I am currently in Olomouc which is the fifth largest city in the Czech Republic. I have been here for a day and I love it. The city is beautiful and the streets are un-crowded.  Oh and it doesn't hurt that I have only been able to identify a few other tourists while on my adventures around town.

This is pretty amazing to me considering the fact that there are so many tourists crawling the streets in Prague and Olomouc is only a 3 hour train ride away.  I have been staying in one of the best hostels of my trip--the Poets Corner Hostel.  It was recommend by Lonely Planet--thanks.

Olomouc is a university town but right now there are not any students around so it is the best of both worlds. There are coffee shops and bars but not too many students or people for that matter.  I am very happy that I decided to make the city part of my tour. 

Oh and I went to this great local bar last night called Moritz they are a local microbrewery.  For about 5 dollars I had two large beers--half liter--and a bowl of garlic soup--um, wow, that was serious soup no vampires are coming close to me for the next week or so.  I guess that is a good thing as northern Romania is on my to do list and that is the home of Dracula.

Today I went on an excellent walking tour with that the hostel runs.  Igot to see tons of the city and to learn a lot more about the history of the region and to hear some local myths-stories about buildings, names and the like.  It was the kind of tour that makes a city feel much more familiar and I was glad for that.

Tomorrow I am taking the train to Wroclaw in Poland.  Wish me luck.  Oh and in case you cant tell, I am having a great time. Even if these key boards around Eastern Europe are kind of tricky with lots of extra and different keys...