Česky Krumlov, Česka Republika (Day 15)

Nothing to really report today. Since there there was nothing to do in this ghost town, we did our laundry, took naps, watched internet televisions and packed our bags for tomorrow.

Česky Krumlov, Česka Republika (Day 14)

This morning we went to a cafe so Greg could get his coffee and we found this little pup. Greg loves all animals and all animals love him. If he is the room, animals will somehow flock to him in order to be played with or petted. Greg (like my mom) also enforces a strict "NO VIDEOING ME" rule, which I sort of follow. You will notice I am filming the little dog mostly but there is a quick flick of the wrist where I try to sneakingly get him in the shot.

Today we did all the site seeing there is to see in Cesky Krumlov. This place is small. I mean really small. Let me take you on a tour. Here is one section of the Vltava river, along each side of the riverbank is lined with outdoor bear gardens and restaurant porches:

Here is the view from the church:

Here is the view of the town:

Okay, stop. This place is a joke. Upon careful inspection you start to realize that everything is fabricated. See that "stone"? See those "bricks"? See that "masonry"? See that "wood"? See those "windows"? Everything is faux painted. It is a little disturbing. It feels like you are living in Disneyland. Everything is a prop. Nothing is real. 100% tourism and 100% fake.

We decided to go up in that clocktower, here is the view:

When I look at this photo I think, aw how quaint and little and cute. And it's somewhat true, but I wouldn't recommend anyone to come here. It's sort of off the map, so transporting here is a little difficult, the food isn't spectacular and there is NO GROCERY STORE in this town only a supermaket, there isn't much to do either. I know that we were there in the off season but even in the summer months I don't really think I would recommend it.

Whoops....

Here is my shooting:

Here is my shot:

Train # 3 (Praha to Český Krumlov, Day 13)

Incredible.

This poster is amazing.

Lauren Stupek this one is for you:

It's great to see this because I want to get my Masters in TESOL - Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. It's very reassuring to know that I will be able to get a job anywhere teaching English as a second/foreign language, even in Prague if I'd like.

After being yelled at twice for sitting in the smallest bus transit station we hopped on the smelliest bus in the history of buses. It smelled like someone had poured gallons of B.O. on all the seats. There was no bathroom and no way to open the windows. I had to pee the entire three hours of our journey. The moment I boarded the bus I felt like I was going to explode so it was very very uncomfortable. It made me reminisce of the time that my best friend Lana had to pee really badly while we were backpacking in Costa Rica last summer. I had the brilliant idea of transversing the entire country from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic coast - in one day. Lana has to hold her pee for about 14 hours. Ohhhh the pain but ohhh the lifelong memories.

Praha, Česká Republika (Day 12)

First we went to the Mucha Museum. Again, we weren't allowed to take any photographs and I was tempted to take so many. Mucha is one of my favorite artists. Maybe you aren't familiar with his name but I gurantee you will recgonize his work. He is the "father" of Art Nouveau. Click here to learn more about him. After spending a few hours at the museum we headed over to the "Eiffel tower of Prague". To get there we had to cross small bridges and stroll through several parks. While Greg was off shooting a photo I was watching a leaf float on the river water, it had a very calming effect on me so I thought I'd share it:

While wandering around we stumbled upon large babies with disturbing faces:

And then we found a pack of bright yellow penguins hanging out on the river. Here is one of my most favorites polaroids. I submitted it to a competition, if I win my polaroid will be featured on a billboard in Time Square, NY!

Here is Greg's shot of the little penguins.

After walking around and taking many photos we finally made it to our destination. We rode a funicular half way up the hill to the "eiffel tower". But once we made it to the top it was much too foggy for photography. Here is our funicular ride down the hill:

Later at night we returned to our hostel and hung out with some hostelers. Greg played chess with many of them and beat a guy from Chicago, two Scottish guys, a kiwi girl and an aussie girl. He felt pretty great that he kicked international ass, and I gotta hand it to him he really does have skillz.

Praha, Česká Republika (Day 11)

For lunch ate at Bohemia Bagel, it's a cozy cafe with a huge menu. I recommend going to this place for bagels, soups, salads and pastries.

It was a little rainy today but we tried to make the most of it. We went to the Jewish Cemetery in the Jewish quarter. We weren't allowed to take photographs so I stole the following from the internets:

It was the most eerie cemetery I've ever seen. All of the headstones were stacked up against one another. The numbers of grave stones and numbers of people buried there are uncertain because there are layers of tombs. However, it has been estimated that there are approximately 12,000 tombstones presently visible and there may be as many as 100,000 burials in all. I don't know how to put this into words other than it was absolutely shocking to see that many tombs crammed into that little space. My grandpa who passed away this past february was Jewish and I pretty much lost it when I saw his name - Ephraim - on one of the tombstones. I was pretty emotional but I was glad that I went to the cemetery.

Praha, Česká Republika (Day 10)

Today we did a lot of sight seeing on foot. We started out at the Castle...

Then went to an overlook of the suburbs of Prague....

It was sooo cold so we seeked warmth in this sweet hlaf-Czech half-English bookstore...

And later again in this cafe where Greg downed his macchiato much too fast and stole whipcream from my hot chocolate...

Then we headed over to the famous clock tower. Every hour hundreds of people gather around to watch the changing of the hour...it's really nothing special at all, you can barely see the figurines and most of the tourists are disappointed. To be honest, I like watching their faces more than the clock face.

I went to Prague for the first time in Fall 2007 and these guys were still performing! I was happy to see them still playing in the same square. They have such soul and character, especially the singer.

We decided to go up the clock tower

Above is a supersampe of Greg taking a photo with his Bronica SQ-A and below is the actual photo:

The rooftops of Prague are one of my favorite cityscapes, the red roofs stretch out in all directions and seem to run on forever into the hazy overcast horizon.

What I love about this photo is that the rooftops dominate the urban space. The absence of visible roads makes it feel like a labyrinth. To view more of Greg's work, click here.

The crowds are gathering for the changing of the hour...

Even high above in the clocktower one can still enjoy the music...

Note: my swell hair clip.

Note: his tongue.

Once we had our fun in the clocktower we exited towards the lower level and found this interesting thick glass cube wall.

Then we walked along the Vtalva river near the Charles Bridge...

DUCKS!

Then we walked on the Charles Bridge...