More pictures

Cesky Krumlov

I just love the buildings here!
Divčí Kámen - castle ruins

Zuzana and her son, Samuel

A beautiful view on our walk back

House Shoes

For the most part, house shoes are an option in the U.S. People generally wear them either because they are more comfortable than regular shoes or because their feet are cold. However, in the Czech, "regular" shoes are not allowed in the house. When you enter a Czech home, the first thing you do is take off your shoes. You then either walk around in your socks or put on some house shoes. In fact, many homes have some sort of storage that you place your "regular" shoes on while you visit.

Let me note a couple benefits of not wearing "regular" shoes in the house. First of all, you don't have to worry about your floors getting scuffed up. Secondly, your floors don't get as dirty or muddy. Lastly, and my favorite reason, since the floors don't get as dirty, you have less cleaning to do.

You will notice that I have some "elf" shoes on in the picture. In the schools, children are required to bring another pair of shoes to wear inside. Thus, visitors who do not bring their own pair of house shoes, are required to wear shoe coverings. The blue "elf" shoes were my "house shoes"!

Being a tourist :)

So, I finally decided to do a little bit of sight seeing. Yesterday, I ventured out on my own to visit the square in C. Budejovice. Though it was sprinkling, I enjoyed my little adventure. I climbed the clock tower and viewed the city from above...absolutely beautiful!

Then, today, Eva and I ventured out to visit the castle in Hluboka. Here's a Czech lesson for you. In Czech, "Hluboka" means "deep." Hluboka possibly derived its name from a deep well that used to be on the property. (I learned this from the English tour I took of the castle.) The weather was cold, but Eva and I had a good time. I really enjoyed spending time with her as well as getting to see another beautiful sight of the Czech Republic.

This is the view of the square in C. Budejovice from the clock tower.

In the middle of the square in C. Budejovice stands this monument. I'm not sure if it represents anything or not. To the right of the picture, you'll see the clock tower I climbed!

This is Eva and I in front of the Hluboka castle.

The Hlubka Castle - absolutely beautiful and quite fascinating!

This is me enjoying the fall weather.