Cesky Krumlov is the second most visited city in the Czech Republic. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site but may lose their status because they are replacing a wooden bridge with a modern bridge. Although it was a travel day it was broken up by many stops so the time flew by.

Our first major stop was at the only remaining forced labor camp that was run by the Soviets when Czechoslovakia was under the rule of Communism. These camps were secret and the locals did not even know they were there. This particular camp, Vojna, was mainly filled with educated dissidents who spoke against the Communist state. Their job was to extract uranium from mines so they could get an atomic bomb. Either way it was a death sentence to be sentenced to this camp. You either died because of the working conditions or you died from uranium poisoning after you were released. It was used as a forced labor camp between 1949 and 1961.

Must nicer on the continuing trip south was the cute little town of Pisek where we had lunch and gelato. They also have a sand sculpture contest (similar to Sarasota) and we watched some of the artists starting their sculptures.

The last stop was a little town built in the 1300s that rich people from Prague use as second homes. The dates on the homes that show in the 1800s refer to the date the houses were renovated. There were no stores, churches, etc, but they had a library.

Finally our arrival in Cesky Krumlov. There are no buses allowed in the main part of town so we were forced to roll our carry ons a very long way over cobbled streets, bridges and hills. The rest of the luggage was brought in by taxi. It is noted that they are currently filming a movie in front of our hotel with horses, 18th century carriages and semi trucks full of props. No problem with them on the streets.

The room is to die for until I saw Andy and Therese’s room. They have a king size bed, a single bed, a dining room table with 4 chairs, a desk, a hallway, and a 6 person walk in shower. The plan is that Andy is moving into my room and I am moving in with Therese.

Before dinner we went on a brief tour of the town. All of a sudden at approximately 6:15 PM the church bells started ringing. It took everyone a few seconds to realize that the new Pope had been chosen. We could not have been in a better place to experience this profound moment.

Our dinner was at a beautiful restaurant on the river. I throughly enjoyed my lentil curry with cauliflower.

Most impressive in this restaurant was the lighting fixture in the middle of the room. It is all made from clear glass dishes. I want this for the Creative Emporium. Andy agreed to do the welding if I can get Rick (hint, hint) to figure out the rest of it. Don’t worry Rick, I have lots of closeups!

Off to bed in a very cold bedroom that has no heat. This building was erected in the 1300s and has walls that are 3 feet thick so it probably wouldn’t have been cold if the maid hadn’t left the windows open. Thank goodness that the bed has 2 duvets.