Laa an der Thaya to Mistlebach

 

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/381363831?privacy_code=oVQvIMur2nQqw6gAF3VOcsTVhwDZ0RLm

Last day of cycling for this trip.  Easy day through mostly flat farm land.  I've had great weather, none of the forecasted rain.  

This part of the trip gets into the Austrian wine region, unfortunately not the season for the numerous tasting rooms.  

I can't get over how beautiful everything is.  Lots and lots of farmland.  Reminds me of Tennessee, but more land under cultivation.  

Took the train from Mistelbach to Vienna.

Some random pictures of Vienna.

New area to the North of the Danube.  Likely not there when I lived here in 1966.  

St. Francis of Assisi Church.

The Prater park area.  Always time for an outdoor cafe. 

Last stop on the trip.  188 miles. Vienna Explorer was great.  No issues with the bike at all.  

Nova Bystrice to Vranov nad Dyji

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/380679742

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/380748618

According to the apps, I've crossed the high point of the trip. Mostly down hill from here. 

Another beautiful day through the countryside. I've been enjoying the quiet. Most of the little hamlets seem to be shut up tight. 

everyone needs a castle. 

WWII bunker in the field. The route is very close to the Austrian border. 

late lunch spot. 

end of the day. Made a minor mistake thinking it is Sunday.  It's Saturday, places to stay a little harder to get. Found a place all is well. 

little local dinners place. I haven't been interested in the Czech meat meals. Mostly eating salads. And some beer. 

Vranov to Laa an der Thaye

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/380968554

Another stellar day. Leaving Vranov you climb up above the river to a large resort lake. 

after that it's mostly in the woods to a national park. Great scenery. A really steep gravel descent in the park and a almost as steep ascent. Walk up most of the ascent and was glad I was not going the other way. 

up on a ridge above the river. Tiny portion in the picture. 

leaving the park. This is the same river as in Vranov but it did not do the up & down. 

and of course leaving the park there is a refreshment kiosk. 

Down out of the hills into the flatlands. Really great day, warm. Only issue was a serious headwind. 

Tomorrow is a rest day. 

Tabor to Jindřichův Hradec to Nova Bystrice

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/380486832

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/380516774

Got an early start today and things went pretty well. I decided to go bit further. Tomorrow will be a hard day with a lot of climbing. I wanted to get closer to the climbing to do it early in the day. 

started in Tabor. Now officially on the Prague-Vienna Greenway. 

Beautiful day through the fields and some forest. 

this was a thing in a couple of villages. Not sure what's up. 

 

Went by an airfield where a fly-in was in progress.  

They really like meat in Czech. 

end of the day. 50 miles today. Probably haven't done that for 40 years. 

Olbramovice to Tábor

Took the train to get out of Prague and start the bike trip. 

Crisp Spring day. Very green, spring trees in bloom, tulips. Some country roads, one lane  bicycle paths, one short trek on a dirt road through the fields. Some forest. Rolling hills, although I only rolled on the downhill. 1st half net uphill. 2nd half net downhill. I had some doubts along the way. 

Made it to Tābor. Tired. 

Great dinner of sauerkraut soup, gnocchi with mushrooms. 

Prague

Prague is an amazing city. Lots of history and very active today. Lots of tourists already in the season. 

took a bike ride into the suburbs. Great bike path.

and of course there is a local pub everywhere you look. 

Beginning in Vienna

Start of trip in Vienna. The city has great bike paths. 

Nice train ride to Prague. Beautiful Spring day, lots of green fields and hills.

Singapore

Yours truely in an older section of Singapore.

Singapore has a diverse collection of people. The major groups are Malay, Indian and Chinese. There also seems to be a large dose of Westerners at this point. One person remarked how the neighborhood had changed with all the Americans. You can see where they live because of the basketball goals on the garages. Most people live in apartment buildings or condos.

Our hosts have been making sure that no one goes hungry for more than about 30 seconds. One of the delicacies here is black pepper crab. It is truly wonderful. Yesterday for lunch we had Indian cuisine that was excellent. With all the different people there is a wide variety of choices.

HP is doing a lot of R&D work in Singapore now. I may have more trips here in the future. It is very interesting to see more of Asia. There is a lot more here than Japan. Gary has traveled throughout Asia. He has a sister in Bangkok that he a visisted a couple of times and knows more about interesting places. He has been to Myanmar and found it to be a great place.