Extra Time

Kept Man and I are back in the States. We made it! After a delay in departure in Madrid and a mad dash to our connecting flight in Newark, we are back in California. It has already been a mad whirlwind of non stop eating and visiting. I'm loving every minute of it (even with my cold) but I secretly wish that we were able to take more time. Two weeks just doesn't seem like enough.

But today is the first day where there is no where to run off to. Nothing that needs to get done. TV watching and lounging around are on the agenda. So I thought I would do a little blog catch up. Especially since I have internet connection.

As I mentioned previously Kept Man and I did a weekend mini-break to Cesky Krumlov with a couple of friends while we were in the Czech Republic. Cesky Krumlov is a Unesco World Heritage site and has the second largest castle in the Czech Republic. It's a charming little town which sits in the middle of the bend in the river with lots of outdoor restaurants along the river and old fashioned warm indoor medieval style eateries. Here as in Prague there are many bars and restaurants which are in old cellars or converted buildings. It's all very gothic and cozy. (Can gothic be cozy?) We happened to go a weekend when the weather was on the colder side so we didn't get the chance to do a lazy float down the river, but we did get a chance to drink mead, see bears, eat at an outdoor grill and party at the local bars. Side fact about the bears, apparently the Rosenberg family who owned the area/castle back in the day added bears to their coat of arms to tie them to the noble Italian Family Orsini (orsa meaning she-bear in Italian) and then later went so far as to keep bears to support the supposed family tie. So there are bears hanging out at the castle. They were pretty awesome.

My favorite portion of the trip was the dinner we had at Restaurace U Dobraka. The food was all grilled on an open fireplace and all the tables were outdoor picnic tables. Every other restaurant we had tried to get a reservation at in town was booked solid but this place was relaxed with full of only locals. We couldn't figure out why it wasn't busier, but we were glad to have made it.
We had a great time with our friends Alex, Tony and their dog Sophie. My only wish is to back when the weather is nicer so that we can enjoy the outdoor activities that the city has to offer. If you're in the Prague and are looking for a day or weekend trip I would highly recommend the city. It's small, but with lots of cute B&Bs, rustic food, great views and outdoor activities it a welcome break from the city live in Prague.