No Regrets!

Another obscenely early departure, made even more obscene by my batshit crazy idea to get up at 4:30am to take pictures of Prague’s Charles Bridge at dawn. Tomi had bet me that I wouldn’t be able to take any photos of the bridge without any people on it, and he was right. There were some drunken tourists stumbling home, two couples making out, and a few sleeping/dead homeless people.

Making my way back to meet the group for our early departure, it started pouring down rain and I got hopelessly lost. Kudos to Nikon for building a camera that can take a good soaking.

A couple of hours on the train later, we were in Český Krumlov. We dropped off our bags and immediately set out for an orientation walk with our guide, Oldriska. It’s almost laughable how much walking we’re doing. It just doesn’t stop.

As clouds sprinkled on us from above, we walked up and down the alleys of medieval Český Krumlov.

Line of the day goes to Oldriska. In one of the cathedrals, she related the story of a princess who was the inspiration for Dracula and, as legend has it, used to drink wolf’s milk.

“How do you milk a wolf?” Alex asked.

“If you befriend it,” Oldriska calmly explained, “it will let you milk it.” Frank and I were in hysterics.

With the first free time I’ve had in six days, I returned to my dungeon of a hotel room for some relaxation. A couple of hours of peace and quiet did wonders.

I met up with the group for dinner at U Dwau Maryi (The 2 Marys), a restaurant that serves traditional medieval recipes. I had rabbit (tastes a bit like duck, amazing) and mead (tastes a bit like watered down port) for the first time. The best meal I’ve had so far on this trip.

Determined to catch sunset over the village, I hiked up to the overlook at Český Krumlov Castle and took a few shots.

I had the evening free, so I found a café in the main square that had wifi (they call it “wee fee” here) and caught up on some stuff. After it got dark, the square was illuminated with a free but cheesy show of lasers and animation set to classical music.

After the show, I met up with Tomi, Oldriska, and Frank at a local bar for a quick drink. Frank and I were trying to entertain Oldriska with light conversation when she abruptly got up and left. Frank and I thought it was a little weird, but Tomi didn’t think anything of it. Is that just normal behavior for Czech people?

Now back in my dungeon of a hotel room. Like all the hotels we’ve stayed in, there’s no AC and there are no sheets. The only things on the bed are a comforter (which definitely has someone else’s semen on it) and a decorative pillow (which definitely has someone else’s semen on it). Nothing too early tomorrow morning, so I hope to get a decent night’s sleep for the first time in a week.