and then through little towns. i never did figure out all the street signs, but this one had me fooled for awhile. i assumed it meant no bikes or pedestrians ... but it didn't. any guesses?
i went past this pretty little estate
there was a hummingbird, but i missed it
very soon i found myself in the environs of trebon, which is famous for its carp ponds, an elaborate, huge, and very old farming system. here's one of the (dammed) ponds:
this was a popular day cycling trip, with complete interpretive signs. very cool, worth reading:
and no one was ever far from a pivo:
i found this amazing fungus, pictured with a dime for comparison, in a little park
and i was fully in bohemia, beer country, by now. this is the original, not (as marek says) the american beer that stole the idea, ruined the recipe, and then sued for rights to the name.
the next stop on the carp pond tour
i arrived in trebon, a very pretty city, where i "splurged" on this beautiful penzion:
the view from my window
the room
the art
the town square, where later on i had the most surreal experience. there was a "native american" band, with people all dressed up in feathers and leather, playing to a huge crowd, selling cds and other swag, amplified so that they filled the whole square. it was WEIRD.
more sgraffito
a brewery, i think
more carp ponds
(yes, i had carp for dinner. it was pretty good. certainly a nice change of pace.)
the brewery
around the other side of the pond from town was a park with a chapel in it. the park used to be used to raise pheasants for hunting.
the chapel had gargoyles.
and a boy fishing
the town had my favorite castle of all
