6-10 July 2023, Prague, 41.51km
Prague Camping 408kč [R339]

How's this for a cycle-friendly lane into a capital city? It was occupied only briefly by a police car (not listed!), otherwise we had it to ourselves. Sadly, it did not last near long enough...
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Only around 40km done today between Lysá nad Labem and Prague, but another lovely day on the road.
We entered the old city at the "Powder Gate... The construction of this 65-metre-high late-gothic city gate began in 1475... After moving the royal seat in 1483 the gate lost its significance. It gained its present name in the 17th and 18th centuries, when it became a gunpowder warehouse... At the end of the 19th century, it was restored...  In April 1945, after the liberation of Prague from German occupation, the gate became a place of retaliation against the German population." (Wikipedia)
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We are camping for four nights on an island in the Vlatava River just south of the old city. We took a ferry from the east bank promenade to the northern tip of the island. To our surprise, seniors over 65 are transported free of charge, which encouraged me to ask the campsite reception for a pensioner's discount. Got a good one!
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In the town of Brandýs nad Labem-Stará Boleslav (I kid you not), we sat on the steps outside a pink church, the Basilica of the Blessed Virgin Mary, having admired its elaborate interior, enjoying delicious vanilla ice-cream in a cone. It seems the Czechs are as obsessed with ice-cream as are the Poles. In one tiny Polish village, we were told there were 15 dedicated ice-cream stalls.
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Today is a Czech public holiday, Jan Hus day. Hus was an early reformist who influenced Martin Luther 100 years later. He was burned at the stake as an heretic on 6 July 1415.
Many shops were closed, but the Czechs took advantage of a day off, biking, boating on the Elbe and Vlatava rivers, and eating out.
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Tomorrow, the Romanian Embassy to apply for our visas.
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Had a sizeable flap of skin ripped open by a very nice man at the Romanian embassy. We were standing outside the door waiting for someone to answer the intercom, when instead someone opened the door. I was resting my hand on a round knob with a sharp back edge which caught me as he opened the door. He immediately brought out his first aid kit and stopped me dripping blood on the lintle. But still sent us away to make an appointment via the website.
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Charl and I forgot we are not in Africa where you pop into the next country's embassy, fill in a form (or not), maybe shake hands with the ambassador, pay a sizeable sum of money (or not), and either leave with the visa or pick it up a couple of days later.
Seems applying for a Romanian visa is as complex as applying for a Schengen visa with forms and itineraries and proof of income and proof of accommodation, etc. We really are going to have to get our act together.
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If you don't already have a crick in your neck, Prague will give you one. For free. A truly special city; a visual cacophony from its manhole covers to its lampposts to the statues and artwork adorning almost every building and rooftop.
It was hot, hot, hot, but a stunning day for photography. Having crossed the Vltava by ferry (a misnomer for the very small boat that ferries a maximum of 12 people at a time to and from the island), we bought a 24-hour public transport ticket (half-price for seniors) and travelled by tram and bus and Metro, not only between destinations, but to take a long break just sitting and watching the city roll by.
We started in the Old Town Square noting particularly the Hus Memorial, the Prague Meridian, and the wonderful astronomical clock, joining dozens of tourists to stand and watch it strike noon.
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Prague Meridian
"The slender brass strip in Prague's Old Town Square was used to tell time from 1652 to 1918. Before the technological revolutions that seemingly shrunk the world, Prague, like many other industrial cities, relied on its own local time. To determine high noon, the city used a shadow cast by a Marian column that fell directly upon the meridian of 14°25’17″ East each day."