Day 8 and 9 – Slovenia

I have fallen in love with the Czech Republic in a way that I didn’t expect to. From the beautiful towns and cities, to the rolling countryside and lakes, we have had such a great time. As you approach the border with Austria, the landscape becomes more Alpine and the views are stunning. We’ve seen lots of wonderful wildlife on this trip, but I was particularly excited when I saw what I’m pretty certain was an eagle!
We realised that the reason E has pretty poor geography skills is because her parents do too. As we approached the Austrian border, we had a brief debate about which country we were actually about to drive into. Once in Austria, I was reminded why I Ioved it so much last year. The scenery is breath taking and spectacular. There is just something magical and beautiful in the towering mountains, pine forests and green fields. The driving was fun too! Twisting and turning up and down mountain roads and accelerating through the fields.
Eventually we entered Slovenia and found our cabin in the woods. We are staying in a two-story wooden cabin situated in a campsite. We are set back right in the woods on the edge of the site. Last night there was an almighty thunderstorm and I sat quivering in bed, convinced that lightening would strike one of the towering trees above us. When I eventually lay back down again I heard a scuttling, scratching noise very close to my head. There was some sort of creature either on the roof or even worse, in the cabin. I hissed at S, who had also heard it but was becoming increasingly irritated with my fussing about storms and creatures. I have no idea when I fell back to sleep but that was not the most restful night ever.
Today we woke to cold and rainy weather but it didn’t matter as we were visiting the Postonja caves, a 24,340m long cave system. The caves were amazing, eerie, cold, wonderful, alien like and awe-inspiring. We travelled into the caves by train and then walked through the caves on foot, before travelling back through the cave tunnels by train again. Formed almost 2 million years ago, the mind boggles as you gaze at the stalagmites and stalactites.

Day 5, 6, 7 – The Wedding

The weather broke overnight and as we drove to the wedding venue, a few hours from Prague, the rain came down and it was pretty chilly. Despite the weather, the place was perfect! An absolutely wonderful location for a wedding and guests. It’s a house with a pool in a village in the countryside, surrounded by fields. We explored the main house and our cottage before going shopping for food for the guests that were due to arrive that night.
A lot of alcohol was consumed the night before the wedding! We all had a blast and it was so lovely to catch up with family and friends. I stumbled into bed at around 2am and woke with a sore head on the day of the wedding.
The rain had vanished and to our relief, the sun was shining. Those of us who were slightly fragile (and the children), took a quick dip in the pool before the wedding prep began. The day was perfect. We had so much fun and there was a lovely relaxed vibe. My brother and his wife looked amazing and I felt emotional seeing them both so happy.
I love the bubble that surrounds you when you’re at a wedding, where all that matters is having fun, eating and drinking. It was a magical weekend and one that I’ll never forget.
The next day was spent in and out of the pool and packing up to leave. We left for our next destination of Hurka in the late afternoon sun. The drive was spectacular, across winding country roads and through great pine forests. But I was the driver and was tired after two very late nights partying, so when we had to turn back twice because the road was closed, I was starting to get fed up. By the time we arrived (much later than planned), we didn’t manage to visit the lake as I’d hoped. All we wanted was food and sleep. We stayed in a quirky little guesthouse that had a cat hotel attached to the side of it! The woman who ran it was super friendly and we were quickly settled with food and beer. As I tucked into my second portion of deep fried cheese and chips, I briefly pondered how long it might take to work it all off when I return home! That worry I’ll save for another day.

Day 3 and 4 – Prague and Karlstejn Castle

These two days were sweltering. I love hot weather but this was the sort of weather where sweat sits on your upper lip and permanently trickles down your back. This is NOT sightseeing weather.
We drove into Prague the day after we arrived in Karlstejn. We thought M might need her eyes tested after she insisted she’d seen a camel on the way! Prague is way bigger than we’d realised and quite spectacular. We’d need a lot more time to explore it properly but to be honest the children are still a little young for days of sightseeing. We walked 8 miles through Prague, visiting some of the main tourist spots – Wenceslas Square, The Charles Bridge and Prague Castle above it.
The Charles Bridge crosses the Vltava River and is named after King Charles IV. It was absolutely heaving with tourists, weaving in and out of musicians busking and stalls selling all sorts of things. We met my brother and his soon to be wife at the end of the bridge and enjoyed a lovely lunch with them before climbing the many steps up to the castle. Prague Castle is a castle complex dating back to the 9th century. The castle was a seat of power for kings of Bohemia, Roman Emperors and presidents of Czechoslovakia. The castle is spectacular itself but also provides beautiful, sprawling views across the city.

The next day we walked up the road to Karlstejn Castle. We had a superb tour guide with a dry sense of humour, who taught us about the history of the castle and surrounding area. He led us up many flights of stairs to the top of the tower, so high it made my legs shake. Karlstejn Castle is phenomenal. It is a large Gothic castle founded by Charles IV in 1348. It sits at the top of a hill in amongst the trees, so that from the road it isn’t visible. When you walk up the road it suddenly appears and takes your breath away as you round the corner. It’s the stuff of fairy tales and legends and we had a brilliant morning there.
Walking back we yet again questioned the girls’ eyesight, as E was convinced she’d seen a kangaroo and M was certain she saw a lion. Maybe this place really is magical?!
As we crossed the river I asked S if we could go out on his uncle’s boat when we are in Croatia. I thought maybe we could visit one of the islands (yes I did watch Mama Mia recently). Eva piped up that’d she’d love to do that as she’d always wanted to visit Ireland! She then asked if perhaps we could sail to the Maldives. I must get this girl to look at an atlas at some point.
In the evening we met my mum and grandma at their campsite on the outskirts of Prague. We had a wonderful time swimming in the lake and then all had dinner together, discussing my brother’s impending wedding.

architecture bridge building structures castle — Photo by JÉSHOOTS on Pexels.com

Prague is a magnificent city and I definitely hope to visit again in the future.