Apparently It Can

Day 247
I was up early, I had to be for my bus. I had packed the night before and only had to throw a few last minute things into my bag and finish up the last of my cereal. It was raining again, and I left a few minutes early. Good thing too, because I missed the road I needed. To not miss my bus I had to go down a trail cut through some woods. It was rather steep and with my bag and the rain it was a bit tricky. I don't know how I managed to not fall.

Switching buses in CB was easy and soon I was on my way. I fell asleep for a while and when I woke up I was nervous that I had missed my stop. I asked the guy behind me. It turned out the he wasn't Czech, but rather Italian. He had been visiting his girlfriend. Lucky for me he had done this several times before and was able to reassure me that I had not missed my stop. We chatted for the rest of the ride and that made it fly by.

When I got to Trebic, pronounced Trebich, I had no clue where my hostel was. There had been a bad map on the website but no directions. I went in what I thought was the right way and ended up in the main square. The tourist office was just closing and someone who didn't speak much English basically told me to go away. I walked outside and was at a bit of a loss. I was carrying all my crap and it was raining. I had no idea what to do. Just then a woman came out with maps and town information and told me that she was closing but that the guy who told me to go away told her that I spoke English and she wanted to give me info. I was really appreciate. She even told me where my hostel was.

I had no problem finding the place and in no time my bag was in a locker and I was beginning to dry off. I was really hungry though and simply ate at the hostel restaurant. It was a bit expensive, but I don't think my stomach would have had the patience to shop around. The food was really good.

After lunch I tried to wander in the rain but it was making me rather miserable. I ended up back at the hostel and took a nap. When I woke up it was time for dinner. My goal for the evening was to find a place where I might be able to do some writing and meet some locals. I went to most of the bars recommended on my map but they were all empty. I finally found a non stop place called Rodeo that had a couple of people in it and not too loud music.

There was a guy sitting one table over and he tried to get my attention. I could tell straight away that he was very drunk and kinda smelled and I didn't really have the desire to talk to him. He wanted me to come to the juke box and pick out a song. I tried to pretend I didn't understand, but he eventually made it really obvious. I went over there and picked out a song. When I was done he tried to kiss me, but I easily brushed him away. He seemed to get the hint. Drunk guy didn't try to touch me again, but he did try to have a conversation with me by drawing boxes. I didn't understand at all and when I finished my beer I said goodbye and went back to the hostel.

It was still rather early and after spending some time online I read a bit before falling asleep.

It Can't Rain All The Time

Day 246
When I woke up it was raining. Yuck. It was actually pretty gross out. I had planned on taking another day trip, but it was going to be to a place called Tabor. The point would have been to check out the town, no museums or anything. It was just not the day for outside activities.

I ended up just reading and finishing my book. When I was done the rain had let up a bit and it was time for lunch. I grabbed another book and headed to the tea place, I was determined to eat there.

When I got there I was delighted to find that not only was it opened, but it was the same type of place that I had found and loved in Olomoucs. I ordered a couscous fruit thing and a cheese sandwich. Over two pots of tea I got most of the way through the Virgin Suicides.

I read until I could hold no more tea. The town had taken on a different look in its shiny wet state and I decided to brave the drizzle and take some pictures. I also had to find a place where they sold pens. I was on my last one. I got a lot of pictures, but no pens.

I really need to get a move on. Cesky Krumlov is great, but I need a change of scenery. I'm a bit on the bored side here. Good thing I leave in the morning.

When I got back to the hostel I put in some movies. Eventually I made myself some pasta and chicken. I sat up until about midnight watching different movies with another American whose name I can't recall. We watched Goonies, Juno and Psycho.

Something Fishy

Day 245
I had planed on getting up early for a day trip, but as I was about to go to sleep the night before it dawned on me that I might be planning on visiting the same place that I was moving to on Thursday. I had to wait until 9 when the internet cafe opened to check this out. They were different towns and I still had enough time to make it there. Soon I was on my way.

Trebon is known not just for being a spa town, but also for its fish breeding ponds. While I was at the tourist office I asked where the fish were. It seemed like a silly question at the time and the girl answered that the fish were in the lake. Where else would a fish be? She then added that the fish ponds were cleared for the winter and that I had missed it. All of the museums were also close, even the one I wanted to see the most, it was on mythical creatures.

All I could really do was eat lunch and wander around the town. After some noodle soup I started checking out the different streets. Eventually I found the lake and decided to head to the Schwartzenburg tomb. I have no idea who these people are, but it gave me a destination. On the way I walked past an enclosure with some rams in it. How random.

The lake was pretty dried up, but it still had a nice quality to it. I think I could have walked to the island in the middle if I didn't mind getting a bit muddy. Next to the lake were the vacant fish ponds. Well, there were some ducks in them, but I don't think that they count. It was actually quite a nice walk, and the tomb was attractive, but also very closed. I wonder if the bodies are on display or something. That would be creepy.

I took the long way back to the bus station and spent some time wandering by a small canal that made a partial ring around the old town.

I slept through most of the ride back, and almost missed the place I had to change buses at. When I got back to the hostel I made myself dinner. Boring pasta again. That night I grabbed a drink with Russian Alex, but we were not out late. When I got back to the hostel I put in the Crow. I hadn't seen it for years. I managed to fall asleep about half way through though.

Ruined Day

Day 244
It was once again nice out and I was determined to take advantage of it. I managed to get my act together quicker than usual. I also spoke with Cam and Emma and figured out how to actually get to the little bird castle ruins. It turns out that I was really far off the day before.

Instead of going around the castle, I was meant to actually cut through the gardens and come out on the other end. The ground was still slick, but I started up the small hill anyway. I wondered just how smart it was for me, a rather accident prone person, to be on a slippery and seldom visited trail. I decided to just push that thought out of my mind.

The first thing I came to was a building foundation and an arch. I was a bit disappointed, I couldn't believe that this was it. I persevered though and found that it wasn't. The little bird palace wasn't so much a place, but a square building with a dome on top. What was so odd was there somehow people had climbed up to the top and signed their names on it. This was right out of an issue of Weird NJ magazine, or it would have been if this was in NJ.

When I started down the shortcut back I twisted my ankle and fell down. I knew this would happen. I stayed there for a minute complaining to myself, but quickly realized that this would get me nowhere. Instead I got up and walked it off. In just a few minutes I was good as new. I was also very close to being at the castle gardens again.

Due to my early start it was just after noon. My stomach was growling. I really wanted to eat at the tea place, but it didn't open until one. I went to the monastery and took pictures. This only killed about five minutes. To kill the rest of the hour I would have had to walk the rest of the town twice. I gave up and got a sandwich instead. Over lunch I worked on my journal. The tea place was open when I was done so I enjoyed some dessert dune and wrote some more.

After tea I went to the St. Vitus Cathedral. It wasn't anything special. There were all sorts of signs that said no photos, but they were in Czech and German, not English. There was a rather large Japanese tour group there. They were ignoring the signs so I decided to do the same.

After dinner at the hostel I headed out with some guys from the hostel to the Horror Bar. No one was really feeling it though and we ended up back at the hostel watching movies.

To Hike or Not to Hike

Day 243
Gaynor slipped out early in the morning. Luckily I had her email address so that we could keep in touch.

It was really beautiful out, just a bit muddy, but still warm. My plan was to take a short hike to a place called little bird castle. I walked for some time in what I thought was the right direction, but only managed to find houses. After about an hour of walking I gave up. I would just have to do it another day.

I was a bit irritated with myself though. When I was walking back through the castle I was surprised to see that there weren't any tour groups around. This meant that I could get photos without and pesky tourists.

Lunch was once again at the sandwich place. I spent some time writing and finally started to feel like I had a handle on things. Later at the internet cafe, I typed up as much as I could stand and organized some photos. I also figured out my plan for the next few days. Emma and Cam, the couple that work at the hostel, told me that I could stay as long as I wanted, but that I should let them know my plans when I could, just in case they suddenly filled up, they wanted to save a spot for me. After some research I was able to confirm that I would be leaving on Thursday.

It was dusk when I got back to the hostel. Dusk here seems to mean any time after 4pm. After reading for some time I made my dinner. I was really starting to get sick of pasta dinners. I need to come up with something else that is cheap and easy. I went out for a bit with some of the people from the hostel. When we got back we put in The Dark Knight. It was late though, and I fell asleep before the end of the movie.

No Rain!

Day 242
When I woke up it was raining. Yuck. This inspired me to stay inside for the morning and read my book about Henry VIII. When the rain stopped, just before lunch, I headed out. I didn't get to far though. The door of the hostel has a dragon on it and I needed a picture.

After grabbing a sandwich for lunch I headed to the castle. To my frustration both the castle and the baroque theater were closed for the winter. I'm sure that my wallet was happy about it though. I was able to walk through the castle though, and I took as many pictures as possible to make up for not being able to go inside.

The gardens were open and I spent some time strolling around them. There was a small lake, or overgrown pond in the back. It looked rather shallow and was full of algae. When I was done wandering I headed back to the hostel. It was still rather wet out and I didn't want to get muddy.

That night Gaynor and I decided to have dinner at the place with the good onion soup. It was just as yummy as it had been the first time. Afterwards we went back to the hostel just to find out that everyone was going out for a late dinner. We didn't go, but we convinced them to come back after they were finished so that we could all go out together. The two of us watched Sweeney Todd to pass the time.

Tonights activity was bowling, yes bowling. I suck at bowling and doing it on the other side of the Atlantic didn't seem to improve me at all. Still, it was fun and I didn't come in last. After an hour of bowling Gaynor and I headed back to finish the movie while everyone else went to a bar.

Fairy Tale

Day 241
After chatting with some people at the hostel over breakfast I headed out. Chesky Krumlov is one of those places where you plan to stay for two days and then end up staying for a month. I was determined to not get sucked in. It has a medival street plan that is formed around a tightly bent river.

There is actually very little to do here. The few museums in the town are either not worth looking at or closed for the winter. Bummer. Still, I could see right away how leaving could be a challenge. It was just so beautiful.

No playing around for me though, my blog was calling. After a couple of hours working I went to check out the castle. The first thing I came to were the bear pits. About 500 years ago the ruling family wanted to associate themselves with a more powerful Italian family who had bears on their coat of arms. This connection was false. The other thought is that is the bears leave the castle will cease to exists.

Today there are three bears in the wooded moat. It was redone just about ten years ago, before that I imagine that it was exactly like it sounds, a bear pit. I could see one bear playing around. Later on I found out that I was pretty lucky to get to see him. Apparently people will stick around way longer than intended never to see one.

The signs warning people to stay away were pretty humorous, they showed people being impaled on the fence. I found out later that some years ago a guy, dared by his friends, jumped into the put. One of the bears mulled him, because, well, that is what bears do. The bear was shot. I think they should have shot the idiot who jumped in.

I had planned to visit the castle, but my stomach was grumbling and I headed for lunch. I had some fabulous fried cheese and worked on my journal for some time. Afterwards I went back to the hostel and spent some time reading before making dinner.

For some nighttime entertainment I went out with Gaynor and Fannie from the hostel. The first stop was the Horror Bar, complete with skeletons hanging from the ceiling and coffin tables. It was a bit quiet though. While we were en route to the Gypsy bar we ran into the guys from the hostel. The group included an American from Missoula. The Gypsy bar was packed and there was live music. We didn't stay long though and soon moved to the last bar in town. It was a bit empty and we didn't stay long.

Moving On

Day 240
It was a few days past the point of leaving for me. Funny, I could have spent a lot more time in Olomouc and I did like Prague. I just didn’t want to be there any longer. After packing up my things I put them in storage and headed out. I have been traveling with a library for far too long. I took three of the books I have read and went to a used bookstore; I could either sell them for five bucks or get a free book. It seems a bit stupid, but I got one free book for three books. I just can’t carry all of this stuff any more.

After lunch I went back to grab my things and spent a bit of time on the internet. I hastily booked an extra special treat for myself. Not that every day of this trip isn’t a treat, I just wanted something special. I won’t tell you what it is though, you will just have to wait and see. I will say though, that I don’t think that I would have bought this if it were not for the missing money incident.

The train and bus rides were uneventful. I spent most of the time writing or reading once my hand began to ache. I was embarrassingly behind with blog and it was screaming at me.

Once I got to Cesky Krumlov I had a bit of a problem finding my hostel. The directions said to walk toward the big tower. The fog was so thick that I could hardly see my own feet, let alone a tower. Luckily some nice locals helped me out and after a bit more confusion I ended up where I was meant to be.

I was really hungry and left to get food as soon as my pack was off my back. I had been directed to a medieval themed place that had some fabulous onion soup in a yummy bread bowl. I think that all soup should come in a bread bowl. I also had a leg of something that had been cooked over a fire. To top it all off was a glass of Budvar, just about the best beer in the history of the world. This was one fantastic meal!

I tried to explore the city a bit, but it was really foggy and deserted. I couldnt help but thing that everyone out on a night like this was up to no good, including myself. I was also getting cold so I simply headed back.

There wasn’t much going on at the hostel, in fact there wasn’t really anyone there. I ended up watching movies for some time before calling it a night. I was very happy to finally be somewhere new.