České Budějovice Puns

Hi! I frequently fly from NYC to the Czech Republic to visit family, ultimately trying to get to CB (or even Cesky Krumlov) and am still not sure the best/cheapest way to get there and hoping to hear from others who have made and hopefully optimized the trek.

I'm going to list the routes I've taken and the pros and cons of going that way. Getting picked up by family is really not ideal and train transfers can be bad if there is a lot of time between arrival of one and departure of the next:

1. NYC to Prague: I think this is the ideal route because the train to CB is just 2 hours; however, there are no direct flights between NYC airports and Prague and it's usually cheaper to fly to Vienna or Munich
2. NYC to Vienna: closest airport by car and there are direct flights but the train to CB goes first to Prague which is massively out of the way. Alternative could be taking a ~1hr train to Linz and then a ~2hr train to CB
3. NYC to Munich: there are direct flights (though Lufthansa and United can be really hit or miss) but it's hard to get to CB—either ~2.5hr train to Passau and get picked up by car or ~3hr train to Linz and then a ~2hr train to CB
4. NYC to Berlin: this was a mistake lol. Don't do this unless you plan to stay in Berlin or maybe even Prague for some time. It's too far away

All of these options are fine over a two day trip, I've found, and I usually prioritize 1) a direct flight 2) price of flight over the time and cost of travel after the plane has landed. Not sure that's the best way so I'm willing to switch it up a bit next time.

I also just use Google Flights to find flights...is there something better I should use specifically for this journey? Thanks in advance!

Sure, the answer depends a lot.. so I'd highly appreciate if you consider my little Expat situation in your statement:

[1] Expat? Why not PrAAAha? Well, that's where we live right now! But it's just too expensive to find affordable property 🏠 around here - and it's getting tight in our current flat, with a growing family.. So, property price is really a major factor in our case. In this regard, Brno is probably still significantly more expensive than the other two, right?

[2] We love nature. The classic wish: Living somewhere close to real nature would be a big plus. But at the same time having everything (especially job opportunities - my partner is a social worker, works with disabled people..) within reach as well. I figure this is easier to achieve around some smaller city - Pluspoints for Budějovice & Olomouc?

[3] Expat communities apart from Prague & Brno? As an expat, I of course would appreciate some more foreigners in the surrounding. Would you say the students towns Budějovice and Olomouc serve this?

I saw a homeless man that was wearing a potato bag over his sholders? and a long stick. Does anyone know him? I am so interested in his story. From what I heard, he gets really agressive when someone takes a picture of him.