Thur. 16 Aug. Nebocady to Decin.

We left Nebocady at 9:20 having been delayed by cleaning our boots. The walk was mainly suburban, passing from one little area to the next. The good news for us was that there was a continuous pavement almost all the way to the road bridge leading into Decin, on the west side of the Labe/Elbe. Near to Decin we left the road to walk on a cycle track near the river. We knew our hotel U Kaple was on a hill opposite a church and we could pick it out even before we crossed the river. 

Decin is basically two towns separated by a river. Sadly the west side, the one we were on, is not particularly interesting to the tourist. We went walking later and found the East bank much older and much more tourist friendly. Having said that there is a nice church dedicated to St. Francis on the west bank.

However our hotel, on the west side, made up for the somewhat depressing town. It is sited on a hill, in a little wood, opposite a church. It is only rated two star but our hotel room was one of the best we've stayed in and most have been 3 star. The shower in particular was excellent. It was firmly fixed to the wall, most are not, and when the rose position was adjusted it stayed put. Most don't. Even better the shower drain ran freely so one didn't have to stand in dirty water. Here again most don't.

We've both just had a very good meal in the hotel restaurant, probably in the top 10% of all evening meals we've had. After a dissapointing day looking around the town it has made a nice end to our holiday in the Czech Republic. 

Contrary to what it said in the old version of Lonely Planet Guide (we read before leaving New Zealand) we have not been ripped off by waiters or waitresses. The bills have been for exactly what we've drunk or eaten. Only once in over a month has one hotel added a cover charge and it was there for us to see, if we had looked carefully. 

By and large serving staff have been very accommodating of our lack of knowledge of their language and have treated us very kindly. We've been very impressed by our first visit to the Czech Republic! If the gods permit we would very much like to visit again. :)

Dobry den.

Tomorrow we cross the border into Germany.