John and I walked through the nearby university area to collect a cache before breakfast. We had agreed on a late 9am start to the day proper. Katherine was up on our return and we managed to clear some more food before we packed the car and left for Cesky Krumlov.

We had driven through Austria a few times this trip but had not collected a cache there. The first day we had not even tried and the second time was the day when parking in the area we targeted was horrific. So today it was also an aim. We had found a route that got us going through Germany, Austria and then the Czech Republic that went near a lake, looked pretty, had a few caches and also gave us the chance to get cheap Austrian fuel.

We had put Jandelsbrunn into the GPS to get it on the correct route. It proved to be a smallish town that had a nice café/hotel/bakery complex which served nice coffee and very nice apple strudel (for John and I). When Katherine said how nice it was when we paid, we were told that the chef who was standing at the counter as well had made it all from scratch. At least, we think that was what we were told.

John was especially enjoying the drive as the roads were OK, quiet and we were driving through countryside.

This route was slightly different from the one I had loaded caches for which was a silly mistake. So I managed to load a few more for the area we were going into and we headed for Austria. After filling the car (Austria has the cheapest fuel) we headed up a road to a parking spot for a cache. We then opted out of this one as we had no reception to translate the cache and it was looking like a 2km return walk. This would usually be fine but not when we were both ill-prepared, Katherine was wanting lunch and we had a due time for Cesky Krumlov.

We had decided it could wait for another day when an easy cache showed up. We parked at what we first thought might be a place with food but proved to just be a sort of animal farm. The cache listing said we were at Mühl-fun-Viertel - where children and youth groups, clubs, families and international guests can meet to enjoy the nature, to relax, to educate themselves or simply to have fun. Klaffi, the mascot where the cache was, was in his own shelter at the entrance to Mühl-fun-Viertel. He is happy to have visitor and beckons using his own wind turbine and small wind power plant! Near where we parked was an area with a number of happy goats, including a baby.

We found a nice place for our lunch as well. The waitress looked a bit anxious about explaining to us about the menu as we were a bit too late for the full menu. However, between Katherine’s German and her English (which was actually better than she seemed to think) we found there was asparagus soup for John and I and schnitzel for Katherine.

We entered the Czech Republic on a small road so we do not need a motorway pass until we go to Prague. We skirted the Lake we had seen on the map and were clearly in a recreation area judging by the number of Pensions (Guest Houses). Of course, there are far more here in Cesky Krumlov, where we have been told the tourists well outnumber the residents.

The Airbnb had a really good ratings and we can see why. We were greeted at the gate by Kamila and her daughter (Christina) who offered to help us with bags. We have the loft room with a spare bed and king bed at one end, table in the middle and sofa and a single bed at the other end. The kitchen area had a stock of free food for us to use. It gave enough for breakfast as well as heaps of sauces and enough pasta, rice and noodles for a meal. The washing machine was set up for us to just load clothes into as well and press start. She also has the usual tourist information in the room as well as a couple of fuller guides with the request that we leave them behind. It is also the first place, other than with friends, where we have been given 2 sets of keys.

We did walk down the nearest supermarket to get some milk and stuff for a picnic tomorrow. Katherine had read that it is popular to have one in the Castle grounds. We have good views from here so it was a downhill walk to the shop and uphill obviously back.

After a short break, Katherine and I headed into the centre for a wander and to find meal places. It was interesting to see all the people leaving at this time who were clearly groups here for the day. It was a nice time to check out the town and we also found a place to eat, an ATM, and the way to the castle as well as taking a lot of photos.

John met us near the place we recommended for a meal. It was nice, but the servings were all too big and very much Eastern European meat and potato based. We all walked around taking more photos in the pleasant 20 degree temperature and then headed home with plans for tomorrow basically agreed on.