http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/KenandAlison/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from KenandAlison en-us Sun, 27 Dec 2009 04:09:17 +0000 Sun, 27 Dec 2009 04:09:17 +0000 Today started yesterday with an early start and uneventful flight from Barcelona passing over geography that barely registers in my mental atlas Georgia and Turmenistan the Caspian and Black seas etc. Arrived a bit tired as the sleeping pill that we took didn't work until we were 3 or 4 hours out. Since we have been here we have been using the amazingly efficient MRT system underground and http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Singapore/Singapore-Zoo/blog-279628.html Travel day today. Woke up early beautiful day so laid all our stuff outside on the ground and packed from theremdashnot a lot of room inside the van. There was a lot more volume so had to expand the blue case Cleaned out the van and took off with Sandy our trusty computer navigator leading the way except the road had been fixed up and was new so she had us the middle of paddocks and could http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Barcelona/blog-278860.html Got up and had about 500 more Krsquos for breakfast and arrived at Colditzmdashthe computer got it fairly wrong and we ended up going down some very narrow roads but no mirror clipping this time. The Saxony government had taken over the running of the castle and is doing it up in a ten year plan. The bit of the castle of the castle where the German officers were housed is now a flash youth http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Saxony/blog-278749.html It started raining in the evening and although it looked like the usual thunderstorm it didnrsquot stop and it was still raining fairly steadily in the morning. We had done a wash in the evening so hung the line across the inside of the van from the bathroom door to a catch on the ceiling over the bed. The washing dries in the breeze as it flaps back and forward from the movement of the van. Th http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Czech-Republic/South-Bohemian-Region/Cesky-Krumlov/blog-278747.html The second day in Vienna we went to the Royal Apartments and the Sisi Museum. Sisi was the Empress Elizabethmdasha gorgeously beautiful girl who married the Crown Prince of the Austro Hungarian empire at aged 15 just at the end of the 19th centurymdashand how she was oppressed by this was obviously bulimic then depressed was fixated on keeping her beauty had her children alienated from he http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Austria/Vienna-State/Vienna/blog-278245.html Vienna at last. We first visited Austria 26 years ago but didnrsquot get this far east. The camping ground was great with a washing machine finally So the first thing we did was wash clothes. Then travelled into the centre by train and underground. Very efficient and clean. The underground trains run at 5 minute intervals and the trains every 20 minutes or so meaning very little waiting http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Austria/Vienna-State/Vienna/blog-278243.html Spis Castle is a very big very old ruin of a castle and very famous. It is on quite a little hill but the site is very well chosen as itrsquos visible in any direction and obviously good at guarding all around. On the road we went thru a very long tunnelmdash 5 kilometres of very high tech roadingmdashas we came out there was the castle a few km away framed in the opening of the tunnel guar http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Slovakia/Presov-Region/High-Tatras/blog-278241.html Today we had even more trouble finding someone to pay and ended up being quite late to leave because of this. We stopped along the way at a small town called Levoca. It has a fully intact town wall and inside there are a number of beautiful Renaissance houses and other buildings with a central square. There was the Cage of Shame near the town hall where women who had done something wrong were http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Slovakia/Presov-Region/Levoca/blog-278239.html Eventually found someone to pay for the night in the campground we are certainly still in the low season and headed down the Orava valley. First stop was the village of Podbiel with little wooden houses. Near here we say a stork nesting on a special pole. Elsewhere we have see stork nests on the top of powerpoles There was a school nearby and in the window amongst the other pictures were pictu http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Slovakia/Zilina-Region/Orava/blog-278238.html We stayed overnight near Krakow and then went to the Wielizca Salt Mine. We managed to catch one of the English tours. The trip starts by going down around 400 stairs Around and around 6 stairs down a landing another 6 stairs down a landing over and over. There are a number of salt statues and they have been able to demonstrate how the mine worked over the ages by using figures of miners etc http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Poland/Lesser-Poland/Wieliczka/blog-278236.html Today was the day to visit Auschwitz one of those days that are not enjoyable but essential to do when travelling when we come into contact with the physical reality of an historical event we can get a glimpse of the human reality and come out the end of it different people. We have learned about the holocaust at school through films and movies but it was always a bit theoretical over http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Poland/Lesser-Poland/Auschwitz/blog-275693.html Rostov well woke up this am in a lovely camping ground and then went to see the Wallachian Folk Museum. This is a village made up of original and reconstructions of old country housesmdashitrsquos amazing what tiny spaces these large families lived in. The stoves are hugemdashcapturing every bit of heat it can produce. Several ovens and the chimneys run inside the rooms and tunnels take th http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Czech-Republic/blog-275682.html Now for a total change we have gone to a rock city AdrspachTeplice Rocks. This is near the northern border of the Czech Republic with Poland. Sandstone has been eroded leaving valleys bounded by towers of sandstone. There are a number of walking trails with lots of people on them. At first it looked pretty tame and then the towers got higher and the valley narrower until we were walking alo http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Czech-Republic/Hradec-Kralove-Region/Adrspach/blog-275670.html Lots of driving with a stop at a hyper marketmdashthink of the Auckland malls then double it Ken made me rush though so only got groceries. I did offer to sit in the van and read while Alison shoppedThen we went to the Sedlec Ossuarymdasha chapel and a cemetery have been there for many 100s of years and many were buried there. Then there was the plague and the 30 year war and many more we http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Czech-Republic/Central-Bohemian-Region/Kutna-Hora/blog-275526.html Karlstejn castlemdashthey say this castle looks like it is from Disneyland and it does. Turrets and walls and ramparts high above a village. We had to walk up to the castle first thing in the morning and it was very interesting a beautiful. Bought a picture from an art gallery and proprietor clicked his heels and bowed at usmdashthe Czech manners make you feel very ladylike. We then rushed http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Czech-Republic/Central-Bohemian-Region/Karlstejn/blog-275515.html We had discovered that the water pump that supplies the sink and toilet etc was leaking after finding a pool of water spreading across the floor on a couple of occasions. We had tried to get around it by only switching it on whenever we needed to pump water but this was a nuisance and we would forget to turn it off again. So we decided to try to get it fixed. Making a phone call to someone who w http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Czech-Republic/Prague/blog-275053.html The plan was to have a leisurely lunch in the beautiful gardens at Prague Castle. The day started off fine and then was a bit cloudy. We sat down surrounded by the lovely flowers and smells of the lilac trees and started to eat. And of course it bucketed down lightning directly over head and thunder. We retreated to the balcony of the summer palace and watched and waited. St Nicholas church in http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Czech-Republic/Prague/blog-275052.html Musicmdashmusic around every corner in Prague. A wonderful rustic band on the bridgethe violin had a brass thing attached like a tuba which I think was just a megaphone to make him sound louder. They were playing jazz and folk songs. Then a bit further on we heard a faint trumpet and looked over a lone trumpeter was just playing all by himself on the river bankmdashprobably practicing. The http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Czech-Republic/Prague/blog-274384.html There are a number of castles and other sites around the area so we took off early to avoid the crowds. First stop Trosky castle. There has been some volcanic activity in the distant past. The surrounding sandstone had eroded away leaving two spikes of basalt sitting high above the surrounding countryside. A good defensive position so a tower was built on each spike and living quarters on the sec http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Czech-Republic/blog-274382.html Harrachov today usual problems with parking there was no parks Nearest official parking was 3km from where we wanted to be so we parked on a dirt patch just before the town. The glass works was in full swing making wine goblets today. They have a large furnace with several openings to get the glass and 4 teams of workers. Each glass is hand made but it is a production line. Two glass blowe http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Czech-Republic/Liberec-Region/Harrachov/blog-274381.html