Day 8: National Park to Prague (part 2/2nd attempt)

Today's mileage 130. Total mileage 1005

We got out into the countryside today and took in some stunning views. But before that a quick mention must be made of the campsite we stayed at. It's in Cool Camping as I said, and it's called Thorwaldblick. We arrived there at 7pm on a Sunday night, and were met by a man who checked us in and allocated us a space in a jovial and friendly manner. He then asked us if we wanted "rolls". Jojo and I looked at each other confusedly and explained to the man that our german really isn't very good. He repeated his question: "Do you want bread rolls? In the morning. To eat." The penny dropped. He was asking us if we wanted bread rolls, in the morning, to eat, presumably as breakfast. Yes we did want rolls kind sir. What a dude, found us a spot at 7pm on a Sunday and then offered us bread rolls. We like him a lot.

We were informed by our guidebook that in the national park we stayed in there was a place called Bastei which it describes as "one of the most breathtaking spots in the whole of Germany". A pretty bold claim and one we decided to test out.

When we arrived the omens weren't great. Coach upon coach of tour groups and signs pointing us to the lookout point as well as the gift shop and Panorama Restaurant. Hmmm. (I'm not sure why I expect all tourist sights to be empty apart from me and get annoyed when they're busy. Probably something innate within me to do with Britishness and empires).

Once we got there, even despite the crowds it really was breathtaking. Like a german version of the grand canyon. I sadly found it more breathtaking than most, the combination of lots of steps and a fairly severe fear of heights (over active imagination, what would falling off feel like, my legs wobbling & various other manly traits) rendering me slightly useless. So I sent Jojo off to conquer the bridges and gullies alone while I made my own pilgrimage up a much smaller set of steps and sat on a rock thinking about how long you have to sit on a rock before you get piles. Still I hope the photos (I've learnt how to add more than one!) give some idea of the place. I'd recommend a visit if you're in the area.

Here's a shaky 18 second video of the view!

http://www.youtube.com/v/LdLMHqQUXvk

After the breath taking views we headed in the van towards Prague. We camped just south of the city and spent our first evening relaxing and planning what to czech out in Prague tomorrow (sorry, I had to). More on that next time...