Life On The Road

So I took it into the town square and did a few test shots: although I appeared to be waving it about like a flag, the pictures came out very sharp and I shouldn't have any problem using it tomorrow as long I can keep the shutter speed up. I deemed the exercise successful and went back to the hotel to change lenses, especially as I'd seen a rather interesting old building which I'd assumed was some sort of old brewery and I couldn't get a good shot with the zoom lens. It was actually getting hotter now and it took me a good half-hour to cool down. Thinking about my next move was somewhat problematic: I'd already "done" one end of town so the only option was to explore the other, so I did.

Heading back out past the "brewery" I decided that today would be the day for a big walk. Looking down at my feet I realised that "dobre pivo" had had its effect and I would now have to do something about it. I walked out of town along the still quiet main road, GPS in hand and wandered into a quiet suburb. The houses here were less ramshackle than their "inner city" countertparts and many were in the process of having a lot of work done on the frontage. The one thing that strikes me about the Czech republic is that once something breaks it seems to stay broken for a looong time: this not only applies to houses but roads, cars and the indeed the general infrastructure. There's obviously a very fine line between making ends meet and .. not. I walked by a used car lot: there was a random selection of vehicles on sale including an old (genuine) Czech Army truck in olive green drab. You know, I was so tempted to buy it and drive it back to the UK: twin rear axle, rigid sides, good tyres; all for about 800 quid. There was also a good-condition Skoda for around 600 quid, and that again reminded me of the cost of living in this part of the world: these were average prices and although they seem cheap to us they were obviously high for Czech - kinda brings things into perspective really.

So, wandering through the deserted suburb, I started to leave Boskovice Town and was soon heading into real country! the authorities had actually tried very hard and signposted everything really well: they had colour-coded the different types of walk and trees along the way have matching colour coding, so no problem there. I decided to walk first to Boskovice Hradkov which was about 3Km out of town. My walk took me through a mixed environment consisting of an ultra-modern light industrial complex and the ever-present pine forests. the humidity was still very high but the sun was starting to come out so I removed my top which was now getting exceeedingly wet. The path I was following was an interesting mix of forest and ordinary road mixed with the occasional settlement. As I walked further out of town the design and state of repair of the buildings improved dramatically, and it was easy to see that if you had money, you'd be living out of town. I carried on walking and reached Hradkov. Somewhat annoyingly I found that the only "shop" in the village was a car parts business: no cafe/restaurant, no bar nor pub; but given the isolation of the village that made perfect sense. As a tourist though I was disappointed, but cheered myself up with the though that just 4Km away was the village of Vratikov where I'd no doubt find a traditional Czech bar/restaurant. With this thought in mind I set off along the main road, my best foot forward.

The road to Vratikov was well-maintained (or probably little-used-so-less-damaged) highway punctuated by the very occasional passing car. The scenery on all sides was spectacular, consisting of huge pine forests covering the rolling Moravian hills. As I walked along, the sun started to come out and I started to notice things around me: the wild flowers between the road and tree line were actually quite spectacular: nothing rare mind you, but very attractive. The silence was actually incredible: on many so-called country walks in the UK you are never free from the distant roar of traffic or aircraft, but along this road the silence was deafening - there was literally nothing making a noise. As I continued along the road the occasional car swept past and I was careful to remember that cars would approach on the "wrong" side of the road. The heat was still oppressive and in fact was getting hotter.

As the road undulated ever onwards I started to wonder if I'd ever make it to Vratikov, and several times I told myself that if nothing was over the next hill I'd turn back. But as I mounted the top of yet another hill I saw the road sign ahead and my step picked up a bit: the lure of the yummy beer and traditional Czech cuisine that I was sure to find beckoned and I was not one to resist! And moments later, there I was in the tiny village of Vratikov. First, a bus stop, then a small church, probably big enough for 12 worshippers and a thin priest. And then.. a village shop. I took a few pictures of the church which was sadly locked and then decided to go and get some food. Now, imagine your typical UK village shop, and think how it manages to sell a bit of everything. Well forget that. My village shop had a very small selection of fruit, a few vegetables, and a pocket-sized display cabinet with a selection of sausage, plus the usual sweets and tobacco.

Suddenly I sensed that my mission had been in vain and I was doomed not to find the Czech cuisine that I so earnestly sought. In desperation I looked at my options and came away with a couple of apples, a tomato, a seedy roll and what I thought was chocolate but turned out to be chocolate-flavoured oat biscuits. I parted with around 60p and wandered up yet another hill to have "lunch". As I tucked in I heard the sound I least wanted to hear that day: a Moravian thunderstorm. Yes, I'd been warmed up, humidified and now I was to be soaked in a big way. I finished up my lacklustre lunch and set back off to Boskovice.

As I walked down the same road I toyed with the idea of catching the bus back to Boskovice, but really that would have been cheating so I strode resolutely on down the first hill. All the time I was being stalked by the angry thunderstorm but I was able to keep one step ahead, more by luck than judgement I think. The tree markings soon appeared again and led me off-road bck into the safety of the forest. There was little sound on the road still, but even less in the forest until a red deer leapt from behind me and leapt off into the deeper forest. I'd occasionally heard twigs breaking earlier on and now I knew what had made the noise. Confronted by a huge bed of nettles I decided to return to the road instead - I didn't have my walking pole with me and was unable to cut a path through like I normally would.

Nearly an hour later and I was walking back into Boskovice which at long last seemed to have woken up (it was 3pm). I looked at the reading on the GPS and was pleased to see that despite my alleged lack of fitness I had in fact managed a 10 mile walk in around 3 hours. I returned to the hotel, bought a couple of beers from reception and crashed out for a couple of hours. I also checked the pictures and found that both lenses had performed very well: I'm looking forward to posting the pictures in the gallery when I get back.

A couple of hours later it was off to the Hrdani Club Restaurant for dinner again and I also started planning my set list for tomorrow night. I have to cover some 14 hours and have a list of around 10 DJs I need to get pictures of. It'll be interesting to see if there's an after-party also: in a place the size of Boskovice there's no club to retreat to so we'll have to see.

Looking back on today, despite the rain and heat its been very interesting. I can't actually remember the last time I was in an environment where there was so much silence, so much truly unspoiled beauty. The UK claims to have areas of natural beauty but compared to the Czech Republic these would seem to be rapidly being overrun by the sheer mass of people "getting away from it all". In this part of the world you can still get truly lost and discover a side of yourself that maybe you forgot existed. Tomorrow though will bring reality and teh modern world sharply back into focus, but only for one day.. see you later!