Day 8. Cycling from Loket to Cheb along the Ohre Cycle Path.

Day 8. Loket to Cheb. 48km. 3h15.

We deliberated a bit about how far we were going to cycle today as we need to notch up a few kilometers. We could not find any good accommodation across the German border at the distance we wanted to cycle today and we would have had quite a lot of climbing to do. Eventually we settled on a shorter relaxed ride to, rest up for a longer more taxing ride tomorrow. 

It was a easy ride on a good cycle path along the Ohre River, the first 5 km was on asphalt as we left Loket, then it became a narrow gravel path alongside the river through beautiful forests. We saw spotted woodpecker, wagtails, swans, Mallard Duck and a Buzzard flying across a field, and heard a cuckoo. Very peaceful and hardly anyone else seen until we got closer to Cheb.

I recognized quite a few flowers that usually grow in our gardens at home, in the wild. Larkspur, Russell Lupins, Louisiana Irises,Aquilegia and heaps of Queen Anne lace.

It turned out to be such a beautiful day and we made good time to Cheb. As we arrived quite early we explored the town, had a beer and lunch before booking into our accommodation for the night, Pension u Vlicku, which is a two minute walk to the centre of town. We had our picnic lunch in the Monastery Garden tucked away behind the Franciscan Monastery. It has been beautifully restored into a peaceful little retreat.

The tall narrow half timbered houses on King George Square, called Spalicek, were built in the fifteenth century and are one of the main symbols of Cheb architecture and are beautifully preserved. We chatted to a few German cyclists who visited Cheb 20 years ago at the end of the communist period. They said it was a very grey and sad place, very different to the colourful city it is today.

The North Eastern side of King George Square is dominated by the majestic St Nicholas Church, which was a Romanesque Basilica it was destroyed by fire many times and bombed in WW2. It has now been restored and a Neo - Gothic roof has been added.

Not much remains of the Romanesque Castle built in the late 12 C, but the defensive Black Tower built from volcanic basalt can still be seen rising above the ramparts.

We had a delicious meal at U Krale Jiriho Restuarant, a favorite with the locals and ended up chatting to a German guy who had come to do some work in Cheb, a really friendly fellow.