Karl Wie War I

Mini breaks are my new favourites.
One tends to get a lot more out the time away (it's a mini-break - break is the biggest part of the description - I don't have to "do" anything other than be on a break)
The cat can take care of itself for a day or two - big ol' bowl of food, a pillow in the sun and a cracked cellar window keeps him plenty happy.
Travel time is minimal. Just enough time to catch up on some sock knitting in the car. And, when you live in central Europe, you can pop off to another country - like the Czech Republic.

We spent Halloween night in Karlovy Vary (as the Germans say: Karlsbad) . My neighbor Denisa is Czech and got us a great deal in a nice little hotel right smack in the middle of town.
The next day we hiked up above the town and got some great pics!
Actually, we had a little help getting up the mountain:










When we finished winding our way down to the town, we stopped by one of the healing springs. Jaywalker for middle sister wants to show off that it's nearing completion ;)

Then we walked through the entire town and back again chasing down a wool shop that changed address every time we asked directions. After miles of effort, I was rewarded with a shop that will be burned in my head as the Czech Acrylic Heaven. And it wasn't even cool Eastern European acrylic, it was all German imports :(

Minutes later, I was comforting myself with yummy potato croquettes and asparagus-topped, blue-cheese-smothered chicken breast. Neighbor Denisa walked us through a very tasty visit in her home country. Some of the more interesting dishes were potato dumplings with smoked meat inside and beef roasted in a sweet sauce and served with cranberries :)
We finished our lunch and shopped our way back to the cars. The weather had changed dramatically from the previous day and I was without new soft gloves, jacket or even proper shoes (turns out Keds don't hold up too well in freezing rain).
As we sloshed through the last steps to the parking garage, I looked up and swear I saw the word "Handwork" in the distance. I mumbled something to Dave through my frozen lips and ran up the steps leading to what I was praying wasn't a mirage.
And it wasn't - look at the sign on the window, too: the needles and yarn. We call this shop Wool Heaven. Picture of the wool coming soon!