More Cesky Krumlov

Front of the castle, the bear pits are to the right and the left of the front gate.

Just in case any out there didn't get their fill of pictures of this medieval town yet!

On a little happier note

Just so my last post for the morning isn't a bit of a downer... here's a pretty picture. Enjoy! I'm off to eat falafel!

Best train trip ever

So I love train travel, absolutely adore it, and I feel pretty strongly that there is no better way to travel (even though when I take trains in America I ALWAYS end up next to a sketchy guy who talks my ear off or asks me inappropriate questions). The train ride to Cesky Krumlov was gorgeous and was a whole different landscape than I've seen in the Czech Republic so far, very hilly, lots of agriculture (it looked like the picture below, even though this was taken at the castle) and I even saw several deer (the hop like bunnies and have horns like goats but I'm still pretty sure they were deer). The train ride was almost the best part of the whole trip because once I got to Cesky Krumlov and found my hotel I found out I was the only person staying in the hotel (it's not like in the states where there is always a staff member on the premises) and I had a first floor room (I have first floor phobia ever since the window of my room was kicked in Freshman year of college). So I slept fully clothed, even with my jacket on (I contemplated leaving my shoes on but I didn't want to get the bed dirty) and I think it can go without saying that it was not the most restful sleep ever and I stayed on edge for most of the next day. But if you ever get a chance, you should go to Cesky Krumlov, and take a train there, just ask for a room on the second floor!

Cesky Krumlov castle

Kind of imposing wouldn't you say? The castle itself was closed since it was March but I was able to walk around on the outside and see the courtyards and the gardens. The view of the town from the castle was also superb!
I saw several cars drive through this narrow winding passage, daring on their parts!
This connects one part of the castle to the gardens and Baroque theatre behind it.

The real reason I went to Cesky Krumlov

So I'm sure many of you remember the post on "the real reason I went to Bratislava," which was to see all the charming statues spread throughout the town. Well, the real reason I was dying to see Cesky Krumlov (in addition to the fact that a stranger at Borders told my Mom it was beautiful and she had to go see it) was that there is a bear pit there. In fact, there has been a bear pit outside the castle since the 16'th century when the Rozmberk family added a bear to their family coat of arms to make it appear that they were related to the powerful Italian Orsini family (which they're not, but I like when lying leads to cute fuzzy things). This pretty lady in the pictures is named after Maria Theresea herself! Now everywhere we've gone there has been statues and memorials to the famous Hapsburg empress, but here there was just a bear. I think someday I'd like to be so famous that they name a bear after me!

Cesky Krumlov

The view from high up on the castle walls!
St. Vitus's sits over looking the Vltava.
Horni Bridge, one of four that connects the old town to the rest of Cesky Krumlov since the Vltava River does an S-curve through the town.
The Zamecka Vez or Round Tower. This marks where the first castle stood to guard the river crossing and it is decorated with astrological signs and other symbols in the Renaissance style.

This trip brought to you by.... my feet!

So I've already mentioned how sometimes my feet have a mind of their own and just lead me places. Well the trip to Cesky Krumlov was definitely one of those experiences where I wandered "aimlessly" and my feet found bear pits, cool bridges, bon-bons, and gnocchi. So again, good job feet!