We were up early this morning in order to drive Greg and Jackie to the Munich Airport.  Originally we had planned for them to take the train but when we picked up our rental car and Enterprise heard our plans they told us that we could not take an Audi A6 just anywhere.  We explained that we had four adults plus luggage and we needed the bigger car while in Germany and Austria so they agreed we could drive it if we agreed to come and swap it out.  So we are now driving a Kia Sportage – which is just as comfortable to me, though the navigation isn’t nearly as nice as the Audi.  It would not have worked for four of us.  It was also good to know that they were safely at the airport and not wandering about some train station.

Mark and I headed out to see what we could find in Czechia.  We haven’t been using cellular data but once we tried dealing with the Kia navigation system we thought it would be prudent.  So we were moving right along until we came to the Czech border and found a WC.  We left the car and when we came back… no coverage!  Fortunately the map was pulled up so we navigated the old fashioned way.  Well, not exactly old fashioned because I had an electronic map (most of the time if I didn’t try to zoom) – and then there were a few street signs for Cesky Budejovice which was near our destination and very helpful.

We fell in love with Czech driving.  At least for being the passenger… roads were narrow with no lines which was stressful for the driver… but we both appreciated that the roads were tree lined with rolling farmland or beautiful forests.  Of course the language is completely foreign.  We don’t speak German but it has a level of familiarity.  Czech is like nothing else.  I learned to say hello (dobry den) but I wasn’t brave enough to use it.  They also say, Ahoy, but that might be too familiar.   So we say hello to people and they start speaking English. Or we find some way to communicate. Anyway, our drive was exciting.

We stayed the night in Hlubaka nad Vltavou.  Of course we went right up to the castle and learned that it was closed on Mondays.  A lot of attractions are closed on Mondays and I thought I had checked it out… oh well. The tower was open but it needed cash and they don’t use euros in Czechia.  We walked around the grounds and found our hotel.  Thankfully we didn’t try to find it on the road.  It used to be a part of castle administration and is right there on the grounds (down the hill of course).  The roads are tight, twisting and turning.  Half the time we thought we might be on a foot path but then we would see a car parked and continue on.  Crazy.

We ate dinner in town, found an ATM for Czech korunas, and then walked around the castle ground some more, enjoying a warm night and a beautiful moon.  The view from our hotel window was so pretty – I took several photos, I even grabbed my phone in the night when I woke up and saw the view.  Also – we realized we could see the castle in the morning.  With just the two of us exploring new places we have a much more relaxed agenda.