Fun times in Czech

So there's more to the Czech Republic than just Prague.  Pretty sweet to be traveling with good friends who know the area and took me to some cool small towns.  The film festival in Karlovy Vary was awesome.  Great vibes the whole time, packed full of people and was the complete opposite of the Cannes Film Festival with all its' restricted areas, tuxedos and no tickets.  This festival was laid back, with tickets available on and off, and had Czech film stars walking around with the people.  John Travolta stayed to himself at the big fancy hotel though, although he made quite an appearance Friday at Opening Night which we missed.  He was all over the newspapers though.

Karlovy Vary is known for it's spas.  The doctors there prescribe treatment for each individual, of which the most important thing to do is drink from the natural springs under the city.  There are a variety of temperatures, and each spring has a different name.  Of course I had to try them all, each tasting too full of nutrients (mainly iron) and being quite warm.  After a while, I was more about the hotter temperatures, and felt the strength of youth returning. 

We had a day trip out to the small town of Loket, to feed the goats on the hillside, check out the awesome castle and eat some more local Czech food.  Very cool town which you can walk all over in under an hour.  A nice spot, a little off the beaten path.  The river flows through this town as in most, and it's a popular Czech thing to go floating on the rivers in canoes and rafts for several days at a time.  The popular greeting to yell at the rafters is "Ahoj" and they properly return it. The kids definitely return it and kept on yelling and waving for 5 minutes (not the fastest of rivers, hence the paddles).

After the weekend, it was back to Prague to do my usual walk all over town thing for hours.  Good to see the city again, after spending time there in the past.  Cool to remember our family Christmas there a few years back.  Later on, a beer in a hillside park to watch the sunset over the city on the last night with my friends and others.  Fun times in the Czech Republic!