Cesky Krumlov

Like most people, I am sure, I had never heard of Cesky Krumlov (pronounced "Chesky"), but I learned it is a tiny well-preserved town up in the hills of the Czech Republic (or Czechia).  It is actually a tiny town with a huge castle on the hill overlooking the town; the second-largest castle in the land apparently.  This was the home of various important noble families over the centuries, who remodeled and expanded it to its current size.  It is not one monolithic structure, but a chain of buildings stretching down the ridge, all interconnected by covered bridges so the inhabitants could go from one end to the other without going outside.

We drove from Vienna in two minivans, basic but comfortable.  Most of the distance was in Austria, then we crossed into Chechia without ceremony and on to Cesky Krumlov.  Most of the land we saw was gentle rolling country, planted in canola and other young crops we could not be sure of - wheat perhaps?  There were almost no livestock, or fences, although we spotted a few wild deer.

Typical view from the road - crops, no fences.

Arrival at Cesky Krumlov.

We are staying the old town of Cesky Krumlov - a small area enclosed within a loop of the river.  The modern town spreads out over the surrounding hills, and almost no-one actually lives in the old town.  It is taken over by the tourists.

Our medieval hotel.

An early glimpse of the famous castle tower.

Our guide "Oli" greets us in the main square.

We were introduced to Cesky Krumlov by a local guide, Oli, who sported a light summer dress despite the near freezing temperatures!  She turned out to be an excellent and very knowledgeable guide.  I have no idea how she kept warm.

The history of this area is fairly complex and turbulent.  It has a very long history of occupation right back to thousands of years ago.  Even in the last 100 years it has been through many changes, greatly affected by WW I and WW II.  A very quick recap: after World War One Czechoslovakia was formed.  Just before WW II Adolf Hitler helped himself to this southern part of the country, then just a year or so later invaded the rest and took it over completely.  After the war it regained it freedom, but became a communist country, friendly to the Soviet Union.  Resistance to communism and unrest slowly festered until demonstrations broke out and the government introduced reforms (the "Prague Spring"), but in 1968 Russian tanks rolled in to crush the reforms and re-impose communist rule.  In 1989 the Soviet Union fell apart, once more freeing Czechoslovakia, and just a few years later the country voluntarily split into the Czechia and  Slovakia countries we still have today.

This house had old frescoes plastered over, then recently restored.

The (non-functional) water mill.

The castle high above across the river.  Carolyn, Oli, and Johanna.

Looking down on the old town from the castle.

The old town, where we are staying, is defined by a tight loop of the river which almost completely encircles it.  The river then does a tight loop the other way, around the castle and "castle town" below it.

One of the covered bridges connecting parts of the castle.

The team at dinner, accidentally sorted into nations.  Our guide Jo is beside Sue.

Our group comprises 4 Australians, 3 Americans, 2 New Zealanders, and one Quebecois.  They an extremely well-travelled bunch, with several of them having done many other group tours with the company (Intrepid Travel).  Our guide Johanna ("Jo") is german and speaks good english, and other languages.

This morning (Tues 23rd) it is snowing!

Czech breakfast.  What's this - no toast and vegemite??!!

We discovered the "Authentic Cafe" in the square is very nice!

The Authentic Cafe.  Most buildings are painted their own pale pastel shade.

Hitler in the town square in 1938 (?).

Our guide Oli told us Hitler liked the architecture in places like Cesky Krumlov (and Prague) which is one of the reasons they survived the war relatively undamaged.

The castle has a bear pit, with big brown bears!

The nice newly-refurbished bridge.

Up  the tower.  I can't smile when my face is frozen.

There are these quite nice formal gardens above the castle.

The garden lake has coots, and quite large fish!

Quaint Cesky Krumlov houses.

Our hotel is very old, but quite comfortable.

Medieval door latches anyone?

The hotel is very old, and well preserved, so we were wondering what it would be like.  As it turned out our room was quite spacious and comfortable, and even had two wardrobes!  And it's own bathroom (hooray!) which we were not expecting.  The timber floors squeak at every step, and the walls are at least two feet (600mm for younger readers) thick.  The bathroom door has an opening window in it!  But the plumbing works perfectly - nice hot shower.

Cesky Krumlov is a very cute little place, but with a much more significant role in the history of Czechia than we previously realised.