August 21

August 21st (sunny)
Georg didn’t sleep well at all worried about the fact our inside electrical didn’t seem to work. I thought that possibly they weren’t working because we had sat idle in Prague. To compound our worries, we noticed that the heat indicator light was blinking and would not stop. Georg thought that we could possibly have a water pump problem. Good side of the morning is that our two new tires are still inflated. We decided that because of our 10:30 brewery tour time, we would search out a VW dealership afterwards.
We were fortunate to be assigned to an earlier tour with a very nice group from Taiwan. The tour was exceptionally informative. Interesting to see how much manpower that new technology has replaced. We were tempted to buy souveniers, but stuck to our guns – pictures only. Upon completion of the tour, we drove through Plenz looking for a VW dealership with the red light still blinking and the battery-operated lights and water pump not working. Georg’s words – “Sandra managed to find a dealership using her charming, delightful personality”.
The manager told us that if parts were required for a van this old, it would take about four days. He brought a mechanic to us who spoke German and Georg quizzed him about the car’s water pump, etc. and the first thing the mechanic said after he saw the van was “You’re driving a piece of history!”. He assured us that if it was a water pump problem we would not have been able to cover the 20 mile drive without it overheating and that it was probably just an electrical hiccup. We decided to take the gamble and drive to Cesky Krumlov near the Austrian border.
On the way there, Georg had enough. The ongoing repairs and issues with the van the last couple of days have made the trip not pleasurable to him. I was a little taken aback, but after some thinking, told him that whatever he decided, we would do. We noticed at a gas station prior to our end destination that the blinking red light had disappeared and the internal lights and water tap on the sink worked. This heightened our spirits. We found the campsite and set up hoping that we have turned a corner with Susi’s issues.