Here are some of our favorite photos from the trip (each photo is a thumbnail linked to a higher quality picture. There are four pages of photos in total):
1) Finally on the road for the first riding day going from Vienna to Budweis. Jonna is riding the first bike you see in this photo. This little town, Rehberg, was typical of the small towns we rode through in the Austrian countryside.
2) First photo stop on the riding tour was appropriate given this trip is called Kings and Castles. The quaint ruins of Lichtenfels castle on the shore of a lake near Ottenstein.
3) Coffee break at another castle, this one a medieval fortified monestary at Zwettl Stift. This photo is of the chapel's tower reflected in a small lilly pond in the garden.
4) Entering Czech Republic from Austria at Bad Leonfelden - this used to be a very strict border during the Cold War when Czech Republic was one of the countries behind the so-called Iron Curtain. Now the concrete walls, barbed wire and guard houses are empty and the road is open to unrestricted travel.
5) Beer does not pour from the faucets in Budweis but they do have a very scenic square. We spent one night in Budweis (Ceske Bedojovice in Czech) and had an afternoon to walk around the quiet city center.
6) Budweis also seems to like its deer heads. Southern Czech Republic is heavily forested, so presumably these antlers decorating a hotel entrance were originally adorning animals from the nearby boubin (the primeval forest).
7) Jonna wandering the streets of Budweis.
8) Our posh hotel in Budweis, the aptly named Hotel Budweis. In the 14th century, the building was a grinding mill. The original well is still visible through a glass floor in the restaurant and the original stream (which powered the grinding stones) still runs alongside.
9) Jonna riding through the southern Czech countryside near Borova Lada.
10) One of the riding highlights of the trip was the Sumava (the Bohemian forest). Unfortunately, it was nearly impossible to get a good photo riding through the dense forest, so this photo in an area near Kvilda which had been thinned will have to suffice. The roads in this area were twisty and the scenery was stunning with green moss covering both the trees and ground on either side of the road.
11) Once out of the forest, the open spaces seemed particularly noticable. First we rode through an old airbase and then past this lake near Lnare. Room to stretch after the Sumava.
12) Lots of gorgeous countryside on this trip. The remainder of the second riding day was spent going through an agricultural heartland which seemed primarily to be growing grains. Maybe the ingredients for the famous Czech beer?
13) Our second riding day ended in the capital of the Czech Republic, the famous city of Prague. We had time that evening to check out the main square in Prague. This is what it looks like when it is reasonably empty. The massive gothic church is Tyn Church.
14) A more common depiction of the old town square of Prague - everyone is waiting for the famous astronomical clock to chime - prime time for pick pockets. Prague is a beautiful city but our experience was heavily influenced by the massive crowds everywhere so it was one of our least favorite of the cities we visited.
15) There is lots of climbing when visiting the Castle District of Prague. Here are just a fraction of the stairs you climb to get up to Hrad Prazsky: Prague Castle. Prague Castle, by the way, is the largest castle complex in the world!
16) A panorama photo overlooking Prague from the southern walls of Prague Castle. The area shown is primarily Malostranske (the "Lesser Town") on the west bank of the Vltava river.
17) Inside the massive Prague castle complex is Saint Vitus Cathedral, a huge gothic church. One of the more interesting decorative elements in the cathedral was this modern stained glass (from the 1920s) done by the Czech Art Nouveau master, Alfons Mucha. We also had a chance to visit the Mucha museum while in Prague and it was one of the highlights of our time in the city.
18) Artsy shot of one of the statues inside Saint Vitus Cathedral.
19) Another artsy shot, this time of the decoration over the tomb of John of Nepomuk.
20) The front of Saint Vitus Cathedral, looking up at the rose window just above the main entrance located on the western side of the church.
21) Charles Bridge, Karluv Most in Czech, is the famous pedestrian bridge which connects the old town center of Prague on the east bank of the Vltava River with the Lesser Town and Prague castle on the west bank. The bridge is decorated with statues and this one of John of Nepomuk (the patron saint of the Czech Republic) is the most famous.
22) Cool door decorations on an office building in the Ovocny Trh (Fruit Market) square in Prague.
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