Itinerary

Day 1: Prague to Bohemia

Your guides will meet you in Prague and take you to  Kokořín Castle.  This 14th century building presides over the Kokořinsko nature preserve, a forested landscape laced with hiking and biking trails.  We will discover this beautiful area filled with bizarre sandstone formations and enjoy a light lunch before we head out into central Bohemian farmland.  Arriving at our first hotel, the Zamek LIblice, you will be welcomed into this 17th-century zamek (chateau) with exceptional hospitality and treated to lovely rooms filled with 18th- and 19th- century museum quality furniture.  Before we retire to a noble slumber, we will dine at the hotel’s award-winning restaurant and become familiar with the bohemian specialty par excellence –pilsner beer. 

Meal: Light lunch & dinner
Destinations visited: Prague, Kokořinsko
Distance cycled: 23 km / 14.25 miles

Day 2: The Bank of the Vltava

After a delicious breakfast, we will start our ride in the town of Melnik, an important port town at the confluence of the Labe and Vltava rivers.  The Labe is one of the great rivers of Germany, where it is called the Elbe.  But we will concentrate on the Vltava today, riding its river banks much of the way into Prague.  As we pedal, we will see a ferryboat (“green” well before light bulbs got that name) for crossing the Vltava, as well as 19th- century zameks, -  glorious summer chateaus that competing  noble families built.  Some might say they were “keeping up with the Janses,” but we are the ones who profit from all their beauty.   We will stop by the beautifully sgrafittoed walls of the 16th century palace of Nelahozeves - famous composer Antonin Dvořak was born almost literally in its shadow.  From Nelahozeves, we continue to Prague on our bikes, riding on designated bike lanes.  In the city one will be free to relax at our luxurious hotel or take a stroll through one of the most popular cities in Europe.  For those eager to ride a few kilometers more, the guides will happily display a bike-friendly Prague.     Dinner is as you like it, get changed for a night on the town, or a quiet meal – whichever you prefer – the evening is yours to choose.

Meal: Breakfast
Destinations visited: Nelahozeves&Veltrusy& Troja Chateaux, Melnik, Prague
Distance cycled: 55 km / 34 miles

Day 3: The Palaces of Moravia

But the capital can’t hold us for long, not when we have so much to see in  Moravia!  We will take an early train from Prague to Břeclav on the Czech/ Austrian border.  Your bikes will be ready and waiting for you, ready to take you into the UNESCO heritage sites of Lednice and Valtice.  These two towns contain two palaces of the Lichtenstein family; between them is a 200km2 forest that was the vast playground and hunting ground for the noble family.  Don’t be surprised to turn a corner and come upon a triumphal arch of Roman proportions or an Arabic minaret – the park is filled with  700 years of monuments to stimulate the imagination.   In the palace in Valtice, we will descend into the wine cellars to try some delicious Moravian wines.  Vintners here have done much to shake of the bad habits of communist viticulture, and the results show in these delicious Rieslings, Pinot Gris, and Svatovavřineské.  Taste with respect - are you a degustator or a pijan?   From Valtice we will ride along the former border patrol roads.   Just over twenty years ago, a Czech could be arrested or worse just for being two kilometers from this road; now there are colza flowers growing where the electrified Iron Curtain once stood.  The road will take us to Mikulov, an artist town guarding one of the few medieval Jewish cemeteries remain in Central Europe, and resting at the base of the UNESCO biosphere of the Palava Hills.  In this gorgeous town we will stay two nights at Hotel Temple, a former Jewish meeting hall.  Our meal that evening will be served at the colorful Eat Art Gallery and Restaurant by the owner Jitka, who will prepare venerable recipes with care and local ingredients.

Meal: Breakfast,  lunch & dinner
Destinations visited: Lednice, Valtice, Mikulov, Iron curtain road
Distance cycled: 50 km / 31 miles

Day 4: Wines in Sklepy on the way to Austria

Leave the bikes and take a hike.  Your guide will take you up into the Palava Hills, protected by UNESCO for its variety of flora and fauna, with their two castle ruins that afford spectacular views of the vineyards and wilderness of the surrounding area.  Uninterested in hiking?  A guide will be able to support you with a suitable and exciting route to meet up with the others.   We will then descend into Pavlov, the Provence of Moravia some call it, for its peculiarly low rainfall.  This provides a perfect climate for grapes in this northern climate, and we will try wines from some of the country’s best producers.  After a delicious picnic, maybe someone will invite us into a sklepy, the traditional wine caves built into the Palava hillsides.  From there we will mount our bikes and meander our way through the vines back to Mikulov, on the way stopping to see one of the oldest statues known to man in the town of Vestonice.  This small statue of a fertile woman dates back between 29,000-25,000 years.  The late afternoon will be a perfect time to explore Mikulov or for those wanting some extra kilometers, they can pretend they are fugitives and pass over to Austria just a kilometer away to ride on to Falkenstein, one of the most beautiful villages in Austria.

Meal: Breakfast, Picnic Lunch & dinner
Destinations visited: Palava Hills; Dolní Věstonice, Mikulov, Falkenstein
Distance hiked: 7 km / 4,4 miles

Distance cycled: 32 km / 20 miles (42 km /26 miles all way biking)

 

Day 5: Kings, Monks and the Wachau Valley

A van will transfer you to the stunning, stunning, UNESCO-protected Wachau Valley in Austria.  Starting in the historical town of Krems, we will ride a bike route seemingly through time into charmed medieval villages, under castle ruins and by some of the most  beautiful viticultural land in the world.  Here the vines cascade off the terraced mountains almost into the Danube river.  We will pass the fortress and town of Dürnstein where Richard the Lion-Hearted was imprisoned returning from the third crusade.   Why not stop for a wine tasting to sample some world-class Grüner Veltliners, or explore the side streets and cottages of this incredible area?  When we get to the Benedictine Monastery in Melk, we will leave the bikes and land behind, riding back to Krems by water ferries that transport people up and down the Danube – just another way to marvel at the Wachau Mountains.   A final toast awaits us at our hotel in Krems, and a delicious meal to show off the delightful cuisine of Austria.

Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
Destinations visited: Wachau Valley, Dürnstein, Krems, Weisskirchen, Melk
Distance cycled: 44km / 27,2 miles

Day 6: Na Shledanou

Your guides can take you on an optional ride up to the Gottweig abbey.  Or you can spend the morning relaxing and enjoys Krems.  Afterwards, your guides will drive you to the last UNESCO site from our list,  to Vienna -  imperial capital of Austria. Wherever your next destination is, you will be carrying memories that will last a lifetime.

Complete satisfaction.

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