Hotel Kosmos Karlovy Vary

... and sauerkraut. Didn't really care for the dumplings and sauerkraut but the goulash soup was great.

Then on to the brewery. Pilsner Urquell has been purchased by a conglomerate, the South African Brewers or SAB but Pilsner Urquell has also become their flagship as it is such a good beer. It was our misfortune to be there on a day when they were cleaning the lines in the bottling and ...

Today we went to the Pilsner Urquell brewery in Plzen. Pilsner, the type of beer, originated here, where Pilsner Urquell was brewed from local crops and local mineral water. The tour was awesome. We saw the traditional brew kettles and the modern ones, as well as a very modern new packaging plant. We also tasted some unpastuerized beer directly from fermenting barrels.

... mother working 3 jobs and now overfeeds everyone (out of love, of course), she laid out a major spread for us and kept the food coming, and coming, and coming, you get the picture. Of course it is considered offencive to decline this generosity so needless to say I did not feel too well that night and had a restless nights sleep. After a couple of days in Prague, my uncle Otto (my dad's brother) came from Karlovy Vary to pick us up ...

Arrived in Karlstejn on the "City Elephant" train at 1.20pm and walked 2km to the Karlstejn Castle. Went on the 2.30pm English tour of the castle which took about an hour. No photography allowed inside the castle. Took in the views over the town before walking back to the train station and catching the train back to Prague.

... wrong thing to do. Nothing happened, it was just a little scary at that hour, although, it was the best McDonalds cheeseburger I have ever eaten. The party was on Tuesday, then on Wednesday, I had one class and was done with school by 12:30, which was good because I didn't get home from McDonalds until about 5:30 am I think. So, I went home and took a nap. It was fantastic, and the highlight of my Wednesday. On Thursday the school hosted a Boat Party on the Vltava ...

... by a stream running through the town, with countless shops and cafes either side. Caryn wanted a massage, but we couldn't really find anything worth the cost or that worked with our schedule. One of the other interesting things about the town is the natural hot springs. In fact they have an entire "Gallerie" devoted to little water fountains dispensing this water. The first thing we noticed was that ...

... it for what it had obviously turned into. Decided to sleep on it and try again in the morning. Well a few days on now, I have to give the place credit. Even though I haven't been able to go near any of the tourist shops without cringing, fighting my way across Charles Bridge where everyone is so close you can smell them(in the open air no less), and the overall touristy **** everywhere, I do love it here. One city stangely enough that I could live in. Not many big ...

... and honored through this museum. We enjoyed our time in Prague. We liked just sitting amidst the many travelers and locals taking in the town as a whole. We too were creating our own opinion of the place and interactions with it. We couldn't afford to stay there a really long time, but the time we did have there was enriching and action packed. Our quick moving feet, or the metro wisped us from sight to sight. We had a blast and are thankful for the experience.

... of the 17th and 18th century. Coffin-lids have been replaced with )glass!) so you can take a VERY close look at dry, dusty bones and crusty eye-sockets draped in leathery blankets of crispy skin! One room had about 25 monks simply laid to rest on the sandy floor. It was surreal, absolutely crazy!! Michael is a typical young man who sleeps way too much and ever since, I have referred to his bedroom as 'The Kryptia'. We both seem to get a laugh out of that...