Hotel Garni P.V.T. Ceske Budejovice

... rock it sits on. Most of the castle dates from around the 13th and early 14th century, while the interior is typical Baroque (and of course, if it’s not Baroque, don’t fix it!). Unfortunately, being a small town, even a tourist-centric one, the castle exhibits close about 5pm on Saturday and open in the afternoon on Sunday, so couldn’t actually go in the castle. But we did get to see some of the grounds, walk across the ...

... castle was a large enclosure housing three brown bears! We couldn’t believe it, it seemed so random!

They were very cute though and we spent a while watching them lumber about and watching people’s reactions when they discovered them too. We weren’t the only ones who were surprised!

We went and checked out the tours and prices for the castle and decided on two tours we wanted to do, but when we got to the counter to ask about tickets they said they were ...

... time for who would like second tastings straight out the barrels all four of our glasses came straight to the front before the tour guide had even finished the sentence (typical bloody Australians!). We were heading further west to the picturesque little town of Cesky Krumlov, and gave Mark and Mandy, who were travelling around by train, a lift through beautiful rolling countryside.

... safely, I really should look into trains again. I arrive at the Bus Station which is nice and modern and say goodbye to Tim. I open the cargo hold to get my bag and the driver runs out and slaps my hand and says naughty. He laughs so I its okay, I get my bag and he says something in Czech like, how do I know this is your bag? I say smelling washing and laugh, I am not sure he understands me but its all okay. It is a 3 storey shopping centre and I cannot find the exit. I ...

... to trot, then gallop I say sure. We trot for a short period, then I am airborne. Archie jumps up as he goes into an, I don't know what, it is so bouncy and I freak out, and ask to stop. I think it was because he was being held back. We do some more walking and try trotting again, its fine and then I break into a canter and she asks "GO?" I say yes and we bolt along the paddock no feeling so being out of control just huge strides that feel a bit strange with his ...

(Originally published at http://www.troysgonewalkabout.com)
< br>Český Krumlov was no less beautiful in the daylight and, though it was still cold, the intermittent spells of sunshine and light snow only added to the feeling of stumbling into a European fairytale. The number of other visitors we were sharing the exploration of the town centre with was not particularly high, the shops and restaurants lining the cobbled streets had been commercialised ...

... d have to wait until Friday to leave instead of leaving Thursday as planned. Oh well, an extra day of relaxation for me. The rest of my time in Cesky Krumlov was a lot of the same. Playing scrabble and boggle, watching movies, chatting with people, baking lemon-poppy seed pound cake, walking up to the view point, and generally not doing much of anything. A nice way to relax in a little town before moving on to the next big city.

... that there is only one other theatre in the world like this one and it's located in Sweden. This theatre is virtually intact from the way it was in the 18th century. It is complete with 13 full sets, hundreds of costumes and props and even sound and lighting effect machines. Again, all this dates to the 1700s. Because of its very delicate nature, there are a limited number of opportunities to see the theatre each day. Even though we were not allowed to take photos ...

... music culture. Mike nearly soiled himself when he saw that i had the 'Lester Bangs' book, and tried to persuade me to let him have it. The book exchange at the hostel was chock to the brim with Danielle Steel novels and literary classics like the Da Vinci Code, and it'd been a long winter without some decent reading material for the Mikester. Anyway, the laziness got the better of me, i wandered like a lost soul on a mission of nothing around ...

... German name, Budweis. And it has a famous product that is exported all over the world. In fact, it was so famous that an American company took the name and Trademarked its use in the US before the Czechs knew anything about it. Anybody who has tasted both brands will be able to tell you, without hesitation, which is the more superior..... Budweiser beer has been produced in the Czech Republic, and whatever other names the country has had previously, for more than 600 years, and the ...