Damp mist filled the air as left my tent this morning and carried the breakfast I had bought yesterday over to a seating area. I supplemented my purchases with an excellent coffee from the campsite's vending machine. Unfortunately I then had difficulty accessing the toilets. The cleaning lady had arrived just as people needed to use the facilities on waking up. I had to wait outside the disabled toilets to conduct my morning's ablutions.
I retraced my steps along the riverside path passing a curious "funnel" which if you turned the crank handle 10 times and pressed a button it would play music. There as a chateau high on a hill on the other side of the river. Inevitably this was the first target of my walk after a steep climb. I noticed today that at the top of the valley sides there was usually a ragged cliff of sandstone outcrops in this area. This was where the path was steepest, zig-zagging up (or down) with steps in places. The advantage of this were the views from the top.
After looking down from the mock medieval castle on a misty Děčin the route continued on the wooded ridge for a while before dropping down through sandstone cliffs to an urban valley. After which it climbed up the other side.
There was a long climb up to an escarpment, high above the surrounding countryside, which the trail then followed for a couple of kilometres. The mist had now cleared, replaced by a hazy sunshine and blue skies. From the top of the cliffs I could see over many miles of wooded mountain ranges, with towns and villages hidding in the gaps between them. The airy viewpoints gave me a feeling of space, of freedom, unhindered by constraints. Even better I found a restaurant open where I bought a latte and slice of apple strudel while admiring the view over the cliffs from the terrace. The restaurant was the "Penzion a Restaurace pod Rozhlednou". The "Rozhlednou" refered to a nearby stone lookout tower. I regretted that I was not staying at the Penzion so that I could look down on the lights of distant towns at night.
As well as the view I admired the trees, the vertical lines of silver birch and the rowans bursting with bunches of red berries. Where the berries had fallen and been squashed underfoot they looked like drops of fresh blood.
Being Saturday lots of people, their children and dogs were out. As I climbed down from the escarpment, more curious were those walking up with what appeared to folded mattresses on their backs. I concluded they were going bouldering, the mattresses were crash pads so that if they fell off a short climb up the sandstone blocks they would not hurt themselves (too much).
There was a flatter area of tree covered plateau then a descent and more undulations plus a few small lakes until I eventually reached the top of the village of Petrovice. Here I had booked a Penzion that offered camping spots. I had a little difficulty finding the owner, whose phone was not working. A helpful couple of guests advised trying next door, where a lady hanging out the washing arranged for someone to come. Soon I had my tent up and drying.
Petrovice was a curious place with "Free" shops selling cigarettes, alcohol and flowers. Apparently, since Czechia joined the European Union they are not sold duty free. All taxes are paid. However as the taxes are lower in Czechia, Germans have an advantage buying items like cigarettes and alcohol here. There was also an aircraft converted into a restaurant, apparently a TU104, it must have been very difficult to transport here. However I chose a more conventional place next door.
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