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A bit of Poland then Prague

“Just follow the motorway to Dresden and then head for Prague, you cannot go wrong”. This is what Lutz said to me as I left Berlin. I get indeed on the A13 with no problems but round about Lübbenau I do not notice that going straight means being on A15 and to stay on the A13 I would have to exit. Well, another few miles and I am faced with a sign warning I’m coming up to the Polish border, this was unexpected.

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This I did not expect.

I stop and do a bit of rerouting and realise that to go back and get the Dresden exit means doing a lot more miles that I want, moreover the temptation of sticking my wheels into another country is too tempting, so I decide to keep going ad take the less traveled path.

It is here that I have to say that since I left Berlin going south I feel like I’m crossing a green desert. The countryside is beautiful but it appears as if nobody lives here, plenty of space to resettle Syrian refugees.

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Thin asphalt, I wish they had not put it as the cobbles below are lovely.

The detour into Poland is short indeed but it gives me the opportunity to notice how quick and glaring are the differences between the two countries. If I used asphalt condition as a gauge of how well a country is administered, then Poland would come second from the bottom and Germany would be second from the top. The best country I have seen so far must be Spain and the worst, will not come as a surprise to most of you that follow my travels is Italy.

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After a little more zig zag between Germany and Poland I enter the Czech Republic and pretty quickly, as I am getting a bit tired, I join the motorway and shoot into Prague.

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And then the Czech Republic

The idea for these last three days of the trip is to see three capitals and the territory in between, so when I get to Prague, after the not easy task of finding the homestay, well hidden in a residential street, I get out into town.

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Between the fairytale background and the santa look I feel I should be a character in Shrek.

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Love in Prague, lucky them.

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“Karlův most” east gate, rather splendid if a little busy.

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The bridge in all it’s glory

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Prague on the other side of the bridge.

Prague city centre is very impressive. I had mixed feeling coming into it, some of my friend loved it, some thought the tourist traps outweighed the tourist sites two to one.

My opinion is that it’s worth visiting.

Yes there are a few tourist traps, and there are plenty of places where they want to sell you the stereotype, but at the same time the raw beauty of the place and the history you can breath just wondering around the town is fabulous.

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I thought the name rang a bell and in fact this square is dedicated to famous martyr of the post Prague spring in 1968.

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One splendid building after another.

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And they have a sense of humour, as well as a healthy disregard for the Russian.

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Pre war Prague must have been the place to be.

The night is drawing in and after toying with the idea of getting into one of the number of traditional Goulash restaurant I have a stroke of genius and get into Sarah Bernhardt Restaurant.

The food was great, the ambience even better, on the whole a great meal.

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I strongly, strongly recommend it, if you go to Prague, GO!

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Crêpe Suzette in a spectacular restaurant.

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Art deco at its best all around, poodle would be proud.

After that it was a short walk back to the homestay and the realisation that the owner letting me put the bike in the lobby was a great thing if I wanted to have it in the morning.

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The homestay was just at the bottom of this badly lit street which had wino sat on sofas at both ends.

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But at least the owner got me to put the bike in the lobby.

So today it’s three countries and two capitals.

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