Discovering The Wild West in Central Europe

As one can imagine, the last two days have continued on pace with the first three. Tuesday was our second day in České Krumlov, and it was just as enchanting as the first. We enjoyed a private tour of the castle and its incredible Baroque Theatre, lunch at the local Eggenberg Brewery, a meeting with the mayor of České Krumlov, and a short interview with a reporter from a local weekly publication. In the evening, we had our first official gathering with the local Rotary clubs and shared our presentation about District 6980 and our professions.

On Wednesday morning, we headed south to Vyšší Brod, which is located 5km from the Austrian border in the Šumava mountains. There we toured the historic Cistercian monastery, an impressive Gothic compound which houses a 70,000-volume library dating back to 13th century. After having lunch in Vyšší Brod, we headed back to České Krumlov to collect our belongings and head directly to Prague to spend the evening with our new host families.

Over the course of these adventures, we have spent much time with the local Rotarians as they have  chauffeured us from the different towns and places-of-interest. In addition to the breathtaking countryside, one unexpected highlight has been the music we've heard while traveling in our hosts' cars. Although I am not a regular purveyor of classical music, there is something that just seems right about driving through the green and yellow Bohemian countryside listening to Antonin Dvořák and Bedřich Smetana, two of the country's most renowned composers, who happened to be a favorite of Alanna's host father in České  Budějovice.
Classical music is an esteemed art form in the Czech Republic, and it is still very much a popular genre. Yet, it's certainly not the only genre we've been exposed to...

I was caught by surprise when my  host father cranked up the soundtrack from the 1960s German-made Western movie based on German author Karl May's adventures of Old Shatterhand and Winnetou. Who would have thought that we would be transported to the American Wild West while traversing through Southern Bohemia!?!? It was certainly an unexpected experience. Yet, for this cowboy at heart, it was quite an enjoyable one!

-Justin

The Vyšší Brod Monastery

We have experienced the flavor of the Czech's South!