Biking Czech Republic

22 July 2023, Brod nad Dyji, 60.33km
Auto Erika 350kč [R298]

Charl says if I give him more days like today, he will go cycling round the world with me!
A very pleasurable 60km to Brod nad Dyjí. Yes, "pleasurable" and "60km" in the same sentence! Partially because it was a coolish day; mainly because we lost more elevation than we gained; perhaps because having cycled over 3000km, we simply sit better on the bikes.
We began the day crossing a pedestrian bridge at the northeast end of Vranov dam, then cycled a ribbon of road running beside a river set in a narrow valley. The road services the summer and weekend cottages squeezed between the lane and the water, clinging to a sharp drop-off.
We climbed a steep section, bodies angled at almost 45 degrees to push our bikes. Then onto a mixed bag of secondary roads and a longish stretch of busy highway with a welcome shoulder.
In Drnholec, just 10km from our planned destination on the north bank of the Věstonická reservoir (also on the Thaya river), we stopped at a hostelry for a drink and cabbage soup for Charl. A young local man who helped us translate the menu suggested we not take the road running along the north edge of the Thaya, but instead cross the river, take the cycle path on the south bank levee, then cross back to the north bank via a bridge over the reservoir. He forgot to mention that the bridge was kaput, leaving us adrift on the south side. We consulted Google Maps and made our way instead to the nearby and very pleasant Erika Auto Camp, with, just 100m away, a restaurant serving delicious eisbein. Both the Erika hosts and the restaurant staff speak German rather than English, we assume given the proximity to Austria.
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We saw an excess of roadkill today. Hundreds of tiny fieldmice, probably nuked while grazing on seed fallen off the back of trucks. More than one owl, probably nuked while grazing on dead mice. Several rabbits. One small buck.
We also saw a field full of seagulls, presumably blown off course.
And on the Thaya, swans effortlessly elegant.
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Today we harvested tart yellow plums from a verge tree. Two days ago, it was ripe red cherries. Yum.