Czech Republic

We visited Želeč, a small town in Czech Republic, today – for the third time. Someone (I have been working on understanding the web that connects all of the players in the band – who knows who and how each player got invited to play with the band) knows a great guy named Mike, who is originally from South Dakota but has been living in CZ for nearly 20 years. He joined us on our first tour in 2013, including coordinating a concert in Želeč. We returned to Želeč in 2015, and again today.

There is a grainery that has been transformed into an agricultural museum and art center. We have been WARMLY welcomed with food and drink each time we have come here – and today was no exception. The concert went well and the crowd was very appreciative. Each band member received a 2023 calendar featuring art from local artists (very cool). We ate chili and ham and bread and cream puffs and most drank many beers brewed on site.

Mike, of SD and CZ, played goat (I guess officially it is bag pipes, but it is made out of a goat. An actual goat. In 2013, he played third goat in a larger ensemble; we told him we were proud of him – he’s moved up to first [only] goat now) with his folk music group. VERY entertaining.

After a very lovely afternoon, we headed down the road to Český Krumlov. The hotel is awesome – much more what we are used to on these tours. Small town hotels that have enough rooms for the 50 of us tend to be very interesting, as everyone’s room is sooooo different. Some people have suites with kitchens and dining rooms and two bedrooms, and others have lofts, while others have just completely differently decorated rooms. Our room is fancy – we like it a lot. We don’t have an amazing view as some do, but it is really comfortable.

After two days of squishy, gross potato balls, I wanted real food (it has been confirmed that at least one band member ordered meat, red cabbage, and dumplings with his own free will tonight. AAUUGH). After eating in Želeč, we could have just foregone dinner, but no. We started with gelato, which is next to our hotel. We were afraid that if we were out and about too long, they would close and would miss it. So, appetizer gelato.

We walked up to the castle, saw the bears that live in the moat, and looked at the view of the town (POTD). All great.

We walked back down and when Stacy said, “Look! Pizza!” we headed inside. We had to make sure they took euro, because it is not the local currency. They did, but would give change in local currency – which Keith immediately said we could use on more gelato. Deal. I ordered a fabulous pasta with mushrooms and pecorino. Keith had a spicy pizza (definitely would have been enough to feed the two of us) with a bunch of toppings. Since the weather has warmed up significantly (CZ got the memo that it is July) and we had been schlepping up and down the big hill, we each had a Fanta, then another Fanta. After leaving a nice tip, we spent 30 euro. CZ is a bargain!

Back to the central square we went and visited with band members as they floated in from around town. We had a trdelník, a pastry tube filled with gelato and topped with whipped cream and chocolate sauce. We were invited over to enjoy someone else’s room and some more chatting (obviously we can sleep when we get home). We were told our adapters wouldn’t work (even though Keith researched before we came), so we thought we had no power and wouldn’t be able to make a blog, but our second information was faulty and his research stood, so we have power.