Friday 15.8.2008
This morning we got up early too and after taking our breakfast, we got prepared, loaded the bike and started our journey. Today we’d get into the interior of Czech Republic, the country which included much more destinations than every other country. After Cesky Crumlov we had planned to visit Brno, Prague and Karlovy Vary before we take the road back to Venice.
As we left the hotel, the change in the temperature was very obvious as the humidity, because of the night rain, was still intense… As we took the motorway we followed the direction to north towards Czech Republic. After some kilometers the motorway turned into a provincial road which continued after we got into the Czech Republic. The only difference was that as we were heading to north, from the sunshine of Austria we passed to the intense cloudiness of the south of Czech which became more and more intense and turned out to an incredible fog that made, even the cars in front of us, invisible. It was the moment to stop as it had terrible cold and we decided to put warmer clothes and our waterproof jackets. Finally we escaped from rain and after 1h40min we arrived to Cesky Krumlov, the city of fairy tales.
Staring it from far away and before crossing the bridge over Moldava to get into the city, we could clearly see the impressive complex of the castle and the fortress, which is one of the most important European monuments and since 1992 is a monument of world hereditary of UNESCO. The medieval town of Krumlov is situated at 170km south of Prague and is the second most popular tourist destination of Czech Republic. Its main characteristic is that it’s surrounded by the meandrous (?), formed by Moldava river.
GPS helped us to find the small hotel* that we always had booked and the owners encouraged me to put the bike into the entrance! Some minutes later we put our staff to the room and after having changed clothes we took our first walk to the city. We started exploring the streets, crossing the bridge with the beautiful statues and headed to the impressive colourful tower. We bought the ticket and we mounted on the scale with the big stares till we arrived to the top. There, it had two big bells in the interior and on the outer part had a perimetric balcony which offered us a superb view. As soon as we got out to the balcony it started raining.
We continued strolling and followed an uphill road which took us out of the town and led us to a big beautiful garden plenty of flowers and fountains. That walk in the garden with the sound of the falling rain made us feel so calm and relaxed..
Then we returned back to the town and we visited an art Museum, including a gallery where every artwork had its price written on a small tag.
It was the moment that we realized how hungry we were so we entered into a bar-restaurant. We ordered a soup as a starter, which was ideal for this weather, and we accompanied our main plate with black traditional Czech beer! In the road back to the hotel we got attracted by a pastry shop with a wonderful smell. After a cute conversation with the very sympathetic Czech girl (who didn’t speak English) we understood that this wonderful smell came from a traditional Czech pastry, made in this shop, which had a cylindrical shape and had sugar and cinnamon outside and chocolate inside. It was called trdelnik! It was difficult to pronounce but not so difficult to devour it! The only problem was that we had to learn how to ask for it!
After this wonderful Czech sweet we got back to the hotel.The rain continued falling during our afternoon stroll. This time we took the opposite direction. The buildings, full of colors, made us think that we live in a fairy tale or that we were the main characters of a movie… In the back side of the town, the view of the river with the impressive big castle as a background, under the little light of the strong cloudy weather, created a wild beauty. We kept on walking, crossing the other bank of the river so as to have a better view of the town. Rain kept falling and falling till the fall of the night.
After visiting a tourist shop in order to buy some souvenirs we returned to our hotel. Our first day in Czech Republic was over. Although Cesky Krumlov is a destination of many tourists around the world, it has preserved its original character of another era. It’s a very beautiful and particular destination that I’d highly recommend to anybody who would like to visit Czech Republic.
* Pension Adalbert : Quite and tidy with very helpful staff. The price is 74euro the double-bed, with reservation via www.booking.com. The place where the breakfast is served is a beautiful surprise with its nice decoration.
