Leaving Prague I stopped in Cesky Krumlov for a couple of nights and then moved on to the university town Olomouc. Both towns had great hostels with a cosy interior and a much more personal atmosphere than the big city hostel in Prague. Some of the people I met at these two hostels have interesting approaches to traveling. There is Ian & Wendy for example, a couple from New Zealand, who wanted to travel around the world after they retired. They have their boat anchored in Turkey for six months and are now touring through Eastern Europe with just two small backpacks holding a couple of changes. Their next big lag will be crossing the Atlantic ocean in a couple of months. Starting from New Zealand with their boat, it took them about five years to make it to Europe, so I reckon it will take them another five to complete their round trip. It was interesting to hear from them that they are not the only crew doing this kind of long-term sea and land traveling. They reckon there are about 100 crews out there doing the same thing, and every now and then they meet one of the other crews again.
Relaxing evening at Hostel 99 in Cesky Krumlov: at the table are Croatia, England, Canada, South Korea and Germany
Other folks, with less budget, who are also keen to spend longer periods in a place, work for a couple of months or years at a hostel and travel the vicinity during their time off, before eventually moving on to another hostel in another country.
Some folks make a career out of traveling. They roam around, find a nice spot and open up their own hostel. Every now and then they will look for someone to take over runing the hostel to buy themselves some travel time.
And then there are people like me, taking some time off to travel on a fixed budget. Actually, I found the alternatives that I have come across so far quite inspiring – perhaps I will help out in a hostel along the way to get some idea what running a hostel is like.
Some impressions from Cesky Krumlov and Olomouc...
Castle garden at Cesky Krumlov Castle
Double-spiral staircase in St Moritz church, Olomouc
Townhall with astronomical clock, Olomouc
Main square with Holy Trinity Column, Olomouc
Relaxing evening at Hostel 99 in Cesky Krumlov: at the table are Croatia, England, Canada, South Korea and Germany
Castle garden at Cesky Krumlov Castle
Double-spiral staircase in St Moritz church, Olomouc
Townhall with astronomical clock, Olomouc
Main square with Holy Trinity Column, Olomouc
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