Czeching In (Get It? Czeching In vs. Checking In) from Cesky Krumlov

All,

Well, my stay in Cesky Krumlov so far has been pretty much what I expected it to be; a very relaxing time in a very old medieval city on the banks of the Vltava River. Getting Here was another story ...

I woke up in Vienna at 4:30 am yesterday (Sunday), and stumbled my way to the main train station to catch the tram that was running outside of it to the secondary train station in Vienna. The morning took an unfortunate but sadly expected turn when I found out via a transit worker that the tram was not working on Sunday (they take the lord's day off like Goedeker's Superstore), and that I would have to catch the underground to the train station instead. I sprinted onto the subway system platform and remarkibly easily found my way to the secondary train station's subway exit with about 45 minutes to spare in order to catch my train to the Czech Republic. So, everything was great, or atleast I thought.

As soon as I exited the underground platform, I headed in the direction of the train station, but I could not find it. I headed left at the nearest street that seemed to be in the right direction, and then ran into a group of drunk college kids. Thank god for these kids, because they explained to me that the "Vienna Josef Ban Hof (the station I needed to find) doesnt look like a train station". I realized after they told me that I had walked by it 10 times. The train station was basically a big office building looking edifice, with mirror windows that would never lead on to a traveler that it was indeed a train station.

I stumbled to the platform in a sweat, and then talked to Christie on the phone, which helped ease the stress, and then boarded the train for the Czech Republic.

I arrived in Cesky Krumlov yesterday afternoon at around noon, and since then have just relaxed and soaked in the laid back vibe of this city. The beer here is amazing, and at 80 cents a pint, you cant help but sample it. On Sunday, I just hung out in town, and then took a well deserved four hour nap. Then, I headed out for a traditional Czech Dinner of roasted pork, potato dumplings, and sauerkraut. I took some great pics of the castle that looms over town, and then just called it an early night.

Today, I woke up at around 10 and then headed straight to the internet cafe to catch up on emails and then work on my fantasy hockey leagues for this season. After that, I decided to do a self-guided pub crawl through Cesky Krumlov. My first stop was the Eggenberg Brewery, where I had a couple beers at the beer garden outside the touristy brewery. I chatted with my Mom and Christie while sipping a local brew, and I knew I was in the right place when the Japanese tourist headed from the bar told me that I did not want to go there because it "was a real dive".

On a side note, I have never seen more Japanese tourists in my life than in this sleepy little town. For some reason, it is on the top of their list. I witnessed atl east 15 Japanese tourists setting their cameras up on tripods for night time pics of the town square last night. After that brewery I just stopped at a couple riverside cafes and now have made my way to a bar with an internet connection in the back which is just about to close ... So, I will talk to you later ....

Scott

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