Czech Republic: Cesky Krumlov

see all photos »

Saturday 20th May

Time to move on again. To Cesky Krumlov. A 4hr train ride to the south of Bohemia. The further south we ventured, the more of the real true Bohemian Czech culture emerged. The area is covered in beautiful wooded hills and valleys with tiny villages and their own tiny railway stations. All the children rush up to the train to wave it on - a big event in their day I think. We made a train change at Ceske Budejovice [ home of budweiser beer], and discovered that each platform had it's own "beer kiosk" for waiting passengers!! So, guess what we did?? The closer we got to Ceske Krumlov, the more beautiful it became. At the little station, the whole train emptied out! We were shortly to discover why... Ceske Krumlov is the most impossibly stunning medieval town we've ever set eyes on. There aren't  enough adjectives to describe the town. It's set all around a bend in the river, in a deep valley. the medieval castle towers above looking down onto the maze of narrow cobbled alleyways, the winding river and the stunning rickety atmospheric medieval buildings. Words just don't do this place justice. It's a photographers paradise and has been described as a mini Prague. Geez, if we think it's awesome here, we can't wait to get to Prague - which is next...

A Fairytale Town in Bohemia

see all photos »

We found our hostel, hidden away in a cosy alleyway. The Travellers Hostel itself, is like walking back in time. Flagstone floors, steep wonky wooden staircases, narrow passageways and archways so low you have to duck to enter! Full of character. the restaurant is in a cellar complete with a log fire place. The pub is a real olde worlde tavern. We booked in for 3 nights..

Sunday 21st May

We made a start on the meanderings through this charming town. Just so many alleys and lanes, you can get lost! Renaissance and Baroque architecture everywhere. We walked up the hill to the Gardens of The Cesky Krumlov Castle. An exceptional place for views over the town. You can click away constantly and never have the same photo. the gardens contain immaculately manicured hedges and long straight rows of perfectly trimmed tall trees. A perfectionists dream garden. Within the gardens is an old open-air cinema. Quite an odd sight in such an historical place! We headed back down to the river to watch the hired canoes and rafts negotiating a rapid or two! I can understand why this small gem of a town was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. It would be a sad day indeed to see this town disappear, as it's virtually unchanged since the 18th century. Truly a piece out of the history books.

see all photos »

Monday 22nd May

Cesky Krumlov's  castle was our main attraction today. As it's a smaller version of the Prague Castle, we thought we'd just wander around the courtyards [for free], instead of going inside. We went up to the top of the castle's ornately decorated Round Tower. The very narrow  wooden staircase winds it's way to the top to a heady height above the town. What views!! I went a bit crazy with the camera [David's camera], as mine is still not functioning since it took a swim in some beer!! In Prague, I'm hoping to find a camera shop so they can open it up and give it a good cleanout! If it doesn't help.... who knows! Buy another one? A bit of a catastrophe for me. We had a great evening playing cards with our roomates. A French and Kiwi couple, some Ozzies and a couple of Ozzy guys, cycling around Western + Eastern Europe, whom we'd met in Munich and who coincidentally were also our roomates there!! Seems like everyone follows the same backpacker trail around Europe. We expect these same 2 to catch up with us in Prague too, as it's their next port of call.