In Usti we were invited to join a group of activists, NE RASISMU!, from Usti and Prague that are concentrating on Roma racism, anti-ciganism, and antifascism, to learn about the situation tere from the people directly involoved. We met the group at one of the biggest ‘ghettos’ in Czech Republic; Predlice in the city of Usti nad Labem. Due to privatization of housing, systematic discrimination and also generally very bad living conditions of Roma people there, the actual situation can be seen as the beginning of humanitarian crisis. The group met us with instruments, circus props and footballs, in preparation…

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Next day was our first border crossing from Germany to the Czech Republic… marked unassumingly by a small EU sign.  But once we had crossed, the visual signs became more clear, and the landscape more wild. Actually the first thing that marked the crossing was a small reminder from our mobile phone providers, followed by Vietnamese tourist shops selling knickknacks from baseball caps to huge plastic Bambis. The route that afternoon was incredible, despite an accident with one of the ambitious trailer pullers who decided to follow the more off-road route option through the National Park. Our final destination was…

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On our route from Proschim we were made more aware of the extent of the open cast mines in the outskirts and surrounding areas that left huge blue lakes in place where farm land and village life once thrived. We did, I must admit take advantage of one of these lakes at lunchtime, only to be warned by one of the locals of the acidic content, and recommendation to swim elsewhere. The ride was hot, long, but as ever scenic as the scouts led us through small roads and cycle paths. A few punctures and tick inspections later we arrived…

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Many people said that although it was their hardest day’s cycling through the mountains, up up up up … the free wheeling down again made it all worth it, and was for many their best day’s cycling. The next day was mainly down hill all the way to the Elbe river, that we followed al the way into Usti Nad Labem. On the way one group visited Terezin, a former military forttress where Jews of high status were kept for information during the second world war. Along the Elbe there was still evidence from the recent floodings, and tide marks…

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Skinny dipping at sunset  ‘Red next to yellow, kill a fellow. Yellow next to black, venom lack.’ This little serpent is black all over, with no yellow or red. And she quickly slithers past us to a quieter spot. Still I’ve never seen our group of sweaty cyclists so hesitant to plunge into the cool inviting water of a lake at lunchtime! It’s 2 o’clock and outside of the shade of these trees the sun is far too oppressive to do anything, let alone continue the 50 kilometres of mountain cycling ahead. Since crossing the border from Germany to…

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A few of us cycled up to whitness the enormatiy of the the Coal Mines just outside Lauzitz….

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Nicht nur sprichwoertlich kann die Landesgrenze von Brandenburg und Sachsen als “Kohlegrenze” gesehen werden, weil das eine Bundesland als reicher gilt, als das andere. Nein, an der “Linealgrenze” aus dem Atlas koennte eine scharfe Klippenwand die Grenze der Braunkohletagebau-Krater markieren, wenn denn wenigestens eines der beiden Bundeslaender gegen die Foerderung waere – was durchaus in ihrer Kompetenz laege. Jedoch erlaesst weder Sachsen, noch Brandenburg einen Stopp gegen den weitraeumigen Abbau der Klimakiller-Substanz, sodass die Landesgrenze wohl auch in Zukunft genausowenig physisch sichtbar sein wird, wie sie es sein koennte, wenn eines der beiden Laender ein Zeichen setzen wuerde. Stattdessen wird diese…

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