The next day the whole group hopped on a bus, got a talk on Czech history from Barbara, and headed to Český Krumlov. Our guides Boris and Richard met us half way, and after settling into Hotel Ruze we had a short warm-up ride. Another short Czech history lesson by Sanda was eventually followed by a dinner reception. The following day's ride to Plav was the hardest of the week. Ended up walking several hills, but made it to a Czech farmhouse where we had a luncheon, and then the ride back. There was a visit to the Rožmberk castle overlooking the town, with a bear pit, sgraffitoed walls (a detail reflected throughout the town,) and one of the world's two surviving baroque theaters. Dinner at a gypsy restaurant was tasty. The following day we decamped early for the train station and hopped on for a ride to Nová Pec where we started the day's ride through the Šumava, a region of lovely forested hills on the German border. Under the Communists there were watchtowers and fences, and the area was patrolled with dogs to prevent people from escaping, but that is no more, and it now serves as a recreation area. We had mostly a gradual uphill ride until just before the border, where there was a final downhill to bring us into Germany.