Back in Praha

So the hike today was not what it was advertised to be, though it was still fun. Apparently, the six hours allowed for the driving time in getting to the hiking location (about 100 meters from the Austrian border), hiking around 4 miles on a slightly uphill gravel path/road through the forest, and stopping for an hour or two at a pub at the top of the hill before being driven back to Cesky Krumlov. Additionally, it began to pour about 3/4 into the hike, so we had to be picked up by our driver in the middle of the forest!

The coolest part by far was, in driving back to Krumlov, when we took a ferry across a lake. I've only ever been on one ferry, and I remember it being huge and resembling a boat. This time, when we drove onto what I assumed to be the dock, I realized suddenly that it was moving and we were surrounded by water! Nobody else seemed to be much taken aback, but I guess I'm just a simple California girl.

Last night, our tour guide (an American expat who lives in Krumlov) came to dinner with us at a quaint restaurant where we were served a "Bohemian feast" and sang songs with a guitar. The coolest part was that I got to drink mead for the first time. For those of you who don't know, mead is an alcoholic beverage somewhat like a cross between mulled wine, a lot of sugar, and dark beer. It's what people in the Middle Ages drank like we Americans drink water, and it's made mention of all over writings like Beowulf. It was so exciting for me to know I was drinking what Beowulf drank that I think I drank a little too much before realizing it upset my stomach and spent the early hours of the morning feeling incredibly ill. Fortunately, I was better by morning, and I don't intend to drink mead again for a long time.

I hope to take my computer to a place with wireless tomorrow to upload my photos. Keep an eye out for that.