Travelling-Cesky Krumlov & Vienna

Ok, so I have a bit to catch you up on, as there was no internet at my last hostel. Actually that isn't quite true it was there but it was expensive and there was only 1 computer. So, now to catch you up on my goings on.

Yesterday I was in Prague in the morning and Cesky Krumlov the rest of the day. I woke up exceedingly early (6:30am) and caught a metro to the stop where the bus depot was supposed to be. I of course could make absolutely no sense of where I was or what direction I was supposed to be going. It took me ages of walking the wrong direction before I got it right. Finally I found it on accident basically because I had almost given up. Inside I asked about tickets for the bus to Cesky Krumlov and the guy informed me that they could not sell me a ticket for the 8:15 bus. It had to be purchased from the driver. I then had to guess what direction to go to find "Bus 25" which was not in isle 25 it was at 23. The driver was cranky and didn't want to let me put my backpack with the other 2 people. He also turned out to be a crappy driver, which I found is normal for Czech drivers, luckily it only cost me the equivalent of $10.

Once there it was very worth it. The city was beautiful, magical even. I stopped at the Tourism office, and they helped me figure out a way to get to Vienna today. A shuttle to Linz and then a train to Vienna. That out of the way, I checked into my hostel and realized that the showers were just scary. I then set to walkign around., Cesky Krumlov was easy to navigate and reminded me of Sienna, Italy somehow. it was great and although there were loads of tourists by the main castle it was nice and peacful throughout. I went on a tour of the inside of the castle and ended up with a couple from Lynnwood on my tour. The tour guide was funny and the rooms were mostly decorated from the 1600s. It was interesting. I then wound my way down to the old town area and sat on a bench to read. A girl (Christina) I met on the tour in prague the day before showed but so, we talked for quite awhile before she was off to catch a train. I went out to dinner at a great vegitarian restaurant then back to my hostel. I grabbed a cup of tea and then a drink in the bar downstairs while writing in my journal. I was about the give up on the evening and go to bed, when I ran into a guy in the hall. He was missing speaking to another American so we ended up going out to a bar, with a slightly loony bartender. It was great fun talking and drinking with Scott from texas. We stayed out until the bar closed and we headed back to the hostel still talking away. I quite enjoyed his company.

This morning after a trial with the showers, I went to breakfast with Scott. Coffee and crepes were perfect. Then I caught a shuttle to Linz at about 11am. It was really crowded. They dropped me off at the train station in Linz and I caught a train to Vienna about 10 minutes later.

Once in Vienna my first stop was the ticket office where I got my night train to Venice all worked out. Hooray. Then it was getting lost on my way to my hostel once again, and always. I got my space set up and then went out walking. So, a good day all in all.

I really enjoyed Cesky Krumlov and Vienna looks promising for tomorrow.

Prague-Day 2

Today was a very good day. I went on a walking tour that had a fun and exciting tour guide, and was "Free" or in other words, tip what you can. We started in old town, visited new town, the Jewish quarter and walked along the river looking at the castle as well as other spots from a distance. It was interesting,informative and at 3 1/2 hours very nice. I met a traveller named Mike from Boston, and after the trip we went up to the Prague castle, parliment courtyard and then down to the Dancing House by Frank Gehry. It was a lot of walking but it was nice to have companz and although he gotto be a bit annoying it was great to walk around with someone and we even remembered to stop for food, which was a bonus.

After all of the walking it was about 8:30pm and I heading off to find the metro station I had seen this morning as I am heading off to Ceskz Krumlov for the daz tomorrow and needed to know where it was so I sould get to the bus station early in the day.

In the end I liked Prague. It was not mz favorite citz but it is colorful with lots of different styles and as it turns out a lot of movies such as Eurotrip use it for filming all of Europe as it has so manz different styles.

Day 1/Prague

So, today (really a combination of Saturday and Sunday s my day got jammed together a bit). My flight was eally long but I did get to watch a fewmovies on the plane that hadbeen in my Netflix queue for sometime (Last Chance Harvey, Doubt & Reservation Road).

I am doing fine. I am a bit lonely but that is too be expected, I haven't been here long enough to really get to chat with anyone. I basically walked around the Old Town part of the city today. Weaving in and out and gtting all kinds of torned around, but actually seeig quite a bit. Along the way I listened to a great tour guide, so I think I am going to take his tur tomorrow (I finally found a brochure about it an they are free, tips recommnded). So at 10:30 am that is where I should be. I will even learn something about the ton, what a thought. I lso stopped in at the Tourist Information office and was tld where to catch the bus for Cesky Krumlov the day after tomorrow although I am still not clear on how much to pay. Ah well, it will work out somehow.

The prt of town I was in today really does come stright out of a history book. With winding cobblestone streets, crowded sidewalks, oldbuildings with amazing facades and churches/synagogues/buildings that can say they ahve been here since the 1200s. What a history.

I want to try and go into one of the Franz Kafka exhibits while I am here as well. I just didn'thave thepatience to go in and do too much today. I slept on the plane but a few more hours would have been good.

So, I a doing well, I have tomorrow in Prague before hading off to Cesky Krumlov the next day and then Vienna. I will write again soon. Probably tomorrow as my internet access is free here.