Cesky Krumlov Love

Welcome to Cesky Krumlov!

Czech sunsets.

One of the most beautiful towns in Europe.

With our holiday in the Czech Republic nearly over, I was feeling was a little sad. But before going home, I thought a visit to one of my favourite places in Europe, and definitely in the CR, was in order. This place is Cesky Krunmov, a town 170 kms and about 2 hours south of the capital by car. We were still staying with my friend Teresa in Hradek and we decided to all go down together in the car and stay for 2 days. She had a gig doing some acting down there for a local festival and I wanted to go back and see this stunning town, so it was perfect. After she finished work on Friday, we packed the car and left. There was hardly any traffic and we got there just as it was getting dark, so we checked into our accommodation and chilled and went to sleep, ready for the next day of exploring. Before I talk about the town or what I saw I have to say a few things about the Czech Republic that I found weird but very cute and interesting. The first thing on this list is the sleeping arrangements they have there - if you have a double bed, as most couples do, you normally have a double (or Queen) cover to fit the bed, and you both sleep under it... but not here! People here like to have their own cover, so most double beds here have 2 covers... to prevent duvet stealing during the cold Winter? I asked about it and they think we're weird by only having one! Something else I found weird, but cute, was the fact that everyone leaves their shoes outside their front door, even in a a block of flats. Everyone also has a shoe horn there to help them with this little ritual. Food-wise, there are many things to enjoy here, but you should put the following things on the list if you want the real experience: 1. Trdelnik and 2. Goulash in bread. The first one, which is hard to pronounce, is a sweet that is sort of cooked like kebab meat, on a big, metal spit. It's a kind of bread but very sweet as it's basically just rolled dough covered in sugar and a walnut mix. It's traditionally sold at markets, but Prague and Cesky Krumlov being tourist towns, you'll see them everywhere here - just be warned that you will probably need some help to finish this large, sweet treat! Beef Goulash is delicious anytime, but at wintertime especially. Here is it traditionally served in a bowl of bread too - yes, the bowl is edible! Eat the soup, with pieces of your bowl, but be careful you don't get too greedy and munch too much of the bread too soon!

Spring time!

Wander the streets, discover something new.

Traditional Trdelnik - a must if you visit!

Easter eggs - Czech style!

The car journey was fairly uneventful and we arrived in the city just as the sun was setting. I wasn't able to see any of the castle or the tower, just dark streets. Our accommodation had already been organised by Teresa and we were staying in a monastery. This wasn't any old monastery, it was a very old one - 14th Century to be exact! Built in 1350 and first inhabited by monks 7 years later, who were later joined by nuns in 1361, it has gone restorations, additions, updates and finally in 2014 was restored completely to its current, beautiful state. We got a great tour given by Teresa, who explained the history and even some sad but interesting stories that happened within the same walls that we were staying in. The most famous story known here is one of a priest who fell in love with a nun. The two sides of the monastery are separated to keep the nuns and the priests meeting in corridors, but there are many secret passage ways throughout the building. This is one of the things that lead to the love affair of these two - they met and fell in love. When the higher authorities discovered this affair, they told the priest that she had died. So distraught with the news, he decided to end his own life. Just like Romeo and Juliet, he she wasn't actually dead but at the news of his death, she followed suit, thus ending their short love story. This story is a legend, possibly true, but the next story is fact. A man called Julius Caesar lived in Cesky Krumlov with his wife, who he'd had enough of and decided to kill her. One day he pushed her out the window, hoping to get rid of her once and for all, but she survived the fall, and made her way to her family. He marched up to her family's house and demanded her back. He made threats and finally threatened to arrest her father instead, so she eventually went back to him. Not surprisingly, all was not forgiven and Julius ended up murdering his poor wife and chopping her up into small pieces and even went as far as painting her bedroom with her blood. I don't know how it ended, if he got caught by the authorities or not, but they are both buried at the monastery.

City streets.

The best viewpoint in the city is no secret.

Take away only memories, leave only footprints.

Krtek and friends.

Český Krumlov, although only small, is a stunningly beautiful town. Situated in the southern Bohemian region of the country, it sits on a bend in the Vltava River and surrounded by lush, green Czech countryside. Its main feature and tourist attraction is the castle, but the historic centre was also made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992, at the same time as Prague Castle. It was founded in 1240 by nobles and the fortress first mentioned in 1253, but I won't go into detail here and it only involves names of people that I've never heard of before. The important thing is that during the communist era, the town fell into disrepair, but after the revolution (1989) it was restored and has now become a huge tourist attraction, for Europeans as well as Chinese and Korean tourists. Asian tourist have flocked to Prague and Cesky Krumlov more and more lately, not just due to its beauty, but because of the Czech Republic's famous 1950s cartoon character Krtek. This character, a small, black mole with a bright red nose, has adventures with his woodland friends and for some reason is now very popular with Koreans. Souvenirs of 'Krtek' can be found everywhere here! The last time I came here back in 2008 there were already a large number of tourists, but this time, a little over 11 years later, there seem to be far more. I tried not to let that ruin the experience as we wandered the cobbled streets and enjoyed the beautiful buildings. Just walking the streets and letting your feet show you the way, you're able to see and do many things - don't follow a map or your phone, walk where you want, turn left or right when you see something interesting.

The river Vltava.

The beautiful Baroque tower in the castle.

A rare, tourist-free view of the town.

Ahoj Mr Bear!

Avoiding all of the stores selling tack (although there were also some great stores, albeit expensive), we wandered into the castle though the main gates. The castle dates back from the 13th century but the present-day castle is far more modern, a Baroque style after the renovations in the late 17th Century. Up through the big gates, there is a large courtyard and surrounding buildings, and the famous tower on your left. You are able to go up (for a fee) and you get a great view of the city, sadly something we missed as we left it too late in the day (they closed at 4pm). Something you don't see at castles everyday now are bears - but here this is one little fellow that was out and about when we arrived. I don't know the story behind the bear, whether it's a tradition or not like Bern in Switzerland, but he's a brown bear and lives in the castle moat. There is a big fence up and around the moat to stop silly tourists falling in and becoming bear breakfast, as well as signs with writing and pictures of what not to do, people do it anyway. We didn't go in any building either, and I'm not sure you can or who much it costs, but I was happy wandering and seeing what was around us. From the height of the castle you can see the whole town and the views are spectacular. Being a big tourist destination, most of the best viewpoints are taken by people wanting selfies and posed photos. This can't be avoided, but as I wanted a photo myself (not a selfie), I had to wait and get pushed a little (and push back), but it was worth it. There was one particular woman who was very intense with her selfies and took it rather seriously - she was getting other people to take photos of her as well, posing with silly hand gestures, and at one point I thought she was going to fall off the edge! There were many other people up there too, all trying to get their pics, some even posing in dangerous positions off the castle wall, not seeming to care about the 100 metre plus drop. Why worry, if you fall, you're sure to die and never have to worry about anything again... just another statistic of the growing number of deaths due to selfies. We moved on to the castle gardens for a snack and some open air away from the crowds. The weather was stunning - sunny and warm! A perfect place to sit for a bit, have a bite to eat and enjoy some quiet time.

The Selfie Queen at work.

Risk-taking for photos...

Time to go home...

Through the window.

Although there isn't much to do here, not as many as Prague for example, it's all about walking and seeing things. There is plenty to see that are just ordinary buildings but beautiful to see for example. Sadly, our time here and the Czech Republic was coming to an end. We'd enjoyed seeing our friend Teresa in her home town, revisiting Prague and coming to this gorgeous place. Before we left, we all went out to dinner together, had a few tasty beers and spent our last night in the monastery. This was one of the best holidays I'd had in a long time - relaxing as well as active, and catching up with friends. Early the next day we all got in the car and Teresa drove us to the outskirts of Prague so we could get the train into the city and then the airport. We took one last photo together and wished each other well and that we would visit again soon, maybe next time in Barcelona. For now, it was back home. Sbohem a děkuji!

Such a beautiful town... until next time.

Goodbye Cesky Krumlov!

Remember to also follow me on Instagram at:

https://www.instagram.com/myuncletravellingmatt/

UncleTravellingMatt. April 2019.