We woke up to another grey day with rain threatening. Tracey and I decided to catch the train 50km to Znojmo while Rod rode. Znojmo (pronounced noymo) is a small city a few km off the Greenways cycle route.
This was our first train ride in the Czech Republic. We phoned the local Info Centre to find out the train time and, after a coffee, headed down to the station.
Mikulov station is in a very poor state of repair and almost looks abandoned. There were two men taking measurements and photos of the area, no doubt for reconstruction purposes.
Signs in Czech mean nothing to us so we found the ticket office by first walking in the wrong door. There is no platform and you board the train from ground level after walking over two sets of railway tracks.
Mikulov Station.The conductor directed us to the front of the train with our bikes and placed them in the luggage area. We had to buy bike tickets from the conductor.
The train was exactly on time and the trip took about an hour.
Along the way we could see the bike track in places where it parallels the railway, and it looked pretty rough, which Rod later confirmed.
In contrast to Mikulov, Znojmo station is a modern, recently renovated station.
We rode from the station to the town centre, about 1km, to find the Information Centre and somewhere to stay.
Central Znojmo is quite picturesque, with an amazing tower just near the Info Centre. The whole huge central square is in the process of being paved with stone. The town centre is not spoilt by tourism, and has a low-key, non-commercial medieval charm. In most cases you almost have to walk into a shop to find out what they sell.
The train was exactly on time and the trip took about an hour.
Along the way we could see the bike track in places where it parallels the railway, and it looked pretty rough, which Rod later confirmed.
In contrast to Mikulov, Znojmo station is a modern, recently renovated station.
We rode from the station to the town centre, about 1km, to find the Information Centre and somewhere to stay.
Central Znojmo is quite picturesque, with an amazing tower just near the Info Centre. The whole huge central square is in the process of being paved with stone. The town centre is not spoilt by tourism, and has a low-key, non-commercial medieval charm. In most cases you almost have to walk into a shop to find out what they sell.
In front of the Information Centre in Znojmo.
The amazing tower.One exception is the T-Mobile shop that was easy to spot, and where we succeeded, with the help of staff with a little English, to get some prepaid Czech sim cards for our phones. Rod will feel whole again with internet on his iphone.
Lonely Planet listed a few penzions in an area just near the town centre so we went to find one. We liked the look of Penzion Kaplanka and rang the door bell. In the Czech Republic front doors are commonly kept locked, even in premises that are open for business. The proprietor came up the street in gumboots and explained, in German, that he had been working in the garden. There were suitable rooms available and the price was very cheap at only about AU$20 per person for a single or double room. The rooms open onto a balcony with a view across the Dyje River, and as Lonely Planet says "you could almost be in Tuscany".
After checking in and leaving our bikes in the secure store provided we headed back into town for lunch. We had a very ordinary lunch at a buffet mentioned in Lonely Planet. We could easily imagine it was 1988 and the Iron Curtain was still up.
Lonely Planet listed a few penzions in an area just near the town centre so we went to find one. We liked the look of Penzion Kaplanka and rang the door bell. In the Czech Republic front doors are commonly kept locked, even in premises that are open for business. The proprietor came up the street in gumboots and explained, in German, that he had been working in the garden. There were suitable rooms available and the price was very cheap at only about AU$20 per person for a single or double room. The rooms open onto a balcony with a view across the Dyje River, and as Lonely Planet says "you could almost be in Tuscany".
After checking in and leaving our bikes in the secure store provided we headed back into town for lunch. We had a very ordinary lunch at a buffet mentioned in Lonely Planet. We could easily imagine it was 1988 and the Iron Curtain was still up.
Our Communist-era buffet lunch.
Pension Kaplanka.
The view from the balcony.
View from near the church down the road from Pension Kaplanka.Rod arrived shortly after and reported that the the track had been very muddy in places and there were long sections covered in water. He had not been rained on however, and had seen hundreds of hares on the track!
When we walked into town to find some dinner the place was very quiet, with nearly everything closed.
When we walked into town to find some dinner the place was very quiet, with nearly everything closed.
Central Znojmo at night - very quiet.We walked down the street into a square that seemed to have a few cars parked and people about. We spotted what looked like an open restaurant, a strangely out of place establishment done in an American wild west style.
We walked in to the very dimly lit place. There was an unattended bar (complete with saddle-shaped bar stools), a few groups of people at tables drinking, and no food in sight. This was at 8pm. We stood in front of the bar for a while and were ignored. We looked around and could see that the kitchen was in darkness. We were all hungry and didn't want to give up just yet, so Tracey found a stack of menus and picked one up.
At about that moment one of the women who had been sitting talking and drinking got up and approached us. She could speak some English, and upon questioning confirmed that the place was open for business, including meals. It seems that capitalism is very low key in Southern Moravia.
The kitchen lights were turned on and in no time we had food and drink. Our hostess, Ivana, looked after us very well. We had a very pleasant walk back to our pension through the deserted streets of Znojmo.
We walked in to the very dimly lit place. There was an unattended bar (complete with saddle-shaped bar stools), a few groups of people at tables drinking, and no food in sight. This was at 8pm. We stood in front of the bar for a while and were ignored. We looked around and could see that the kitchen was in darkness. We were all hungry and didn't want to give up just yet, so Tracey found a stack of menus and picked one up.
At about that moment one of the women who had been sitting talking and drinking got up and approached us. She could speak some English, and upon questioning confirmed that the place was open for business, including meals. It seems that capitalism is very low key in Southern Moravia.
The kitchen lights were turned on and in no time we had food and drink. Our hostess, Ivana, looked after us very well. We had a very pleasant walk back to our pension through the deserted streets of Znojmo.
Walking back to our pension after dinner.
A nice post, Znojmo is still quite but very relaxing (and safe)
ReplyDelete