Cesky Krumulov and home

I remembered a few things I forgot in my prior blog so will insert them here before I head to my last weekend in Europe and home. On the ride back from Croatia as we were passing through Slovenia we saw many tractors on the road. Not with equipment on them but looking like they were used as the family car for a trip to town. Not that uncommon but when I saw a garden tiller , very large, where the driver sat very high and had handlebars larger than the ones on our motorcycles and towing a trailer, well I took to laughing so hard that I could hardly wait to catch up to Joe. When we stopped I asked him if we could please please take the garden tiller and trailer to town for a day out. Wish I had a picture.
The other thing I forgot to mention was the last night in Prague although we tried to stick to traditional food from the different countries. Joe was longing for a burger and when we were just about back to the apartment I spied a Hard Rock Café. Now I have never been to one..not even in America so I suggested it. We had a great burger, great service and I had a diet Pepsi in a glass with ice. Mind you it cost twice as much as the beer but oh did it taste great.
I also complained bitterly about not getting a cup of coffee in Europe. 3.10 Euro for 2 tablespoons of Expresso and no refills. Well it was in Prague I discovered if the MacDonalds has a McCafe that you can order a Coffee Americano and you get pretty much a cup of coffee. Still no refills but a full cup!!

On the Charles Bridge

The train trip back to Vienna from Prague was very relaxing and the next day Joe took me to the Nauschmarket  in Vienna. This is a giant flea market and on Saturday everyone brings their junk and I do mean junk and tries to sell it at this open market. Blocks and blocks of vendors and then the farmers and food stalls are located further on for several blocks. Here I am tasting cheese.

Well because it was the weekend and I was leaving Monday Joe asked me if I would like to do 1 more motorcycle trip. I could not ride the beautiful one as she was badly in need of a rear tire so it was decided I would double behind Joe on his F800GS. Thank God there were no video cameras around as this old lady tried to climb up on the back. Kudos to Joe for holding that bike up while I tried to pull him over and get on board. A couple of times we managed to get beside a rock  or cement structure and I could lower myself down over the bike. Once on board I was extremely confident with Joe as the driver. Too bad it had to rain. We did however go back to the Czech Republic to a UNESCO Heritage Site. A little town called Cesky Krumulov. Not sure of the spelling but you can look it up. It is a small town with cathedrals and castles and old old buildings. Sorry no pictures as it rained. However we did stop in a place 23 km away overnight. Very picturesque and the food was great and of course with me that is all that counts.

 

 

 

Joe and I went for a walk up the hill to the castle and abbey and in my wisdom I decided we would not need our umbrellas so Joe had to find one of his own as it started to rain before we got back.

 

 

.When we went for dinner at this place Joe liked they were all reserved. The back for a family reunion and the front for a birthday party but Joe managed to sweet talk the people into letting us sit at one of the tables and have a beer and we had greek salad and 4 cheese pizza for supper. This was a four cheese pizza like none other with 2 slices of mozzarella and 2 slices with blue cheese and 2 slices with Camembert and 2 with cheddar. It was delicious.

 

 

 

 

This bike was to let us know the restaurant and hotel were biker friendly. Joe sent me in to check in and because the monetary value was in kroner I had to go running out to Joe when she said the room was 1000 kroner so Joe quickly converted on his phone and it was 38 Euro. Cheap! and breakfast was an additional 3 Euro each. Unfortunately it rained all night and the next morning we headed for Cesky Krumulov but it rained most of the way and in the town itself they were sandbagging so we just took a look and left. We did small towns trying to see more of the countryside but as it continued to rain Joe headed for the highway and home. The next morning Joe had to work so I arose early and he put me on the train telling me to get off at the airport and I was on my own. Very reluctant to leave as I felt so comfortable and at home. I was rather worried about my flight connection in Frankfurt as I had only 40 minutes to find my new gate and did not seem to get much help but I just hurried fast only to find the flight was delayed and then once on board was delayed longer with a strange smell in the cargo hold. But it was a good flight and when our pilot landed in LA one barely knew the wheels had touched the ground. It took 1 1/2 hours to get out of the airport but I called Ken and he picked me up without a problem at all and we arrived in Palm Springs a couple of hours later. It was almost a 24 hour day for me but the next morning I arose and packed and headed for home. Will do that story next.