In September of 2025, I walked from Prague in the Czech Republic to Dresden, Germany. As I've done several times in the past, I started my journey straight out of the airport terminal. This hike would take seven and a half days, about 116 miles.
I crossed the main highway outside Václav Havel Airport and walked underneath a long line of landing jumbo jets. After a mile or two, I settled into the woods heading north towards Tuchoměřice. Jet lag and adrenaline are an interesting combination.
Early evening, passing the village of Velké Číčovice. The airplanes were just silent specks in the clouds now.
This was my front-row seat for much of the hike.
Getting very wet trying to reach the trees in time.
Open country hiking - no fences, no trails.
Early morning, moving the feet north to Libochovice.
During the day, I steered clear of the villages and kept to the fields. But they were always nearby in case of an emergency and I needed an ice cream.
As always, the best way into any town is through the cemetery.
Kostel Nanebevzetí Panny Marie, Zlonice. In need of a paint job but I like it.
About eighty-five miles now, somewhere north of Ústí nad Labem. As luck would have it I was able to follow this overpass all the way to the tunnel entrance into the mountain. From there I used animal trails to clear the pass.
In my advance preparations for this hike, I fully expected to have to scale a tall fence at this point but things were wide open when I arrived.
On the final day of the hike, it rained hard. I turned away from the big hills and headed over to the Elbe for the final stretch into Dresden.
A very brief break in the weather. Dresden was around the next bend. The following morning, I took the train back to Prague and unwound a week of walking in about two hours.