Witch burning festival and karlovy vary

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures from this because it was night out, but last night was one of the coolest nights so far. May 1st here is kind of like Halloween. They have a witch burning festival in Kampa Park really close to our hostel. Women all dress up as witches, there is gypsy music, Bon fires, fireworks, and a ton of crazy people. They burn stuffed witches and all sit around the fire just hanging out listening to the music, dancing, etc. There are tons of gypsies in the Czech republic, and I'm pretty sure they were all at the park last night. The music sounded just what you would imagine gypsy music sounds like, and there were tons of people dancing in circles kind of like Greek dancing I guess. There were a lot of children with there parents dressed as witches as well as adults dressed up. It was pretty cool, definitely a new cultural experience.

Before that, we did our first day trips in groups of three. I went with Brent and Owen to Karlovy Vary, a spa town about 2 hours away by bus. I wish we had stayed longer and researched it more, because it is a spa town with tons of hot springs, spas, and restaurants. Owen and I were going to each splurge and get 50 minute massages, but all appointments were filled. There was a beautiful park though, and it was a very warm and sunny day so we relaxed there for a long time after a traditional Czech lunch and then some gelato of course. The buildings were even more colorful than most in Prague, and it wasn't quite as touristy which was nice. Here are some pictures from the day...

Country side on the bus ride over



Part of the park in front of the Elizabeth spa


Can't see much, but this is a row of really pretty buildings on the other side of the river



Close up of the buildings..







A really old building that I thought was cool













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