Sept 4 in Litomerice

It's hot. This part of Europe is having a heat wave and has been since we arrived. The temperature has typically been in the low to mid 30s by mid afternoon and we are finding it incredible warm for getting this much excerise. It would be worse, though, like rain and cold, which we are all equipped to handle so I can tell you that we are dragging around a lot of stuff.  Fortunately, we don't have to tow our roller-suitcases behind our bikes as they get picked up each morning and delivered to our next destination. So it doesn't matter that they weigh 80 lbs.

We left Melnik at the pleasant time of the morning, getting ourselves organized and on the road about 8:30. Melnik is a beautiful small town, perched atop a large outcrop with views across the broad valley and basin of the area. Definitely worthy of more than one night, though we knew that would be the case with pretty much every destination. This will be helpful with planning the motorcycle leg of the trip.

Our way out of the village was easy as we just had to get to the precipice and ride down on the bumpy cobblestones, back to the river, cross and get on the bike trail. It is a perfect temperature for riding, probably around 20 and, as you might expect in a heat wave, brilliantly blue skies. I make a concious effort to drink water even before I am getting warm because I think I was a little dehydrated yesterday. I may have had some motivation from the beverages last night as well. 

This pylon, next to the Elbe River, shows the different high water levels during floods from the past 150 years. You can see the floods of 2022 are noted at the top.

The frauleins resting their posteriors. On shovel spades.

We took a small detour off the route in order to visit the Castle of Dolni Berkovice, which  was rebuilt in 1606; its original construction date is not noted in the literature. However, it is a fascinating piece of architecture and we were all glad that we made the small excursion to see it.  It was clear that there was ongoing construction work on the interior, though it appeared as though it was proceeding quite slowly.  Apparently, it was purchased by a private company in 2023.

I have been somewhat surprised to see how many people along the river are fishing and many camping as well, not too much in tents but mostly with trailers and motorhomes. People are camping in green spaces at the river's edge, not in designated campgrounds, so I am not sure on the rules around that but there is definitely no potable water or bathrooms of any sort but I haven't seen evidence of people misusing the space. In fact, given the circumstances, it is surprisingly clean. Occasionally there will be bits of garbage, like a chip bag or a water bottle but for the most part, it is really quite tidy. I find this encouraging.

A camper on an island in the Elbe River.

Fishers with a popular set up that includes installing a mount to hold one or two fishing rods.

Wild hops. 

I offered to brew up a batch of fine, Czech pilsner but this group is so impatient.

We passed by the site of the 2022 World Rowing Championships. It was an amazing facility with a 1.5 km pond, viewing stands and athlete's accomodations.

We stopped in the larger-than-usual-for-us town of Roudnice nad Labem for lunch. I had been pretty desperate for another coffee along the way but of course, each little cafe along the bike trail has been closed until we came to R nad L and there was a little biketrail-side cafe that was actually operating however, we elected to go into town and have a look to see if anything looked interesting. 

We ended up at a place that made nice sandwiches, pastries and espresso. But of course, away from the major centres, like the day before, the staff speak little English. Fortunately, they did have a couple of English menus and they knew those words. There was a display case of sandwiches and their pastries so it was actually fairly easy, until I tried to ask if they made their own pastries. that turned out to be a pretty complex question that led to all kinds of confusion about what I was trying to order and I ended up speaking to three different people who were trying to understand what I was asking. Eventually, the cook came out and I did mange to convey what I was asking and she answered by bringing out a mixing bowl of chocolate sauce that she had been preparing in the back. Nan ended up having cheesecake and I had a roll filled with custard and chocolate. I won. 

It continues to amaze me that this international bike path takes us through the heart of little hamlets.

Terezin Memorial - Discretion advised.

Even though this blog is meant as entertainment, I knew that sooner or later I would come to this point. I include this information as a reminder that this can never be allowed to happen again. It is disturbing to see first hand how human beings were treated by other human beings.

The Terezin Memorial was originally a walled fortress constructed from 1780 - 1790 by the Austrian Emporer Joeseph II to resist Prussian invasion.  It is a massive complex, covering nearly 4 square kilometres, though it was never used in battle. After having been as a prison and political prison camp, it was annexed by the Nazis in 1940 and used as a staging area for Jews being sent to extermination camps in Germany during the Second World War.

It held mainly Czech resistance fighters, political opponents to the Nazis, homosexuals, entertainers/artists and Jews to be transported. Over the course of the war, 33,000 people including 5,000 women and children were murdered at the hands of the Nazis in the prison either through executions or by poor health conditions. 140,000 Jews passed through the complex, sent to extermination camps however, the majority of those incarcerated were primarily Czech resistance fighters. 1500 Jews were murdered at the camp either by execution, torture or from poor health conditions. 

We were shown dorm-styled rooms where prisoners were held, with wooden bunks in which prisoners were jammed together and no working lavatory. The room where Jews were held for up to four weeks was barely big enough to hold 60 people, the number determined by the Gestapo guards suitable for incarceration. Prisoners were not allowed to sit and if caught sitting, were shot. There was a bucket for excrement, which was not emptied and there was no window. Guards monitored the incarcerated through a tiny glass window that had been built into the wall.

The Gestapo offered up the complex as a model prisoner of war camp and invited the Red Cross to inspect the facility. Gardens were planted, rooms were cleaned, and rooms were demonstrated to be health facities but were in fact "dummy" rooms where nothing worked, such as installed plumping but gave the impression that prisoners were cared for. 

Two days after Germany surrendered, 52 prisoners were executed before they could be liberated.

The entrance to the complex prominently flying a Ukrainian flag

There were about 20 people on the tour. This is the room where 60 Jews would be held at one time before being sent to an extermination camp.

This space was inside four closed walls and was used by guards to execute prisoners without witnesses.

Gallows.

Where executions by firing squad occurred.

The window used by guards to monitor Jews.