Our cases needed to be ready by 6.45am and we departed at 8.00am on our green coach with our APT Tour Guide Ivo Trnka( pronounced Evo). Ivo was a gorgeous little Czech fella who gave us lots of info on the road trip and ensured that we knew what to do when we visited the 'Shakespeare' at our stops. Peter and I are not seasoned enough travellers yet, as this was a first for us, referring to the comfort stops as 'Shakespeare'. The saying is 'To pee or not to pee'!

It is 550 kms from Budapest to Prague and it would take us 8 hours with 3 stops. Ivo lives in Prague. Czech Republic is the same area as Tasmania with a population of 10.5 million. So there's a few more people that live in the Czech Republic than in Tassy!

Years ago the area of Czechoslovak was much larger. I think Ivo said it included the three countries of Austria, Hungary and Slovakia. There has been so much fighting between emperors over the years, then the two world wars, then the country was taken over by Germany, followed by the 'Warsaw Pact of 1968 by four Warsaw Pact Nations. Czech citizens are very proud of what they have today in the Czech Republic. When we got to Prague there was a display in the Main Street in the CBD, which Ivo was not aware of. It was all about what happened on the 21st August 1968 and how the country was invaded and 108 Czech and Slovak civilians were killed and around 500 wounded. Ivo said "It was a good thing this display had been mounted, so many young people know nothing about what happened in 1968 and they need to know".

We learnt our first Czech word (and the only one I can remember) 'Ahoy' which is Hello. I have no idea how to spell it!

Canola is the main crop grown and it is harvested in May and June. It has become a major crop because of its use for bio-fuel. We did see some sunflowers being grown in Hungary. The currency in Hungary is 'Florint' and 1 euro is approximately 300 florint. The currency of the Czech Republic is a Czech crown (koruna). 1 Aussie dollar is 18 kc 1 Euro is 27 kc. Ivo gave us a 100 florint for our Shakespeare at the first road stop on the highway as we were still in Hungary. If we kept our receipt then we could use it as discount on a coffee at the roadhouse. There were people everywhere at the road stop. Gypsies, refugees, whoever! They were sitting on the concrete alongside parked cars, having their lunch from supplies in the boot of their car! We crossed the border into the Slovak Republic not long after we left the roadhouse and then into Czech Republic just before lunch. We were not stopped at either of the border crossings.

There were thousands of wind turbines, as wherever it is flat there is lots of wind. The Czech Republic has two nuclear power plants and as much as it has been promoted to us during our travels, that the aim of Germany and Austria is to be energy clean and they are working towards producing 100 percent clean energy, the Czech Republic does sell nuclear power to these countries.

Ivo talked about the toll system on the major roads. It is a GPS system and the bus driver had two black boxes on the bus. One for when the bus is travelling in Hungary and the other for the Slovak Republic. Whatever country we were in, the driver activated the box and the tolls were automatically calculated. For Ivo living in the Czech Republic, he purchase a highway sticker each year for 60 euros.

The Czech Republic is proud to hold the number one position of top beer drinkers in the world. They drink 142 litres of beer per person each year and babies are included in the statistic! Ivo was born in 1989, so he says he was born in the revolution of the Czech Republic. He told us a little of the Czech/Slovak story. His mother is Slovak and his father a Czech. The 20 years of communist regime is not all bad as it did provide better education and a health system which they have not changed. The Czech Republic has now been 23 years on their own. They became part of the European Union on the 1st May 2004, but have retained their own currency the koruna (kc). To go to euros you have to pass an economy test and the country cannot pass the test. It is Ivo's opinion that it is a disadvantage to be in the 'Euro Zone'. If one country is affected by a crisis, all are affected. Germany is the biggest country in the euro zone and there are 28 countries all together. For decisions all have to agree and when one country says 'No', as did the Slovak Republic recently, for more financial assistance to Greece, it doesn't happen. To actually be travelling through these small European countries, being told such facts, without getting too deep into the politics, really does make one appreciate that 'Australia is a Lucky Country'. We will never forget a taxi driver in Singapore saying that to us 20 years ago!

Our lunch stop was at a relatively small town just off the highway named South Moravia. Most people in the town work in agriculture. The town is the biggest wine producer per ca-pita of population in the Czech Republic. The venue was once a beer cellar, later they switched to wine and in 2002 they opened the cellar as a restaurant. Every second property in the town has a wine cellar. Beer cellars are bigger than wine and they have higher ceilings. More info from Ivo, hence the reason the family have been able to convert the cellar into a restaurant named 'Jarmila'. APT also have their developmental workshops here. Our lunch of grilled chicken steak with grilled vegetables and boiled potatoes was quite nice. There was another APT group at the restaurant as well. They were on their way to board the AmaReina in Budapest, to start their cruise. There was discussion about the availability of laundry on the ship and cost, whilst we were having 'Shakespeare'. We also met Ivo's sister who was taking the group through to Budapest. She is Ivo's boss and Director of APT operations in Prague.

Ivo did let us have a little snooze after lunch and then it was time to give us some info on what would be happening during the next two days. There were only about 20 of us on the bus, so there was plenty of room to spread out and lay the seat back. I used the trip to type up the Vienna blog. I don't seem to be able to catch up, but once we are done with the conducted tours, I know it will be easier. I have always been a 'goody goodie' when it comes to reporting! I can't see any point going on tour and not taking in something of what you are being told. I do think I am the only one taking notes though. Maybe the others have better memories than me, have done their research before they travelled or have retained all they learnt at school!

Prague is the third most visited city in Europe after Rome and Barcelona. Can't say that we enjoyed travelling the highway though. It was terrible! It was constructed of concrete sections and was really rough. Ivo referred to our travel today as getting a massage for the majority of the trip!

Peter is far from well, so he has slept most the journey. He has the bug from the boat and it seems to have attacked him far worse than me. He spoke to Ivo about seeing a Dr. The memory of me thinking I would get better in Canada and I didn't, is still very vivid! Ivo said "Seeing a Dr is the best thing to do. He sees it all the time! Tourists think they will get better and they don't"! He organised for the Dr to come to the hotel at 7.00pm. She came with her case full of medication and checked us both out. Peter has acute bronchitis and I have an infection. So we have antibiotics and Peter much more, to hopefully get him over the bug soon. All charged out through the hotel. 10,000 kc for the visit and the medication. About $600.00 which we guess we can claim on our travel insurance when we get back.