Long before Prague dominated Bohemia, Kouřim was one of its centres of power. On a promontory above the Kouřimka stream lie the earthworks of Stará Kouřim, a vast early medieval Slavic hillfort that archaeologists consider one of the most important in the country. The later town, founded in the thirteenth century, still has stretches of its walls, a Gothic gate and the sturdy church of St Stephen, which together give this small place a strong sense of age.
Kouřim also hosts an open-air museum of rural architecture, where timber farmhouses, barns and mills from across central Bohemia have been rebuilt, a pleasant stroll if you want a break from the saddle. The surrounding landscape is gently rolling farmland, with fields of wheat and rapeseed, orchards and small woods, and villages with baroque chapels and ponds.
The roads are typical of central Bohemia: narrow, winding, and of variable quality. Some stretches are smooth new asphalt; others are patched and bumpy. Traffic is light, but tractors and local drivers can surprise you, and village speed limits are often enforced. To the east lies Kolín, a larger town on the Elbe with a Gothic cathedral, and Kutná Hora, the old silver-mining town with its famous bone chapel, is within easy reach for a detour.
Kouřim is small, so for a wide choice of fuel head for Kolín or Český Brod, where stations and supermarkets are plentiful. Kouřim has a few pubs and cafés around its square, serving Czech staples like goulash, svíčková and of course beer. Stop, walk to the old walls, and enjoy one of the quieter historical towns of the region before continuing towards the mountains in the north.