As stated for about the fifth blog post now, Cesky Krumlov is a town taken straight from a fairytale. After touring the castle on Thursday and then lunch at the Eggenberg brewery, several of us ventured to the Shakespeare bookstore. I felt just as Belle from Beauty and the Beast as I perused the bookshelves of this local Czech bookshop.
Then, my eyes passed over the section of Peguin Popular Classics...specifically Victor Hugo's Les Misérables. Though the shop only carried an abridged version, I felt like I needed to fully commit to my Beauty and the Beast vision. I purchased the book and then began to wander around Cesky Krumlov. The characters of Monsieur le Maire and Fantine and Eponine seemed right at home here in the Czech Republic as in the city of Paris.
Thus, a cheap weekend activities for you misers out there--just pick up a book. Become a reader. There truly is a mysterious appeal to sitting in a strange place, a coffeeshop or creperie or brewery or cafe set on the river, and then dive into a novel. Especially a classic. To invite the characters, who you meet for the first time, to experience this new place with you.
Les Mis has also been an excellent precursor to my weekend trip here in Paris. I am taking a break from the Hugo's pages just to finish this blog post. We will return to Prague this evening, and I am constantly impressed with these beautiful places and the opportunity to visit them all. Also the ability to slow down and be a photographer, a historian, a reader, and a traveler all at once.