Czech Republic

OK. So it's taken me over 5 days to post my first entry. If you're inclined to whining, shut your damn cake-hole. There was so much to do in Prague, I hardly ever had any time to waste in front of a computer. I got to Cesky Krumlov yesterday, and as it's really the first opportunity where I've been able to get on a computer for an extensive time, and also do some laundry.

Prague was fantastic. I'd post pictures, but I think that's going to take too damn long. I've got to catch a tour of Krumlov Castle that I can't be late for. The pictures don't really do the place justice, anyways. Particularly at night. In the evening, the view of the Charles bridge and the castle are really stunning, and my little point-and-shoot doesn't do all that well in low light. Guess you had to be there. Oh wait, I'm sorry, you were all back in the US and had to work the next day. Sucka's!!!!!!!!! Ha!

Other hightlights of Prague were the old town, the Jewish quarter, and just the architecture in general. And the price of the food is a winner. I can have a nice 2 or 3 course meal with several glasses of wine for around $25. And I have. Many times. Twice a day, every day, without exception. (OK, I lied, one day I had 3 meals--lunch, early dinner, and late dinner.) I tried the local beer, and as far as I can tell it's very good, but since I'm a non-beer drinker it doesn't really float my boat. Any of the places I eat I'm able to get the Moravian (eastern Czech) wine, though, and that suits me just fine. I've had a few glasses that were ho-hum, but most of it is in the range of quite good to absolutely fantastic. I had one a few days ago that if I didn't know what I was drinking I would have thought it was a $80 bottle or red Burgundy, or maybe a really high-end Rioja. And it was about 2 bucks a glass. I'm blowing back through Prague today on my way to Warsaw, and I think I'll actually go back to that restaruant for a little more wine and the Czech Duck I love so much. It's a roasted 1/2 duck with braised red and white cabbage and potato dumplings. Yummy!!!!!!

I'm getting by just fine on my light packing. Basically all I brought was 6 t-shirts, 2 dress shirts (both black, maybe not the swiftest move), a couple pair of jeans, one pair of pants, and other accoutrement. Probably didn't need the pants, as nobody wears them over here, but I suppose they're good in case I ever need to look really smooth. One night I threw them on because I didn't want to wear a t-shirt where I was eating but was getting sick of the black shirt and jeans thing. Found out pretty quickly that if you ever want do draw some serious attention from the ladies in Prague, all you to do is throw on a generic pair of grey Banana Republic pants. I got the impression all the girls were saying to themselves "Hey, this guy is wearing pants! He must be some kind of millionair playboy!". Apparently, the doormen of the various cabarets had the same thought. A couple of them damn near tripped over themselves running over to me in order to give me the standard spiel: "Come in, we have the most beautiful girls in town, two drinks free". In my 4 days in Prague, I never did quite figure out if "cabaret" was a euphemism for "strip club" or "brothel". I guess I'll save that for another trip (note to my mother: In case you missed it, that was a joke).

Here's the Plan

It's the week before, and I'm just about ready. Here's the itinerary by day:

1. Arrive in Prague (Czech Republic) mid-afternoon, Prague
2. Prague
3. Kutna Hora (Czech Republic) + Prague
4. Prague
5. Cesky Krumlov (Czech Republic)
6. Cesky Krumlov + Prague
7. Warsaw (Poland)
8. Krakow (Poland)
9. Krakow
10. Krakow + Auschwitz
11. Krakow
12. Eger (Hungary)
13. Budapest (Hungary)
14. Budapest + Danube Bend
15. Budapest
16. Budapest
17. Budapest
18. Loooong day train to Ljubljana (Slovenia)
19. Ljubljana + drive around the Karst region
20. Ljubljana + drive around the Julian Alps
21. Ljubljana
22. Zagreb (Croatia)
23. Plitvice Lakes (Croatia)
24. Split (Croatia)
25. Dubrovnik (Croatia)
26. Dubrovnik
27. Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
28. Fly home :-(

Commence Blogging!

The blog is up! Start checking it out after August 24th for news and updates on my trip!