Cesky Krumlov is really beautiful. I loved how the sunlight hit all the terra-cotta colored roofs in the late afternoon. I loved how I could walk all around Cesky Krumlov in less than a half hour.
I stayed at the Hostel Merlin which was fine and good for the price. The room was like a closet, but it was cozy in a way and at least I had my privacy.
My only complaint about the hostel was the shower. The was my first time experiencing the "push the button and get hot water for 10 seconds before it turns off and you have to push the button again ad nauseum"..what a nightmare! I guess it is a way to conserve water but it sure it unpleasant to have the water literally turn itself off every 10 seconds.
I met a nice girl who was also staying at the hostel. Her name was Dorothea and she was living in Berlin but is now travelling. She was telling me all about this 10-day meditation class/retreat that she did recently. It sounds interesting (and a little too hard for lazy me!)
I ended up eating at this vegetarian restaurant several times with her.
I walked around a lot and now my face is nice and pink (I always forget to put on my sunscreen..duh! I won't let happen in Italy, I swear!)
The first night after eating dinner I went to a bar called the Zapa bar. It reminded me of being in a cellar (yet you didn't walk down a bunch of steps or anything) but the walls were all just old stone and it was nice and cozy in there. Two older Italian men came up to the bar, a little drunk, and hilarity soon followed. They kept shouting "Espresso Italiano" and the bartender was just smiling (but I could see that he was panicking inside) and old Beatles songs were playing and the older Italian men were doing the twist and I had to laugh out loud and they just smiled at me gleefully. Then their other friends (and wives) arrived, and the bartender (and another guy, maybe the owner? came to help him) had to make 9 ESPRESSO ITALIANOS! Very entertaining to watch. I should have a good time in Italy if the "people" (I hate saying "the people"..it makes it sound like I am stereotyping) are as friendly and bubbly as this group was.
Yesterday I walked around some more, enjoying the sun, and later in the afternoon I took a tour of the castle that overlooks the city. Nice tour. The guide was a young Czech woman who kept apologizing about her English. I thought she did pretty well, though, and I told her so.
Tommorrow I move out of my flat and into a hostel until Monday, when I take the train to Vienna. I think I will only stay in Vienna three days and then maybe head to Innsbruck or Salzburg (or maybe both?)
