We were in Prague less than two days before deciding to take off to Český Krumlov for a night. Looking at the long range weather forecast, we only had a few more days of high temperatures above 70°F (22° C) before a steep drop to around 55° F (13°C) or less. It took us no…
Author: Garrett and Stephanie Estep
Retired early to travel the world.
Prague, Czechia (October, 2023, Part II).
Pražský Hrad (Prague castle) is a definite must repeat visit for us. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, considered to be the largest intact castle complex in the world. Today the castle includes elements of Romanesque buildings dating from the 10th century, Gothic buildings from the 14th century, and more recent renovations from the…
Prague, Czechia (October, 2023, Part I).
Well, this ought to be interesting. For the first time we are returning to a city that we visited previously. In 2009 Stephanie and I spent a week in Prague. Now we are here for a month. A week on vacation is absolutely nothing like a month while traveling. For starters, we will not be…
Kraków, Poland (October, 2023, Part IV).
Opactwo Benedyktnów (the Benedictine Abbey in Tyniec) is located several miles from the center of Kraków, situated on a hill overlooking the Vistula River. Originally constructed in the 11th century, it has been rebuilt several times thereafter. The Abbey looked like a nice half-day trip so off we went one morning. The weather was perfect. …
Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland (September, 2023).
There was never a discussion about whether to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau Memory Place and Museum while we are in Kraków. It was always understood. Several weeks before arriving in Kraków we began researching our options. Even though we generally are not fans of guided tours, one seemed appropriate for this visit. Context matters, and we hoped…
Kraków, Poland (September, 2023, Part III).
A week after our visit to Wawel Castle we were back on Wawel hill to visit the Katreda Wawelska (Wawel Cathedral) and Muzeum Katedralne (Cathedral Museum). General admission tickets for the cathedral and museum cost 22 Zł (about $5), good for one visit to each site within 14 days of purchase. Note that these tickets…
Kraków, Poland (September, 2023, Part II).
Rynek Główny, the largest medieval town square in Europe, is about a 15 to 20 minute walk from our Airbnb in Kazimierz. Or it’s five minutes riding on a tram followed by walking about two blocks. Hmmm. We enjoy walking but a tram ticket is only 4 Zł (about $1). So we compromise, usually riding…
Kraków, Poland (September, 2023, Part I).
Less than twelve hours into our month-long stay in Kraków, Stephanie turned to me and simply said “good vibes.” I know what she means. Kraków is vibrant, attractive, clean, and reasonably priced. It checks all the boxes on the traveler wish list. We are excited to be here. As we walked out of the airport…
Congaree National Park, South Carolina (June, 2023).
Our summer road trip took us through Columbia, South Carolina, so we had to check out Congaree National Park. We had heard of this park beforehand, but never made it a priority to visit. This year we rearranged our travel to give us several hours of free time as we passed through the area. Congaree…
Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida (May, 2023).
While in south Florida we took a short detour into Everglades National Park for half a day. It helped that we still had one month remaining on our America the Beautiful Annual Pass. For $80 (in 2023) an annual pass gets two people unlimited free visits to several thousand federally managed areas, including National Parks,…