TO PRAGUE

  Today is Saturday 26th April, Kiras 16th birthday and on Tuesday 29th April we are setting out to drive to Prague in the Czech Republic where we have an Apartment booked for the nights of 4/5/6/7 May.

 As predicted nearly all of the blossoms on the tree opposite have gone largely assisted by the squally winds and rain we have been having.

  Why Prague? We have been told it's a great place to visit and very popular with the younger set. According to books its possible to get there in about 15 hours from here using mainly motorways. We, of course, are in no rush and plan to do it with 5 stop overs and hopefully have them spaced out so we don't get stuck sleeping in a lay-by for a night!

  We have booked hotels in Bourges, France: Geneva, Switzerland: Chur, Switzerland: Innsbruck, Austria: Nurnberg, Germany and then Prague. We have never been to any of these places. We chose IBIS (ACCOR) hotels because we like their facilities and they are economical. To some extent their locations determined where we would stop.

  Our first over-night stop Bourges is about the same distance on the map as Paris and we know that's about five hours away which is a comfortable drive. Usually IBIS select locations with some special significance though as yet we don't know why Bourges?

  Although not exactly near the river it is associated with the Loire valley. The Loire is over 1000km long and a grand river which runs from the Massif Central Plateau to the Atlantic Ocean at Nantes. The Western part of the valley taking in Angers, Tours and Orleans was famous as a playground for the rich and famous in the 1500's, who built many fabulous Chateaus. It is a popular tourist location which could be a problem. Depending on what the traffic is like and the weather, which has been atrocious the last few days, we hope to sight a few of these Chateaus.