Czech Republic

25 September 2008
Plzen, Czech Republic
                At some point after getting on the one car train we crossed over into the Czech Republic.  We had to transfer only once more before arriving in Plzen a little after 5:00pm. 
                We walked into the train station, and sure enough Eva was there waiting for us.  It was really nice to see her, and that she remembered us.  It had been a couple months since we had met in Laos.  This was the day before Doug, and Anna crossed over into China.  We remember she was a lot of fun to chat with during the lunch and dinner we had met up with her and her friend.
                She greeted us, helped us get onto the tram, and went with us to the hostel we didn’t have a reservation at.  We checked into the hostel, dropped off our bags, and headed back into the center of town.  There was a small festival going on in the main square with music, beer, and food.  We went to the square, and got a couple beers.  Anna also got a traditional type of food.  It was a potato patty friend in oil, with garlic spread on the top.  It was really good for our taste buds, but not for the heart. 
                After hanging out in the square for a while, we walked to a restaurant not too far away.  Doug ordered a butcher’s steak, Anna ordered a goulash with dumplings, and Eva ordered a calzone type dish.  All of our dishes were quite large.  The dishes were just as big as the ones at Claim Jumpers in the States.  We all enjoyed a hearty meal catching up on different things.  During her trip to South East Asia she had visited two countries we didn’t get to: the Philippines and Indonesia. 
                It is always really nice to exchange stories, and also get to know people.  She was so cool to meet up with us on such short notice, and show us around.  After dinner we said our goodbyes, and agreed to meet up the next day.
                Back at the hostel we got ready for bed.  There was a couple who showed up to stay in our dorm from Australia.  We stayed up for a couple hours chatting with them, and then went to sleep.

26 September 2008
Plzen, Czech Republic
                The day started off a little slow.  We needed to go down to reception to see if we could stay another night.  Well it turned out we couldn’t, they were completely booked for the night.  The receptionist couldn’t recommend another option, but she did say we could go to the information center in the main square, and inquire about accommodation.  This was the last thing we needed to happen today.  The day was finally clear of clouds, and finally a little warm, to spend it looking for a hostel was a waste.
                We went to the information center and found another hostel which was a little cheaper.  The girl at the information desk called to the hostel to make sure there was availability.  Back at the hostel we packed our bags up.  While we were there we looked up the hostel where we were going, The River Hostel.  The reviews on both Hostel World, and Hostelbookers were both horrid.  One of the biggest review which still sticks in our minds was “Do Not stay in this hostel, it is the dirtiest place I have ever stayed it.”  This was really comforting.     Well, sometimes reviews can be exaggerated, so we still decided to check it out.
                The hostel was about a 20 minute walk away from where we were.  Arriving at the hostel, there was techno music blaring in the reception area (This was a good signL).  We knocked on the door a couple times, and finally a head popped out from one of the top floors.  The guy came right down, let us in, and opened up the reception area first turning off the loud music.  While we checked in the guy running the place had a couple of stories for us about when he was in the US.  One story was about how he got thrown in jail for opening a beer in the park (he didn’t understand why one cannot drink alcohol in the park).  Another story was about how his friend was thrown in jail for 3 months because his visa was expired (this story was a little odd). 
                After checking in we checked out the room, and dropped our bags.  The place was not spotless by any means.  But the person who put the bad review about the place not being clean has apparently never traveled in a 3rd world countries staying in hostels, or cheap hotels.  We have stayed in much worse places. 
                We headed to the Plzen brewery.  This is where Pilsner beer was first invented.  The restaurant at the brewery was pretty cool, supposedly it was the largest beer hall in all of Czech (capacity up to 580 people).  We ended up meeting some people from Portland and chatted with them for a short while.
                At 1:00 we went outside to meet Eva.  She was right on-time.  The first place she took us was her house.  She had made some traditional soup, and bought some fresh bread that morning.  This was the perfect lunch.  After lunch we got back into the car and she drove us up to an old castle ruin on top of a hill.  It was closed, only opening on the weekdays, but we took some nice photos of the valley. 
                Eva and Anna headed down to the car while Doug took some more photos.  Doug ended up taking a while because he was trying to help an old man down from the hill.  After 15 minutes Anna and Eva went up to see what was taking them all so long.  It turned out the old man was really scared to go down the steps.  The younger man was in his early 60’s and the old man was 79.  Supposedly he came here to play as a boy and because the weather was so nice today, he really wanted to come back.  Unfortunately he was terrified of falling down, so the four of us ended up carrying him down the steps.  It was really an international effort.
                The next place Eva took us was a nice castle still used for weddings, and special events.  This place also had a lot of nice views.  After our country tour we went back to her house to drop off the car.  Eva had made a reservation at a beer place called “The Pub.”  Here you get a table that has its own beer tap, and pour your own beer.  The tap has a digital readout and records how many liters of beer you have poured and you are charged per your total quantity poured. 
                We had to take a bus, and then a tram to get back into the center of town.  Eva showed us the largest Synagogue in Europe, as well as some more of Plzen.  After an hour or so she took us to Big Burger.  She wanted us to try another traditional food.  It was fried, breaded cheese.  We thought it was like cheese sticks, but in a patty like form.  The food was good, but again good for taste buds, not for the heart.
                After dinner we went to The Pub, and had some beers.  At this place they tally up how much beer all the tables drink and show it on a big screen.  There are bars like this all over the Czech, some in Prague, Brno, another city, and Plzen.  We were able to kind of keep up being in the middle for our pub while we were there.  Our reservation was from 7-9:30.  And sure enough promptly at 9:30, they brought us our check, and we left.  By now we had had a lot of beer, as well as a great time.  We love meeting up with locals, especially ones who have traveled around the world.
                We said our goodbyes, and agreed to meet up again soon.  If we didn’t see each other the next day, Eva was going to be in Prague when we were the following weekend.  Back at the hostel we saw we had the room to ourselves, this was nice.  We went up stairs to use the internet, and big surprise…it didn’t work.  There were some guys from Australia up there, so we chatted for a while before going back to our room for the night.

27 September 2008
Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic
                After a big night of competitive beer drinking broadcast throughout Czech…we slept in.  We packed up and headed to the train station.  We wanted to possibly meet up with Eva for a few hours today, but the train that we would have caught later would have brought us in pretty late.  We bought tickets for the noon train.
                We soon arrived in Ceske Budejovice (where the original Budweiser was invented).  Our train stopped and we became a bit confused.  Our train ticket said it was going to Cesky Krumlov, but the digital signs didn’t mention it.  Doug set off to ask an attendant.  The attendant didn’t know and went to go find out.  Doug ran back to the carriage and we both started putting our stuff together…just in case.  Doug went back and the attendant said we needed to get off the train.  Once we had all our stuff the attendant said we need to go outside, down the street and catch a bus.
                A few hundred meters down the street there was a bus depot with some people standing around waiting for the bus as well.  We asked a Czech guy what was up and he said that three buses would leave at 3pm (in one hour).  Doug heard a couple girls speaking English and asked where they were from.  When they said Santa Barbara we were surprised and happy to tell them about getting married there.  Anna came back from looking around the area and we talked with Maria and Brandy to pass the time.
                The buses loaded us up at 3 and headed off.  A couple minutes later the bus arrived at a train that was two cars long.  We loaded up into the train and headed off for Cesky Krumlov.  When we arrived Maria and Brandy joined us for the walk into town.  They had reservations, but we did not.  We ran into an Aussie couple who pointed us in the right direction for an information center.  Brandy and Maria got directions to their place and we got a map.  We made plans to meet up later.
                On the way to the hostel we wanted to stay at, we stopped at another one called the Merlin Hostel.  When they said they didn’t have any vacancy…but they had an apartment.  The lady said it even had a kitchen and bathroom.
                We went to take a look and the place was fantastic.  It had a queen size bed, small kitchen and dining area and even a private bathroom.  Plus this place cost as much the hostels we were staying at in Plzen.
                After settling in we walked around.  The square in the middle of town was hosting a festival of some sort.  There were craft vendors, food shops and a big stage set up.  As we walked around we ran into Brandy and Maria.  They showed us their place which was quite big.  Then we walked around and took some sunset photos.  Back at the square there was a performance going.  There were a lot of dancers acting out comical scenes to music.  The first show we saw had angry house wives chasing after their deadbeat husbands with rolling pins and spatulas.  The other scenes were also quite funny.
                The four of us decided to go get some desert.  We found a little café and decided the most economical desert was for us to split a bottle of wine.  We sat and drank wine for a long time exchanging stories.
                Afterwards we decided to show them our little place before they headed off on their own and we went to bed.

28 September 2008
Cesky Krumlov, Czech Repulic
                The morning was a bit lazy we slept in, and then went for a look around town.  The weather was fantastic for exploring the city and seeing the castle.  Around noon we meet up with Maria and Brandy again for coffee at the same café as the night before. 
                After coffee, Brandy and Maria headed off on their own to their finish laundry.  We just hung out in the town for a while.  Doug decided to ask the information center where a grocery store was at and they replied, “It is closed (because it was Sunday).”  Fantastic…not what Doug asked though.  Then they pointed out the grocery store that we already knew about and then another one that wasn’t on the map…these were quite possibly the least friendly/helpful information people we’ve dealt with on this trip.  On the way back to the room we did some grocery shopping at the place we already knew about for dinner.
                At 5pm we met up with Brandy who said Maria had gotten a head start up towards the castle.  The three of us took off and met up with Maria in the garden.  We toured around with them for a while and then invited them back to our place for dinner.
                Once we were back Anna started cooking up some pasta that turned out pretty good (you never know with unfamiliar pasta sauce brands).  After eating we all set out for another bottle of wine at our usual place.  Brandy and Maria didn’t know if they were staying or leaving in the morning, so we said farewell and hoped that they would decide to stay one more night.

29 September 2008
Cesky, Krumlov, Czech Republic
                It was another lazy morning.  After checking internet we headed down to our café and sure enough Maria and Brandy decided to stay one more day.  We spent a long time at the café talking with them.  After walking around town with them we found a pizza place near our usual café.  They ordered some pasta while we split a pizza.  After a long chat there we walked around town and came across a grocery store that we hadn’t seen before.  We all decided to have a picnic for dinner and the four of us bought different items to share for dinner along with two bottles of wine.
                Maria and Brandy headed off to their place and we off to ours.  We needed to do our laundry, and decided to relax for a while.  When they arrived later we put out a spread of food and everybody snacked and drank wine.  We traded stories and just had a good time.  When it was late in the evening we said goodbye and exchanged promises to try and catch up in the States.

30 September 2008
Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic
                We went down to the hostel to check internet, and also see if our laundry was finished.  Sure enough the girl said it would be another couple hours.  After doing some internet checking we went back to the room.  Most of Anna’s clothes were in the wash, and it was beginning to sprinkle outside anyway. 
                At 1:00 we went back to the hostel to gather our clothes, and then back to the room.  Anna decided to go for a little run.  The afternoon was pretty relaxed.  We walked around the town a little, and Anna made pasta for dinner.

1 October 2008
Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic
                There was a small hike we wanted to do this morning.  It was up to Chapel Hill.  We got the directions from the hostel, and began our little hike.  The morning was still overcast, but nice.  The leaves all over the city/country were changing.  It was lovely to see all the different colors everywhere.  (In San Diego we didn’t get a lot of colors in the autumn time.) 
                After about 40 minutes we reached the top of the hill.  There was a small overrun church there.  But we had the hill to ourselves.  We took some photos, and admired the city for a short time before heading back down to the city.  Along the way back to the room, we stopped by the store for some breakfast, and dinner items. 
                At the room we had a little lunch, and relaxed for a while.  Doug decided to take a short nap, while Anna went for a walk outside.
                For dinner, it was pasta once again.  We hung out inside, and watched a movie on the laptop.

2 October 2008
Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic
                Anna went for her run, while Doug played on the computer.  We were able to copy a bunch of music from our German friend Stefan, and Doug wanted to make sure everything was labeled in his format before it was copied over into the laptop from the hard drive.
                We had a short breakfast before going for another walk in the city.  This was our last full day in the town.  It had been really enjoyable to not have a schedule, cook our own food, and leave our bags in one place for more than just a couple days.  A small chore to do this morning was to go to the bus station to check on the schedule.  The next day we were going to Cesky Budejovice to meet up with Eva’s cousin Alena.  She was traveling with Eva when we met the two of them in Laos. 
                The bus was leaving at 9:50 am.  This was perfect.   We didn’t have to get up really early.  And the bus ride was only 50 minutes.  After checking the bus station we hung out in the city, doing nothing. 
                Back at the room we hung out watched another movie, and began cleaning up our things for the following travel day. 

3 October 2008
Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
                After being in one place for a week, we were a bit sad to leave Krumlov.  We walked to the bus station and caught our bus to Budejovice.  Our hostel was right across the street from the bus station which was nice.  After checking in we got our tickets to Prague for the next day.
                The other girl we meet in Laos from Czech was Alena.  She and Eva are cousins.  Eva sent Alena a message that we would be coming to town a few days prior.  Once we finished our “chores” we sent Alena a text message and she replied not long after that she could meet up with us at 12:30. 
                When Alena arrived we set off on a little walk through town.  We wanted to have lunch with her and her boyfriend.  Unfortunately when we arrived at the chosen restaurant, it was full.  Once her boyfriend, Jan, arrived we all decided to try somewhere else.  The four us headed to a nearby casino and got a table in the restaurant upstairs.  After we finally got our order in and finally got served, and finally got the tab paid (service here was painfully slow, thankfully the food was good), we headed out.
                Jan had to go back to work but offered to drive us to a nearby town with a castle we look at.  We originally planned to take a bus, however this would be quicker and cheaper.
                Jan dropped the three of us off at the castle.  We gave our thanks, said goodbye and wished him luck in his squash tournament that night.  Up the hill we got to see probably the most well preserved castle we’ve seen yet.  It truly felt like it was brand new.  After exploring the grounds we went around the grounds outside the castle.  The autumn colors were in full swing, the only drawback was the light drizzle.
                The three of us caught the bus back to town and went in search of an internet café.  2010 Winter Olympics tickets went on sale today and Doug caught Olympic fever while in Beijing.  Once we found one, Doug was disappointed they weren’t on sale yet.  So we decided to go to a bar around the corner for a drink.
                The Crash Bar was loaded with car photos, the occasional car part and lots of smokers.  We all ordered drinks and relaxed.  The bar also had a laptop that people could use for free (thanks to Alena asking for us).  Doug tried to buy the tickets on the communal laptop and found out they were on sale.  Doug said goodbye and headed down to the internet café ordered a bunch of Men’s Ice hockey and the Snowboard Half Pipe competition tickets.
                The three of us had a couple more drinks at the bars and laughed at a table next to us.  One guy was in a yelling match over the phone with his sister that apparently ended in, “Tell Dad I want to be at the pub!”  Another guy did the classic “pull the chair out before you can sit down” maneuver.  That particular guy landed so hard and the floor his head flew back and hit our table.  Fortunately the only thing injured was his pride.
                For dinner we found a little pizza place and the three of us split a large pizza.  After dinner we headed back towards our hostel which was close to Alena’s bus stop.  We thanked her for playing tour guide all day and said our goodbyes.

4 October 2008
Prague, Czech Republic
                Our bus left for Prague at 8 in the morning.  We arrived later in the afternoon and began taking subways to get to our hostel which was a bit out of town.  Our hostel was big.  The ad said it had over 500 beds and even a swimming pool.  We checked into our 8 person room and then headed out.
                The subway brought us into Old Town.  We spent some time walking around and weaved our way through tour groups to get to the main square.  We were happy to find the main square had a food festival going on.  We poked our noses into each tent trying to figure out what we wanted.  Anna finally found a something she wanted to eat goulash and it was really surprisingly good. 
                There was a huge crowd all looking the side of a bell tower and it dawned on us that was probably where the Astronomical Clock was located.  It was a few minutes to the top of the hour so we waited.  Soon we heard the bells and went to watch the little skeleton pull a chain, little guitar guys turn their heads back and forth and the 12 apostles make their appearance.  We laughed at a story we remembered from Brandy and Maria.  While they were here in Prague Brandy was very excited about the clock and had talked it up to Maria.  Once Maria saw the clock go off at the top of the hour she said, “That’s it?  No fireworks?”
                Back into the streets we found the Charles Bridge.  It was beautiful; however it felt like being in the middle of a cattle herd trying to get across.  While crossing we had our first look at the Prague Castle and decided we would save this half of the city until Doug’s mom, Debra, arrived.
                Back at the hostel we met some of our new roommates.  Most were American girls that were going to school in London and this was their first time in a hostel.  We talked with them for awhile and then watched a movie before going to sleep.

5 October 2008
Prague, Czech Republic
                The sun was out today so we headed back through the same areas as yesterday to get some “blue sky background” shots.  We wandered down some new places as well but mostly we just enjoyed the city.
                At 3 in the afternoon we met Eva in front of one of the museums.  She had been visiting her sister in Prague and had time to meet up with us again.  She took us down to a photo exhibit that showcased a lot of animal photos.  The photos were amazing; the colors were so vivid they didn’t seem real.
                Eva wanted to see a friend of hers that she hadn’t seen in a long time.  He managed a designer hotel in the old town area.  We sat down with him in the lobby, and we all ordered a drink. Then he decided to take us up to a room to show us one.  The whole room was practically glass.  The desk was glass, the chair was plastic (but clear plastic), the closet was glass, and the bathroom walls were glass.  Pretty much the only thing you couldn’t see through was the frosted glass walls to the toilet and shower.
                After finishing our drinks at the hotel we found a café for some dessert.  Doug had a beer, Anna had a strawberry cake and Eva had some “hot love (vanilla ice cream, whip cream, and hot raspberry syrup).”  After our dessert Eva had to leave.  We said goodbye and thanked her for all her hospitality, she had truly been an excellent host.
                We were back at our hostel not long afterwards and called it a night.

6 October 2008
Prague, Czech Republic
                The day began pretty slowly.  Doug’s mom was arriving in town around 1:30pm, so we had some time to kill.  We checked out of the hostel at 10:00, and headed to the bus which would take us to the airport.  The bus ride was really short, and we arrived at the airport by 11:00.  We sat and waited, playing on the computer.
                Doug’s mom Debra arrived at 1:30.  After a short reunion we all then got on the bus that was supposed to take us to a small town outside of Prague called “Beroun.”  Our bus went to a stop not far from the airport.  We boarded our bus and arrived at a stop not long after we boarded, unfortunately it wasn’t in Beroun.  We were a bit confused so we crossed the street to another bus stop and waited 10 minutes or so and got on another bus.  The bus took us right back to where we got on the first time, but this time we just stayed on (it was also the same bus driver who told everyone to get off the bus).  This time we were on the correct bus, and arrived in Beroun around 4:00.  It was a nice introduction for Debra to “budget travel.”
                We soon checked into the Best Western Debra had reserved for the three of us.  We were excited to have a hotel room for a change…staying in hostels can get old.  After checking in we all went to dinner.  There was a restaurant in the main square which looked good.  The food was good, typical Czech food.  Then it was back to hotel to chat and then retire for the evening.

7 October 2008
Prague, Czech Republic
                The three of us met up for breakfast around 8:30.  The hotel breakfast we pretty good, with most of the typical continental items.  Today we were going back into Prague, and check out the castle.
                After breakfast we headed out to take the bus to the subway, and then go into town.  We were about 20 miles outside of the city.  By 10:00 we were back in the center, and wandering around.   The day was misty and a bit rainy.  We showed Debra what we knew of the city, and showed her to the castle area. 
                Arriving at the castle Doug and Debra bought tickets.  Anna hung out outside admiring the architecture within the castle walls.  After touring the castle for a couple hours we were hungry and we headed back down the hill for lunch.  We found an Irish place to eat at.  Anna and Debra ordered the goulash, and Doug got a chicken schnitzel.   
                After lunch we wandered back over the bridge to the Jewish quarter.  There was a really old cemetery Debra wanted to check out.  Well we soon found out that we had to pay to see the cemetery along with a bunch of other attractions.  We didn’t want to pay so we just wandered around the quarter for a while.  A one point we were walking by a big wall.  We saw a couple trying to peak through a gap in the wall.   Anna asked Doug to jump up, and see what was enclosed.  It was the cemetery.  Doug climbed a bit of the wall, and took some photos.  As we walked around the wall we found a place for Anna and Debra to see the cemetery without having to rock climbing.
                It was now time to venture back to the hotel.  We caught the subway, and bus back arriving after 7:00.
                Walking back to the hotel we stopped in at a pizza place, and ordered a pizza to take back to the room.  Doug waited for the food, while Anna and Debra went back to the hotel.  Doug soon showed up, and we had dinner before going to sleep.

8 October 2008
Prague, Czech Republic
                Today we were going to a city outside of Prague called Kutna Hora.  This city had a famous church with bone sculptures inside, The Sedlec Kostnice, which is a church with some human bone sculptures inside. 
                We needed to take the bus into Prague, and then the subway to the bus station.  The bus into Kutna Hora took another hour and a half.  The city was really small.  After arriving in the city we found a food store to buy some things for lunch.  Next we soon found the information center which told us where to find the church.  It was about 2km outside of town.
                The walk to the church was pleasant, since the sun was gracing us with its presence.  Arriving at the church we decided to have lunch.  Debra had suggested we get a bottle of wine to go with the sandwiches.  Doug decided he didn’t really want any wine, so it was up to Anna and Debra to down the wine.
                After lunch we ventured into the church, it was really interesting to see how the bones were sculpted within the church.  When this church was built some of dirt from Golgotha (where Christ was crucified) was thrown down before construction began.  Many people believed since the church was built on top of some of this sacred earth, then they were essentially buried with Christ, so it became a highly desirable place to be buried.  Eventually monks and later a Czech woodworker used the bones from 40,000 people to create the different designs inside the church.  We hung out in the church for about thirty minutes admiring everything.  Then it was back to the bus stop, and back to Prague. 
                We made it back to the hotel around 7:00.  On the way back to the hotel we stopped in at a local restaurant for dinner.  The food was quite good, and much better prices to match.  Then it was back to the hotel for the night. 

9 October 2008
Prague, Czech Republic
                Our alarms went off early and we tried to check out not much later.  The desk clerk had some problems with our paperwork and wanted us to pay for an extra room he had given to us.  Eventually he understood he wasn’t going to get a dime out of us and needed to talk to Debra’s travel agent.
                We made it to the bus station with some extra time.  Anna and Debra went and got some snacks and then Debra had 10 extra minutes to use the water closet before getting on the bus for the next few hours.  The 10 minutes came and went and the bus driver was ready to pull out.  Doug stopped the driver and Anna went searching.  Anna checked the water closet but it was closed…where was Debra?
                The supervisor for the bus line came over and wanted to know why we hadn’t left.  The driver pointed at Doug.  The driver then explained that he had to pull the bus forward for another bus to use the spot he was taking.  Just after the bus parked in the new spot Debra came running towards the bus and Anna followed quickly on her heels.  Doug came the bus driver a thumbs up and we pulled out.
                Debra explained that while she was in the bathroom, the door lock broke and locked her in.  She had to yell and bang on the door to get the attention of the water closet attendant to come assist her.  Eventually she was able to unlock the door after 15 minutes.
                After a couple hours the bus crossed the border into Austria.                

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