Steal my sunshine (and water, too)

So after what seemed like a never-ending heat spell that lasted most of July, Prague suddenly finds itself thrust into an early fall. That's what it feels like, anyway. Temperatures have plummeted and it's been mostly gray and rainy for over a week. The heat and humidity wasn't exactly pleasant, but at the same time, I'm not ready for fall weather just yet! I was hoping to maintain some semblance of a tan. Sigh! Here's to hoping that some sunshine and warmth return before the onset of autumn!

So Mikki arrived last week. One of the best things about having visitors is that it gives you an excuse to be a tourist in your own city. Having been working full-time for most of the year, I haven't seen as much of the tourist sites here in CZ as one might think. On his first night here, we hit the Letna Beer Garden, and then on Friday we left for a night in Cesky Krumlov. This was my second time here (the first being Melissa's visit back in March) and I found it a much different place than the first time. It was LOADED with tourists! Unforunately, the weather was in a rut almost the whole time.

On Sunday, Beth, Molly, Mikki and I rented a car and took a drive through the Czech countryside, which included stops at two medieval castles and Karlovy Vary. Again, the weather was totally miserable, but we made the most of it regardless. Thank heavens for the car! The highlight of our roadtrip was a stop in Loket, an adorable Czech town not far from the German border that miraculously seems to have escaped the tourist trade. The entire town is surrounded on all sides by the Ohri River and featuring adorable 18th century architecture. Of course, a gorgeous castle towers high about the river on a bluff...easily on par with anything I've seen along the Rhine and elsewhere!

I guess I should have been more thankful for the rain...because yesterday, I awoke to find the water turned off in our apartment. Thinking it was yet another of our various water problems, I didn't get too worked up about it initially. But as it turns out, it was our entire neighborhood! Why does it always seem to happen when I have guests? They already think I live in the Stone Age, not having a microwave, TV set or proper oven!