Pension Nela hotel in Klatovy, Czech Republic

In Klatovy, we hit the jackpot with Pension Nela (Gorkého 840/2, 339 01 Klatovy, CZECH REPUBLIC; phone 00420/376 314 487, mobile 00420/723 906893, e-mail nela@fairweb.cz or visit www.klatovy.cz/pension-nela).

For our July ’05 stay, I asked for a discount and paid CZK450 ($17) for a double and CZK455 ($18) for a single, including breakfast. (Website prices in 2006 are CZK650 for a double and CZK450 for a single.)

Vendula Sojkovi, our hostess, took on our genealogy project and made phone calls for us. She asked her friend, Standa, to help us “open doors” in pursuit of our ancestor’s old homestead. Standa is a self-employed computer programmer who is a history buff and embraced this opportunity to practice his English. He enthusiastically worked with us for three days, even getting the archives in Pilsen to let us look at original record books. What wonderful serendipity!

The Sojkovis do not speak English, but we managed very well in my limited German. Vendula treated us as though we were guests in her home rather than clients to her pension.

• For our visit in Cesky Krumlov, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it was difficult to reserve three rooms for our stay even six months ahead. We booked the Pension Rosa (Linecka 54, 3801 01 Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic; phone +420 226 201 910-13 or e-mail rosa@prague-holiday.net) through a very helpful Czech travel agency I found on the Net, Motylek (www.motylek.com).

The pension, one of many in Cesky Krumlov, is centrally located, a 5-minute walk from the small town. The owners speak German but no English. In July ’05 we paid CZK1,200 ($56) per night for a single room and the same for a double, including breakfast.

By the way, encountering non-English-speaking people on our travels is a plus, for us. It affords us the opportunity to learn about the country and meet new friends. After all, we can always speak English at home.

The Czech people we met were warm, friendly and willing to please. While we were on our genealogy trek, in a small town a woman searched her home for postcards of the area since the local store was closed for the day. We were ecstatic because the postcard she found had an aerial view of our ancestral homestead.

Throughout the country, in small towns and large cities, there were plaques, monuments and personal stories telling how the Czech people welcomed and were thankful to the U.S. forces for their May 1945 liberation.

Of course, the sights in Prague are fantastic, the countryside is beautiful and Cesky Krumlov, a preserved medieval town full of castles, jousts and charm, is lots of fun. Bohemia is a treasure trove of experiences not to be missed.

CAROL ANN NULK

San Jose, CA