Day 6

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Amber's Journal:
Today was a beautiful day in Casky Krumlov. I know yesterday I said it wasn't as great as I thought it would be but today I changed my mind. It really is a cute little town. This morning we spent some time chatting with Jiri our host. He was about our age so it was cool talking to him. We toured the castle this morning, well, the outside of it anyway. We didn't think it would be worth it to pay for a tour of the inside. The outside is cool though and built right into the rocks on a cliff. The front of the castle has bear pits with three huge bears, which is random, but still cool. We also went up into the huge tower which was pretty cool. The old bell was still there and I'm pretty sure a lot of the stairs were original. The view from the top, well, almost the top, was gorgeous. I think that was when I started to realize the beauty of Cesky Krumlov. It is such a unique, charming little town. We always marvel at the architectural detail of buildings from so long ago when they didn't have anywhere close to the technology we have today. The workmanship is amazing. Especially considering the extreme heights of the buildings and the steepness of the roofs, etc. Anyways, then we walked around town a little more and ate lunch. We split a roast beef sandwich, a coke, and two desserts and the total was $2.50. So cheap! Then we went into a souvenir shop which happened to have some Bohemian crystal for less than what it cost in Prague so we bought two small goblets. The total was something like $18 which is really good for two crystal goblets but I'm sure it was more than Preston would have liked to spend since we already have souvenirs so I am really grateful for him being okay with getting it. He knew how badly I wished I could get crystal from the Czech Republic so it was really sweet of him. After that we went canoeing down the Vlatva River, which meanders through the town. The canoe rental place actually drove us down the river to another town and dropped us off so we could canoe back to Cesky Krumlov. It took about 2 hours but it was beautiful. Outside of town there were steep hillsides covered with thick woods. The river has several dike/dam type things that disrupt the canoeing. There are some spots where you can canoe down it if you don't mind the risk (high risk!) of tipping the canoe in the rapids or at least getting super wet. If you don't want to take that risk (which we didn't) you have to pull the canoe ashore and carry it down river past the dam where you put it back in. We had to do that 3 or 4 times and on one of the times Preston accidentally dropped the camera in the edge of the river. He pulled it out quickly and dried it all off but I think the damage has been done. His camera won't work now and he is so sad about it. Now we are just praying really hard that it won't affect the rest of the pictures we had taken previously. There were beautiful little houses and cottages backing to the river, usually with stairs going down to the water. One house even had a waterslide going from the yard to the river. It was cool! We ended up eating dinner at the same place as last night becasue we liked it so much. I had shish-ka-bobs with these great roasted potatoes. It was really good! We also threw the frisbee in the park for a bit. PS- cobblestone roads: I love them for their beauty, age, and workmanship, but they are killer on my feet! Tomorrow we leave for Austria!

Preston's Journal:
Dropped my camera in the Vltava River today... still not working... the days keep getting better!! All joking aside, Cesky Krumlov was great today. Sleeping in until 8:15am, then eating breakfast with Jiri (the guy running our hotel) were both pretty nice. He said he thought I was a Czech when we came in and I said good morning and asked how he was doing (in Czech). After eating we went up to visit the castle. It is huge! It is build on the side/top fo the cliff right next to the river, has a bear pit, huge tower, very large garden, and tons of rooms. We went up into the tower which provided a fantastic view, and a great time seeing the old bells, woodwork, and metal in the century-old tower. Oh, and the bear pit had three huge grizzly bears in it. We did some more walking around, Amber bought some Bohemian crystal, we ate a sandwich and pastry at a very cheap little place, then rented a canoe for a float down the river... enter my camera being in the water! There are little dam-type things every little bit on the river, which create some rough water. To avoid these, we would stop, get out of the canoe, carry it a little ways, then get back in. Well, in the process, with my camera on my lap for easy picture-taking access, I stood up to get out and... ploop... in the water. I let it dry for a while, and it worked fine, but then stopped and now won't turn on. Very glad we brought Amber's camera as well. After canoeing we got a dessert, did some walking, played some frisbee, and ate dinner at the same place as last night. Again, very good food and service. I'm having tons of fun here with Amber, and it's still strange thinking we're actually in Europe, but we are!! It was nice getting a day of a little bit more relaxing and a slower pace... but still need more sleep. PS- Amber was the voice of reason which convinced me not to go through the rapids in the canoe... I'm glad I followed her counsel this time. ;o)

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