Hotel Cb Royal Ceske Budejovice

... but Kit went for the real reason to go to the Czech Republic – Absinth. I can now say I’ve tried the real stuff, took a tiny sip of his, but couldn’t get past the taste or smell of licorice, not that I would really want to anyway. Thanks anyway, I’ll stick with my glass Bohemian red wine!

Most of us slept in on Sunday, since we didn’t have anywhere to be or really anything to do. But I did get up and get ...

... shop! It was funny! The wine was quite nice though so we ended up buying a red and a white to enjoy later.

We found the vegetarian restaurant after this and unfortunately it was closed, but next door was another restaurant that I had also read really good things about so we went to check it out.

It was set up in kind of a medieval fashion and it turned out that everything was made out of recycled materials, mostly from medieval buildings that had been demolished or ...

... It is a warm day and I try to keep in the shade as it has already been commented on that I have a bright red scalp. I really notice the difference between the touristic towns and a normal town in the English language speaking capability. I think I will need to keep my transactions limited. Its a pretty city especially the old part and its planned on a linear scale so it is easy to find your way around. I order my lunch not knowing what the heck I am getting as the ...

... company and its nice to hang out with people again. We go to place called the horror bar, it is a pseudo goth bar that is underground and have vodka and a shot of absinthe. Its close to 2am when I get back to the Youth Hostel and we decide in our wisdom that we will go rafting tomorrow before me and Tim leave in the afternoon. I will be couchsurfing again, and I can't begin to explain how good the idea of meeting a new host feels. He seems like a cool one, let's see.

... cafes and restaurants to thaw out in, enjoy more hearty Czech food and delight in the company of fantastic friends. Travelling just doesn’t get any better than this. After such a satisfying day there was no finer way to end it than to make like the impressions of King Henry VIII at a medieval banquet, using my hands to chomp away gluttonously around a pork knee bone. I was as happy as a pig in mud – before its knee ended up on my plate, obviously.

FROM TOM'S PHONE: Hi all, just a quick note to let you know that we're on the 2nd of our 4 train legs through the Czech Republic to Salzburg in Austria. It hasn't snowed but the frost here is so severe that everything is white. We keep seeing people skating and playing ice hockey on lakes that we zoom past on the train. I'll send you some photos now. I hope all of the Sandgropers enjoyed the first day of the Mandurah line today!

... minutes sitting on a bench in front of the church and just enjoying the view. It makes me wonder why i would ever want to go back home. I went back to the hostle and enjoyed free beer night in the hostel. It was a great excuse to drink beer and relax for the night before finally leaving this beautiful little town for someplace new. Just where is that someplace new? Even I had no idea where i would end up.....

... with Pension Svet (www.penzionsvet.cz) which was just a short walk from the old town. The owner, Michael, was incredibly friendly and helpful in terms of providing info about the town, its sites, etc. The rooms were very comfortable and clean and, most importantly, very affordable. Two thumbs up. A great view from the rooms too. We were sad to leave CK but alas, our time in Prague was going to be short, so early the next morning off we went to Prague. More later, T&N

... suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and we had a good chat on the bench, before parting ways, and heading to our respective hostels. After failing to meet up with jake for a nightcap pint, i stayed in with the krumlov crew and played a game of 'Settlers' with Mike, Lisa the Canadian and Elena the Sydneysider. Mike wiped the floor with us all. It was like monopoly, but less urban, and less brutally Capitalist. Time really does go too fast in the Czech Republic.

... but it was a great night. The next day, we left and drove down to Ceske Krumlov. A lovely little place with another castle full of stuffed animals and a bear pit with real live bears. Not stuffed, it was amazing. We wandered around town and then we left and headed out. We skirted along the border of Austria, seeing loads of castles. Finally, we came to a border crossing that was beginning to close for the night, so we got our stamp, and entered Austria