On Saturday July 3rd we left around six AM. We drove via Hengelo, Osnabrück, Hannover, Magdeburg and Leipzig towards Dresden. Along the way, the weather varied from moment to moment, from heavy rain showers to sunshine. Around 2:30 PM we arrived at our hotel in Dresden, Hotel-Pension Kaden. Apart from the owner there was no personnel in the hotel. She took us to our room. After we had some rest from the tiring journey we took the tram to the Altstad of Dresden. In the meantime, the weather had changed completely into a bright blue sky. Around 3:30 PM we arrived in the centre of Dresden. There was some kind of festival, booths and music everywhere. We walked along some of the sightings of Dresden, like the Frauenkirche that is being restored (from the damage of WW II!), the cathedral, the Semper opera, the Stallhof and of course the most famous sight of all, the Zwinger. There is a lot of restoring going own in Dresden; most of it is still repair work from the damage of WW II that had not been carried out in the DDR (former Eastern Germany) era. After a great dinner, outside, on a terrace as the weather was still great, we took the tram back to our hotel. On the way the our hotel it started to rain again.

The following day we left after breakfast around 9:15 AM. The weather looked promising, again a bright blue sky with some friendly white clouds. Just after ten o'clock we arrived at the German-Polish border. We didn't have to wait very long. In just under 10 minutes we set foot at Polish soil. But unfortunately, the highway ended right after the border and we continued our way via local roads through small villages and towns. Ciska, seeing all the old houses, wondered if there were actually people living in those old houses. After about 60 km we thought we would arrive at the highway towards Wrocław. We did, but the road is still under construction, so most of the way is still a bumpy 2-lane road on which overtaking is impossible. Some parts are finished so on those parts you can make some progress. Finally, around 1 PM we arrived in the centre of Wrocław where we parked our car and continued by foot. First we went to the central square called Rynek. This square has been beautiful restored and is loaded with all kinds of restaurants. At the Tourist Info we picked up a map of the town and then we walked to the university where we saw, among other things, the Leopoldine Hall. We also climbed the tower of the university from which you have a nice view over Wrocław. From the university we walked to the Raclawice Panorama, a gigantic rotunda accommodating a 120 meters wide and 15 meters high panoramic painting which represents the battle of Raclawice in 1794 between Russian troops and Polish rebels. Via a headphone you can get explanations in several languages. When we left the Panorama it was already 5 PM so we went back to our car to continue out journey towards Kalna, a more than 3-hour drive from Wrocław. From Wrocław onwards the highway is finished and all the way to Gliwice it is a four-line highway where progress can be made. The highway ends at Gliwice and from there on you are mostly on local roads. Around 8:30 PM we arrived at Villa Kotlina in Kalna where we were welcomed by the friendly Dutch owners, Kees and Gerda. This pension is no longer operating.

The next day the sun was shining in a clear blue sky, quite a difference compared with the previous day. In the morning we went to Żywiec, a town not far from Kalna and known for its brewery where the famous Polish beer with the same name is brewed. On Wednesday there is a local market in Żywiec where all kind of products can be bought. There is also some livestock for sale like chickens, piglets, calves, rabbits etc. When you buy a small animal like e.g. a rabbit, you'll receive in a plastic bag. So on the market you will see a lot of people walking with a moving plastic bag containing a rabbit or a chicken. From the market we drove on to the centre of Żywiec to see the most important sights of the town. In the park we went to the castle, a bit rundown, it definitely needs to be restored. In the castle there was an exhibition about spiders and scorpions which we visited. Luckily most of these creepy creatures were caged. At the entrance, the boy that sold the tickets had a tarantula spider walking around on his desk. Visitors were allowed to stroke it or to put the spider on their hand. Ciska and Hilleke didn't like the idea of doing that, but Arjan indeed had the spider on his hand and stroke it. This gave Ciska and Hilleke the creeps. After the exhibition we walked through the centre of the town and had something to eat on the central square before we went back to Kalna.

On Thursday the 8th of July we made a second attempt to visit Krakow. At least the weather looked much more promising than two days before. The sun shining in a clear blue sky. We followed a tourist route that Kees had given us and after about 2 hours we arrived in Krakow. First we walked to the Rynek Główny (Main Market Square) where we visited St Mary's Church. A typical example of exaggerated catholic pomp and circumstance, the choir is dominated by the most important piece of art of the church: The monumental High Altar of Wit Stwosz (Veit Stoss). After the visit to the church we walked through the Cloth Hall (Sukiennice) from where we walked to the Florianusgate and back through the Florianska street to the main square and continued towards the Wawel. Until the 17th century the Polish empire was governed from this citadel. We visited the cathedral, the construction of it started in 1320 after the previous one cathedral was destroyed by fire. We also visited the crypt in which the Polish Royal family is buried. We also climbed the Zygmunt tower which holds the largest bell of Poland, the Zygmunt (Sigismund) bell, it has a diameter of 2.4 metres and weighs 6 tons. From the cathedral we went down in the Dragon's Den below the Wawel. According the legend once a large fire spitting dragon lived in this cave. Each week it was fed a large amount of cattle to prevent that it would start eating people. King Krak back then promised that the one who would defeat the dragon was allowed to marry his daughter. Skuba, a poor cobbler, went to the king. He filled a lamb's fleece with sulphur and laid it in front of the cave. The dragon ate it and soon after the whole castle shook to its foundations because of the roaring dragon. It went to the river and drank until it exploded. Then there was a large wedding-feast in the castle for the wedding of the princess and the cobbler. In front of the Dragon's Den there is a large bronze dragon. From the Wawel we walked back to the Rynek Square to have something to eat before we went back to Kalna.

Saturday the 10th of July. After we had breakfast and loaded all our luggage into the car and after we had paid the bill and Kees photographed us for his electronic guestbook we left around half past nine. Kees had given us an alternative route towards Slovakia via the town of Zakopane. After a ride through a beautiful countryside we arrived around noon in Zakopane, a very busy tourist destination. We had lunch there and we also spent our last Polish money. Also Ciska spend her last money on a beautiful wooden box and some necklaces and bracelets. When it started to rain we went back to the car to continue our drive to Slovakia. Around two we left Zakopane and after again a beautiful ride, with some rain now and then, we arrived at the Polish-Slovak border. Also here we didn't have to wait very long, within 10 minutes we were at Slovak soil. The first things we noticed is that the roads are much better here than in Poland, but the road signs are not very clear. Some are very small and sometimes even the larger places are not mentioned on the signs. We first drove through the High Tatra Mountains, a nice mountainous area with snow on the higher mountains. After we had left the High Tatras we came in a more flat area, but only a short time after we were again surrounded by the hills and mountains of the so-called Slovak Paradise. After a long ride south through the heart of Slovakia we finally headed east towards the town of Košice via highway 50 (E571). This is a quiet road and not very winding so we finally could make some progress. We now drove parallel to the border with Hungary. Near Moldava we left the highway to continue on local roads via Jasov to Medzev. In the latter town we saw an ATM so we were able to draw our first Slovak crowns. From Medzev it was only a short drive to Vyšný Medzev to our apartment in a rebuild farm. We were kindly received by Jana and Harrie. Harrie told us something about the surroundings and what there is to see and do. After that we installed ourselves in our apartment. A nice 2-room apartment on the first (Am. second) floor. Then we went down again to have something to eat and discussed with Harrie some of the things we could do the coming days.

When in Slovakia, a visit to Spišský Hrad can not be missed. Spišský Hrad is the largest castle ruin of its kind in Europe. Via small winding roads we drove in just under two hours to the castle. On the way Ciska complained about stomachache and just after that she said she had to vomit. For this we always have a special vomit-towel with us (experience) and at the first possible place we stopped. At the moment we dragged het from the car she started vomiting, luckily everything ended up in the towel and not directly in the car. When she felt a little better we continued. When we arrived at the parking place of the castle she had to vomit again. When all was dome we had to do a steep climb to arrive at the castle itself. It took us about 20 to 30 minutes to climb up there. It is an extremely large and impressive castle ruin, the original castle burned down in 1720. We walked around there for a few hours (it is really that big) to see the whole castle and the accompanying museum. When we were ready with our visit we had something to eat before returning to our apartment via Presov and Košice. This is all highway and not small winding roads to prevent Ciska from vomiting again. We also wanted to visit the caves in Jasov, near Medzev, but they were already closed so we returned back to Vyšný Medzev as there would be a camp-fire with dinner at six. In the evening we had a camp-fire with sauerkraut soup, prepared by Jana, a Slovak speciality, amongst other Slovak dishes. While we were having dinner it started to rain so we all went to the brand new covered terrace where we had a really nice companionable evening with Harrie, Jana and the other guests.

After lunch we drove to a place called Zádiel where we did a walk in the Zádielska Dolina, the gap of Zádiel. Luckily the sky had cleared up, no more traces of rain or dark clouds. We made a magnificent walk through the 3.5 km long gap, between high rising rock-faces and along a lovely murmuring brook, to a restaurant. This restaurant is a typical example of departed glory from the Soviet Bloc era. A concrete box without windows and a few steel doors, it didn't look very inviting. It was closed so we ate our apples on one of the benches that stood outside. Some time later it turned out that someone was present in the box and we bought something to eat and drink. Following a short rest, Arjan and Ciska decided to climb up the rocks. Hilleke stayed below as it was a rather strenuous climb and she still suffered from the blisters she contracted during the climbs of the previous days. After a strenuous climb of about half an hour, Arjan and Ciska arrived at the top of the rock. Along the way, Ciska had to take a few rests, but the climb was definitely an achievement for a five-year old girl. Once above, we had a magnificent view over the surroundings and as the sky was clear we could see very far, way into Hungary. After about a quarter of resting and enjoying the view we went back down which went much faster. In the meantime, Hilleke had enjoyed the beautiful weather and the squirrels in the wood. Back down again we had to walk another 3.5 km back to the car. Along the way we heard a moped or something like that coming our way. But before we could see it, we heard a loud crash and then nothing. A moment later we saw two men climbing from the verge. When we arrived there we saw that they had driven from the slope with their old Jawa motor-cycle and had ended up in the shrubs, two metres below the road surface. In Slovak they asked Arjan if he could help them to get the motor-cycle back on the road. In the meantime Hilleke and Ciska could take care of the rabbit they carried in a shopping-bag. They were afraid that it might escape otherwise; the rabbit was probably their dinner. After some troubles Arjan and the two men succeeded in pushing the motor-cycle back onto the road. One of the men was still searching for some tools he had carried in his jacket and were fallen in the mud after the crash, a number of spanners, screw-drivers and a spare spark-plug for the engine. Back on the road they were able to start the engine, but it didn't have any power. As soon as they released the clutch, the engine stopped. After thanking us (we presume, it was in Slovak) and Ciska petting the rabbit we continued to our car. Back at the car we then drove to a roadside restaurant to have some fish. Unfortunately not so good as the one we had in Poland. The restaurant also looked rather old and not very inviting but we didn't want to find another one. After eating a very expensive fish (more than 900 SKK) we went back to our apartment.

The next day we got up early, as we had to check out from the bungalow before 10 am. After breakfast at our terrace we packed everything in the car. The suddenly, Hilleke remembered where she had put the key of our bungalow, in her waistcoat. Yesterday, when we left, she first had her waistcoat on. And indeed, luckily the key was still in her waistcoat. That will save us a security of 500 SKK. After we had checked out, we first went to Pezinok, a small town north of Bratislava to go to the Tourist Office. We had some difficulty in finding it. We asked a car-park attendant, but he didn't know, finally it turned out it was only 100 metres from that very spot. At the Tourist Office they had a portfolio with addresses of hotels, pensions, etc. We saw a nice hotel with some nice looking chalets next to it. The lady of the Tourist Office made a phone-call and made reservations for us. We also took a wine-tour map of the surroundings with us. In this part of Slovakia, north of the capital, you may find many vineyards. Before we went to the hotel we first wandered around in Pezinok. In about one and a half hour you have seen it all. The hotel is in a small village, Svätý Jur, just south of Pezinok and the hotel is named Horský-Hotel Eva. The lady at the reception only spoke Slovak, no English or German, so the communication was a bit troublesome. We had to pay 2000 SKK for two nights and then she lead us to a hotel room. That was not what we meant. It turned out that the lady at Tourist Office had booked a hotel room and not a chalet. We were then able to explain her that we wanted to stay in a chalet and not in the hotel. Finally she understood and she phoned someone else, the reception of the chalets. Sometime later they called back to say that there was place for us to stay. So we went there, the chalets are right behind the hotel. The lady at the reception over there also only spoke Slovak and again with some trouble we were able to ask her that we wanted to stay in one of the chalets. She then preceded us up onto a dark stair, on the way she pointed us the toilet and bathroom. Up the stairs we came in a small dark room with three filthy beds. That was not what we had in mind. It turned out that the two chalets have a number of small rooms that you can rent. So we went back to the hotel and took a room there as we didn't feel like searching any further. After we had put all our stuff in the room, which was very large and very clean, we left to explore this wine-country. Along the way we stopped several times to quench our thirst, it was again a very warm day. On our tour we also passed the Čeverný Kameň castle where we stopped. There we first had something to eat and drink and Ciska went for a ride on a pony. Then we walked towards the castle itself, along the way we saw that there would be a bird of prey show at 16:15. That looked like fun, but that was to begin in half an hour so we decided first to see the courtyard of the castle. In the courtyard there was small vinothèque that we decided to enter. We tasted some wine and finally we left the small shop with 6 bottles + 1 for free. After putting the bottles in the car it was about time for the bird show to begin. There were several very large birds of prey that flew very low over the audience, sometimes so low that you could feel them and had to hunch. Some of the birds were set free from the castle. Amongst the birds that we saw were eagle owls, several ravens and crows, a buzzard, a falcon, a tawny eagle and a golden eagle. After the show was over we walked along some cages with even more birds. Ciska also had a very heavy eagle owl (almost have of what she weighs) on her arm for making a picture. She thought the bird was very heavy, so heavy that a boy belonging to the show had to support her arms. That was something she dared do to, but the small Tarantula spider, back in Żywiec, she didn't like. After all we didn't visit the castle and we went to Trnava to have dinner. We picked this somewhat larger town as they probably have a restaurant where they speak English or German and have a menu in any of these languages. In those situations a travel dictionary is of no use, most things are not listed. After a delicious dinner we went back to the hotel.

The next day, Hilleke and Ciska went shopping and Arjan went to the internet cafe to find a place to stay for the coming nights. But the internet cafe was still closed and it would open at 10 o'clock. After it had opened it doors we found a number of addresses to stay the coming nights. While Arjan continued searching, Hilleke started to phone a few of them to inquire whether it would be possible to stay the coming nights. Sometime later she returned saying she made reservations for a cottage on camping Dolce Vita in a village called Oblanov Dolce near Trutnov, near the border with Poland. After making the reservations we went back to the hotel to hand-in our room key and the parking ticket and then we left Kromĕříž. According an article we read, there a number of beautiful squares to see in the towns of Olomouc and Litomyšl. First we went to Olomouc, we arrived there around noon. After parking our car we went to a terrace next to the 15th century astronomical clock to have something to drink. The astronomical clock is a real beauty. The city has a large number of fountains. One of them is one the Horní Námĕstí, the central square of Olomouc. While Hilleke went to the post-office to buy some stamps, Ciska and Arjan walked to that fountain. This fountain has a number of spouting dolphins and other animals. It is a real children's fountain. A lot of children are walking through the water. Also Ciska took of her shoes and walked through the cool water of the water. On a certain moment she slipped, resulting in a wet pair of pants, for her that was the end of walking in the fountain. After that we walked through the centre of Olomouc before continuing our trip to the next town, Litomyšl.

After a night with some rain we went to the restaurant to have breakfast. After breakfast we went to the Trutnov. On the way to Trutnov we stopped at a large supermarket where we bought a small refrigerator that works on 12V in the car as well as 220V in the cottage. In Trutnov we parked our car near the centre of town and we went to the Tourist Office to get some information about the town and its surroundings. After we had something to drink we went to see the central square. All those towns all have such an attractive central square with shops and restaurants around it, a fountain and some benches. One is larger and/or more beautiful than the other, but in most places you may find such a square. The one is Trutnov isn't really big and also not very special, but there are some interesting façades to admire. Because Hilleke had made reservation for the washing machine at the camping for three o'clock we went back to the camping around 2:30. Back at the campground, Hilleke did the laundry while Arjan replaced the broken headlight of the car. After that we walked to the lake with Ciska for a swim. The water wasn't very clean, but Ciska enjoyed herself very much in the water as well as in the nearby playground. After Hilleke having done a second laundry we went back to Trutnov to have dinner at one of the restaurants at the square. After dinner we drove back to our cottage where we arrived around 10 o'clock. We put Ciska to bed immediately, it was again late for her.

The next day after breakfast we drove towards Karlstein castle, not far from Beroun. Via winding roads through the mountains we arrived at the parking place near the castle. It is not allowed to drive all the up to the castle and according a sign at the parking place it was a long and steep road to the castle. But there is also a taxi or horse and carriage that could take you up the hill. The first one attracted Hilleke, Ciska was more in favour of the second one. When we asked the attendant about the timetable of the taxi it turned out that the castle is closed on Mondays. Yes, we could have known that, on Mondays most museums and such are closed. But according some people returning it was worth it going through the village and watch the castle from there. Also the road into the village was not that far and steep. After a short walk we already saw the castle rising high above the village. it really looks like a castle from a fairy-tale. Most souvenir shops are open on Mondays, but not all. Also here a lot of shops selling Bohemian crystal and glassware. Some items are really beautiful, but some are also very large or fragile that we doubt whether we will manage to get it home in one piece. We only buy some small things or things that are very well packed. After admiring the castle from down below we had something to drink before returning to our car to go to Mariánské Láznĕ. Mariánské Láznĕ is famous for its spas. In and around town there are a lot of mineral springs that are supposed to be healing. After visiting the Tourist Office and lunch we continued our way into town. It is, by the way, a hopeless city to drive, a lot of one-way streets or streets that you may only enter with a special permit. So you definitely need a map to get from point A to point B. After parking the car we walked towards the Maxim Gorki Colonnade, one of the main attractions of the city. In the pouring rain, the whole day we had looked at a grey overcast sky. Also during our trip to this town we had some rain, but from the moment we left the car it really started to pour. At the Colonnade we walked through it and drank mineral water from a number of springs. Most of them didn't taste very well. What stroke us was the fact that the average age of the people walking around was lowered by our presence, it are mainly elderly people visiting this place. They probably have the highest needs for the healing water, although all posters only depict beautiful and smiling young women in a bath. Because of the rain we didn't want to visit more of the town and decided to find an internet cafe to search for a place to stay. It turned out that we had parked our car in front of another Tourist Office that also had public internet PCs. While Arjan checked the mail, Hilleke organised a place to stay. We are staying in a hotel on a hill just outside town, hotel Panorama. Via a small and winding road up the hill we arrived at the hotel. Our first impression was one of: "In what kind of decaying mess have we ended up now?". But when we entered the lobby all looked much better. A lady guided us to our room, but as soon as we left the lobby the sadness of fallen grandeur stroke us. Stairs telling of better times and beautiful leaded glass windows. We walked over shabby carpets through high, sad looking corridors. The lady told us that we are the only guests in the hotel. The hotel is being renovated, our room was ok, equipped with a new installed toilet and bathroom. This hotel is one of the oldest in Mariánské Láznĕ, it opened up in 1872. In its glory days it undoubtedly must have been a very luxurious hotel for that time. But during the communist era the hotel probably was neglected and now it is being restored to its old grandeur with modern luxury. So maybe in a few years it is again one of the high ranked hotels in this town and you probably have to pay a lot more for a room than we did. After dragging all our luggage up (there is no elevator) we took a rest in our room before returning to town to have dinner.

After again another very sumptuous breakfast buffet in our private hotel we packed the car and left into the direction of Germany. The border crossing into Germany went without any delay, they weren't even interested in our passports, we were allowed to continue without stopping. Once in Germany, we thought that we could make good progress on the German autobahn towards Nuremberg. But unfortunately, the motorway (A6) from the border towards Nuremberg is still under construction. So large stretches of the road you drive on 2-lane local roads on which you may think that you are back in one of the former countries when you are driving behind a truck. After a lunch stop at a gas station we arrived in the neighbourhood of Nuremberg around three in the afternoon. It took some time to find the camping, Knaus Campingpark. We didn't know the exact location of the camping, only that it was to the southeast of Nuremberg and we also didn't have the address or phone number of the camping with us. But at some point we saw a sign towards a campground, we only hoped that that would be our camping as it didn't carry a name. And luckily it turned out to be our camping. When we arrived there we wondered whether our reservation would be ok, we knew that our fax didn't arrive and Hilleke had only a confirmation by phone. But the lady in the office had us in her computer, so there was a rental caravan available for us. The lady took us there. It was an ordinary caravan without shower and toilet. There are a lot of people from the Netherlands at this campground and a lot of them come here to visit the Playmobil Funpark, just like us, in the cause of the afternoon we see a lot of people return to the camping with large plastic bags filled with boxes of Playmobil. Also our Dutch neighbours return with some of those bags. They have a seven year old son, Daniël, who bought some Playmobil. For the remaining part of the day, Ciska played with Daniël and his new Playmobil. And because we are now at a camping and have our own kitchen again, Hilleke cooked dinner for the second time this holiday.

The next day after breakfast we went to the Playmobil Funpark in Zirndorf, west of the city, a 20 minutes drive from the camping. When we arrived there, Hilleke discovered that she had forgotten her bag with her wallet, it was still in the caravan. Fortunately, Arjan also had some euros in his wallet so at least we were able to pay the entrance fee for the park and the parking garage. Both the entrance fee and parking fee are very cheap, the entrance fee is € 5,50 pp, also for children and parking is euro; 1,- for the whole day. Also eating in the park is not expensive, three people can eat for less than € 10,- in total. They assume that you will spent all your money in the adjoining Playmobil shop. After we entered the park, Hilleke left again to drive to the centre of Zirndorf to draw some money from an ATM. The Playmobil Funpark is a kind of amusement park with for example pirates, Indians, a Maya temple, a farm, etc. Everywhere there are life-size Playmobil figures and animals. There are also a lot of attractions with water, but we didn't bring a bathing suit and towel for Ciska so in all of these attractions she couldn't go any deeper than her knees. There is also a large building in which all children can play with Playmobil, many of the large boxes like the zoo and Noah's ark are available to play with. Also trains and buildings are there for the children to play with. This is inside, so also when the weather is not that good children are able to enjoy oneself. But today the weather is great, a bright blue sky with a few small clouds. It is very warm in the sun and most of the time we try to be in the shade. There is also an indoor activity centre that enables children to clamber and climb. This building is still under construction, but a part of it is already open. Also a good destination in case the weather isn't that good. The whole park is aimed at children; there is not much to do for their parents apart from playing together with their children. Around 3 o'clock we went to the shop. Ciska already had selected some things she wanted to buy. From her own money she bought two giraffes and a baby giraffe, a stork pool and a dolphin. We also gave her some things like a crocodile pool, a panda paradise, a horse and carriage, an animal truck with a kangaroo and some other small things. We didn't buy her the zoo as it is a very large box to take home and it has not that many animals. Now with all the smaller boxes she has much more animals to play with. The Playmobil, by the way, is much cheaper her than with us in the Netherlands. In Holland the zoo will cost you about € 119,- and her it is only € 85,-. Also the smaller boxes are much cheaper her. After having paid for all the stuff we bought we drove to a supermarket to do some shopping for dinner and breakfast and back to the camping. Back there, Ciska and Daniël played the whole afternoon and evening with their new toys.