Cesky Krumlov

The Vltava River divides the old town from the overlooking castle
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This small medieval town nestled in the rolling Czech countryside was described to us as a miniature version of Prague. This turned out to be right on the money; the old town of Cesky Krumlov is inside the bend of a river with a historic castle on the other side overlooking it. Even the town square is in more or less the same place as in Prague. We found the miniature version much more to our liking. Even though there were still busloads of other tourists wandering the streets with cameras working overtime, it was nothing like the pace of Prague. This town was just really cute. There are dozens of small accommodation houses to stay in throughout the town so everything is within walking distance, in fact, you could probably stroll from one end to the other in about 15 minutes.

The bell tower gives great views over the whole valley
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An easy walk up the hill to the old castle gave expansive views over the town and surrounding countryside, with a bird’s eye view from the top of the attached bell tower. The castle drawbridge and moat have long gone, replaced with a stone bridge and, get this, a bear pit. The breeding of bears has been a tradition at the castle for hundreds of years and now you can watch 3 or 4 of them roaming their own enclosure. The castle has recently been renovated and now gives daily tours, though we passed on these since they were a bit expensive.

a real medieval experience

The bear pit
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We also wandered through the extensive formal gardens above the castle which features a large man-made lake. The local ducks came right up and ate out of our hands.

As with Prague, food and drink here was still very cheap and good quality. There was plenty of choice in the centre of the town. All of the shops and houses are hundreds of years old and have the small, crooked doorways and dark interiors, giving you a real medieval experience. This was our favourite place visited in the Czech Republic.