In late September, we set out on a Eurotrip across three countries: the Czech Republic, Germany, and Austria. Brian's parents, Kevin and Judy, met us in Prague for this road trip. We spent just a few days in Prague before heading west.
Stop One: Prague, Czech Republic
Brian's parents spent a few days in Prague exploring the city before we got there, but I managed to get to visit Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral again, which I loved on our trip last year.
Never try to cross the Charles Bridge on a Saturday afternoon.
Another peek inside St. Vitus Cathedral, one of my favorite things about Prague.
At Prague Castle, you can shoot the crossbow for $2.00. I did it last year and failed miserably. Brian's dad Kevin decided to try it this year.
He did awesome! Hit the center twice!
Another view of St. Vitus from outside.
The lion and the eagle are part of the coat of arms of the Czech Republic.
Stop Two: Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic
We headed west to visit the impossibly cute village of Cesky Krumlov. This picturesque town has become decidedly more touristy in the last few years, but it's touristy for a reason! It was very beautiful, clean, and had some interesting sites to see!
On a walk from our pension house to city center... so pretty!
A view of the castle in town
Looking out from the castle to the city
And this guy... such a good model.
Basically every street we walked down in Cesky Krumlov was this adorable.
I stalked this guy while he was drawing haha
One last shot of Cesky Krumlov! So pretty!
Pit Stop: Ceske Budejovice and the original Budweiser Budvar Brewery
We took a side trip from Cesky Krumlov one day to drink some beer. The town: Ceske Budejovice. The beer: Budvar. The claim to fame: They were the original brewers of Budweiser. The story was that the Busch family came to Ceske Budejovice, had their beer, and went back to America and tried to recreate it. Thus, Budweiser American beer was born. Brian thinks Czech Budweiser is more delicious.
Someone was really excited to see this brewery...
Like, really excited...
In the tasting room. Probably after the tasting.
I always think the packaging sections of factories are fascinating!
Pit Stop: Apple Picking
Somewhere in the Czech countryside, we were driving along and kept seeing all these apple trees along the side of the road. After seeing a couple dozen, I decided I couldn't take it anymore and I had to try one! So we pulled off on the side of the road to pick some.
Picking apples off the side of the road.
They looked pretty. They tasted horrible.
Stop Three: Munich, Germany
After we had purchased plane tickets and set our itinerary, we started booking hotel rooms. Brian was initially surprised to see that a room in Munich cost ~$700 per night. SURPRISE - IT WAS OKTOBERFEST!!!! Luckily we found a reasonable room in a farm community at the end of the metro line. It smelled like cows but it was way less than $700 a night. We did not originally plan on visiting Oktoberfest, but since we were in town we had to stop by to see what the fuss was about.
Entering the festival. Almost everyone was dressed in traditional Bavarian outfits. We, unfortunately, were not.
The different breweries had their beer wagons in front of their tents.
Inside the Hofbrauhaus tent. Everyone is just there to drink beer. It was this crowded on a weekday at 2 pm. I think the weekend nights must have been insanity.
You have two choices at Oktoberfest: Beer or Radler (or non-alcoholic beer, but why?). A radler is beer mixed with lemonade or sprite. Kevin much preferred radlers.
Judy got in on the action.
You find a spot at a communal table. The German boys at the table with us didn't speak much English, but the language of beer drinking transcends national borders.
I enjoyed my radler.
The waitresses have an insane ability to carry a load of beer at one time. One of the empty steins was heavy enough... this was an incredible feat of strength to carry so many full ones.
If you stand up and chug your beer or race someone else at your table, everyone around will cheer for you.
We didn't go to this beer house but I really liked their lion.
We had to visit the Glockenspiel while in Munich! We stayed and watched the little show put on by the mechanical figures on the tower, which tells two stories from the 16th century. It was oddly long - over 10 minutes!
Someone was enthralled by it.
A view of the whole town hall building.
There were many beer gardens throughout Munich! We enjoyed the one in Vikualienmarkt because there were a ton of food stalls and farmers market booths to choose from.
We met some nice German men and they shared some great tips on our next stop in Germany.
Pit Stop: Cake with a View
After leaving Munich, we headed toward Garmisch-Partenkirchen, a city on the border of Germany and Austria. On the way, we stopped at a few churches and a place with good cakes and an even better view.
Lovely!
The cake place had cows!
Brian enjoying his cake and the view.
Not mad to look at this while eating cheesecake!
Stop Four: Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
Garmisch was the site of the 1936 Winter Olympics! Also the site of many fun things to do. We stayed in a great AirBnB that had a super view of the Zugspitze, Germany's tallest mountain.
Cute street with the announcement of the birth of a baby in the apartment next door.
Enjoying some appetizers on the balcony on a brisk autumn day.
Our favorite thing in Garmisch was an alpine coaster. You take a ski lift up to the top of a mountain (or I guess you could hike it, but why?), and then take a sled back down. This track was 2 kilometers long and full of turns.
Ready to begin our coaster adventure! You had to stay 25 meters away from the person in front of you, but you could go as fast as you wanted! Top speed was ~25 miles per hour!
Kevin and Judy went down after us. They went decidedly slower than us, judging by the faces of the group of teenagers that looked disappointed in their ride when they arrived at the bottom. Kevin and Judy said they had fun, but had no interest in doing it a second time.
This area was really pretty, especially when the fog came in!
Ettal Abbey, a monastery near Garmisch with 50 or so monks.
They not only have a brewery (brauerei), but also a distillery, bookstore, art house, and cheese factory.
On one of the days in Garmisch we took a hike around an alpine lake called Eisbee Lake. Though not the most beautiful day, the lake was quite pretty.
The lake had gorgeous turquoise water, but unfortunately it was foggy and gray outside.
Day Trip: Neuschwanstein Castle
On another particularly dreary day, we took a day trip from Garmisch-Partenkirchen to Neuschwanstein Castle. This palace was built by King Ludwig II and was the inspiration for Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty castle.
Yucky day.
The castle looked pretty neat with all the fog, though!
Us with the castle! We took the tour but unfortunately no pictures allowed inside. But it was a great tour!!!
A view of the city below the castle with all that fog.
Stop Five: Salzburg, Austria
We left Germany and headed to Austria. Kevin and Judy were originally planning to leave us and head back home after Germany, but when Judy found out we were going to Salzburg and taking the Sound of Music tour, they decided to stay a few extra days!
Kevin had not ridden a bicycle in about 50 years, no exaggeration. They let us show up early to practice.
They took us to where many scenes were shot for the movie The Sound of Music. There was also singing involved.
Bike selfie with the nice couple who didn't leave Judy behind.
The fountain where Maria splashed around before taking the job at the Von Trapp's home.
The mountains in the back are where the family escapes the Nazis (although if you cross these mountains it's still 160 miles to the border...).
The Nonnberg Abbey where Maria comes from originally and where she hides from the Von Trapp children after quitting.
Us in front of the (back of the) Von Trapp house!
And the house that they used as the front of the Von Trapp house. This was the driveway where they sneaked out to try to get away from the Nazis.
Our tour guide was clearly into The Sound of Music. Basically all the Austrians we met had never seen the movie before.
Stop Six: The Czech Wine Country (Moravia)
After leaving Austria and sending Kevin and Judy back to Munich to catch their flight, we headed back to the Czech Republic and spent a few days in the wine region in some super tiny towns called Valtice, Lednice, and Mikulov. Each of these towns had a huge chateau, some delicious wine, and really cheap food.
The Chateau at Valtice
The Chateau of Lednice
The less ornate but much larger chateau at Mikulov
We did a wine tasting at Valtice. It was ~$15 for 2.5 hours of wine drinking.
Someone got a little silly and got fussed at by the sommelier for "drinking" instead of tasting.
Though it was past harvest time, there were a few vines that still had grapes.
We tasted them and they were good! But seedy.
Stop Seven: The Return to Prague
We headed back to Prague for a day to work off our wine hangover and drop off our rental car. With only one night left, we booked a photo tour which ended up being a lot of fun. A local photographer showed us around and helped me work my camera, which I've owned for 3 years but barely know how to use.
Astronomical Clock in Prague
Opera House
All the bridges!
Our last time up here it was very foggy and gray but this time was nice and sunny.
Down by the water front, the geese got the leftover bread from the restaurants nearby.
The Charles Bridge from the waterfront
We busted out the tripod and played around in the evening light.
We finished up our photo tour at the foot of the Charles Bridge at night! Beautiful!
We enjoyed our Eurotrip with Kevin and Judy! Next stop: Italy. Blog coming soon.
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