Sanatorium Astoria Karlovy Vary

... We arrived and the campsites we were looking for didn't seem to exist. We were lucky enough to follow some campsite signs that led us to one about 30 minutes out of the city and along the water. This campsite turned out to be a hunter’s lodge as well and much to our dismay we ate supper surrounded by animal heads and then walked back to our van only to notice a big dear hanging upside down with its guts dripping out. Not something nice to see right ...

we finally arrive, after twisting jules arm relentlessly, but too late for the bus, cannot wait for two more hours, so we jump in a taxi only to find we have booked ourselves into the gulag, no i mean it. we are staying in prisoner cell block F. we think of crying, but dont want to show fear to the locals.

we do manage to find a ...

... other complaints.

We enjoyed our stop even though it wasn’t what we were expecting. We have a cute little china cup for our Christmas tree decoration.

We are close to the German border so we use all our Krouns for diesel and leave Czech Republic. It most certainly is a beautiful country along the west side. We passed fields and fields of poppyflower heads. It must have been beautiful when they were all in bloom!

... sausages for lunch. Was half cut - half a litre of beer with jetlagg...interesting combination.

Flew from Prague on the dodgiest little plane, Jarrad was pulling sticky tape off the cabin and announcing outloud that we might not make it alive. Hmmmmm they also made the mistake of asking him to complete the customer survey...

Went out on the bikes yesterday to explore town. Amazing - bus loads of tourists arrive here daily. Photos don't do it justice.

... then enjoyed a lunch of duck,dumplings and sweet and sour cabbage. I swear Greece and Czech Republic have the best food in the world. I am going to miss it. We will return tomorrow to Amsterdam to connect with our flight home. We are hoping to make the Anne Frank museum if the lines are not too long.

... which felt alot like standing on a block of ice for 2 1/2 hours and there being no TP in the bathroom, not out of TP, but no actually dispenser to indicate there had ever been TP offered at all. Therefore Celina had to use her 'extensive' Czech to beg for a napkin!! Lucky I love hockey as much as Mirek! One of the things I looked forward to the most here was the weekly flea market, as everyone promised it was the biggest and best-it was! Piles of clothes and ...

... take us to visit the Hrabanek clan (he and his family are the only remaining part of the family in the Czech Republic). It's a beautiful drive from Prague to K.V. but at 120kms from Prague it still takes 2.5 hours. In K.V. we are staying with my great-aunt on my moms side the infamous teta Kvyeta. She is my grandmothers sister but closer in age to my parents so she essentially grew up with them, (she is the aunt you have that is ...

... few days which was awesome, then we flew on to Amsterdam for a few days. That place is beautiful. We ate some fantastic food and had a great time looking around the canals and seeing a few sights like the Anne Frank and Van Gogh's artwork. Craig met us in Amsterdam and we then took a flight to Denmark to go see my friends and family and show Craig a little ...

The first city I actually was able to visit, in Czech Republic, was Karlovy Vary. Karlovy Vary is known as Karlsbad to Germans and Carlsbad to the English. The literal meaning of Karlovy Vary is "Charles' Spring." The city is rightfully named because the town is built upon a mineral spring. This village is known as a Spa city. Karlovy Vary may be one of the coolest cities I have ever visited. I didn't know anything about ...

... After remaining in the water the rose becomes hard and it looks as if it is made of iron.
And get one of those small pots they sell in the souvenir shops and try taste the water!
The pots are designed in such way that it is as if you drink out of a straw.

I would definitely like to visit this place again and probably spend ...