern Europe. Forever it seemed chasing the mad Count Otto, he of
the golden loudhailer. Through
fire, floods Noah would have appreciated, petulance (yes I do mean petulance)
and pretty little villages for light snacks and postcards, the massed forces
rode unrelenting in their quest. However to be halted at the border, bravely we
let the count lead and he pleaded on our behalf, and so we were off again to be
greeted by many a young (?) lady by the wayside until we reached a selection of
garden sheds positioned by a lake in the ancient land of bohemia. A
land that belonged; to the most stunningly attractive females seen this side of
Penge, and more blood-sucking Mosquitoes than you have ever seen. Accommodation
sorted, gear packed away and arguments over who was sleeping in which bed over
it was time to party and eat. As
the sun set the first night over the lake, an incandescent green glow shone from
it, we also found the natives indeed were friendly and with the beer at 20p a
pint it made for the first of several relaxed and convivial evenings. I even got
to like some of the people from up north… I think it was the beer J The
next day being a rest day, the combined forces did what any good bikers should
do: swam in the lake (ignoring fears of possible mutation in the green water),
sunbathed, walked to the local town for a little light shopping, received
parking tickets, and geared up for a nice meal in the evening. The meals in town
were excellent and so cheap you would not believe. The taxi ride a roller
coaster, white-knuckle ride if ever there was. Rest
day over and for those not topping up tans the rest went off to visit Cesky
Krumlov, a castle town not too far away. Whereupon to go ooh and aah, at the
architecture and purchase a light luncheon and nick knacks from those that
pedalled their wares for the weary traveller. More
food on the way back, then more beer on the return to the site, hoorah! Now
this corner of bohemia is a land of lakes, and as is natures way they are filled
by light precipitation, or in our case 30 minute deluges, sodden and bedraggled
we walked back to site, sadly to miss the ride out as first degree hypothermia
cut in. (all say aah now), in the evening the meal was traditional, very rich
and with sweet stodgy dumplings. Anne
and the count decided a 3 pronged attack on the countries capital Prague was a
damn fine idea, so via coach and 2 elite teams of highly trained and
navigationally bemused riders we set off in the blistering heat. The
Praguarian’s were however wise to this ploy and along the way laid carefully
planted traps of awful roads, cobbled streets, tramlines and slippery tiled
surfaces. Undeterred we reached our destination and in various groups we went
and did light shopping, touristy bits and climbed umpteen stairs to find a
castle, and had meals at outdoor bars watching the Prague
has to be one of the prettiest cities I have ever visited, and as night fell it
takes on a different persona, so myself, Paul and Sean walked miles around (yes
you heard that right Christine, Paul walked) watching the lights come on, listen
to street musicians and find Irish themed bars… well it made sense at the
time. The
following day the parties split as some of us went looking around Prague some
more and finding a Yamaha dealer (with and ace range of star goodies, which you
don’t find in the UK do you) for a few spares. The others having gone off to
party at a spa town 150 miles away, we headed back to site for an impromptu
party on site, where some from up north showed all, their combined skills at
synchronised singing and falling asleep in the bar. And I found out Tequila and
Czech coffees are equally horrible. Friday
came and so it was time for the fancy dress party. Though we were already
worried about some of the fancy dress already on site, and a certain male centre
reps penchant towards female swimming attire. There was cleavage to be seen
everywhere and not all on females, there were cavemen, monks, pilots, punks,
Arab’s, Batman and Robin (or was it Delboy and Rodney?) and of course those
nurses!!! There
was a cracking band who despite their lead singer not turning up, gave it large,
with covers of a rich mixture of music both English and Czech, the whole site
(even the grumpy Dutch) were up and dancing until the wee small hours. The
strange thing was the amount of requests that I received for photos from the
Dutch and others; obviously my monk’s outfit impressed them. Nick won the
contest though not even he knew what he went as, and Otto handed out prizes for
best parking ticket, best bike crash etc etc. After
a final days rest and relaxation, and with the start of the heat wave upon us we
had a BBQ in the evening and had early nights before saying cheerio to our hosts
and our chalets, 3 very hot days ride back.
The last day we split into smaller groups and led by “wing Commander Al
“ we were soon back at Calais for a leisurely cruise home. Some
2000 plus miles, I was apprehensive before we left home, but now I’m itching
for my next long run abroad. Many
thanks to Otto and Lyn for their hard work in organising it all; Anne for
leading our group, and all our friends, for making it such a good trip. Ian |