A few days ago, I left my quiet spot on the edge of Vysočina and headed north. I'd have stayed another day, but the glares I was getting from passing walkers and cyclists were beginning to grate on me, and there wasn't another way to park on the narrow street. Add to that the impending building work that was advertised by the mounds of gravel and prepared slabs of concrete, and the magic was gone. It wasn't the relaxing arrangement I'd become accustomed to.

Burt pulled hard up the steep hill and got us out of the area at a leisurely 30mph, and I shortly tucked into a neat cove along the country highway and made good on my promise to chill out (it had been a long day's chilling, and I was tired).

Having now clocked over 2000 miles and over 150 villages, just in the last three weeks, I was looking for a space to spend a couple of days, where I wouldn't be disturbed and could do a bit of exploring. Through a list of craggy, decaying towns, and out into Liberecký Kraj, the countryside started getting pretty. Rock formations, castle ruins, that kind of thing. And just as my belly started rumbling to alert me to dinner time, we emerged from a long forest path into a tiny settlement with a range of planted hills that reminded me of Ostravice, which had been home through the most beautiful winter I ever experienced, just a couple of years ago.

Here, between a handful of houses and a tiny cemetery, I lodged myself.

For the last three days, this has been home, and not once has it been disturbed by the likes of nosy neighbors or judgmental passers-by. We've explored the woodland in the heat and enjoyed a bit of thunder and rain. It's been pretty swell.

Last night, though, was a little creepy.

I'd spied a water source just inside the cemetery and made a note to come back in the evening, to fill up my empty water tanks, so, during our last outing of the day, at around 11pm, we walked past the gate and Byron stopped to sniff around. By torch light, I checked for zombies and the like, and began mulling over the difficult decision of whether to carry the bottles quietly on foot or bring the noisy motor round and not bother myself with physical work. It was a decision that needed time, but I didn't have time, because just then, I heard a loud shuffling that sounded like human feet - heavy and deliberate - coming from inside the cemetery. Not letting my inner B-movie enthusiast play tricks on me, I calmly surveyed the area, looking for a heavy animal or a flapping branch, to explain the sound. Seeing nothing, I carried on as Byron laid claim to the land.

But then, a sound I couldn't blame on a tree, a deer, or my imagination. A very definite groan, kind of like Burtdad waking up, but a fair bit less dramatic. Still seeing nothing, I decided to calmly walk back to Burt and considered the idea of moving on. As I came back down the hill, another groan came from behind, and I couldn't help remembering that episode of The Twilight Zone, where the dead could be cured. You know the one. Don't pretend you didn't see it.

Properly creeped-out, I short-circuited all of Byron's subsequent stop-n-sniff™ adventures on the way back and climbed quickly up into the living space to lock us in. I knew how silly the idea was, but I also knew what a groaning man sounded like in a remote cemetery in the dead of night. I preferred to be cosy, anyway, so I told myself. Exploring is better by day. Plus I have to make that cup of tea I promised myself, and I should really check that thing, in case of ... hm.

Anyway, the night was calm and sleep came easily, neither disturbed by cyclists, nor the undead, and today, I woke up to a much cooler breeze, and went happily about our rounds in the local area. After breakfast, we'll have a look on the map to see if we can find a town and stock up the fridge.

As another storm approaches, so, too, does a mounted castle.

On closer inspection, a small ruin.

A lush green pathway between gardens...

...with a nice view of the ruin, of course. :)

And here it is again, but this time, with Burt.

I really think you got the idea, now, so I won't include the other 88 images of the ruin. :D

Home for the night.

As the rain set in this morning.

A quiet village with all the usual features.

That cute little cemetery where the dead come back to life and spook innocent vansters.

And with that, we said goodbye to Noviny Pod Ralskem.

Onward.