Prague spring: Ten views (from a bike)

The weather in Prague was so beautiful on Friday that I took the afternoon off work and went for a bike ride. This time I set myself a specific goal - to photograph ten of my favourite panoramas of the city and post them here on the blog.

New-look blog

Regular visitors will have noticed that I've revamped the blog. Besides migrating to a new template I've added a couple of nifty new features at the bottom of the left-hand column - a three-day weather forecast for the Czech Republic (courtesy of In-počasí) and a slideshow gadget currently showing snaps of my latest ride around Prague (more on that in my next post). I hope you like the new look.

Cycling trip tips

Spring has sprung at last and it occurred to me that I could share a few tips on organising a bicycle outing in the Czech Republic.

Stage 3 route summary

Stage 3 can be summed up simply: the Ore Mountains (Cze: Krušné hory, Ger: Erzgebirge). This narrow plateau rises impressively steeply on its southern side and slopes down more gently into Germany in the north. I’ll start at the eastern end with a long climb out of the town of Děčín then stay high up in the hills almost until the finish in the Hook of Aš. For the most part I’ll be following route 23, aka the Ore Mountains Cycle Trail. The mountain range is aptly named, as tin, silver and other metals were mined here for centuries, although as far as I know there are no active mines left these days. The high points (literally) of stage 3 will be the observation towers situated on various peaks along the way. In particular, I’ll be visiting the tower atop Klínovec, at 1,244 metres (4,081 ft) the highest mountain in the range and probably the highest point on my entire journey around the Czech border.

How to buy Czech rail tickets

This is a follow-up to my post on taking your bike by train in the Czech Republic. Here I explain how to buy Czech rail tickets.

Taking your bike by train in the Czech Republic

You can transport bikes on most trains in the Czech Republic. However, the options available are pretty complicated. Read on for a guide to the system.

Cycle route signposting in the Czech Republic

The Czech Republic has a nationwide system for numbering and signposting its official cycle routes. These routes form an ever-expanding network covering the entire country. They run mostly along quiet roads and off-road trails, often in very picturesque locations. You don’t have to stick to the marked routes, of course, but they do make route-finding much easier in the field.

So how does the system work?

Cycling maps of the Czech Republic

My name is Simon and I’m a mapaholic. Can’t get enough of the things. One look at my blog posts should convince you of that. But I haven’t yet talked about the maps I use. Here’s my lowdown on cycling maps of the Czech Republic.