Bohemian Beauty [Český Krumlov]

There were exactly two things that I knew about the town of Český Krumlov before going there.

1. It’s one of those real-life fairy-tale towns like Colmar, Rothenburg, Hallstatt…

2. It has a castle.

And I guess a third thing, although not about the town itself, was that I was going to fit a day trip there into my itinerary if it was the last thing I did.

Upon arriving in the tiny town of Český Krumlov, I walked down from the bus station and was greeted with the most spectacular view of a cloudy medieval town engulfed by a moat river and perched on one of the numerous hills in Bohemia with the castle taking center stage.

After descending down the steep, narrow, twisting streets (side note: wear good shoes here, especially in snow/rain. I may have slipped several times as the snow fills the crevices of the cobblestone streets, making for one slick and fairly even surface to climb up/down.) through the town square, I made my way back up the other side to walk through the castle.

Fun fact: there are apparently bears in the moat before the castle’s entrance. There are signs telling you not to feed the bears. Although I didn’t see the bears, I found it sad to see their cramped quarters.

The castle grounds were interesting to walk through. It’s weird, though, that instead of doing brick work, they made the castle of a solid surface and painted on surreal looking bricks and designs.

At the end of the castle grounds, you reach the gardens. Although they were closed off the day I went due to the snow, I am told that is where you can get the best view into/over the city. Even still, I found a pretty fantastic viewpoint just past the castle’s bridge.

After spending a couple of hours walking around the castle grounds, I wandered the streets and took in the sights before an early sunset (thanks, winter!).

As a tip for money, do NOT try to exchange money in Cesky Krumlov. You will receive a horrific rate anywhere in town. Do it in Prague if you are coming for a day trip.

It would be lovely to spend at least one night in this little town so as to wake up in the morning and have the town all to yourself (as though it would seem!) It seems like most people only come as a day trip from Prague (which is totally doable and recommendable as well).

If you haven’t figured out already, I’m a little obsessed with checking out UNESCO World Heritage Sites. And it is no wonder why the town center of Cesky Krumlov gained a title of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I can’t recommend a visit to the city enough. I’d imagine it to be breathtaking in any season.

The cutest plaza in Europe I ever did see [České Budějovice]

I was not initially planning to go to Ceske Budejovice (or České Budějovice if you spell it correctly with accents).

I was trying last minute to make travel plans to get to Cesky Krumlov (Český Krumlov) but was getting super frustrated when I found that all of the buses were booked until late in the afternoon (and because I already had accommodation in Prague, I just wanted to make a day trip of it). I got desperate and nearly considered booking an 80 euro day tour that didn’t have great reviews, but for some reason, I got the idea to stop in České Budějovice on my way.

To my luck, there was an early morning bus with a seat left to České Budějovice and a late morning bus to Český Krumlov from there, leaving me about 2 hours in the first city.

I almost didn’t find the town center, as I followed the arrows that ended up bringing in the total opposite direction of where I needed to go. Thankfully, I didn’t give up; I found the town center and was completely blown away.

It was literally out of a story book with the pastel colored houses and the fresh blanket of morning snow.

I think it’s the largest town square that I have come across in a long time and probably the cutest town square that I have ever come across.

All of the main sights of the city can be found in or right near the square, such as the Radnice (town hall…the blue building), the Cerna vez (black tower…in the photo above), the Fountain of Sampson (I think you can figure this one out), and a few noteworthy churches.

As I found myself a cafe to have a quick (and VERY cheap) bite to eat (about 50 euro cents for a slice of cake), I found it so enjoyable to sit in the window and look out onto the square.

If you ever plan to take a day trip to Český Krumlov, I can’t recommend a stop in České Budějovice enough. Even just for an hour or two.