We were up good and early to be out of the apartment and on the doorstep of a nearby bakery by 7am to buy rolls and other nibbles for both our breakfast and lunch today as we were going to be on the move.
The bus station was only a short walk away from our room, so we were aboard the bus to the airport soon after 7am. It was a good thing that we arrived at the airport with plenty of time on hand, because we found we had quite a lot of juggling to do between our bags after we'd weighed them. Clearly the baggage scales we have in Ceret are inaccurate, by perhaps as much as 2kg. We'd booked two large bags plus a 10kg bag on Ryanair, and were also allowed two very small cabin bags. With juggling we came within the weight limits ok, but after we'd checked the bags in John had a minor hernia. He realised he hadn't transferred his IT bag, which contains our USB travel charger and cables, a powerpack, the mouse, headphones and 2 sets of earphones (all including lithium batteries) etc from the 10kg bag into a cabin bag. The official result should be that the batteries and charger would be discovered when the bag was screened and all of them would be turfed out (including John's expensive headphones). An awful lot of money and hassle to replace them.
He sweated it out for the next three hours until we landed at Vienna. The heavens must have been smiling on us because the bag had not been opened and all the IT gear was intact. What does that say for the airport's security screening system? We wonder if the bag didn't get screened at all because for some reason this small bag had to be deposited at the odd-sized goods counter rather than where the two large bags were on-loaded. Who knows? We were manifestly relieved at the outcome and at the same time have learnt never to make the same mistake again.
The flight itself from Barcelona to Vienna was great. A huge snowstorm had blanketed much of southern Germany, Austria and the southwest of Czechia the day before, forcing flights to Vienna to be cancelled. However, we were extremely lucky that our flight today was not only flying, but also left more or less on schedule and flew through brilliantly clear blue skies. We had wonderful views of the snow-covered landscape. Surprisingly the snow was lay on the plains and lower-lying cultivated or pasture land, whereas the forested ranges looked free of snow.
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| Flight over Austria |
On exiting the plane the change in air temperature from Barcelona was immediately obvious. In Barcelona the night before we'd had a gelato because it was quite mild. Here, it was just +2 degrees! We had a three hour wait until our bus arrived to take us direct to Brno in the Czech Republic, but the time seemed to go pretty quickly while tucked up warmly in the terminal building. Our Flixbus left promptly at 4pm. The sun was already starting to set so we had only about 20 minutes before it got dark and we couldn't see much outside the window. We both managed to snooze a little on the 2hr+ drive to Brno. |
| Landscape en route in the bus to Brno |
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| Arriving in Brno |
When we arrived it was so much fun jumping out of the bus. It was night-time, the place was lit up with city lights, snow was everywhere and it was -3 degrees. Huge grins were exchanged. After gathering our gear we set off on the 10-minute walk to our Airbnb. As we were approaching it's front door we passed two guys with two lovely husky-type dogs. When one of the guys saw us peering at the apartment keypad they came racing up and let us in. They were the owners, but for some reason thought we were arriving at 8pm. They were exceptionally welcoming and made sure we were happy with the apartment before setting off to their own place. The apartment is a step up on the rather ordinary place we stay at in Barcelona. We choose the latter because it is in a superb location in the Gothic Quarter in the historic centre and is very close to both bus and train stations. By contrast, our hosts here had left prosecco and sweets for us.
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| A lovely welcome |
By now it was nearly 7pm and time to find a meal somewhere. We are right in the centre of the old town, so a quick walk around revealed that some great exploration was on the cards for tomorrow. First stop was a supermarket just around the corner where we bought some supplies for breakfast for the next few days, then on to an eatery John had found by Googling. It turned out to be a family restaurant and very popular with locals. We found a seat in the corner. Nearby was a large family group very much enjoying the conviviality of the evening, and the beer. We saw all the adults supping 3 large pints each plus 2 shots of brandy during the time we were there.  |
| The menu - help! |
The waitress seemed rather surprised when I ordered a non-alcoholic beer, and double-checked it was what I actually wanted. John ordered what turned out to be a nice light stout. Our meals could not have been more different from the dishes we have been eating during the last month or so in France or Spain. I had beef in a thick rich gravy accompanied by bread dumplings. John enjoyed pork ribs cooked in beer and with mustard and some sort of cheese. We added a plate of grated beetroot to provide some veges. My dish was very tasty, John's not so much. Thinking it was appropriate that we try a Czech dessert, I opted for a traditional Czech biscuit with cream and John chose apple strudel (of course).
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| Firs Czech meal of the trip |
Before taking our orders for dessert the waitress returned to take our next order for beer. Again, she looked a little surprised when we declined. Everyone in the restaurant was enjoying large quantities and on every table is a paper checklist - the waitress just keeps ticking the boxes as each beer is ordered and you take the checklist up to the cashier when you pay for your meal.  |
| Walk around our neighbourhood |
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| Steaming food in an Xmas stall |
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| Xmas stalls in the main square |
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| The town hall tower |
Wrapping up in our layers we walked the short distance back to the apartment, loving the enveloping heat as we stepped inside. Stripping off all the woollies, indulging in a cup of tea and snuggling into a very comfortable bed was a delight after another big day of travelling.
