Day 6 - Zagan to Prague

 Weather was fine again, though once again not blistering hot early on. Today has been a day of road works and missed turns.

We'd barely started when we came to a road out of Zagan that was closed off. That took a while to navigate around. Once we found the way out, the going was good. Roads varied in quality from really smooth, to bumpy cobbles. First stop was for fuel, our first encounter of a pump priced in Zlotys. Second stop, was for a coffee break, though we didn't actually buy anything, just took a break. We had plenty of time to get to our next destination, Terezin, in Czechia. We left Poland, briefly re-entered Germany, then shortly after crossed into Czechia. Almost immediately, there were lots of bikers everywhere. We barely stopped waving. We easily saw more in the few hours in Czechia, than we had on the whole of the rest of the tour. With arrived at Terezin with about 50 minutes to kill before our tour. Seeking refreshment and a loo, we went to the Motor Museum next door. A sign on the counter said cash only. We'd not taken out any Czech crowns but luckily I had 146 from a previous trip, which just got us a coffee, a coke and a bottle of water.

Our tour of the Small Fortress at Terezin took about an hour, with another Marek guiding us. His English wasn't as good as Zagan Marek but still the tour was interesting and informative. It's always shocking when you here the numbers of Jews who perished and today was no exception. The walk from the car park takes you alongside a cemetery, where many are laid to rest.

Inside the small fortress

Terezin Cemetery by the Small Fortress

  Back on the road, we should have had only an hour to get to Prague and we would have but for another road closure. We ended up driving quite a few extra miles trying to find a way to bypass the closure, some down to me, after missing a turning or two. In the end though we were on track again and made to our accomodation for the night, a Boatel, albeit about half an hour later than anticipated. Our cabin is one deck down, so the water level isn't that far below our windows. The boat is very plush from what we've seen up top but we had some issues with the cabin, mainly the aircon, which needed a man to come and fix. The cabin is tiny but not the smallest place we've stayed. We make do.

Freshened up, we made our way in the main square to take some pics of the Cathedral and the Astronomical Clock (astronomically overhyped clock), before taking a stroll to and on the Charles Bridge, More photos done, we found a table at the Beer Museum (a bar, not actually a museum, though there is a beer museum!) and had our usual grub and beers. Grizzly was on the Urquell pilsner, whilst I had a wheat beer and something call Lazy Bastard, a 6.7% IPA. Food wise, Grizzly had a cheeseburger and I some ribs,

The Astronomical Clock

It has been a whistlestop tour of Prague but another place Grizzly can add to his list of places he's been on his bike.

Tomorrow, we head back into Poland, destination Wroclaw. Till then.

Day 5 - Berlin to Zagan, Poland

What a difference a day makes. Having had the sightseeing day in Berlin ruined by the weather, today more than made up for it. Firstly it stayed dry all day, secondly the roads were brilliant to ride, thirdly we entered our 5th country in 5 days and lastly, we had the most fabulously interesting and informative tour, by Marek at Muzeum Obozow Jenieckich, in Zagan, Poland.

The Museum covers both these Stalags

None the wiser?

Stalag Luft 3, famous for the Great Escape

What we also learned today, was that Stalag Luft 3 was also the location of the Wooden Horse escape. Some of you may also remember the film that potrays that escape. Whilst the Wooden Horse escape is overshadowed by the Great Escape, it was a complete success, unlike the latter of the two.

The Wooden Horse

The day started gloomy and not quite as warm as we've been used to but by the time we'd completed our fuel and coffee stops and crossed into Poland, a first for both of us, the sun had made an appearance and the temperature had risen once more.

I had us booked in for a 14:00 English speaking tour. We arrived a little after 12:30, so looked around the museum, whilst we waited for Marek to appear. He was off on another tour.

We had barely begun our tour when we were joined by 4 guys from UK, taking part in a nearby rally event. It was supposed to be a 'private' tour but it seemed churlish to say they couldn't tag along. Minutes later, we picked up a stray German biker too. As long as we were happy to include them, Marek was happy to accept them. 

The first part of the tour took place outside the museum building, then moved inside, where Marek explaained the topography of the entire site and explained the sequence of events, pointing out on a model and aerial photographs, what happened where. That was part 1 complete. 

For Part 2, Marek drove us bikers, the UK chaps drove themselves, to the site where the Great Escape tunnel Harry was built. He pointed out where the tree line would have been and although there is a replica guard tower (built by the RAF), also where the foundations of the original tower are still to be found. It is quite easy to understand, seeing the exit of the tunnel in relation to the original tower, how things went so badly wrong on that night in March 1944. I don't recall the tower being that close in the film. It can't be much more than 30 feet!

Harry's exit point

Tom, Dick, Harry and Dudley

The line of the tunnel has been marked out and we were able to see the entry point to. Along the first few yards of the tunnel markings, are slabs engraved with the names of all the escapees, grouped by nationality and in 3 different colours. Green are the 3 men who succeeded in getting to freedom. Blue are those who were returned to camp and black are those 50, whom you may know, were executed by the Gestapo, on Hitler's orders. A little way up the road, there is a memorial to them all, which we visited after Marek had run us back to the museum, concluding a brilliant tour.

Some of the British escapees

Memorial to The 50.

Following the assassination of the 50 escapees, in contravention of the Geneva Convention, the allies issued a notice to all prisoners of war, to stop any further escape attempts and thus preventing another massacre. 

The Allies note to all POWs

With our visit complete, we made our way to our hotel, which, Marek had said, was a hospital during the war. Freshened up, it was time for the usual ritual, beer, food and more beer. Tonight we indulged ourselves, with a starter, as the two courses came to just £11 each. I suspect we may be paying more tomorrow night, as we travel to Prague. We have one stop planned for tomorrow, at Terezin in Czechia, site of a Jewish ghetto and concentration camp. More about that tomorrow though.