Day 4 – Auf Wiedersehen Deutschland, Vítej v Česku

After a healthy breakfast at my Gasthaus, I realized that some of my clothes were missing. As you can imagine, I go through the routine of washing, cleaning, and drying my clothes every day. Unfortunately, I hadn’t packed any clothes pegs, which became quite evident during the night when strong winds blew my clothes off the balcony and onto the balconies of other guests. This led to a rather laborious process of collecting them back. After a few minutes and with the great help of the manager Klaus, I was finally ready to go.

Unfortunately, the stronger winds from east (around 15 knots) persisted throughout the day. At times, I had to paddle while going downhill just to avoid standing still. I’ll spare you the complaints, but I managed to cover 80 kilometers today and successfully crossed the border into the Czech Republic. I felt a great sense of accomplishment and relief for completing the first part of my trip. I must praise Germany for its incredible network of bike routes, which felt very safe and well-maintained.

Upon arriving in Rozvadov, I received a warm welcome from the owner of the pension, who offered me a beer before I even checked in. I didn’t explicitly mention that I didn’t want a second beer, so she brought me another one. You see, this is a rather peculiar habit in the Czech Republic—an opt-out principle, so to speak. If you don’t explicitly state that you don’t want another drink, it will be served automatically.

Finally, I managed to park my bike and settle into my room. Next on the agenda was exchanging my euros into koruna. There are plenty of exchange offices, but if you want a better rate, you have to find a Vietnamese person who lives in Rozvadov. The deal was done, and suddenly I had 23 times more money than before.

Pure coincidence had it that there was a festival called “rozvadovské slavnosti” near where I was staying. Of course, I decided to go and enjoy the rock music, indulge in some typical food, and have more beer. Some of the hardcore rockers didn’t appreciate my biking outfit initially, but when we started talking, they turned out to be friendly.

I would have liked to stay longer, but I couldn’t afford to drink any more beer. Tomorrow morning, my two-wheeled companion is eager to hit the road again.

On a whim, I decided to treat myself to a Thai massage, and it turned out to be a great decision. I feel more relaxed as I head to bed.

Enjoy the evening, and see you tomorrow.