Just like last night, I made scrambled eggs on toast and coffee for a "proper" breakfast. That meant washing up as well as packing before I rejoined the E3. By heading for my appartment last night I missed a short section of the E3 that followed a road behind the houses of the village. On that road I could see two spires, like many in the area they were elaborate decorative features. I walked back to the first, which housed a bell and was attached to a small building by a cemetery. Later I passed a shrine, sat in a village with an equally decorative and pointy spire.
Today's walk was a contrast to my hikes over the previous weeks. Instead of high forested ridges there were lower hills and more villages, areas of trees but also fields of hay.
Not all was easy walking. The path down through trees from the highest hill, Svinec, was steep, and continuing rain had made the earth slippery. My poles were essential to gain a grip as I progressed very slowly down the hill, fearing that if I slipped awkwardly my left knee could be very painful. The summit of the hill had not been rewarding as it extended into the clouds creating "white out" conditions. However among the long grass that covered the hilltop there were some interesting wild flowers: pink sainfoin, blue broadleaf speedwell and cream pincushion flower according to my App. When visibility was a little better I looked down on Novy Jicin, a sizeable town that the E3 bypasses.
Passing a hotel and restaurant I stopped for a coffee, and in a later village picked up a few pastries from the Coop for lunch. The final part of the walk was through flat fields of grass rimmed with trees, a huge contrast to the mountains I had been climbing.
Thanks to an early start I arrived at the railway station at Suchdol nad Odrou with more than two hours before my intended train departed, one which would have taken me direct to Krakow. The lady at the ticket office suggested an alternative routing involving a change at Bohumin that would get me in Krakow much earlier. I bought the ticket but was nervous about catching the right trains.
My train to Krakow was waiting when I arrived at Bohumin. It had an old style carraige arrangement, with six seater compartments. My reservation was in one that was almost full with people and all their luggage so I sat in an empty carraige for a while. However that soon filled up with people who had reservations for the carraige so I returned to where my allocated seat was actually located.
Krakow station was rather overwhelming. Lots of people marching with conviction criss-crossing the concourses, and hearing English being spoken for the first time in five weeks. Krakow is an international tourist destination so it was not surprising.
After vagueness navigating a large shopping mall I exited at the right place thanks to signs directing me to the Old Town. Having found my hotel and showered I toured the streets looking for a Polish restaurant (why come to Poland and eat Italian food?). I ended at a rather posh one where they tell you about your glass of wine, justifying the cost as a celebration for finishing my walk and not letting my knee stop me. I ended at a bar, deep in a cellar, where a guy murdered popular songs on an electric keyboard.
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