Day 6 – Heatwave Is Coming

Date: 1st of July 2015

Route: Prague – Nuremberg

Vehicles hitchhiked: 2

Even though we would have loved to stay in Prague at least one day longer, we had to move on. Maia was going to have an important meeting in Brussels 5 days later, and we had planned everything so that we could arrive there on time.

We ate breakfast together with Petr. He let us taste some special cheese from Norway, which he had been given by his sister. After the meal we quickly said goodbyes, and hit the road.

After discovering that the temperature during the following several days was supposed to oscillate between 35 and 40 degrees, we decided to buy hats. Unfortunately, the ones that we found on the way were far too expensive; in the end, we didn’t buy any. Because of that, we had to walk along the motorway, looking for a place in shadow.

If we had stood in the sun longer, we could have had heat strokes. Fortunately, we were saved from them by a very friendly man who gave us a lift to Pilsen. Owing to the fact that we didn't need Czech korunas anymore, because we were leaving Czech, we gave the driver the small amount of them that we had.

On a petrol station where we were left we spent a very long time asking (both car and truck) drivers for a lift. Eventually, someone agreed to help us – a very knowledgeable Croatian man living in Germany. He was so kind that he drove off the motorway – despite the fact that he wanted to go further on it – and took us to a place where we could use public transportation. What is more, he gave us a bottle of water.

A fountain in the city centre

We took an U-Bahn to the city centre, and then we walked around main streets (at the same time looking for hats, but without success). It was hot outside, so we chose to relax in a park; it was hidden behind high buildings, so we had some problems with finding it. Anyway, thanks to that, we came across a Turkish supermarket with very cheap watermelons for 0.29€ per kilogram; we decided to buy fruits there on the way back.

So cute!

In a park Maia managed to fall asleep. I couldn't stop myself from taking a photo of her as a revenge (she took a photo of me like this in a park in Vienna).

Our hosts, Roberta (a very cheerful Brazilian girl, who had studied mathematics, just like we) and her boyfriend Tim, lived in a cosy flat just next to the main part of the town. After we had eaten a banana-mango salad with watermelon, and drunk blueberry smoothies, they offered to show us around Nuremberg.

Yoga near the Pegnitz river

Although we had chosen to stay in this city just because it was more or less on the way to Belgium, we didn't regret the decision. The view of the Old Town from the Nuremberg Castle was breathtaking, and we were enchanted by all the buildings and small streets that we saw. Moreover, our hostess was great – we shared with her a vegetarian lifestyle and a general approach to life.

The view from the Nuremberg Castle