4 Bohemian Forest - Friends - Detours

Sunday, 8/9/2020

Route: Vltava Cycle Path (Bayerisch Eisenstein - Kvilda)

Kilometers: 53

Elevation: about 1200 meters

Weather: sunny, warm but not too hot, slight cool breeze

My day started very cold, as was the night. Slowly but surely, I got ready for the day and looked for a public toilet and an outlet to charge my phone in the village. I found the outlet in the reception area of the tourist information, which was not yet open. At 9 o'clock there was a church service in the church, which I attended. Apparently, I was a curiosity because only locals were there, as several people approached me afterwards. An elderly lady then told me half of her life story, which was quite interesting.

Now I went to the train station where I waited for my friends to arrive by train at 11:30. Those are: Nico and Krissi, two sisters, both from my village. I went to school with Nico for years, Krissi is 2 years older; their cousin Alex, also from my village. We have also been good friends since childhood; and our youngest member and token male Max. He has been my best friend for several years. All four of them were also part of the cross-Alps tour last year. They also brought a shared diary, in which everyone can write whenever they feel like it. I will take over a few entries from there.

1:15 PM (Julle)

Break! The first one! The others have just arrived in Bayerisch Eisenstein and I welcomed them with a lot of smell. The previously pleasantly quiet train station was disturbed. Then we posed with the border crossing sign, which is right at the train station. Max and I wore our helmets backwards to look cool for once!

Then we really started off towards Zelezna Ruda, where we got stuck at a traffic light due to road construction. Meanwhile, Nico lost her backpack and all the cars had to wait a bit. Unlucky! And then we rode into the forest and quite hilly. Basically, it was just uphill and downhill, never flat. We had to turn once and promptly got lost, until Max noticed after about 2 kilometers. That's why we have him! And because of his super awesome spread.

PS: According to Krissi, the Czech word for hello is "Olla!"

7:21 PM (Julle)

We're here! In Kvilda. It's another 8 kilometers from Modrava and since we didn't arrive until quarter to 7 (or even later), there's nothing to eat at our guesthouse. But there's a place right across the street. And that's where we're sitting now, outside, waiting for food. Everyone except me is drinking cola, I'm the only one drinking dark beer. Snob. And then we'll take a shower, which will also be nice.

So, now let's talk about the route: after our break, we soon passed through a small village with only 3 houses or so (Nova Hurka). Then we looked at the map and spontaneously chose a different route, but it was a good decision because we were still following our normal path, just on extra bike paths. Some of them were quite nice, but both Nico and I were struggling, even though it wasn't that uphill. We took breaks in the shade of individual trees, otherwise the nature wasn't that varied.

Then we came to a junction in the forest and could either go left or right. Because the arrow pointed right towards "Modrava", we went there against our original plan. And then it went uphill for a bit. Once we were at the top, it went uphill a bit more. And a bit more. And a bit more and a bit more and ugh! At first, we were still highly motivated, we filled our bottles at a spring, and then we continued. Our motivation decreased with every meter of elevation, and so did the sweat.

Next to us, there was now a steep valley going downhill. All forest, coniferous forest. Mostly spruces, many of them dead. In 2008, there was a bark beetle infestation in Sumava and the Bavarian Forest, causing great damage because over 2/3 of the area is not treated by humans in any way.

Surprisingly, we met 5 sweaty, panting cyclists, and there were people coming towards us in flip-flops and skirts, and none (!) of them looked exhausted! One stretch was so steep that Nico, Alex, and I even pushed our bikes. But that was even more exhausting! Shortly after we had climbed again, we saw Max in the distance. It was like a wonderful divine miracle and sign! The mountain was over. Later it turned out that we could have just gone around this mountain. Oh well. Nico wants to write the rest.

8:28 PM (Nico)

Thanks, Julle, for the detailed and funny introduction to my entry. When we finally arrived at the top all sweaty, Julle and I each took a beautiful (glittering) stone with us so that we could take something from the highest point of our tour to Prague.

To make the most of our break, we sat on some cut tree trunks and ate Kinder chocolate and double biscuits. Very tasty and motivating for the rest of the ride. And then we finally went downhill for 5 kilometers. It even got a bit chilly from the wind. At the bottom, there was a little surprise, a small, sweet, and cold stream crossing our path. Of course, we were happy to walk through it barefoot.

Then we continued in the valley. We took pictures of the landscape: a slightly larger stream surrounded by a lot of tall grass, which looked somehow different from the tall grass here or in Pokémon. A bit further, another rocky cliff joined the landscape.

Along this beautiful backdrop, cycling went really well! And before we knew it, we were already in Modrava. But since we couldn't find accommodation there, we continued a bit further to Kvilda. Of course, there was another uphill climb. But hopefully, we won't have to go back to Modrava and can continue directly from Kvilda, saving us a few meters of elevation for tomorrow. :D

The food, by the way, was delicious, and now we're sitting in our guesthouse room listening to happy music. I'm writing so diligently mainly because Julle made me be the last one to shower. ;)

Oh yeah, both Modrava and Kvilda are two cute little towns with beautiful wooden houses. Well, I think everything that could possibly be said has been said. We're all tired and looking forward to the bed. Max is done showering, so peace out.