Overland Tales

My friend Yan kindly sent me on my way with a bumper packed lunch for the train, including a few surprises, such as some great chilli chocolate and a non-edible but distinctly useful German-made padlock.  It had been great to meet up again, and I feel that even if it's in a few years we will do so again.

We said our goodbyes and I took off on the train to Regensburg.  I'd never been there before and didn't know quite what to expect, apart the fact the people would speak German and wouldn't have two heads or anything (you have to go nearer Liechtenstein to see stuff like that).  The main reason I was calling was that it was a hany overnight stop for my jaunt into the Czech Republic.

I arrived at nightfall and had to creep through the gorgeous old town to get to the hostel, which was located on the far side of the river.  Evidently this corner of Germany had been spared Allied bombing.  The hostel had only just reopened that day from their Winter break, and again I was the only guest.  I made the dorm room home and left the exploration until tomorrow.

The exploring I did in Regensburg was mainly unintentional, leaving as I did for the train station south of the river, and getting thoroughly lost in the <i>Altstadt</i> to end up at... the river again.  Bugger.  Still, the circle I'd done was one of the most asthetically pleasing times I have ever been lost - and there have been many such occasions.

To get to the Czech Republic it appeared I had to go around the houses; I passed into Austria and had to change at Linz, which gave me a few hours to check out the city.  It looked pretty uninspiring from what I saw of it apart from the main shopping street which had some grand old architecture.

Finally I boarded a train that lumbered into the southern Czech Republic to arrive at Ceske Budjovice, which to you and me is Budweiser, the home of the original beautiful <i>Budvar</i> brew which the Americans watered down and gave a flavour of piss.  I had to change to a local train - a tiny two-car affair - to reach my destination of Cesky Krumlov, a backpacker-friendly town and UNESCO heritage site.

I'd spotted some other backpackers on the service and tagged along with them, as I had no map of the town.  They were four guys from Texas and a girl from Los Angeles.  They were, for the most part, open-minded, down-to-earth people.  On arrival at the hostel we found there was no dorm space available, so we had to pair up.  I ended up bunking in with the girl from LA, which is probably the only occasion in my life I'll be able to say I shared a room with an American model.

Next day I chipped out bright and early to explore the town on my tod.  It was a gorgeous setting, with red-rooved houses and churches built up on the hills surrounding a particularly exotic meander in the river.  To top it all off there was a castle overlooking the town, to which I headed.

It was cold - and icy - and on the way I decided to do an involuntary ice dance for a couple of passing locals, falling flat on my arse on the slippery cobbles.  The castle was closed but the grounds were open - and free - and made for a lovely walk.

Even though the town was tourist-wise, the beer was still cheap and beautiful: 50p (US $1) a pint, not to be moaned at.  The Yanks and I made the most for it that evening in the hostel bar.  It was a good farewell, as we were all off in different directions the next day.  They headed south to Vienna, and I carried on north to Prague, with the intention of settling for a few days.

I'd done precious little work on my websites since travelling and needed to catch up, so I felt a destination like Prague would fit the bill, being relatively cheap still and comfortable.  The hostel I had chosen was a fair bit out but on the metro and most importantly had that work essential, free wifi.  I barely left the hostel for the rest of the week as I busied myself with creating a new website, the idea of which I had had for months but never had found the time to write.  The idea was that it would help pay some of the hostel bills for the months of travelling to come.