Through the night – Bohemia #2

Day 2 – part b

… We were looking forward to getting into Czech itself and finding a small hotel on the road, or at worst in Pilzen, and having an evening meal. By now it was about 20:00pm continued …

The traffic that had stopped in front of us was obviously waiting for the border crossing somewhere up ahead.  This was the first for us today as all the other borders have now come down, we didn’t have to stop at all¹.  We edged forward, on and off for about an hour and then stopped completely for another two hours. That was THREE HOURS in total before we saw the border post, which by now was the only light in the darkened night sky.  At 20:00pm the prospect of getting a hotel was reasonable, even (we thought) in a relatively backward (tas it was then) country like the Czech Republic.  But, as it approached midnight that prospect was bleak.  When we got through the German side of the border, we drove for about half a mile towards the Czech side and then stopped just after their border post to get some money changed.  We also had to buy a permit to drive on their roads – the whole place looked dingy, dismal and unwelcoming in the dark – and it was still wet and drizzly.

Nevertheless, the road was now clear on our side, but long lines of trucks bordered the oncoming lanes.  We drove for about 3-4 miles before coming to a standstill once more – in the pitch-blackness of Czech woodlands.  The problem was that because of the trucks taking up space at the other side of the road, the oncoming traffic couldn’t overtake (because of the stream of stream of traffic we were in, heading IN to Czech).  Eventually, the Frenchman in front of us took his torch and walking stick and sorted the whole thing out.  We had been here about an hour.  The lorries eventually petered out after about six more miles.  But, even then, we still passed other long lines of wagons parked up and down the roadside – even as far as Pilzen.

The first shop we saw in Czech was a large roadside shack selling GARDEN GNOMES and cheap vodka. And, I mean lots of garishly coloured gnomes.  Even those shops that were closed had gnomes outside; all chained up and placed in cages!  There were lots of ‘Non-Stop’ cafes and bars, we even stopped at a couple to try for rooms, but there were none to be had. The frightening thing though, was that wherever we saw a ‘Non-Stop’ sign, we also saw ‘Sexy Girl’ or ‘Fun Palace’ signs as well.  It seems that one of the major Czech industries is to sell sex, gnomes and cheap vodka to the Germans, who apparently (a guy in Prague told us this later) come over in their droves for one or more (in whatever combination?).

Petrol was now our major concern and we debated whether or not to go on until morning, when there was more chance of a petrol station being open (seeing one at all would be a change!).  We were tired and very low on juice, perhaps enough to reach Pilzen if we could keep moving but experience showed that this might not be possible. Just as we thought that we might have to pull over and sleep in the car, we came across a petrol station with a couple of hotels alongside.  I filled up the tank while Stephen and Ben checked out the hotels. They were both full but so at least, was the tank – so we said stuff it to Pilzen and headed straight through to Prague, where it was hoped we could get a hotel first thing in the morning, and sleep then.

Day 2 continues into day 3 in the next post.

1 – These were the early days of Schengen – https://www.acs-ami.com/en/travel-articles/schengen-agreement/ .

Author: David Sugden

I'm am now almost-retired after many years of self employment. I used to teach teachers how to use modern and emerging technology Effectively, Economically and Engagingly ('E'-learning). Before that I was a chef and eventually a chef-lecturer. I update several blogs regularly and have others that don't see me quite as often. -EduVel.wordpress.com, was my main work blog and reflected my work role and thoughts around teaching and learning in the 21st Century. I don't update that any more. -Saturdaywalks.wordpress.com is more personal and could be about absolutely anything. [This blog is updated regluarly]. -Shoestringfoods.wordpress.com is my 'food' blog - aiming to show others how easy it is to prepare and eat healthy, nutritious, economical food. [Not updated too much]. -Cosynookbooks.wordpress.com is where I reflect upon the books I've read. This is likely to be updated less regularly than the others, because I forget to do it :-( and because most books I read now are 'e' books. -dsugdenholidays.wordpress.com - is where I log the more recent trips and holidays we have had. [This blog is updated regularly]. -sugdenonline.travel.blog - is something of a project. I have found some old holiday diaries and am now transferring them online. [This is updated regularly - 18.09.19] I worked in the catering industry for most of my life - teaching chefs for almost seventeen years after working in hotels, hospitals and in a wide variety of self-employed roles. :-) View all posts by David Sugden