From Vienna to Prague, we paid 10 fl. 10 kr.
from Stockerau to Prague, without reckoning expense of omnibus and
railway. It was certainly a dearly-bought half-hour. {3}
The little town of Znaim, with its neighbouring convent, is situated
on a large plain, extending from Vienna to Budwitz, seventeen miles
beyond Znaim; the monotony of the view is only broken here and there
by low hills.
Near Schelletau the scenery begins to improve. On the left the view
is bounded by a range of high hills, with a ruined castle,
suggestive of tragical tales of centuries gone by. Fir and pine
forests skirt the road, and lie scattered in picturesque groups over
hill and dale.
April 11th.
Yesterday the weather had already begun to be ungracious to us. At
Znaim we found the valleys still partly covered with snow, and the
fog was at times so thick, that we could not see a hundred paces in
advance; but to-day it was incomparably worse. The mist resolved
itself into a mild rain, which, however, lost so much of its
mildness as we passed from station to station, that every thing
around us was soon under water. But not only did we ride through
water, we were obliged to sit in it also. The roof of our carriage
threatened to become a perfect sieve, and the rain poured steadily
in. Had there been room for such a proceeding, we should all have
unfurled our umbrellas.
