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I had the notion that Cesky Krumelov would be a nice place to stay overnight. It is about 25 miles from CB.

CK is an old castle town that was the seat of the Ruzemberk family (aka the Rosenbergís) who ruled this region from 11=1611 when there property was taken from them by the Hapsburgs. They sided with the Protestants in the thirty years war. The town and land (which was most of SW Bohemia including Ckyne) went to the Schartzenberg family as a reward for allegiance to the Hapsburgs.

One of my guide books highly recommended a hotel called Hotel Ruze. It is one of the most expensive places in town, but it is an experience. When we arrived in CK, I did my best to clean my self off (I ducked into a bathroom before approaching the registration desk.) The hotel is a restored Jesuit monastery. Magnificent building. Authentic baroque furniture or copies of same. All staff in uniforms. First class service. A historic, gracious hotel, owned by a Czech who fled to Sweden after the war. Commanding views from the lead paned windows. Tapestries hanging everywhere. Wide planked wood floors. A wonderful place. See for yourself.

After cleaning up, we took a stroll in town. An ancient preserved city. Very nice and devoid of tourists (after the Easter weekend). We went to a historic restaurant, where there are no electric lights; all lighting by candles and all food cooked on a open hearth. A wonderful meal, but Julian felt a bit under the weather so we headed back.

Wednesday April 18.

We drove back to Prague. It took about 3 hours (despite paving related delays). Arrived in Prague at about 5 pm. Took a room at Ibis in Karlin. Not recommended. It is near the Krizekove metro. After 5 days in CZ I am beginning to develop an ear for the language. I now feel comfortable with some words I hear (KCHRJZSHAcovah is Krizekove for example).

Thursday April 19.

Philís birthday. I met Julius at the archives at 9 am and we started work. We searched for records on the Wildmann family of Mllada Boleslav. This is my paternal grandmotherís father. We were able to find some Wildmannsí but are a bit unsure about whether we have the right ones.

Worked until noon. Went to the Jewish quarter for lunch. Went to Jeruzalem restaurant (a rip off , avoid it). Here is a photo of Julius and Sue at lunch

Julius accompanied me to the Jewish Museum to pick up a manuscript concerning Jacob FANTES dated 1803. Then we went to the Pincus synagogue. It records the names of all Czech (not Slovak) Jews that died in the war. The list is by town. I quickly found that the towns are all outside of the Sudetanland. So for example, there is no listing for Vimperk,. The names for Volyne include several BECKS and LEDERERs. Quite interestingly, the book about synagogues in Prague that I bounght takes a photo of the section of the wall on Vilene! (no photos are allowed in the synagogue). The famous graveyard adjoins the Pincus synagogue. Quite interesting, but not as memorable as all the other cemeteries I had already seen. At about 4 pm we tried to see the Prague municipal museum to see a famous paper model of the city of Prague from the 1850s by an underemployed Jewish clerk. It is a documentary to how the Jewish quarter looked before urban renewal destroyed the Jewish Ghetto. Unfortunately, in Prague, museums do not admit anyone within 30 or 45 minutes of closing, so we could not get in. Had dinner in the Miln (the Mill restaurant).

Friday, April 20.

Our last full day. I spend the morning at the Archives with Julius looking for data on the TAUSSIG and LOBL families of C. Budejovice. We were lucky in discovering that both these families came from Prasny Uzted, north east of Pilzen. So another avenue of research to explore, involving my paternal grandfatherís motherís family.....

In the afternoon we spent some time looking at sights : the municipal building, an art deco palace (figuratively). The Holesovice Park was nice but the main attractions, the zoo, the planetarium and the nineteenth exhibition center were closed. So Julian was disappointed.

Summary remarks about visiting Prague and the Czech Republic

Our stay was very enjoyable. The Czechs were were in contact with were friendly. The beer is great. The food dirt cheap. Everything except Prague Hotel rooms very reasonable.

Nice surprises:

ATM machines everywhere. It is easy to get money with no transactions fees at very favorable exchange rates (provided your home institution give you a good deal). The Czechs donít change for their services.

The best food and drink are in simple Czech restaurants.

The beer is great and inexpensive.

Driving outside of Prague is easy. It is not very hard in Prague if you can manage NY, Boston or SF.

Bohemian crystal shops are everywhere tourists go. The prices are reasonable in most of them. We bought some reproductions of ancient class objects in C Krumlov. Very reasonable but very fragile.

We enjoyed visiting where tourists were scarce. Although I was paranoid about pickpockets, I never did I feel unsafe in any way. (In Paris, I nearly was pickpocketed in the subwayÖI looked too much like an affluent American tourist with a SLR around my neck).