4th Day, July 12 - Visit to the parish in Roudnice

The night was very fragmented as the noise of the freight trains kept waking me up. But after showering and having breakfast, I felt a bit better and set off to the Protestant church in Roudnice, hoping to reach the pastor or someone who could unlock the church. In the display case, I actually found the pastor's telephone number and called right away, but no one answered. In the display case, I found a second telephone number, but I only reached a church member who coordinates the Ukrainian relief efforts and serves as a collection point for used items for Ukrainian refugees. It was interesting to learn that this is done through the Protestant church. I tried the pastor's number again, but still no one answered. So, I started an experiment. I asked passers-by within a radius of about 250 meters from the entrance about the Protestant church in the city. Out of the 9 people I approached, only one knew where the Protestant church is, another thought it could be the "Evangelical" church but wasn't sure, and the other 7 knew nothing at all, even though the church with the tower is clearly visible. Then a call came in. The pastor called back himself. I took out my translation device, played my recorded voice message in Czech, and 10 minutes later, the pastor actually arrived. He greeted me warmly and first showed me the notice board with the different community activities that took place last year (photo). In our conversation, I learned that there is a church service every Sunday at 9 o'clock, which is attended by an average of 40 visitors. Behind the altar, there is a child-friendly room with play materials, where mothers can follow the sermon live through speakers (photo). The church service is usually accompanied by a highly talented volunteer cantor who alternates between playing the organ and the cello. The pastor reported that there is a lot of ecumenical cooperation with other communities, such as the Adventists, in Roudnice. Unfortunately, there is no active youth group. The biggest current challenge is the mission work within the city society. The Ukrainian relief efforts serve as a starting point for this. After we had looked at the essentials in the church, we climbed the church tower. In addition to the usual sights of the city, such as the Jan Hus monument (photo), he showed me the legendary holy mountain of the Czechs, the "National Mountain" Rip, which towers above all other mountains in the area. According to legend, in the year 644, the ancestor 'Tschech' looked out over the fertile landscape from its summit and decided to settle and build a community with his small people in this area. Today it is said that every Czech should climb this mountain at least once in their life. After this very interesting conversation, we said our goodbyes and he arranged for me to visit the next Protestant community in the royal city of Melnik, about 40 km upstream on the Elbe River. I cycled there very relaxed in the afternoon. Halfway there was a tower with the high-water marks of the Elbe River. The highest mark is from the highest Elbe flood in this region in the summer of 2002 (photo). So, I continued comfortably, and from a distance, I could already see the Brockschloss (Brocks' Castle) of the city on top of the Elbe slope, and after 15 minutes of a strenuous ascent, I had conquered the around 80 meters of altitude. In a café, I sorted my photos, wrote a text, and cycled back down to the Elbe to my pre-selected sleeping place directly on the riverbank with a wonderful view of the castle (photo). I made an appointment with the pastor of Melnik for the next day and cooked a tasty Viking stew on my gas stove. Full and satisfied, I crawled into my tent that evening.