Charles IV: Charles Bridge, Prague - Karlovy Vary

Charles IV was a big hitter in these parts during the 14th century, King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor, not only did he sort the bridge out at Prague, but he also founded Karlovy Vary, which is named after him. He did a decent job with both, but enough of the 14th century, let's get back to the 21st.

Our two night camper stop in Prague was in somebody's back garden, the surprising thing was that most of the houses down this 'well to do' street, seemed to have had their large back gardens converted to accommodate campervans, and an impressive job have been made of them too. They are like mini Caravan Club sites with all having the amenities one would expect.

What we didn't expect when we departed on Sunday morning, was the drive across the city at a constant 43mph without the need to break stride for traffic lights, roundabouts, pedestrian crossings or other traffic. Prague has a roadway tunnel, which we joined as we went under the Vltava and continued through uninterrupted for 4 miles until we emerged in the western suburbs, excellent!

The dog on the trike was the highlight of our drive to Karlovy Vary, although we have no complaints with the Czech roads, or the beautiful rolling countryside that we swept through.

Whenever we look back over this trip this is one town that we certainly won't forget!

The town is presently preparing for the annual International Film Festival, something to do with the Crystal Globe Awards, so we had to be selective with our filming to avoid getting stage sets and advertising hoardings in shot. This didn't detract from the place though as almost every building in the town was a work of art.

Other than the warm water spouting out naturally from the 300 thermal springs, the most impressive sight is the Russian Orthodox Church. The cathedral of St Peter & St Paul is apparently the country's largest and most important of its kind. It was built in the style of the Byzantine-old Russian church in Ostankino near Moscow. We've never been in a church like this before, but the inside is in complete contrast to the outside, it was so dark and drab and not at all as we expected.

So Vary (as it's known locally) gets the massive thumbs up from us, and we would like to thank the Czech friend we met back in Italy, for the tip off. It should be on everyone's list if travelling through the country. His other recommendation was Cesky Krumlov, but as it's 150 miles southeast and we're westbound it will need to wait for our return.