Cesky Krumlov!

If it isn't Hradcany in Prague or the Charles bridge, when you see travel posters for the Czech Republic, you see pictures of places like Cesky Krumlov, a medieval town nestled in the hills of an almost 360 degree bend of the upper reaches of the Vltava river (Moldau to you Smetana fans) and all of it in the shadow of a massive Castle!

From Plzen we took a train through the rolling hills to Cesky Budjovice, the main town in South Bohemia and home of another famous beer, Budweiser (known globally now as Budvar so as not to be confused with the weak ...stuff... they sell on the TV in America).

Tracks S of Budjovice.                                                       Our train winds south.

Mia in train car interior.  Though a tourist destination, Krumlov is a little out of the way and it is past the high season.  The train was only 3 or 4 cars long and this was the only double decker.  Nice being high up though, as we were going through beautiful countryside, wooded sections, and pretty little villages.

South Bohemian village.  Looks pretty prosperous.

 



Along the way we crossed the upper reaches of the Vltava. Both Budjovice and Krulov are on this river, as well as Prague of course.

Small town, small station.  Not knowing much about the town we got a taxi to take us down the hill to it.  He was going to charge us 100CzK but when I told him we were going to the Jelenka restaurant, where Maria had arranged another Air B&B stay upstairs from the bar, he said that was only 50CzK.  Of course I would have paid the 100 but this guy was scrupulous.   We settled in, with the help of the manager, Vaclav, a nice guy, himself born in Kutna Hora, and then began the walk through some woods, over a small stream to the Castle.  On the other side of the Castle is the river, and over some footbridges, the old town.

 















There was a construction project re-rocking walls on the other side.  Looking up are several floors of bridges connecting two parts of the castle.  We went left here and ascended the south end where we saw the beautiful round tower.


Before entering the castle we crossed a dry moat.  Instead of water and snakes, this one had bears.  Is this cruel?  I don't think so.  These guys look like they have it quite good, especially with the odd tourist or two tumbling over now and then when loosing her balance taking a picture.




First courtyard in the castle.

Second courtyard.  It was raining hard now and the archways between the courtyards made a good place to wait it out.  Here and there was a gift shop or bookstore, and I ducked into one and bought an umbrella.  Immediately of course, it stopped raining. 

Left: Looking downstream from a castle nook.  On the left is the rest of the castle and that round tower that dominates the town. 



In fact, here is a closeup.  See the people on it?  We could have taken that tour but instead we took the tour of the castle proper and saw a lot of the interior rooms and such.  It was very informative but pictures weren't allowed inside. Too bad.  Nevertheless, we have plenty of pics looking out from the castle and then looking back up to it once we got to town.

Cesky Krumlov and the Vltava from the bridge between the two halves of the castle.  You can rent kayaks and go over the falls.  Those are restaurants along the edge with outdoor seating.  It is raining again when I took these photos.  It would rain off an on the whole day we were here but that didn't detract from the drama of the place.

Breathtaking place. 

We descended from the castle and crossed the river over a pedestrian bridge that this Korean woman was even more excited about than me or Maria... and we were pretty pumped!  Right at the foot of this little bridge is a neat place called "Hotel Dvorak".  This is where I stay next time!  We sat on the deck and did some people watching and drank a couple of Pivos. Staropromen, as I recall.  That's a lager made in Prague.

We wandered around the narrow streets of the town and came upon the main namesti.  Of course it was another occasion to sit at a cafe and have a beer.  A stop at the information center didn't tell us anything we didn't already know.  We only had one day and a night in this town so there wasn't a chance to go for a tour of the nearby national park or rent a kayak, all things that would be cool to do when spending more time in this beautiful place.

We wandered around and found a small park-overlook.  While there, Vespers rang out in church towers all over town.  Then a bus came and emptied out a couple dozen tourists.

        It doesn't matter if I know where I'm going or not.  I still want to see where I am on a map.


Another restaurant deck, this one, overhanging a side canal near the river.



















We kept wandering around until dusk and then went back to a dinner at restaurant Jalenka.  

The bridge back through (under) the Castle.

From there, looking back at town.

A walk by the river.

Next morning it was time to leave.  We walked with our bags back up the hill to the station where I bought a ticket back to Prague, and Maria, a ticket to Vienna from where she would go to Budapest.  We would both go as far as Ceske Budjovice to make our connections.  I'd have loved to spend even more time with my daughter, but even with the time we had, it was a very special moment in both our lives I think.