It took me a day, but I'm fully recovered from the Czechout party. It was one hell of a get together. The German/Czech border region was very beautiful. Lots of rolling hills, thick forests, and tight corners. Our directions to the party were very vague so it took some quick thinking and navigation to locate Klenova Castle. I spent a semester studying in the Czech Republic in the fall of 2006, but had never explored this part of the country.
We arrived at camp around 7 PM. The camp was quite a sight. Imagine 700 or so people in various stages of drunkenness were surrounded by all sorts of crappy little cars. The ones who had arrived early were easy to spot - they were always the drunkest. It was great to finally encounter some fellow Rally teams. The Jimnys were out in force - we were the only one at the Spanish launch but many more had started from Goodwood. We cracked beers, hurriedly set up camp and headed up to the castle for an authentic Czech dinner.
Most of the revelers were in costume. The theme was "Jules Verne" but most partygoers ignored the theme and wore whatever outlandish outfit they liked best. Several men wore only thongs. I salute them because the night became quite chilly and the bugs were out in force.
The meal was surprisingly good. Chicken, some sort of boiled sausage (it had a slight vinegar flavor but it was very tasty), and bread were served. The party was also sponsored by Hendricks Gin and I received two free drink tickets upon entry.
The gin and beer really started flying once the live music started. A local Czech band rocked really hard - they played a mix of post-rock/noise/dance stuff. Really awesome.
Things got a little hazy after the concert. One thing that sicks out: the generosity of Mongol Ralliers. Rally participants bought me beers. Scott and I completely forgot to grab some czech crowns on our way to the party and they were reluctant to accept Euros. I did have an amazing chat with a BBC foreign correspondent and it was good to see some of my friends from the Spanish launch.
I stumbled into my tent around 3:30 in the morning and managed to sleep until 8:30. Rough. We were one of the first teams out of camp which was nice.
The rest of the Czech Republic was a breeze. We did take a long, meandering route to Slovakia. This cost us some time but the scenery was worth it (how many times have I said this?).
The travel gods smiled on us again last night. We found an excellent little campground in Hungary - we enjoyed wi-fi and a delicious Hungarian dinner. Another interesting fact: we were the first Americans to stay there.
Romania has been wild. We're about two hours outside of Deva. This update is starting to get a little disjointed, so I'm going to wrap it up. Tomorrow is sure to be another long, but enjoyable day. We're heading into Transylvania and crossing into Bulgaria.
Highlight of the day: having to swerve around a horse cart in the middle of a Romanian road.
Photos will be up in the morning, I swear.
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