wine biking

sat august 8 maria and i explored the bike path from prague 1, hugging the river, past old town and the karlin district (where robin and lucie live). just off the river in karlin was this bathtub art

found our way past karlin on the A2 bike path, too early to stop at this inviting looking pub

we eventually arrived at the Zámek Troja, a baroque palace located in troja, prague's northwest district in prague 7. it was built for the counts of sternberg from 1679 to 1691.

arriving, we found the wine festival we thought was happening (but had a hard time verifying beforehand). after paying the entrance fee, we weaved our way through the peter greenaway maze of paths

to arrive at the chateau itself, strangely empty (we entered on the non-party side)

our first instinct was to buy a liter of burčák, still fermenting wine that is a hallmark of the wine harvest. lower in alcohol, sweeter than finished wine, it represents the party drink of wine festivals. under czech law, it may only be sold from august 1 to november 30 each year (which might be a good thing). but it's fun and what you do at these things.

this dude was the upright bass player in a trad folk band later that day

after drinking most of burčák (donating the remainder to two young women) and sampling some finished white wines, we took our bikes to the river, crossing on a ferry ( a free ride with your metro card).

the other side is Stromovka Park, which dates from 1268, under the reign of Přemysl Otakar II. open to the public since 1804, it is the "central park" of prague, comprising about 90 hectares (222 acres), a combination of lawns, woods, and ponds. wonderful for walking and biking. then on to Letenské sady, a wonderful high ground park in prague 7 overlooking the city. while having a beer, we notice these guys, inexplicably dressed in sack cloth.

afterwards, riding towards home down the hill, skirting the row of plane trees, maria in the far distance on her bike.