I vaguely remember hearing of the Sedlec Ossuary in the past, but basically, all that I knew was that there was a church somewhere with a bunch of bones in it (my parents probably should have given me the middle name “Britannica”).
Its located in the town of Kutnà Hora, just a little east of Prague, so I made the quick trip over there.
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For a while now, I’ve been excited to get past Germany. There was a lot that I wanted to do up to that point, and I’ve had an amazing time up until now, but I felt like leaving would be a bit of a turning point for me, for a few reasons. First, I don’t have any friends to go visit anymore, so everyone is new, at this point. Similarly, everything is new…I spent a couple weeks in Germany a few years ago, I understand a tiny bit of German (and speak even less), so it’s not as big of a challenge as other places could be. And finally, though this is purely speculation on my part, I feel like things, as a whole, are going to be getting more different than I’m used to, having spent my first 30 years almost entirely in the US.
So, off to the Czech Republic I go!
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Unfortunately my plans to spend the day riding through the Alps didn’t quite work out…Light rain in the morning got heavier as the day went on. Between this, ~45degF temps, and not-so-magnificent views of fog, I cut the loop short and headed to Munich.
Munich is another place I’m seeing for the second time, and I enjoyed it as much as the first. It’s a bit more quiet and slowed paced (both in a good way) than Berlin…it feels a bit more traditional.
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Although three nights in Berlin allowed me to see a lot of new things, I could’ve easily stayed a lot longer. I don’t get as excited about seeing new cities as most people do, but there’s something different about Berlin…I’m sure I’ll be back again (maybe multiple times) one day.
Berlin has been a great destination. Since getting to Europe, this has been the first city that I’m revisiting. I notice a slight feeling of nostalgia and comfort coming to a place that is a little bit recognizable. And seeing some places that I had seen on my prior trip here was nice, whether it was the Tiergarten, which should be on the must visit list of anyone coming to Berlin, or a random bookstore in Savignyplatz that I happened upon with an old friend three years ago.
The last few days have been great, but I’ve slowed down a little bit. Staying up late, drinking beer with new friends, then getting up early to see new places has started to catch up with me.
On my way out of Brugge, I stopped in Antwerp to have lunch with a friend I met last winter in Thailand. The next day was spent in Eindhoven, with a friend I’d just met in Brugge. It felt really nice to spend a couple days not feeling so much like I was traveling. Getting to slow down and have lunch and some great conversation was the first I’ve done anything ‘normal’ feeling in about a month.
I had another great experience with a previously unknown person hosting me at their house.
Pascal contacted me through this site and said that if I was passing through Nancy, France, I’d be welcome to stay at his house. I was originally planning to pass through Verdun, and Nancy isn’t far south of there, so that seemed like a perfect option! The only requirement was that I share the guest room with one of his “girlfriends”…with 4 bikes already in the garage, his fifth was stored in the guest room.
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On the morning of the 26th, I took the Chunnel from England to France. For those wondering, you don’t drive through it. This may sound silly to those who know, but honestly, I didn’t know how the thing worked until fairly recently. Its a bit like a ferry…you drive your vehicle onto a train, and the train hauls you and your vehicle underground/water, then drops you off on the other side. The funny thing about it is that the entry and exit points are not within view of the sea, so it takes a bit of time to grasp that you’ve crossed anything significant once you get off on the other side. Kinda similar (for me, anyway) to how when taking a long flight, I struggle a little to convince myself that I just landed in a completely new place.
While I was in Canada, I had made a post on a forum that mentioned something about flying my bike to the UK. Shortly thereafter, I got an email from a fellow motorcyclist in the UK saying that if I was planning to be in SW England, I would have a place to stay.
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In the US, roundabouts lie somewhere between uncommon and unheard of. But despite rarely coming across them back home, I don’t really understand the confusion that they can bring about…it seems to be a pretty simple idea. But I must admit that one in particular threw me off…I’ll call it the double roundabout. I think the goal here is to enter, complete two figure eights, and exit without crashing…upon completion, the mayor presents you with the key to the city.
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a pat on a motorcycle 