Eating Japanese pizza in Svitavy, Czech Republic

The main reason for our visit to Svitavy was because my paternal grandmother was born here in 1905. At the time, the area was mainly German speaking, and that was my grandmother’s native language. Her father was a Protestant minister and he had accepted a vicar position at a local church. The family lived here until my grandmother was eight years old when they moved to a town 80 kms north of Prague, closer to the German border.

Kutna Hora to Svitavy

It had been raining off and on all morning yesterday and so we just sat in out room and took advantage of the internet. Our train didn’t leave until 12:20pm so we really didn’t have to rush out.

Hiking around Kutna Hora

We had enough of the touristy things and although we've probably been walking 10kms (6 miles) a day anyhow, we decided to go for a hike. The tourist office had given us a map, and there are a lot of well marked hiking and biking trails in Czech Republic.

A Cool Mine on a Hot Day

Cool, as in cooler than it was outside! We are having all the summer that we didn't get in England. It was another 32C (89F) day here in Kutna Hora, Czech Republic and so we chose the early afternoon to go on a mine tour where the temperature was a lot cooler.

Kutna Hora and the Sedlec Bone Church

Do you know what an "ossuary" is? We wouldn't have known, but after visiting one, we know now! An ossuary is a place where skeletal human remains are stored, usually to conserve space. The village of Sedlec near the town of Kutna Hora has one such ossuary. And it is strange indeed!

Prague to Kutna Hora

Yesterday was a travel day, and that can be more interesting than exploring! The day started off with us having no idea where we were going to be sleeping last night because we didn't hear back from a couchsurfing host that we had made plans with.

Exploring Prague

Our couchsurfing host Maria took us in her car to the subway (underground) station nearest her home. She was going into the city anyhow, so it was nice to have someone with us to show us how the transportation and ticketing system works.

We made it to Prague!

I am typing this at 7:30am on a beautiful morning watching the sun rise over the landscape on the outskirts of Prague, Czech Republic. We are in a new country! This is the first new country we have visited since Portugal in 2007.

A fantastic last day in England!

We've actually got most of today as well, because our flight to Prague, Czech Republic doesn't leave until 6:20pm. But today will be a day of rest because yesterday was most certainly NOT a day of rest!

Has summer finally arrived in England?

We've had two days in a row of decent weather...and it looks like a third one is off to a good start this morning! So we're heading for the seaside today!

Steaks for dinner!

Went for two short walks yesterday, one in the morning, and one in the afternoon. Only a short shower in the morning, and then a nice afternoon.

Oh, my aching muscles...

I am apparently not used to a hard days work. Or, this type of work is better suited to someone younger than me. Probably a combination of things. Either way, we did get a lot done yesterday. Just paying for it today, that's all!

Clarks Shoe Museum

A shoe museum? Yep. When it pours with rain all day long you have to look for indoor things to do. And actually, this free shoe museum in Street, Somerset is worth a stop.

4 Mile Hike

It cleared up enough yesterday for us to go for a nice hike. We decided on one that starts at Ham Hill and hopped in the car after lunch for the short drive to the parking area.

Six days to go...

It is almost a good thing that we have had so much rain because although it has hampered our outdoor activities a bit, it has also allowed me to do lots of planning for our upcoming trip to Eastern Europe.

King Alfred's Tower

Back in 1762, a banker by the name of Henry Hoare II decided to build a tower in the middle of nowhere, and with no purpose. Bankers can do things like this, because they have so much excess money. Even back in 1762!

Wells Cathedral is Amazing!

Yesterday afternoon we went to wander around the city of Wells. The city itself has a population of about 12,000. Wells is officially the smallest city in England, where you obtain official city status because you have a cathedral. And Wells most certainly has a cathedral!

An 800 Year Old Church

That's still in use today. When you visit a town who's referenced history goes back to the year 733, it's a pretty safe bet there will be some old buildings to see. Yesterday, we visited Somerton (pop 4,700).

Korunas, Zlotys, and Forints

Oh, and of course Euros. We plan on being in four different countries during our six and a half week tour of Eastern Europe. And each country uses a different currency.

Sore muscles

A little late getting to the blog post this morning. We've been busy making more travel plans, and we'll be able to tell you about them soon! In the meantime, we're keeping busy in Somerset, England. Only a week and a half to go until we leave for our six week tour of Eastern Europe!

We can see the sea!

We've been in England for about a month now and yesterday we had our first view of the sea. Well, it was the Bristol Channel actually, but it does look out into the sea!

Castle Cary

Yet another cloudy day yesterday, but it didn't start raining until the afternoon. Tony was going into the village of Castle Cary to get some new tires on his work van, so we followed along in the car just for something to do.

A surprisingly nice day!

There's been so much rain here that it's become kind of expected. It's pretty much a given that it's going to rain tomorrow. Even the forecast didn't show any sun. So when the clouds disappear, it's a nice surprise.

How do we research a trip?

Not much to write about this morning because it rained pretty much all day yesterday. Reader Joe in Indiana had asked the other day if we would talk a little about how we research a trip and he's right that our upcoming Czech Republic and area excursion makes for a good example.

Nine mile hike in the rain

While much of Canada and the U.S. experiences summer, we here in England have been left behind. July the 6th felt like mid April! But that didn't stop us from going out for a nice hike at Burrington Combe.

A Tower on Top of a Tor

Well I tried to go to work yesterday, but when we got there our third helper cancelled on us. So it's now been put off, possibly until next week. I guess I just wasn't meant to get in a full days work! Oh well, that's my lot in life.

A rare post from Ruth

Well today you will get a post by me, Ruth.  Kevin went out the door this morning at 7:30am with Tony to help him put up the ceiling at Kelly and Paul's place.

Next stop, Czech Republic!

My older sister Elaine, was the correct one to guess Czech Republic yesterday. And no, she didn't have any hints. Other than the fact that she knows I like to do family history research, and that our paternal grandmother was born in that area.

Went to Bath and had a shower

My uncle and some of his family are having a vacation in England just now, and it turned out that we were getting fairly close to each other. So we drove up to Bath to have lunch with them!

Scrumpy Cider

Spent the morning on the internet researching our next destination, and in the afternoon went for a walk and then had a look at some British motorhomes.

Finally, a nice relaxing day!

As much as we've enjoyed touring London, Leeds, and Bristol over the last two and a half weeks, we were due for a break. Pretty much all we did yesterday was to go for a two hour walk in the country.

June expenses

June came in at $1,570.10. About $250 over budget, and a big chunk of that came from eating out. We include eating out under the "Entertainment" column because it is somewhat discretionary, and we did that far more than normal in the month of June.