Cesky Krumlov

When I ask people, "what should I visit in the Czech Republic?" the most common recommendation is Cesky Krumlov. So last week my friend from college, who is doing chemistry research in Germany, and I traveled to Cesky Krumlov to see what it is all about. We arrived by train at night and fog was beginning to settle all around this medieval town, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and located in Southern Bohemia (near the Austrian border). We walked through the windy, cobblestone streets to our hostel, which happened to be in an old brick oven bakery. This place was so magical looking! I felt like I was in a fairytale town. Actually, many fairytale and mystical movies are filmed in Cesky Krumlov. I narrate this post in photos, so you can also experience my trip.

Our first night we wondered to a restaurant and had a traditional medieval feast! While my friend ate rabbit, I had the vegetarian version. It consisted of different grains and vegetables, as well as bramboraky and knedliky. To authenticate the meal, I drank mead. It tasted very similar to a millet drink I had in Nepal.

On Saturday, we walked around the town, and the castle - its garden and grounds. The main castle is fortified with real bears, which were apparently hibernating.

It was so beautiful out and all the leaves were changing colors, so we continued to walk along the river that engulfs the town and its many parks. We even made a pile of leaves and jumped in them. We also walked to a local brewery to have Cesky Krumlov’s Eggenberg beer and eat snacks.

Before having a vegetarian dinner, we climbed up the castle tower to look out over the town.

Then we hiked up a hill to watch the sunset over Cesky Krumlov and the beautiful trees.

Finally, we went to listen to classical guitarists. However, the music was slow and we were hungry, so we searched for a new place. Friday night we had gone to a Roma (Gypsy) bar to listen to traditional music, but they had not been playing. When we walked through the town on Saturday we heard music coming from the bar and decided to try it again. The band was playing beautiful music that sounded almost like Klezmer. A couple was dancing in the middle of packed tables. It was so crowded that my friend and I shared a table with two Czech men and a couple. At one point, I heard an old man who was smoking a wooden pipe curse at another man and out of my teacher-like-reflexes I turned my head in surprise. Both men also looked surprised and asked me if I spoke Czech. I responded by saying "nemluvim cesky" (I don't speak Czech). This definitely confused them because by now I have practiced "I don't speak Czech" so much that it sounds fluent. So I then explained that I teach English in Plzen and one man responded that he understood and we both returned to our respective conversations. I then ate a wonderful snack of fried cauliflower, which tasted better than my school's version.

On Sunday morning, my friend and I packed up and left for Cesky Budejovice. Cesky Budejovice is a larger town on the way back to Plzen and is home to the Original Budweiser beer. It is debated whether the American or the Czech Budweiser came first, but somehow they settled the debate by actually naming the Czech beer "the Original Budweiser." It was misty outside and early on Sunday, so there were very few people in its town square or on the streets, but it was nice to see another city in the CR!

Here are some other photos from my trip: