The weather forecast for the extended summer weekend was uncertain, with the possibility of rain, but nevertheless I chose the destination of Velká Deštná (meaning “the Big Rainy Mountain”). And it paid off – except for a foggy view from Deštná itself, the weather stayed exemplary all three days. Route: from Hradec Králové following a pleasant, tree-shaded cycle path around the river Labe, to the Rozkoš dam, via Náchod, Dobrošov and Olešnice, from there over the ridge of the Orlické Mountains with a stop at the lookout tower on Velká Deštná, and then down from the mountains towards Žamberk, following rivers Orlice and Loučná to Pardubice, then around the river Cidlina to Poděbrady and following the river Labe back to Prague.

It would be a shame not to take full advantage of an extended weekend with a beautiful weather. So I bought a ticket for the night train to Liptovský Mikuláš. The start was not quite hard-core outdoor – last-minute purchase of the ticket meant that only a “de luxe” compartment was available, so I traveled with my own shower and breakfast into the bed – and in the morning I got off the train in Mikuláš and set off from the town to the mountains on the north. On the first day the hike led through Žiarská dolina valley, across the Jalovecké sedlo pass, over the peaks of Príslop and Baníkov (2178 m) to the lakes Roháčská plesa, the second day around Ťatliakovo lake through the pass of Zábrať, over…

I have already been on a bike trip this year, travelling abroad is still prohibited, so where to go for a few days of July holidays, so that it is a trip to the nature and at the same time again something new? How about to Orlické hory, or Eagle Mountains, but cowboy-style on horseback? The route led for the first two days through forests and meadows from the ranch in Hrádek near Ústí nad Orlicí, around the river Tichá Orlice, through Brandýs to the Potštejn castle, from there around the river Divoká Orlice through Litice castle and Žamberk to pastures above the dam of Pastviny. And another two days back, through a bit different path but roughly the same route around the river. Based on this trip, I can…

The holiday and the following weekend around May 8 saw the very best weather that one can imagine for a bike ride – warm, sunny, but not yet too hot. I could not miss that, so I went for a three-day trip crossing the river Elbe behind Poděbrady, through the rolling plains following the river Cidlina through Nový Bydžov and Jičín to the sandstone rocks of the so called Bohemian Paradise and back through the groves near Mcely and around the dead arms and wetlands of the Elbe river in the Káraný area. The nature this week decided to show some of its best – so in addition to the usual roe deers, hares, buzzards or lizards, a fox also showed up in the evening, I saw beavers for the…

The Coronavirus epidemic swiftly cut off any possibilities of travel to so far unknown places. However, then it turned out that this is not true exactly – for example, the below kinds of views of quiet Prague during a workday, including, for example, a clean and empty Charles Bridge, were completely unknown to me up until now.

Last year I enjoyed a holiday in a bike saddle in somewhat remote places. So even if this year I had just two weaks off, I went to Kyrgyzstan, which again promised both remoteness and travelling in saddles. In addition to it I found here a landscape that is worth visiting due to its variability – from the hot valley around Bishkek, around local “see” Issyk-kul, through steppe plateaus with grazing horses and cattle, green mountain valleys all the way to snow-covered tips of local peaks reaching over 7000 m. The capital city itself does not offer many attractions. However, just south of it already raise the mountains – here Ala Archa and a route around the stream of Ak Say to the mountain camp of Racek under the Pik…

During two July weekends I was attracted towards the Ohře river. First time I went by train to the industrial town of Lovosice and from there I trekked through the green Oparno valley, visited the castle ruin Oparno, Lovoš hill with beautiful vistas all around and then another ruin Košťál, again providing views all the way to the river Ohře, the legendary peak Říp and Elbe river and beyond. The second time I went by bike from Roudnice nad Labem, took a pleasant cycle path around Ohře to the Nechranice dam, where I spent the evening by the water and the next day returned back home via Rakovník.