Baden-Württemberg, Champagne Bucket trips, Eastern Europe, trip planning

Ten things I learned this time in BW and Czechia…

It’s time now for my customary “ten things I learned post”. Since this wasn’t our first time in the Czech Republic, I’ve already done a “ten things I learned” post for the country. Nevertheless, this most recent trip was very educational and entertaining on many levels. We really enjoyed ourselves, but we also learned a lot. Besides, people seem to like these summary posts better than my usual detailed postings. So here goes…

*Cesky Krumlov will take your breath away… especially if you climb the castle tower.*

10. Cesky Krumlov is well worth visiting for a day or two.

I mentioned that Bill and I visited Cesky Krumlov for a few hours back in 2009. I thought the town was really adorable then, and vowed to go back someday. This time, we stayed there for two nights. I think one full day in Cesky Krumlov is probably sufficient for most people, although we certainly could have enjoyed another full day there. I don’t know if I’ll go out of my way to return, but I wouldn’t object to it. It’s a beautiful town and well worth a stop if you’re in Czechia.

9. English is widely spoken in the tourist areas of Czechia.

On prior visits to Czechia, we noticed that it was helpful to speak some German. This time, we noticed that a whole lot of people are fluent in English. It’s not a given than they will be, but there’s a good chance that if you go to a touristy area, you don’t have to worry about a language barrier if you are an English speaker.

8. Brno is well worth a stop!

Of all the places we planned to visit when we were coming up with our itinerary, Brno intrigued me the most. I had read that it is an “up and coming” destination in Czechia. It’s not as handsome and charming as Prague is, but it’s definitely got its own vibe. And if you like caving, it’s a must visit destination, as there are several show caves there that are beautiful and worth seeing. I will never forget our visit to the Punkva Caves. I also noticed that Brno was not as heavily touristed as Prague and Cesky Krumlov. For that reason alone, it may be worth putting on your itinerary.

*Choosing to eat here put us in contact with a local…*

7. Someone may be watching you when you’re eating at the street food fest…

We certainly weren’t expecting to encounter an unhoused woman when we sat down to have lunch at a street food fest in Brno. But she did us a favor by eating our leftovers, and teaching us a thing or two about charity and not wasting food. And while I didn’t leave Brno with any artwork, I did leave with a memory and a great story. I doubt I’ll forget it anytime soon.

*Where we spotted a very determined nutria…*

6. Prague has surprising “wild kingdom” moments…

I don’t know if I’d ever heard of nutria (otherwise known as coypu) before I spotted one swimming in the Vltava River in Prague. At first, I thought maybe I was watching an otter or some kind of beaver, but I’m pretty sure I saw a nutria, an animal that has taken up residence in Prague and is apparently causing issues.

*Unusual tufa cave with cauliflower rock formations.*

5. If you’re near Lichtenstein Castle on the first Sunday of the warm months, you should visit Olgahöhle!

Again, this is a suggestion for those who like visiting caves. This cave is kind of special, and it’s only open on the first Sunday of the warm months. We happened to be able to visit by chance, and it was well worth the stop.

4. You can now purchase vignettes for Czechia online and there’s no longer a need for stickers.

This was a really welcome and convenient development for our trip. We were able to buy our vignette online, allowing us to use Czechia’s high speed highways. There was no need to put a sticker on the windshield. And the day before it expired, they helpfully sent a reminder email.

3. But the backroads are still in need of repair…

Our trip required some detours on secondary roads. A lot of them were in need of repair, thanks to potholes and other issues. On the other hand, they can take you to some great places, like the cool burger place we found because Bill needed to pee.

2. The people of Czechia are very warm and hospitable…

I can’t think of a single incident during our trip where we didn’t encounter very pleasant and warm people, especially in the hotels and restaurants. It definitely lent to the country’s charm and makes me want to go back again and again. This is also a great place for shopping, especially if you’re looking for art and unique toys.

The food, wine, and beer is very hearty… but if you want to, you can easily burn it off!

I was amazed anew by how rich and filling the food was on this trip. As heavy as German food can be, I think the Czechs have them beat! But I also found myself working hard, walking, climbing stairs, enjoying nature, and burning that fuel quite handily. Czech wine is pretty decent, by the way. I might not choose it over Italian wine, but it probably deserves a lot more attention than it gets. The beer is, of course, excellent and noticeably different from Germany’s beers.

So… that about does it for our most recent trip to BW and Czechia. We meant to see our dentist in Stuttgart and take in the sights in one of our favorite European countries. We missed the dentist, but sure made up for it with good times, new experiences, new friends, and fun. I hope if you’re inspired to visit the Czech Republic, you will take the plunge! I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!

caves, Sundays

A very special Sunday in southern Germany… part two of our 2023 Czech tour!

Sunday morning, Bill went to the bakery to get us some breakfast. He had already gone to the store the night before to get snacks, wine, and orange juice, so his bakery stop was just for croissants and coffee. We could have had the breakfast at the hotel on Sunday, but we decided not to bother with it. Hotel breakfasts are often pretty overpriced, and we had already paid for the room.

While we were eating, I discovered that we happened to be in the area at a fortuitous time… if you like visiting caves, that is. On the first Sunday of the warm months, a local caving club opens the Olgahöhle. Since it was the first Sunday of October, they opened the cave to the public (it can also be booked by special request). We decided to head to Lichtenstein-Honau, the little village where the cave is located. We happened to catch the last tour date until spring.

I have already written about our visit to this very special cave, but in the interest of continuity, I will recap a bit with this post and add some more photos. There was a group of German teenagers at the cave, notable because it’s a primary cave made of tufa, a type of stone. Unlike most other caves, this particular cave isn’t formed from limestone. It’s also described as a “very young” cave, as it formed post Ice Age.

As caves go, this one was pretty easy to visit. There was just one flight of stairs to go up and down. The tour was done in German, but we managed to understand a little of what was said. Plus, the club had information in English for us, which was handy. A few of these photos are in the earlier post about this cave, but I figure I might as well share them again. Check out the cauliflower rock!

A few seconds of water dripping in the cave… Water is an artist in its own way.

While we were waiting for our turn to tour the cave, I looked up and noticed the dramatic sight of Lichtenstein Castle, which is a gorgeous Schloss on a mountain top. Bill and I tried to visit the castle after our visit to the cave, but there was no parking anywhere. It was okay, though, since we’d been there before and I already had many beautiful pictures of the grounds. I was glad to be able to take photos from another vantage point, down in a village overlooked by the castle.

It also turned out to be lucky that we missed the castle, because if we’d gone there, we would have missed watching sheep cross the road to another pasture, as well as meeting a couple from Augsburg. We ate lunch at Nebelhöhle Cave, which we chose not to tour, since we’ve been there before. Instead, we just hung out and people watched, enjoying the fantastic weather.

Please excuse Neil Diamond and my goofy comments and laughter…

I got some very pretty photos of the trees that were just about to turn into a spectacular color show… It was just a great day to be in that part of Germany!

When we got back to the hotel, we decided to change into cooler clothes. We were dressed for a chilly cave, which it actually wasn’t on October 1. Since it was Sunday and we’d had a rather active day, we decided to stay in and watch goofy German game shows while we ate pizza from the local joint. I suspect that some Germans have learned some English from watching South Park. This one show we watched involved the host holding up a fake piece of shit. One of the contestants called it a “hankey”, as in Mr. Hankey, the Christmas poo. But a “hankey” or a “hanky” is actually a handkerchief, not a piece of shit. On the other hand, maybe it was an actual Mr. Hankey doll. Who knows? If that’s the case, then the contestant wasn’t wrong to call it that.

Eh well… yet another one of the thoughts that kept me out of the really good schools…

Stay tuned for part 3!

caves, Sundays

Another weekend, another cave…

Hello travel blog fans! Bill and I arrived in beautiful Tübingen yesterday. I wrote a little bit about yesterday’s adventures in my main blog. There isn’t much to the post, though, other than a photo that will get shared here when I write up the whole story of this trip. I wanted to write about today right now, so I don’t forget anything. We’ve had an extraordinary day, and I don’t want to forget any details, so I’m going to write a fairly detailed post today.

We were trying to figure out how we wanted to spend our Sunday, since we had no plans for today. We thought about going to the Mineraltherme, which is one of our favorite places around here. But Bill was kind of lukewarm on the idea. Then I remembered last week, I looked up caves near this area for my post about the Kubach Crystal Cave in Hessen. I recalled that there was one cave we hadn’t been to called the Olgahöhle. Even though last week’s excursion was physically challenging for me, I was easily convinced that this was a cave we should see.

The Olgahöhle is kind of a special cave, because it is the longest tufastein cave in Germany, and the first German show cave to get electric lighting. Prior to the Olga Cave’s receiving electric lighting, there was only one other cave in the entire world that had electric lighting, the Kraushöhle in Austria. This cave was named after Queen Olga von Württemberg, and was found by Johann Ziegler during quarrying of tufa in 1874. Ten years later, it was turned into a show cave, which it remains today, albeit with limited showings.

I’ve mentioned a lot that I have a special bond with Armenia. Well, in Armenia, many buildings are made of tufa, which is the very same type of stone that makes up the Olga Cave. Unlike many caves near it, the Olga Cave is not made of limestone. It’s also a primary cave, making it rare.

The Olga Cave is staffed by clubs, and it’s only possible to visit with a guide. Consequently, it has very limited opening hours. Usually, it can be visited on the first Sunday of every month from March until November, or by special appointment. It costs 3 euros per adult to visit, and group rates are available. Since today happens to be the first Sunday of the month, we decided we had to visit it. So we took off for Lichtenstein-Honau, which happens to be where the gorgeous Lichtenstein Castle is. We visited the castle in September 2016, but when we were at the cave today, I looked up and saw it from a new perspective. I wasn’t expecting that!

*Schloss Lichtenstein from another perspective!*

Our tour was with a large group of German teenagers. Compared to last week, it was a very easy cave to explore, with only one big flight of stairs. The tour was only about a half hour or so, and the guide didn’t know we were Americans until the very end. But it was okay, because the lady who sold Bill the tickets gave him a binder with information in English. I got a lot of photos!

After our tour, we headed up to the castle, thinking we could score some lunch there. We weren’t the only ones with that idea, though… and there was absolutely no parking to be found, whatsoever. So we decided to go to the nearby Nebelhöhle Cave… another place we’ve visited in the past. On our way there, we ran into a shepherd moving a huge flock of sheep and lambs across the road. I got a few photos and video clips, which I will share later, once I’ve had a chance to edit the video.

We managed to find a spot at the cave, then walked down to the outdoor restaurant, which seems to specialize in Maultaschen. I was going to have that today, but they gave Bill some with mushrooms and hunter (mushroom) sauce all over it! So I had tuna salad, and Bill ate the Maultaschen.

The place was quite crowded, which is natural, given how very beautiful the weather is today. Twice, we were joined by German couples. The first couple was obviously very curious about us, but didn’t seem to speak much English. Bill told them we were “on holiday”. But the second couple, who brought with them their adorable border collie, turned out to speak English very well… and we had a great visit with them! They were also from Wiesbaden, although they live in Augsburg now.

I ended up sharing the name of the blog with them, and they laughed. After I explained my history, they totally understood why I would call myself The Overeducated Housewife. I ended up writing the blog name on a dental floss sample package! Then they were surprised by the spelling of “traveling”. They didn’t realize we have different spellings from British English for certain words in the US.

We had such a beautiful day today… even though I decided I didn’t want to explore the other cave. It was just as much fun to sit and people watch, joke about tuna salad, and talk to the very friendly folks who live in Augsburg and visit Sonnenbuehl, which is where the husband works. His wife said that he works there and has a flat, so they came to enjoy the German Reunification Holiday weekend.

It’s days like today that really make me appreciate my good fortune all the more. It is a real treat to get to live in this country. And having a reason to come down here every six months makes me all the gladder that we kept our Stuttgart area dentist. It’s also a treat to be in this beautiful city again. We have really missed our old stomping grounds!

Below are a few photos from today. I will add more next week, when I write the series for this trip.