Category Archives: Destinations

Cesky Krumlov: You gotta go there!

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I recently discovered that a report of our visit to Cesky Krumlov never made it to this blog.  So two years after the fact here it is.  This World Heritage Site is probably the Czech Republic’s second best known city and well deserving of its reputation as a “must see” place.  You can reach it by train but we chose the Student Agency bus as more convenient.

I have selected a few photos to show here but as they are winter time shots they do not do justice to the charm of this well preserved town.  I urge you read Karin’s captions in our five–yes five albums for our three day visit–photo albums to catch the atmosphere of this place that will in turn catch you.  Literally everyone falls in love with Cesky Krumlov!

My favourite quote from Karin is “Cesky Krumlov brings to life the fairy tales of our youth.”

Cesky Krumlov castle

Castle with five courtyards dominates the town

Old town from Cesky Krumlov castle

Old town from the castle

Cesky store fronts below the castle

Store fronts below the castle

Czech food in a Czech setting

Czech food in a Czech setting

Old town bridge in Cesky Krumlov

Under the bridge that is the main gate into old town

So, if you would like to fall in love with Cesky Krumlov, continue to Karin’s personalised photo albums at Cesky Krumlov Old Town Part 1

Also follow more of our adventures outside of Prague on our Environs page.

 

Pilsen: Brewery and City

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Our major goal for this extended stay is to use Prague has a home base for side trips throughout the Czech Republic and neighbouring countries in central and eastern Europe.  The only things holding us back, of course, are the limitations of time and money.

Pilsen Brewery, Pilsen, CzechSo as soon as I had my Open Card endorsed for “Free Fare” –I will write about this separately– we planned a pilgrimage to the birth place of our favourite brew, Pilsner Urquell.  Pilsen is about one hour by public bus and just under two hours by train.  We chose the latter because trains are our favoured mode of travel.

Our pre-planning consisted of checking the train schedules –there is one every hour for most of the day– and the brewery tour schedules –in October 4 per day in English.  It made for my kind of day out; not leaving home until after 9 A.M. and being back in time for dinner –theoretically, as we usually eat out on this type of occasion.

In the photo above (click to enlarge) on the left side you can see the ultra modern building where beer is currently brewed by sophisticated computerized controls.  To its right is the old brew house that served for about a century.  To the right of that, the white building is the original brewery from 1842.

It turned out to be a rainy day which did not distract from thoroughly enjoying the expedition.  As always, Karin has done a much better job of detailing the sights than I ever could.  Here it is:

 

Trip to Pilsen and Brewery

 

Vrtbovska Garden

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While the weather is sunny and dry we have the priority of visiting outdoor sites that are closed in the winter.  Last week we had a small beer at the Beer Garden in Riegrovy Park, a short walk from our home.  I won’t write about it now because it was quiet, just after opening for the day.

Malastrana rooftops from Vrtbovska garden, PragueThen we visited an entirely different kind of garden.  Vrtbovska is a baroque Italian style terrace garden on the slopes of Petrin Hill.  It was quite interesting but I especially enjoyed the view over the rooftops from its upper end.

To see the whole garden and buildings through Karin’s eyes here is the link to her photo album:  Vrtbovska Zharada

The garden is at Karmelitska 25 just around the corner from Mala Strana nameste.  There is a modest entry fee.

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