physikality: The Hills of Czech Republic

what goes up, goes up more and falls down really fast.

Poland and south-eastern Germany were relatively flat plains and easy compared to the hills of northen Czech Republic. Liberec seemed close on the map, about 60-70km south of Görlitz. The few hills we had to pass meant that we needed more time to reach the city. Finally at about 9pm, we were at the city, with the help of a fellow local cyclist.

He led us the correct way to Liberec to meet up with the next couch host, Jakob. Jakob is a student in the local university and is currently doing a summer job at a local company. He brought us around the city center and to his favourite pub for a beer before heading back to his home for a good night's sleep.

The next morning, we left for Mlada Boleslav, home of Skoda Auto, the Czech car manufacturer. We went over a few more hills and down an almost equal number of valleys with breathtaking views of the surrounding towns and villages and also the symbol of Liberec, Ještěd. We also had a long break for lunch since the weather was really too hot to cycle in Sychrov. We also passed by the regional brewer, Svijany.

Afterwards, the terrain to Mlada Boleslav became flat and so we really could cover a lot of distance. In the city, we met with Zdenek, the next couch host in the center of town. He is an amazing guy who works in the research arm of Skoda Auto. We went around the city visiting the old 1000 year old castle turned museum and some parts of the city in close proximity to it.

Since my travel partner had a really bad case of the flu, I visited the Skoda Museum the next day with Jirinka, Zdenek's girlfiend.

Yes, my bike is still alright. With its thin wheels, I can travel far and fast!

Jested from far. Try to see it.

We had to continue the journey to Prague by train. Oops... I know, we cheated here. We arrived at the main train station soon the next morning so we had almost the whole day to visit Prague. It was my second trip so I knew most of the important spots to visit. On the first and second days in Prague, we explored most of the old town and Prague castle. We got ripped off while having lunch in the old town, in a small cafe near Karlov most - Charles bridge. Never will I eat in that area again.

Luckily, I remembered a few places to eat which Martina, a Czech friend once showed me on my first trip there. We were supposed to leave Prague the next day but...