Cesky Krumlov

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Getting to Cesky Krumlov could of been a stressful affair as a train doesn't pass through there. The best way to get to this small town is to get off at Cesky Budejovice and cross the road to the bus station which is located on the roof of a small mall and to queue up at stop 1 where you pay the driver on the bus but it's a popular place and its survival of the fittest and people don't queue that well in Eastern Europe and its free for all to get a precious seat on the busy and small bus.

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We were lucky enough but not so lucky to get a seat and it was a hot and cramped ride to Cesky Krumlov much to the annoyance of Rhys who doesn't take to standing very well especially when he's sweating like a pig.  The buses were every hour so even if we hadn't got on, it wouldn't of been the end of the world.

"...Cesky Krumlov in a word is 'beautiful'..."

The sun was setting and we arrived in a deserted bus station on the hill overlooking the river valley and if the planning bods down at county hall planned it this way then they are geniuses. As you follow the map to the town the short walk takes you past some excellent viewing points that offer fantastic views over Cesky Krumlov that shows off a text book geography river meander flowing through it. The size of the place is remarkable and all these lovely building s are crammed in this small area of land sandwiched by the valley sides.

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There are many hostels in Cesky Krumlov and they fill up fast. We didn't manage to get any of the hot off the press abodes (Hostel 99) but we stayed in one who's name I had trouble to pronounce (Soukenicka).

It was a really nice hostel with an excellent location right by the river and near the Aqueduct. Its wooden, rustic interior gave a quindesentialness to it and the staff were friendly and the beers was expectedly good and served throughout the night. Whilst in Thailand I watched the pirate screening of the film 'Hostel' and learned that it was in fact filmed in Cesky Krumlov not a small town near Bratislava. It now all started to look strangely firmiliar. Cesky Krumlov in a word is 'beautiful' and was such a shame to see hoards of tourists flowing down the narrow cobbled streets but how rare is it to find such a lovely place that tourism hasn't cashed in on it. Not going to happen. The only way is to come off peak and we were just on the edge of that period coming in June.

We wasted no time in checking out the numerous horror museums and horror bars which would be banned for sure in Britain as the bar boasted realistic corpses hanging by nooses and poisons and syringes in display cases and a full sized coffin in one of the basement cave rooms...not a place to take a first date!

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