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Your Accommodation
All hotel and pensions are rated
as 3 star and have private bathroom facilities. Our only Austrian
Hotel is located in a quiet part of old Vienna, only a couple
of blocks away from the main shopping street. We move onto
Cejkovice a small quiet village for two nights. In Trebon
we stay either at a family operated pension built as part
of the old town fortifications, or at a hotel located in the
middle of the square. This is a historical building with a
good restaurant and serves the renowned Regent Beer. At Cesky
Krumlov again a historic building houses the small family
run pension. At Pisek our hotel is owned by the famous Lala
family. Jiri Lala played for the Czech National Ice-hockey
team as well as in the USA. Again, this is a historical building
right on the town square and boasts an excellent restaurant.
Finally we pedal into Prague where our last hotel is located
in the quiet suburb of Vinohrady, which is only a short hop
from Wenceslas Square. There are several restaurants nearby.
The
Bikes
We normally provide 21 speed touring/hybrid
style Leader |Fox bikes. Cycle hire fee is included in the
tour price. Helmets are not included; they are not obligatory
in the Czech Republic. Include are a small toolkit, a water
bottle with holder, a lock and a spare inner tube. There is
a handlebar bag with space for map and information. We need
to know customers' height and inside leg measurements. Bike
sizes available are 19 inches and 21 inches (men); 17 and
19 inches (ladies). It is recommended that cyclists take out
a small multitool for minor adjustments enroute.
Accommodation
Accommodation is in country hotels and pensions.
Bed and breakfast only are included. Picnic lunches are not
included, but materials for picnics can be purchased in each
of the towns and villages where you stay. Evening meals are
also not included, but you will be able to find places to
go and eat, either at your hotel or elsewhere in the towns
where you are staying. On some days there are also conveniently
located restaurants en route.
Night 1:
Vienna. A lovely renovated hotel located near the university
and the U.S. Embassy.
Nights 2 and 3:
Cejkovice. You stay at the former 'Mansion of the Knights',
which has been refurbished into an interesting hotel.
Night 4 and 5: Trebon.
In Trebon we also use two hotels; either a family operated
pension, built as part of the old town fortifications ( breakfast
only is available at the pension); Or we stay in a small hotel
situated in the central town square. This is another historic
building with a good restaurant and also serving excellent
beer!
Night 6: Cesky
Krumlov. At Cesky Krumlov the pension is a historic
building, very well refurbished and family run. (Only breakfast
can be served at the pension).
Night 7:
Pisek. Our Pisek hotel situated in the central square is owned
by the Lala family, famous for Czech and American ice hockey.
It boasts an excellent restaurant.
Night 8:
Prague. Finally in Prague our hotel is in a quiet neighbourhood.
This is near the underground station of Namesti Miru, only
a stop away from Wenceslas Square. The hotel serves breakfasts
only, but there is a bar available and there are so many places
to eat in the capital, that it is a great reason alone for
exploring. (In Prague always Czech out restaurant prices before
you order). Why not extend your tour by taking extra nights
in Vienna or Prague?
What's
included
8 nights
in normally 3 star pensions and hotels; 18-21 speed hybrid
bikes. Transportation of luggage on hotel change days. Some
transfers with bikes (viz a viz itinerary). Maps, information
(briefing in the morning of the first day), Water bottle,
bags and a spare tyre.
General
Information
This is a new cycling tour linking two of the most famous
and romantic cities in Europe. You will have time to immerse
yourself in world of architectural styles from Gothic to Art
Deco. From Austria the tour takes you over gently rolling
terrain through some very beautiful parts of the Czech Republic;
Moravia, Southern Bohemia; the castle towns of Telc, Cesky
Krumlov, the vineyards of Palava and eventually on to Prague
...the capital of dreams. Before and after your cycling tour
there is an opportunity to visit Vienna/Prague in more detail:
extra nights are thoroughly recommended.
Season: May to October.
Travel
Information
Arrival: Schedules Flights from London Heathrow
to Vienna. Dep: 08.45. Arr: 1205 Vienna. The tour starts in
Vienna. Arrive at the first accommodation by early evening.
End of Tour: Tour ends
on day 9 in Prague to Heathrow. 
Itinerary
Day 1.
Arrive Vienna. The bikes will be issued to you at the hotel,
or you will collect locally.
Day 2.
Vienna to Ceskovice.80 km. Because of the traffic in the city
you will not start the ride in Vienna itself, instead you
will taken by van for nearly 40 km and dropped off to start
at the village of Schrick, taking the road to Princendorf
and Walterskirchen and the border crossing with the Czech
Republic at Mikulov and on to Cejkovice. You will end near
the picturesque Pavala Highlands, a preserved area with limestone
Karst scenery, beautiful flowers and old Gothic castles. This
is a wine cultivating district and Mikulov has the largest
Jewish cemetery in central Europe.
Day 3.
Circular ride from Cejkovice. 50km - but you can do more or
less since you are staying at the same place for another night.
Lakes, ponds and parks typify this attractive day's ride.
Day 4.
Cejkovice to Trebon. 46 km. From Cejkovice the van will take
you to Strmilov and then you will be rolling over the Czech
Moravian Highlands into Bohemia. Cycle to the Gothic fortified
town of Jindrichuv Hradec with its castle from 1220 and there
are many Baroque and renaissance buildings. The route continues
through Straz nad Nezarkou to Trebon. You could also ride
on to Telc, another town that reflects the many differing
periods of architecture that have coloured the region from
Gothic to modern. Telc boasts a World Heritage Site listing
under UNESCO, underlining its cultural importance, but also
indicating that it is on the Eastern European leg of the champagne
set dignitaries from this lavish organisation to visit, before
they alight in Prague for the evening round of drinks and
dining.
Day 5. Circular
ride from Trebon. 44 km. This is a big circuit around the
Trebon ponds. It takes you around (and probably around again)
the Regent Brewery. Regent beer has been brewed since 1379
and it is the oldest one in the country. If you get a bottle
with this date on, it is probably past its best! The ponds
were excavated in 1584 and it is claimed that here the first
fish were bred commercially in Europe. You can ride around
the bank of the Svet pond.
Day 6.
Trebon to Cesky Krumlov. 46 km. After
maybe a final walk round in Trebon, visiting ponds and castle,
cycle to Cesky Krumlov, another town 'preserved' by UNESCO.
The castle is the second biggest in the country and the town
is beautifully located on the River Vltava. The town has some
great taverns and restaurants.
Day 7. Cesky
Krumlov to Pisek. 60 km. A van today will call and take you
on to Holasovice, from where you will start riding to Jankov,
Cakov, Cejkovice and Hluboka whose chateau houses one of the
most interesting art collections in Europe. Soon you will
arrive in Protivin, where a visit to the local brewery is
highly recommended. Finally roll into Pisek on the river Otava
and built up in the early middle ages on the gold panning
industry. There is a stone bridge from the 13th century: The
oldest documented structure of this type in central Europe.
Day 8.
Pisek to Prague. 35 km. Heading through Zahori, Zvikov, Vlastec
and Orlik where you can enjoy a castle by a lake. From here
it is vehicle transfer through Pribram and Dobris to Prague.
The car will meet you in the parking lot by the castle at
Orlik and then it is a 1.5 hour journey to the capital.
Prague of course boasts a
fairytale quality that reflects the majesty of the Gothic
and Baroque architectural ensemble that perhaps is the finest
in the world. After the Velvet Revolution, a large community
of Americans materialized with additional German and English
language teachers. Prague was exalted as the artisanal centre
of Europe and compared to the Paris of the 1920s. Of course,
however, prices shot up, forcing locals to go and eat and
drink in the suburbs. Prague certainly can be expensive, but
if you look hard enough you will find a variety of reasonably
priced restaurants. Public transport is excellent and you
can escape from the throngs who patronize the Charles Bridge
with a little river side walk, or have a panoramic view of
the city from the castle where Good King Wenceslas looked
out.... If you are a couple you may find this to be the most
romantic city that you have ever visited.
Day 9. In Prague. There
is an optional half day city tour of 'The city of a thousand
spires,' (if required this service is available at $26 extra)
There is so much to see: Prague Castle, the Lesser Town, the
Jewish Quarter, the old town square with its famous mediaeval
astrological clock, the Child of Prague, and Wenceslas square;
the main shopping area where coffee in the beautiful Art Deco
Hotel Europa is de rigeur.
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