Upon leaving Prague, we rented a car to drive south to Cesky Krumlov. We chose to drive to be able to fully appreciate the Czech countryside and have the flexibility to stop in a couple towns along the way at our leisure. I hadn’t driven since being in England two months prior, so I felt a little rusty as I stepped up to the Hertz desk 10 minutes outside of the city center (I went by myself in the morning via the metro, with plans to drive back to our apartment to pick everyone up with our luggage). A fun part about renting cars while we’re traveling is I never quite know what we’re going to get through the online reservation. The website will typically just give me a vehicle class and assure me that it will fit all of us, but beyond that it feels like a mystery.
In this instance, we were treated to an Opel Vivaro BiTurbo, which turned out to be a van big enough for all of us and our luggage plus about two hitchhikers and a polar bear (don’t worry Mom, we’re not picking up polar bears). As I eased out the clutch and started rolling into into traffic, I wondered about the wisdom of driving a 16-foot beast-on-wheels into the heart of Prague. But I thought, hey, this is supposed to be an adventure, right? So I hit the gas and confidently drove about eight feet before starting to panic because I didn’t know which way to turn or if I was going the wrong way down a one-way. And then the other cars came, and then all the taxis, and then I got to where the trams started merging into traffic (sometimes I could drive next to them, and sometimes they took the whole lane), and then there were a million people, and then there were parked cars on both sides of the road leaving enough space for a Mini Cooper to drive between them. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
I’m not sure when I started to sweat, but I know the first tear fell when I clipped a delivery van’s side mirror with my own. I finally pulled up to where my family was waiting an hour after I left them, although I know I had aged much more than the elapsed time. I surveyed my wet face as they climbed in and tried to remember what it was like to be calm and joyful. Thankfully the calm and joyfulness returned not too much later when we emerged from the city center and found the highway southward. The Czech countryside is so beautiful! I wasn’t expecting there to be so much green space and farmland. It was incredibly peaceful, especially following the harrowing experience in the city.
Above: Tate and Keegan showing some brotherly affection; everyone enjoying a treat in a cafe in Trebon
We ended up making just a couple stops on the three-hour drive. The first stop was at the Konopiste Castle, where the late Franz Ferdinand lived with his wife before their assassination that started WWI. We were pretty mesmerized by the resident castle bear, which we learned is a pretty common “pet” to see outside Czech castles. We also walked around a really neat little town called Trebon and had an afternoon snack before completing our journey. As with all of the vehicles we’ve driven so far, I eventually made peace with ol’ Viv and came to enjoy driving it, but I don’t miss navigating it through Old Town Prague and wouldn’t recommend that part!
Above: sights from Konopiste Castle
Above: Keegan cannot stop dancing (and none of us wants him to stop). This session broke out on the way back to the car after visiting Konopiste Castle
Oh my goodness! I was already sweating while reading such a scary experience of driving through the Old Town of Prague. I don’t know how you did it, but it must be the Lord guiding you and making extra space for your van to maneuver. I am sure you driving skills must have greatly improved after this experience! Ahhh… so glad that you guys are safe and sound!
Thanks Ching-Ching, we’re all glad to be safe and sound as well! My driving skills are nothing compared to some of the people we’ve come across. The other day a driver taking us to our hotel was backing up through a tight alleyway having to maneuver around parked vehicles and then added to the degree of difficulty by taking a phone call.