Cesky Krumlov Sept 25

Sept 25

Our last full day in the Czech Republic.

After breakfast at our pension, we hiked up to the castle. It's a bit of a hike, all uphill, but we survived. Further up from the castle are the Palace Gardens, featuring a large fountain.

Another interesting feature is the rotating theatre. It is set in the garden, and the seats face an old villa. The unique aspects of the theatre is that the audience rotates. This means that different scenes can be set up in the woods and gardens surrounding the seats. Nifty.

We then continued walking down to the castle, with its great views of the town.

The weather today was lovely, cool, but sunny.

An interesting fact about Cesky Krumlov is that it has very many jewelry stores. And almost all feature Baltic amber from the Gdansk region in Poland. When I was in Gdansk someone told me that 80% of the world's amber comes from the area around Gdansk. Why there is so much amber jewelry in Cesky Krumlov is beyond me.

We also has a cappuccino, and the decoration of the foam on top was spectacular. You almost hated to break it up.

After a siesta we did some more walking. We walked along the river and came upon the Eggerberg brewery. The Czech Republic is known for the many excellent beers it produces. The towns of Plzen and Ceske Budejovic haven been brewing Pilsener and Budweiser beer since the 13th century. The Eggenberg brewery, in Cesky Krumlov, was established in 1552. Sonja and I had a beer at the brewery; it was excellent.

This weekend, Cesky Krumlov is having a St. Wenceslas Festival. The main square is occupied by booths selling crafts of many types, and a lot of food vendors. There is a main stage with musical acts. 

Another feature are local groups that perform traditional dances at various sites in the town. We caught one of the acts in front of the castle. We also saw a performance, by a trio , at the main stage. The trio was an odd combination, two guys on guitars and a girl on a cello. They were very good, especially the lead guitarist. He was outstanding.

Photo 1 Sandy's cappuccino 

Photo 2 the three of us in front of the fountain at the castle garden

Photo 3 a view of Cesky Krumlov from the castle

Photo 4 the dancing group

Prague Sept 26

Sept 26

The head line in today's Prague newspaper:

TOURIST TRIES TO COMMIT SUICIDE BY HITTING HIMSELF WITH HIS IPAD

But let me start at the beginning.

After a hearty breakfast we set off for Prague, ETA at noon. As I mentioned a great ride. The only slight problem was that the bus broke down about an hour from Prague. A couple of people were in a panic, they had flights at 2.

After about 15 minutes the driver waved his magic wand and we were off. At 10 km/ h.

We were stuck going up a hill, and when we started again the bus slowly crept up to the top. Took a while. Once we reached the top we picked up speed. I had hopes it was all downhill to Prague. What are the odds?

Every slight hill slowed us down to a crawl, and we all held our breath as the top of the hill slowly, very slowly, neared. Then the thrill of reaching the top, and picking up speed. Much more breathtaking than a roller coaster. A cyclist passed us going up a hill, but we whipped right by him on the way down.

Then the real fun started. We had left our three bags at the ticket booth where I bought the tickets. The lady, mistakenly told us she would be open all day Saturday. Not true. Our bags were inside, and nothing we tried, and we tried many things got us our bags.

What to do.

We finally decided Sandy and Sonja would fly to Dublin, and I would stay behind, collect the bags, and then fly to Dublin tomorrow. Altering my ticket was a nightmare. I had to go through TDExpedia, in Canada, and that agent had to talk to the agent in Dublin, who then had to ok everything with her boss. I timed it, it took two hours and six minutes to make the change. And most of the time I was on hold. As most of you know patience is not one of my strong points, but amazingly I didn't lose it. Must be maturity.

That wasn't the end of my fun day. I then had to find a room...on a Saturday, in Prague. Out of the first seven hotels only one had a room, at 100 Euros. I might have patience, but I am still frugal, or cheap as some of you would say. The last hotel I tried had a nice lady at the desk, and she let me use her computer. I did find a room, but it was 5 km away. And it was the only room they had left. I jumped at it, as a bonus it was only 40 dollars. It is also situated at the top of a km long street.

The room is actually quite modern.

I hope things improve tomorrow.

Only one picture today

Photo 1 our bus. Notice there is none of the blur you get when you take a picture of a moving object.

Prague Sept 27

Some things are just plain bizarre. I went to sleep around eleven, and I was pretty tired. It had been a long day.

I half-woke at around one. What woke me up was a furry feeling on my cheek. In retrospect I am amazed I didn't freak out, but I only reached over, and discovered a cat rubbing against my face. There are children reading this, so I will keep it clean, but talk about room service.

My room was very warm, and I had opened the windows, but I overlooked a ravine, and I am still perplexed how the cat got in.

It was a sweet kitten, very pretty, and after some cuddling I did put her out.

In the morning I left to check on our bags, and discovered the area, where my hotel was, was quite nice, it looked a lot better than in the dark last night.

You can't imagine my feeling when I got to the bus station, and discovered it was not open. I just stood there and hyperventilated. I headed to another bus station, where this company had an office, but suffice it to say I got nowhere. This is a long weekend in the Czech Republic, and all the people with keys to this office are out of town. At least that's their story. Not a lot of cooperation.

The other fact is that because of the holiday they are also closed tomorrow, so I have to wait until Tuesday to get the bags.

This also meant having to reschedule my flight, once more.

I went to the airport to see if anyone there could help me, but again, no luck. So it was back on Skype, and an hour later I finally did it. I have a flight on Tuesday, which means that all I get to see of Dublin is what's there on the way from the airport and back.

I finally finished my running around at 4. I did luck out for a hotel. I didn't really want to go back to the boonies. That one km uphill walk was too much to face. So I tried one of the hotels that was full yesterday, and I lucked out. It's central, and I was upgraded to a double room. It is gorgeous room, on the seventh floor, overlooking the city. It's only 75 dollars a night, and that includes breakfast. Something nice, for a change.

I did get an email from Sandy and Sonja, and they are having a good time in Dublin. The townhouse we booked is beautiful and they had a nice pub supper last night.

I won't mention what I ate yesterday

The SAGA continues tomorrow.

Photo 1 my room in the boonies

Photo 2 my room in the second hotel

Photo 3 beer ad

Photo 4 view from my room

Sept  28

With nothing to do, I decided to take a bus to Telc, for a day trip. I needed a day away from Prague and all the problems. Telc is a small town about 160 km from Prague. I visited there on my first trip to the Czech Republic, and then came back with Sandy a few years later.

The main attraction is its main square.

I am of the opinion that the town square is a mainly European tradition. Aside from Tienamin Square in Beijing, I can't think of any other Asian city that has a central gathering place, where  people can meet.

                                                                                                                                                                                In Europe every town, and most cities have a place where locals can

congregate, enjoy the outdoors, and gossip. Before TV, radio, and even newspapers, the town square is where all the action was.

Even now most families live in crowded conditions, and the town square is where families will gather, young couple have some degree of privacy, and kids can run around. Not so much in the big cities, but certainly in the smaller communities.

One of my favourite things is to sit at a cafe at the local square and just people watch.

You can still do this, although TV, and now the Internet, keep people at home. It still attracts teens, and families.

To get back to Telc. The old town, from the 13th century, is on a piece of land, surrounded, on three sides, by large man-made ponds, which, at one time were stocked with fish. The square is unique in its architecture. The houses are not majestic, they are two stories high, all with gables, and beautifully decorated and maintained. It is a charming place.

There is also a Renaissance chateau, from the 17th century, with a lovely English garden. It replaced a small castle built in the 14th century. Around the town is a lovely park. It's not on the tourist tour itinerary, and so its peaceful and lovely. Just what I needed.

I took the bus for the three hour ride, and, on the way there, the route was on secondary roads, with several stops. The countryside is lovely; fairly flat, with rolling hills. Lots of farms, with small villages. The villages are clean, and prosperous. 

The geography of this part of the Czech Republic is similarly flat to Poland. Good farm country, but also the easiest route for European armies to invade Asia, and vice versa. For centuries this part of Europe has been overrun by invaders. The Nazis in 1939, the Soviets in 1945, are only the latest. The resilience of the people is amazing.

Telc was as lovely as I remembered. I wandered through the town, the gardens, and the parks, and had a nice lunch, right on the square. It had warmed up by noon, around 16, and sunny skies. 

I must say that one of the interesting sight was a family with three poodles, made up like I have never seen before. Incredible.

The trip back was faster, the bus took mainly highways. I was grateful.

Some of the buildings on the square

Dublin, at last

Sept 29

I have escaped, sorry, I meant I have left the Czech Republic.

I did not have a good night's sleep. I was awake more than I was asleep. If I can't get the luggage today there are no more plans!

Luckily my hotel is steps from the ticket station where our luggage is kept captive. Promptly at 7 I was there. I must admit my knees were shaky as I turned the corner.

The first thing I noticed was it was indeed open, and as I walked by I did see our bags.

What a relief.

I went back to my hotel and had a bountiful breakfast, a real feast, eggs, fruit salad, good coffee, bread, buns, cheese, and ham. There was even cake.

I checked out, and went to retrieve the luggage. 

Here comes the kicker. 

I had checked on the cost of a taxi to the airport; my overnight bag, and three pieces of luggage made that decision for me. The taxi would be 36 dollars, so when I ate last night I made sure I had 36 dollars left for the taxi.

The Kicker? The lady charged me 20 dollars for storing the luggage, including the time they were closed. I was stunned. I am not a vicious man, but I really felt I wanted to hit someone.

I bit my lip, and paid.

I now faced a new dilemma. I didn't have the money for the taxi anymore, so I would have to get money from an ATM. The problem there was that I didn't know where I could find an ATM, and I would have to drag all the luggage while I searched. 

The other option was taking public transport. I could take the subway to the end of the line, and then get on a bus directly to the airport. The only difficulty to do this was how to get all the bags to the subway platform. It actually wasn't hard, except I would have to manage all three bags, and my overnight bag down a fast moving escalator. I solved that problem by asking someone to help me. A lovely young lady volunteered, and I managed to get everything down to the subway in one trip.

The subway trip worked well. The next step was getting everything from the subway up to the surface. Fortunately, I had noticed, on one of my previous trips to the airport that there were a lot of steps up, BUT also an elevator. Presto, I was at the top, only 50 m from the bus stop. Nothing to it; no steps, and, because I am over 70, no charge. So now I even have money to get a coffee.

I am starting to get paranoid. I didn't relax until I had collected the bags, and was in a taxi to our accommodation. The taxi driver, Tommy, was fantastic. He knew all about our problems, and refused to accept any payment for the ride. What a great guy. Already I love Ireland. 

The place we rented is a townhouse, near the centre, and it's beautiful. Hazel has a beautiful garden. It's hard to believe, but the weather in Dublin has been perfect, lots of sunshine, and temperatures in the middle teens.

We spent our last night in Dublin, in a pub, of course. A lovely place, and good food. It was more lively than any other restaurant we've been to, on this trip.

Tomorrow it's back home.

Photo 1 no comment needed

Photo 2 Hazel's garden

Photo 3 our last night in Dublin