Barcelona by night

This past weekend I was lucky enough to go to Barcelona with Erin. It was a fun, relaxing weekend and Barcelona is gorgeous. Unfortunately, it seems that just as I was pushing myself to shoot more, my digital camera breathed its last breath. So it goes.

Jezdí vlakem

And finally, the last leg of the journey: a train back to Prague after a short ride over the German border. A beautiful, scenic trip through Czech countryside. When I take trips in the Czech Republic, between biking and trains the journey is often my favorite part.

Na kole, vole!

On the way back from Dresden, our bike gang stopped at a small pub in Děčín for a few much needed beers. We decided we needed a name to embroider on our forthcoming matching cardigans (ha?) and after quite a few duds, Vojta announced "Na kole, vole" (By bike, dude!) which received a warm reaction from our inebriated server. So, that was that.

A good story

So, as a result of the impulsive nature of our decision to head to Dresden, we had to find some last minute accommodations. So, that's where the squat came in. Yes, we stayed in a squat- a rather clean one, though, if I do say so myself. It was certainly an interesting night (and morning for that matter) and undoubtedly makes a good story.

Dresden

Somewhat of an impulsive decision, Erin and I decided to spend a couple days in Dresden with our buddies Andrea and Vojta. Beautiful weather (until the downpour) and a cool festival in Neustadt made for a lovely weekend.

En route to Dresden

My roommate and all-around veracious sidekick Erin got a bike built at Bicykl! Rather great timing, as she received it around the same time my cast came off. Over the weekend, we decided to meet up with some friends in Dresden. To save money, we took a local train from Prague to Děčín and then rode our bikes to the first stop in Germany, Bad Schandau. It was a gorgeous, leisurely ride - it felt amazing to be back on my bike.

Sulk City

Due to my unfortunate accident, I spent about 7 weeks off my bike. All of a sudden, I had all of this free time. Perhaps a more rational and resourceful person would focus on other things in their life but I spent those weeks focusing on how much bike riding I wasn't doing. I still got out and had a lot of lovely times but let's just say I wasn't myself.

Riegrač

The always beautiful view from our favorite drinking spot.

Dubrovník, Croatia

And our final stop: Dubrovník, Croatia to stay with a friend of my father's. Dubrovník is obviously gorgeous but it was strange to see a town that is primarily made up of tourists. Say what you will about the number of American English teachers in Prague, it's got nothing on Dubrovník. I believe there are only 900 Croatians that live there permanently: of course, during the summer months, the city is packed with tourists. We joined in on the fun and then took the afternoons off at the beach.

Vienna, Austria

After Lednice, my family and I continued onto Moravia. It was my fourth time in Vienna and luckily this time I took a few days to leisurely take in the city. I absolutely love it there.

Lednice

The last couple weeks my family was visiting me in Europe. The first couple days we spent in Prague, seeing the typical sights. Next, I somewhat impulsively took my family on a scenic train ride to a small town on the Moravia-Austria border. Good nature and good wine made for a nice stop on the way to Vienna.