A quick run through our itinerary follows:
- First we visited Cheb (formerly Eger) and the nearby pretty spa town of Františkovy Lazně (formerly Franzensbad). Very elegant Victorian buildings and a very relaxed atmosphere.
- Next we marvelled at the fabulous buildings in Karlovy Vary (formerly Karlsbad) and tasted the waters there (warm and salty but not as bad as we expected, certainly more palatable than Bath Spa!). We had a look at the Grand Hotel Pupp (used in the James Bond film Casino Royal) but didn't feel that we were rich or elegant enough to go inside.
- Then we went to Prague, which was just as lovely as we remembered it from previous trips. We revisited some of our favourite sights (including, of course, the mechanical, astrological clock in the town square – still impressive but not as fun as the butting goats of Poznan) and even managed to see some new ones. The observation tower up in the woods around the castle was interesting and gave us lovely views over the city, despite the mist.
- From Prague we did day trips to Karlštejn and Kutna Hora. Karlštejn is a fabulous 14th century castle built for Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia, as a palace and a safe place to store his treasure. It has been sensitively restored and is largely intact, and very pretty with its pointed towers, galleries and coloured timberwork.
- Kutna Hora town is very lovely, like a mini Prague in some ways. However, it is the remarkable ossuary which is the biggest attraction. The inside of a small chapel is festooned with human bones; stacks of femurs interleaved with skulls, suspended garlands of skulls and femurs, urns, decorated candelabras, a coat of arms, and the famous chandelier, which apparently contains every type of bone found in the human body. A couple of cabinets hold skulls of soldiers from the Hussite Wars and here you can see visible injuries, some which had healed and some which were fatal. Gruesome, but we liked it.
Last of all we visited Plseň, home of the famous Pilsner brewery. We were lucky enough to catch the first day of the town's Christmas market, complete with craft and food stalls, people dressed as medieval knights, stalls selling hot Glűwein (as well as beer of course) and a band comprising very old men playing accordions. The day would have been perfect if we hadn't been wheel clamped and had to pay a fine (only the equivalent of £17.50 fortunately, and they turned up to free us in super – quick time)
Since we left the Czech Republic we've been travelling across Germany, swathed in cold misty weather. We've been to some interesting places such as Nűrnberg and Ulm, but the buildings, though striking, never look quite as good when it's murky and you have to take your gloves off to photograph them. The Minster at Ulm apparently has the highest spire in Europe, but we couldn't see the top of it.
We made a decision to flee south (I know we keep saying it, but we really are going now) but decided to do a bit of walking in the Black Forest before we left for France. We're so glad we did!
As we climbed the twisty, mountain roads we were aware that there were glimpses of sunshine peeking through the clouds. Suddenly we broke through the clouds and found ourselves in dazzling, warm sunshine. The view from the peak of Belchen (1414m) was spectacular and there were dozens of people who had travelled up the mountain top to walk, sit in the sun and enjoy looking down on a landscape that was like the view from an aeroplane or an ocean of cloud, with mountains peeking out like islands.
Current location – parked up in Hartheim, Germany, just short of the French border, our last chance to use our German 3G internet access to post this blog.
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