Leaving Prague
One of the the hardest parts of these bike trips is finding the trail at the very beginning. You have to leave a large city with many suburbs and find the bike path along the river. Typically, the actual trail doesn't start until you are well outside the city, so having GPS/GPX directions is super handy.
We left Prague on a partly cloudy morning after a large breakfast. Since we had no idea how the tram system worked, we ended up getting a little lost and had to walk about a mile more than we needed to (protip: learn how the tram system works...). We arrived at Praha Bike and a young Mexican guy gave us our bikes. He noticed that our backpacks were absolutely overstuffed and recommended we rent some paniers from him for about €40. Not wanting to carry a backpack all day, we happily took him up on the offer. He also let us know that the beginning of the trail was under construction and we'd have to take an alternate route, which he shared via GPX file. This guy was our savior, the paniers came in clutch and the GPX file was a necessity. Completely unsponsored recommendation: Praha Bike is the best bike rental establishment in Prague. Period.
The detour took us north through the Holešovice neighborhood where we skipped an initial bend in the river. We got a little turned around in the large park (it's very hilly) but eventually found the beginning of the bike path on the Vltava river. We'd spend on entire day on the Vltava and end at the confluence of the Vltava and the Elbe in the village of Mělník.
Cycling the Vltava
Just north of Prague on the Vltava
The Vltava is a wide, dark river surrounded by hills and villages. While we joined it in Prague, the river starts in southern Bohemia and is the longest river in the Czech Republic. We followed the river on its eastern bank for about 30 minutes when our guidebook told us that we'd need to detour through a town called Klecany to avoid a muddy riverbank. Hanging a right away from the river and towards Klecany, the street immediately began curving upward. We cycled as long as we could and then had to step off our bikes and walk them up the hill. At the top, we entered Klecany and found a Czechoslovakian WW1 memorial.
WW1 memorial and garden in Klecany
After navigating the sleepy town, we had the great fun of cycling downhill through farmland at full speed back towards the river. Along the way, we came across another cyclist whose bike had been damaged, and he was trying to repair a wheel. We stopped and offered him tools from our bike repair kit, and he was overjoyed. The guy spoke perfect English and was very thankful. He informed us that the path up ahead was a full of rocks and that we should take care to avoid damaging our bikes like he had. It's good advice; we've learned through experience to take it slow on the unpaved surfaces. Most of the time the path is paved, but you'll almost always encounter unpaved portions.
Reaching the river again and taking a break on this fish bench
Ferry to take you across the river (unnecessary for us, but neat)
Eventually, the clouds parted as we continued our way down the Vltava. Our guidebook marked points of interest along the way, and we stopped frequently for pictures:
Zámek Chvatěruby (castle) including ruins and chateau
This bike path had a ton of twists, turns, villages and forests, all either next to the river or close by. It was an absolute joy to cycle through because you never knew what was around the bend.
Emerald green forested bike path
A few hours after leaving Prague, we stopped at Veltrusy chateau for a lunch break. The chateau dates back to the 1700s and was occupied by the Germans in WW2. These days it is a national Czech heritage site with pristine gardens and filled with koi fish and classical statues.
Veltrusy chateau, just off the Vltava river
As you can tell from the picture above, rain clouds were coming in and the sky kept getting darker. There is always a chance of rain on these bike trips, so we come prepared with giant ponchos. At this point, our destination of Mělník is about 20km ahead, which is at least another hour's worth of cycling. About 30 minutes after leaving the chateau, the rain came down hard. We took refuge underneath a giant pipeline (gas I assume) running through some farmland. Unfortunately I forgot to snap a picture, but imagine 2 giant, metal pieces of pipe, roughly 7 ft in diameter and about 20 feet over the ground, running in both directions as far as the eye can see. After waiting for the rain to pass, we set out again with about 30 minutes left until we reach Mělník and our hotel. Less than 5 minutes after leaving our refuge, the rain came back in a flash and pounded on us harder than before. With nothing overhead to block the rain, we dug through our backpacks for our neatly folded ponchos, and then struggled to put them on while being battered by the rain (protip: try on your poncho before you have to use it!). I really struggled with mine and didn't get it buttoned up properly. The rain was tremendous and flooded much of the bike path. We progressed slowly and looked for any overhang or shelter but found none. Utterly soaked and frigid, we approached Mělník, a beautiful city on a hill with a cathedral dominating the skyline, rugged walls hugging the town and vineyards cascading down the cliffs. The rain stopped just as we crossed the bridge to the base of the town
Freezing and soaked but we made it to Mělník
Mělník
Mělník is a hidden gem of the Czech Republic. It resides on cliffs overlooking vineyards and the confluence of the Elbe and Vltava rivers. It has a pristine old town with a Renaissance castle, cathedral and city gate. We stayed in the center of the old town at the Pension U Zámku Melnik (which has an excellent breakfast spread). After drying off and warming up, we grabbed a honey beer from the Němý Medvěd brewery and watched the sunset from the city walls.
Confluence of the Elbe (left) and the Vltava (right) at Mělník
Mělník city center
The honey beer was fantastic, and after the sunset, we went back to Němý Medvěd for some of the best burgers we've ever had (and more honey beer). The next day we would wake up early to try to beat the crowds at breakfast and start our journey down the Elbe river (or Labe river as it's known in Czech). I had a slight cough at this point so we stopped at a DM store to grab some Ricolas. After that, we cycled down the city walls while following our guidebook to the left-hand side of the river and continued onward.