Packs and Boots: old town

There is a lot of catching up to do, and I think the best way to do it is with photo tours. As Rachel said, we've had friends and family visiting for the past month, and we've had a great time. We'll definitely post pictures of that soon, but for now let's do a little recap. We were in Croatia about two months ago. From there we went to Vienna and then in mid- to late-May we traveled through the Czech Republic. It was beautiful. We saw many small towns, walked dirt roads in the country, met a local while canoeing who insisted we take a swig of rum with him, toured castles, drank mead, and ate an entire "rabbit feast". We were there for a little over a week.

This was our general path:

Here is a list of our major stops:

- Brno: We only stayed for an afternoon, as the city was a little large, and after Vienna we were looking for something smaller. Still, the people were friendly and it was a nice place.

- Telč: Stayed for three days in this small town. There was a festival going on where we feasted on Czech festival food like brats and piping hot, doughy treats. The dirt roads through the fields of canola outside town were beautiful.

- Slavonice: A village on the border of Austria, Slavonice was one of our favorite places. Again, the trails are picturesque and the Vienna-Prague Greenways (a long bike path) runs through here.

- Český Krumlov: This is where we went canoeing and enjoyed our mead and rabbit feast. Český Krumlov has a castle on a hill overlooking the river... and the area is a great spot to canoe.

- Prague: We spent three days here. It was rainy and overcast, but still a fun city with crowds of people visiting. We also got a chance to meet up with a friend of Rachel's for breakfast.

- Olomouc: Our last stop before heading to Poland. Another small town in the country with some good restaurants and tons of churches to tour.

We took a lot of photos, but here are the highlights. Enjoy!

The main square of Telč

Sunset in Telč

Our long bus ride(s) to Kotor, Montenegro consisted of two parts. Part 1 was about eight hours long. We whined, we complained, and we tried to sleep, all the way from Sofia, Bulgaria through Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. We had to stop at multiple border crossings because we hadn't yet entered the Schengen area. Border stops are always a thrill, especially in the middle of the night. We also had a few interesting experiences when we learned the bathrooms at rest stops cost 25 cents... in a currency we didn't have. (This is where I say thank you to the really nice Serbian college student I meant who gave me a handful of change so I could use the restroom in the middle of nowhere. Thank you, friendly stranger!!)

Part 2 was much shorter, but incredibly beautiful. When we woke up from our half-sleep, the sun was out and our bus was approaching the Bay of Kotor. Out of our slightly foggy windows, we could see lush mountains, and then bits of clear, turquoise water. Our bus began winding around the Bay of Kotor, giving us views of the little towns that filled each bit of flat land between the mountains and the sea.

Then, when we got off the bus, we were greeted by some new friends:

Kittens do a pretty good job of erasing any last bits of sleepiness and moodiness.

Even without the kittens greeting us at the bus station, we would've found it pretty difficult to be even a bit grumpy in the lovely old town of Kotor. The walled city is filled haphazardly with tiny alleyways that open into large, pleasant plazas lined with cafes and restaurants. The walled city is best by early morning or evening, when the crowds and tours disappear and your imagination can more easily transport you to another era.

They had ice cream cones in medieval times, right?

We got a different perspective of the old town by climbing up a mountain directly behind the town. We climbed up the old, slightly crumbling walls and made it to the top of the hill to the old fortress. The views from atop the mountain were incredible; we could see the old town, plus the bay and the peaks that surround it. If you plan to make the climb, make sure to wear flats. We saw a number of women in heels attempting to make the climb. Stilettos and crumbling stairs don't mix.

Old town from above

Walking along the old wall

A piece of the fortress

Just relaxing on some ruins

Yeah, that's another terrifying bridge

You can see the walls, plus the older and new parts of Kotor

That's where we climbed. You can kind of see the walls in the hills. Forgive my expression; Tom made me point

One day, we decided to walk along the bay to a nearby town. It was a little farther than we expected--about 7 miles. When we got too hot, we dove into the cool water. (Okay, Tom dove in. I dipped in a toe and an ankle because, well, I'm a wimp about cold water.)