So, I figured that I'd just knock out the last three days all in one go.  Turns out that one post per day equates to a lot of posts.  Who knew?

Aaanyway, so we're in Moravia (eastern portion of Cz, the western half is Bohemia.  you're shocked that Bohemia is a real place aren't you?  and you weren't expecting it to be in Czech Republic, right?  Yep, I was too.).  We're in the mountains in Moravia and we finally found our friends at their rental cottage.  The rain from the night before has passed and we're taking our time getting ourselves together in the morning, trying to figure out if there's a hike nearby that we can do and spending some time with the kids.  

We decided on visiting the legendary Radhost for our hike.  Unfortunately, Vasa and family were unable to join us for the walk, so we got ourselves together and headed out (yes, I am that short that a kid in elemetary school is almost as tall as I am!).  Unfortunately, we discovered that Radhost was packed because there was a festival going on, so we went the opposite direction on our hike, but it was still a lovely walk... and we all discovered how out of shape we were.  Yikes.  In my defense, we don't have hills here in Florida, so I'm totally going to use that as my excuse. :)  The wild blueberries were in season, and they were just fantastic.  Very different from the blueberries that grow here.

We left for Prague from the forest and spent the night in a wonderful little hostel.  We had a full day of wandering and then met up with our brother-in-law, Richard, who happened to be there on business that night!  This whole trip was like a family reunion. :)  We took a 'free tour' and saw all of the major sites that day.  I highly recommend the free tour because the guides only work on tips, so whatever you decide to tip them, if anything, is all that you pay.  Our guide was fantastic and I learned one or two new things.  I used my film camera for much of this day as well, so I'm anxious to see how those images came out.

This photo (above) shows a copy of the death mask of one of the protestors from January 1969, Jan Palach.  He was a student of the univeristy who burned himself at the top of the Vaclavske Namesti (Wenceslass Square) to bring attention to the inactivity of the Czech people against their Russian oppressors.  He is a very important figure in Czech history, and my sense is that his memory is held close tot he hearts of many Czechs.

Prague is a beautiful place, but my heart is in Plzen. I headed there the next day by train, while my brother and Sam hit the road back to Italy.

It was great to be back in my old home.  The first day I met up with a friend, Jirka, and we just sat caught up for quite a while.  Then we both went to Čuba's house in Dobrany (a tiny town outside of Plzen were both he and Vasa live), where I stayed that night and the next.  We made a point to stop at Modra Hvezda (the local brewery) during our first evening.  I love that place. :)

I spent the next day in Plzen and for the evening we made home-made little pizzas in Cuba's backyard oven, played with our cameras, and drank wine under the stars.  It was a fantastic evening and made it extra hard to leave.  There is nothing in the world like Cuba's house... it's like a little oasis of safety and joy.

Zeme Ceske, Domov Muj <3

Want more Europalooza? Check out Day 9!

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