Getting in Ceský Krumlov early is a good thing. The crowds are small, the birds are chirping and the river Vltava's swift current echoes through the town in the a magical way that disappears when the masses arrive by noon. Luckily we left Ceské Budojovice early that day, made the short trip quickly and found parking uneventfully. Anticipation of exploring this UN World Heritage site as great, and this old medieval town did not disappoint.

Krumlov was an old medieval trading town and is still — after a thousand years — an important social and cultural center in the region. During the Soviet era, it was ignored like many of the smaller towns and villages. However, after the Velvet Revolution, it received a resurgence of interest and investment and is just now becoming a regular tourist destination.

Our next destination was Bavaria, Germany's southern interior, for a drive along the Blue Danube towards Regensberg. We zipped through the Bohemian countryside and we soon saw the first sign that we were near the border: more prostitutes on the side of the road (sorry, no pics!).

Most of Bavaria (known to the Germans as "Bayern") is rolling hills, large tracts of land, beautiful manors and castles, and quaint little villages. When you think of the stereotypical German things like Oktoberfest, beerhalls and oompah bands, this is where it comes from. Bavaria is Germany's Texas. Everything's bigger here... land, food, beer, business and lots of tradition. Bavaria was always one of the obstacles towards German unification in the mid 1800s and when Germany was finally unified as a single kingdom in 1870, Bavaria still demanded extra representation over other German ex-kingdoms like Hessen, Saxony and Prussia.

Valhalla was built between 1832 and 1842 at a time in German history when there was a growing nationlistic movement in many of the European nations for democratic reform and unification of ethnic groups. This was a very conservative time, with local Kings and Prince-Bishops still trying to retain the power they were granted by the reinstatement of the "old order" after Napoleon's attempt to "liberate" Europe failed. These conservative monarchs however knew that the masses had tasted the concept of democracy and tried to control the students and revolutionaries by appealing to them on artistic and educational levels. Valhalla appears to be one of these appeals. It is dedicated to "all Germans" and not just Bavarians.

To this day, the inner temple is dedicated to great Germans in history and there are busts of Albert Einstein, Friedrich von Schiller (wrote the Ode to Freedom, which Beethoven used for his 9th Symphony's 4th movement), Sophie Scholl, Immanuel Kant, Konrad Adenauer (Germany's first president.. he secured independence for West Germany after WWII), among others.

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A short walk around Donaustauf was in store for us the next morning after breakfast. After an hour or so climbing higher and higher up the hill, we discovered the ruins of an old castle overlooking the Danube.

This castle was built sometime in the 900s AD. In 1161, Henry the Lion, a once-powerful German king, used it to control trade on the Blue Danube.

Well, it was time to move along once again. We walked down the hill and prepared to drive to Regensburg, also known as Ratisbon to the Celts and Ratisbona to the Romans over 1500 years ago.

Don't forget to come along with us on this last day of our Eurotrip 2002.