Cesky Krumlov...

We headed South on the bus from Prague to a small town called Cesky Krumlov in the South Bohemian region of Czech Republic. Em and Corey had been there and loved it and it was highly recommended in the Lonely Planet. We were keen to visit a smaller town in Czech aside from Prague, so it seemed like a good option.

We arrived late at night to a picturesque little town, (not much more than a village really) nestled in a valley in the bends of a river. Made our way to the hostel, checked in and had a quick walk around but it was raining so we started really exploring the next day.



The main square


The next day we walked up to the castle (Hradcany) which is the major attraction in Cesky Krumlov. The castle is pretty massive when compared to the size of the town, its the second biggest castle complex in Czech after Praugue.

River side, part of the castle can be seen behind.
Angie and a cool street light on the way up.


Part of the castle complex. All the buildings were decorated like this, with paintings designed to mimic architectural details.

View of Cesky Krumlov from the castle.

Angie on a bridge that connected two sections.

We climbed right to the top of the bell tower which had sweet views back over the river and the town.

This is the castle bell tower from the ground


View of the castle from the bell tower.

Stairway back down.


There was also a huge garden complex atached to the castle, so we strolled up there to have a look around.

Road up to the gardens.
Me in the gardens looking well gay.


We spent most of the time poking around the town, in coffee shops and stuff, just relaxing and taking it in. The place was really quiet as it is more of a summer destination when people visit to swim and ride the current down the river. It was nice to see it all sleepy in the winter though, mostly locals around, really scenic and very quiet.

These are some shots of the town of Cesky Krumlov...

Houses on the river

The balcony of our hostel next to the river.

Keeping warm...

Little bars and shops in one of the narrow Cesky streets

Angie at the foot of St Vitus Church which, again, was oversized when compared with the town.

View of the town from the other side of the river.

Steps up to St Vitus.
This was our hostel, small and really quaint, hardly anyone around axcept for a stinky, hippie couple that spent their whole time in their room.

St Vitus from the other side of the river.

On the last full day we got some nice weather, so we took a long walk up to the highest point, Slupenec, to see the views (also there was horse riding up there).

It was a steep walk up the back streets out of the township, into more rural properties, really beautiful and amazingly quiet. A really nice change after so many big cities.

View back to the town.

Some Alsatian puppies that had gotten under their fence that we found along the way. Angie was in heaven, but their Mum was going mental on the other side and wanted to rip us apart.

Slupenec


This tiny chapel was built at the highest point in the area, overlooking Krumlov and the surrounding valleys.

View back to the town.

Angie didnt end up getting a horse ride in, but we did have a massive walk around the area. It was something different for us after a lot of city sight seeing in the past few months.

A final shot of the cathedrale and castle on our way out, beautiful little town, another Czech fairytale setting, great for a quick visit!!

That was the end of Czech! Next we got some more buses and trains and ended up in Munich to visit my old mate The Captain.
See you in Deutschland.