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Published: August 28th 2007
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Here we are in the middle of Bohemian Europe.
After realising in Krakow that the tram we needed to get from hostel to train station didn't run on Sundays (we have no jobs and no real purpose so who knows what day it is!!), we had to make an "Amazing Race" run across town to the train station. We were the last to arrive but fortunately have
not been eliminated from the game. We arrived on the platform with 5 minutes to spare. The closest we've come to missing a train. Guess that is what it is all about.
We said goodbye to Poland and hello to Prague - a city with many labels. It is a really beautiful city and we were glad we'd planned an extra couple of days there. The buildings are all so stunning and we even surprised ourselves with how much more we now know about architecture than we did a month ago. The view from the castle is really fairytale kind of stuff with all the spires and beautiful churches.
The weather was kind to us and gave us beautiful sunny but not too hot days. The city is unfortunately overrun with
The Famous Astrological Clock
In Prague's main square. On the hour this clock makes a bit of noise and the little figurines dance around. It draws a massive crowd. It was first built in 1410 but bits have been added on since.It is pretty complicated and cool to look at. The dancing skeleton is the drawcard though. tourists and money-hungry tourist traps but all in all it was great.
And that brings us to Cesky Krumlov. Ahhhh Krumlov.... the most beautiful place ever. We darn near threw the anchor out and stayed. We extended our stay by two days and are considering coming back. The town is quite small and a little touristy but not completely overrun with them. We fell in love literally within 2 hours of arriving. You get frequently lost along the little cobblestones paths that weave around the town but we loved every minute of it. The town is surrounded by mountains and in the centre is a massive castle and a meandering little river. Our hostel was more like a share house where everyone is relaxed and friendly.
We had the most beautiful summer weather and joined the Czechs on their summer holidays rafting down the river - just a shame we forgot the sunscreen. Luckily the sun over here is not as harsh as it is back home so Trish scored a bit of soreness and then went a shade darker while unfortunately Daniel bore the brunt of the suns wrath and is still suffering a week later.
A Laneway
Just of the main square in Prague. Before we left Australia we heard stories of all the Aussies over here. Our whole trip we have met/seen only a few. Perhaps that is because they've all been hanging out in Krumlov. Aussies were everywhere. We were the regulars in our dorm (staying 5 nights when most only stay 1 or 2) and there was only one night there that the dorm wasn't filled with Aussies. It was so nice to hear familiar accents and pine for Milo and cold drinks collectively. We are still missing home and more importantly having a place to call home (instead of "the hostel"), Krumlov provided a fantastic fill in.
We did practically nothing for 5 days and loved it. If any of you are ever planning a trip to Prague please please make sure you make the 3 hour bus trip out to Cesky Krumlov you will NOT be disappointed. The place is filled with tourists during the day but not so much in the evening. We met some great people at the hostel both guests and managers (aka travellers earning money over the summer). It was just so lovely to relax in a quiet homely kind of place. Every one
sleeps in and then slowly makes their way out into the town during the day.
Being much more affordable than Western Europe we delighted in the local cuisine and left the country a wee bit sick of dumplings, cabbage and pork. It was great to be able to try traditional Czech food though and one of the managers at the hostel is born and bred Czech with 100% fluency in English so we learnt heaps from here and got to know a bit more than what we would just being tourists.
After a brief (well in hindsight brief but at the time was a major disaster!) dilemma with our bank having a problem with letting us take cash out in a country that only accepts cash we managed to scrounge together enough pounds and euros to pay our way out of the country. We almost took it as a sign to stay though. We decided to skip Austria although on the train trip to Switzerland through Austria we kind of regretted it. The countryside is really beautiful you could really believe that the hills were alive with the sound of music..... (ha ha ha).
So anyway we
made the treck to Luzern in Switzerland after a quick and knowledgable geography lesson. Switzerland is actually below Germany NOT the Czech Republic folks and there is a whole lot of Austria in between so it was a wee bit more difficult to get here than we thought!
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Cynthia and Leigh
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Finally
Hi Dan and Trish - Kevin was telling us about your wonderful travels at 'The Wedding' - it's taken me all this time to have a look. Your pics are really superb and what an adventure you're having. Still as handsome as ever, Dan!