Saturday 25.10 — The Long Drive North
Departure at 7:00 from Prečnik. Picked up Jakob in Praprot, then Rudy in Salež—along with his damn climbing mattress that barely fit in the car. Mrs. Mattress occupied two seats in the back of the Golf 7. We started mocking Rudy immediately, predicting he wouldn't even use it.
Bought the Slovenian vignette online (20€), stopped at Marché Tepenje II for supplies. Austria hit us hard: vignette 12.40€ + tunnel 7€ + another section 11€. Stopped in Linz for a proper Austrian lunch at Wirthaus Keintzel—plate and beer for 53.50€.
Crossed into Czechia. Skipped the highway because it makes no sense here—the roads are empty and a pleasure to drive. Went along Lake Lipno—taking the flat route saves 15 minutes but you don't see the lake (it was rainy, we didn't take pictures). Not essential, but the scenic route is worth it.
Český Krumlov (++) — Saw the castle and wandered the old town. Gorgeous place. Had to eath in the restaurant in the parking because all the others were full.
Arrived in České Budějovice. Stayed at Boutique Apartments Old Town. Figuring out the parking machine was harder than navigating Austrian bureaucracy. Had a beer and garlic soup at Restaurace Masné Krámy before crashing. This started our broth obsession—we ate at least one per day for the rest of the trip (almost all too salty, but still good).
Dinner in Český Krumlov: 65€.
📍 629 km driven | 💶 Sleep + parking + beers: 126.50€
Sunday 26.10 — Devil's Ass & Moravian Vineyards
Woke up and had breakfast at Cafe Datel (34.35€). Grabbed lunch supplies at Billa (8€ or so) for the road. Perfect weather.
Čertovy Kameny / Devil's Ass (+) — Did the whole park including the tower. Nice views, about 1 hour total walking. Entry: 6€ (2€ per person).
Refueled and got ice cream for Jakob (63.80€ for gas + gelato). Crossed back into Austria briefly, then to the Czech-Austrian border area.
Hardegg (+) — A place where a bridge separates Czech Republic and Austria. About 30-45 minutes walk from the village to the viewpoint depending on your pace. We crossed the bridge, went up a hill on the Czech side, and had a great view of Hardegg from the top. The colors and the weather were perfect.
Stopped at Vyhlídka Devět mlýnů for another scenic vista among the vines. No mills in sight despite the name (lol).
Arrived in Brno. Atrium Apartments (89€). The first three nights we ended every day in a better place for ~30€ per person per night—quite the deal. Evening walk around the city, then dinner at Hostinec u Semináře (83.76€).
📍 228 km driven | 💶 ~280€ total
Monday 27.10 — Caves & the Monday Curse
Morning city walk with breakfast at Matějovo pekařství (34€). Brno has a nice vibe. Perfect weather in the morning, then rain.
Rudy split off to go climbing at the gym in Brno—he was alone with just one other guy. He had to release his morbid need of climbing. Jakob and I went to see Špilberk Castle. Everything else was closed—would've liked to see the aqueduct and Bunker 10Z. Monday is cursed for sightseeing.
Quick lunch at Go Brno (~30€), then headed north.
Propast Macocha (+) — Stunning abyss. Did the walk under the cliff, then took the cave boat tour through Punkevní jeskyně. Cable car ride back up to the top. Entry: 270 CZK per person (~34€ total for 3).
Arrived in Kutná Hora. Found accommodation on booking.com last minute (110€). Dinner at Restaurace Dačický—it was ok. We wanted Restaurace V Ruthardce but it was full.
📍 200 km driven | 💶 Dinner: 83.76€
Tuesday 28.10 — Bones, Cathedrals & Sandstone
Started with coffee at Fikafe (16.75€) — nice all-IKEA spot. Morning was okish, then rain.
Sedlec Ossuary (++) — The bone church. Macabre and mesmerizing. Contains between 40,000 and 70,000 skeletons—victims of the Black Death and the Hussite Wars. A chandelier made from every bone in the human body. The sheer number of skulls is staggering. Entry (bought online): 25€.
Chrám svaté Barbory (++) — St. Barbara's Cathedral is jaw-dropping. One of the finest Gothic churches in Central Europe. Entry (at the place): 22.50€. It honestly bothers me when churches charge entry fees. Spiritual spaces are meant to help people, and putting a price on that defeats the purpose.
Walked through Kaple Božího těla and Jezuitská kolej. The Jesuit College had some exhibitions—they were ok.
Tried Restaurace V Ruthardce again—full again. Ended up at MUJ FALAFEL (~30€). Good hummus and gazpacho.
Attempted Klokočské skály but was not as satisfying as expected. So we went online and discovered that we were in the right area but not the right place. We had to turn back. Made it to Prachovské skály (++) instead—stunning sandstone formations. Entry: 12€. Got lost a bit and returned to the car in the dark. It was chill though.
Drove to Liberec. Pension U Soudu—the worst accommodation of the trip, but only because the others were too good. Excellent dumplings at Dim Dum Spot, then beers at Irish Pub 2020 where we watched the entire Slimboy Fat Birmingham free concert. Jakob spotted it on the screen: "Do you know him? This is Slimboy Fat, this is Birmingham, one of the biggest free concerts ever."
📍 68 km driven | 💶 Liberec evening: 155.85€
Wednesday 29.10 — The Natural Gate to Prague
Breakfast at Bistro Široká in Liberec (33.87€). Quick look at the town hall—beautiful building (because that's it for this town; Germans do come here to party and drink cheap beer tho). Perfect weather from here until Sunday.
Hot dog to go at a sketchy old lady, then headed to the highlight of the day.
Pravčická brána (+) — The largest natural sandstone arch in Europe. Here they filmed some parts of The Chronicles of Narnia. Worth every step of the hike (~30 min walk). Not very crowded on the trail but lots of cars in the parking lot—people were scattered. Entry (at the place): 15€.
Long drive to Prague. Checked into Residence Bene (390€ for 3 nights). Good location—7 minutes walking from the main square with the astronomical clock. Would recommend. Evening walk around the city to get our bearings.
Dinner at U Zlatého tygra — Legendary old-school Prague pub. Incredibly charming if you can tolerate the famously grumpy staff. No water available, only beer, cash only, and CZK only. Had the tartare. Got screamed at by the waiters—specifically when I needed to use the bathroom but couldn't find the keys. The sign said to ask the waiters, but they don't speak English, plus someone was already in there, so I was in pain while they yelled at me. Totally worth it.
📍 200 km driven | 💶 Dinner: 104€
Thursday 30.10 — Prague on Foot
Full day exploring Prague without the car (finally).
Jewish Quarter Synagogues — Visited multiple synagogues (50€ with student discount, I wouldn't say a scam since they are nice and interesting, but expensive). The Spanish Synagogue (++) is the absolute highlight—the Moorish interior is breathtaking.
Saw the Rotating Head of Kafka by David Černý—42 moving panels creating a constantly morphing face.
Walked past the National Theatre, then to the Tančící dům (Dancing House)—the Gehry building that looks like two dancers.
Hunted down more David Černý sculptures around town: the Babies crawling up the TV tower, the Lettergirl, the Hanged Man, and the Headless Man. Tried to find Embryo but didn't see it. The man has turned Prague into an open-air gallery.
Uber across town (10€). Dinner at Taiko—solid recommended ramen (40€).
📍 0 km driven | 💶 ~100€
Friday 31.10 — Castle & Chaos
Rudy went climbing again at a gym in Prague. Jakob and I headed to the main event.
Prague Castle (++) — We paid 15€ instead of 60€. Since Pieter Bruegel is one of my favorite artists, I asked Jakob if we could go see his painting there. We went in and I started asking the girl at the counter about it, but she didn't know much. After the conversation, we got the discount—accidentally. The complex is massive and magnificent.
Inside the Picture Gallery: "Haymaking" (The Hay Harvest) by Pieter Bruegel, one of his four seasons series. A pleasant surprise and exactly what I came for.
Igor and Sučko arrived to join the crew. Sučko had been visiting Igor, who had just finished his mechanical engineering internship in Cottbus. Once they emptied his apartment, they drove to Prague. They couldn't find as good a deal as us, so they stayed somewhere more outside the center.
Welcome lunch at Kantýna (90€)—super super worth it. It's like a buffet with excellent meat. Best meal of the trip, hands down.
More drinks at Lokal U Bílé kuželky—classic "bjre wsrane skifoze" as requested (11.22€). The kind of authentic dive we needed.
Dinner at Moje maso, right in front of our apartment (50€). Good meat.
Ended at Zombie Bar. A place where Rudy and Igor went during a trip to Prague in high school. Awful drink names. Exactly what we wanted. Drank way too much. As we had hoped. 150€ somehow vanished. Surprisingly cheap. The 5-person dynamic worked great—we're all good friends.
📍 0 km driven | 💶 ~300€ (the night got out of hand)
Saturday 01.11 — The Long Way Home (Part 1)
Hangover day. Paid for the hotel parking (22€/night, 66€ total for 3 nights). Got a Czech vignette for the highway (17.50€)—the only stretch where it was worth it was Prague to České Budějovice, saving us 1.5-2 hours. The rest of the trip we avoided highways entirely; Czechia is way nicer off the main roads.
Headed south. Lunch stop in České Budějovice at Masné Krámy again—their garlic broth called us back (48€).
Last fuel stop in Czechia (28€). Crossed into Austria.
Arrived in Bad Aussee (130€). Beautiful Austrian lake town, good base for tomorrow. Dinner at s'Gricht—only option open but too expensive for what it offered (88.20€). Would skip this one next time.
📍 150 km driven | 💶 ~380€
Sunday 02.11 — Hallstatt, History & Home
Started the final day with breakfast in Hallstatt at Seecafé Hallstatt (32.80€). The town is as picturesque as the photos suggest. There are only tourists here. Parking: 9€. Weather was perfect until noon.
Obersalzberg (++) — Hitler's former headquarters in the Bavarian Alps. The documentation center is sobering and well-done. A heavy but important stop (we knew it would make Jakob extremely happy, yet we all enjoyed it quite a lot). Be aware that the museum and all the historical part are at the bottom. We wanted to take the bus up the mountain, but saw that the price was 33€ per person—so we settled for "just" the museum, which revealed to be exactly what we wanted. We will come back and go for a walk on the mountain; 33€ for a bus trip is definitely a scam. Started raining here and didn't stop until home.
Lunch at Restaurant Tepito—only thing open (105.50€). Final fuel stop (45€).
Long drive back. Arrived home exhausted but satisfied. Nine days, five people + one climbing mattress that haunted every car packing session and never got used (as predicted—we mocked Rudy accordingly), countless good cheap beers.
📍 400 km driven | 💶 ~190€
