Liquid Sunshine

It's not kayaking if you don't get wet, is it?

Me getting an upper body workout for once...

That's not a bike!

The chandelier

The remains of 40,000 humans decorate the inside...

Looks like a normal church from the outside...

Church in Olomouc

Some say that rain is just liquid sunshine...

After seeing the town of Olomouc under heavy cloud, I again caught a train in hope of finding some sunshine. In vain, I arrived in the rain in Kolin, 70 km east of Prague. Dodging puddles and closed road signs, I peddled to Kutna Hora where I visited the creepy church you see in the photos as well as the beautiful old town. A rather creative, though quite morbid artist carefully decorated the church with the remains of 40,000 humans after the graveyard ran out of space following the plague. Featured is the chandelier made from at least one of every bone in the human body.
With the blanket of cloud now a blanket of (heavy) rain, I pitched my tent next to a group of scouts from Prague that where canoeing down the river. The evening was spent sipping hot tea and playing the old favorite rainy weather game, musical chairs.
Packing in a downpour, I left the camp and followed the rapidly rising river towards Prague. I was invited in for a cup of hot coffee by an old couple out for a walk in the forest. I spent a good hour or two trying my best to communicate as they spoke only Czech. Feeling a little warmer and with some home made cakes in me. I continued...
Returning to my bike after purchasing lunch I discovered that half of my tent was missing...after a futile 50 km (bike) search of the road ways the following day, I'm still unsure where when and why it disappeared...luckily it was the last (cycling) day of my trip and it should be covered by insurance!
So before heading back to Sweden I will spend the week in Prague staying with friends of a friend. I'm very grateful that they are willing to not only put up with me arriving looking like a dirty, drowned rat but also taking me out to all the best places in town, taking me kayaking, driving me all over the place to find a box suitable for my bike and giving me my own room for the week. Much appreciated! As you see in the photos, I'm a bit out of practice in a kayak since the old outdoor ed days at school...