Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Karlstejn

We took a trip to Karlstejn early one morning, which was nice. On our way there, we drove through the Czech countryside, beautiful and very foggy. I love the fog, even though the scenery is beautiful without it.
The bus took an hour down a winding road to get to the 13th century castle. When we got there, we realized how big it was, and how huge of a walk that would be. So I did what I do best- I got other modes of transportation to the top.



Meet the transportation. Isn't it cute?

It was really sort of fairytale-like, driving up to the castle in a carriage in the fog. It was also really beautiful and still.



We took a tour of the castle, and were astounded at how huge it all is. Most of it is a Victorian-era refurbishment, but they have restored many of the original attributes. It was interesting in its own right architecturally. I didn't even attempt to walk up the largest of the towers, because...no. Just, no. But I liked staring at it from a distance. I also liked looking down from the turrets at the trees in the hills below, which were just beginning to turn their colors. It was actually very peaceful.

We walked some of the way back down, and I took the carriage back most of the rest of the way, giving my best "princess wave" as I passed my coworkers and friends on the road. I had them let me out at a restaurant, where some nice people treated me to the best pig's knee I have ever had. Yes, pig's knee. It's basically pork roast, which is large enough to feed at least 3 or 4 hungry people. It was delicious, along with the pancakes. Ah, the Czech diet. I loved it, despite the apparent lack of vegetable.

When we got back to the hotel that afternoon, all I did was settle in for a long nap before dinner.