Every once in a while, something in the Czech Republic is so ridiculously cute, quaint, and old that you can't believe it's authentic. You almost believe you're in Epcot: Bohemia, but then you realize that you're actually in a town that's been standing for 800 years. So, while our friends Mike and Rebecca were here from Charlottesville way back in early March, we headed to south Bohemia to take in the sites at Cesky Krumlov. It is the best preserved medieval town in Bohemia (and that's saying something!), and we wanted to take Mike and Rebecca there for a night as their wedding present - they got married in January, and a night in a romantic medieval town seemed cooler than buying them a place setting. CK is about 3 1/2 hours from Prague, and the train trip was very scenic. The highlight was Rebecca's discovering Fanta Limon in a train station convenience store. Who knew how much joy a citrus soda could bring? She hadn't been able to find it since studying abroad in Spain in the 90's. Luckily, most of the Czech Republic is still living in the 90's, so Fanta Limon probably just hit the shelves here...
CK is a gorgeous town; it is situated on an S-curve in the Vltava River, and comprises an old town centre (for a medieval town, I'll go with the olde worlde spellyng) and a section built around a chateau and fortified castle which is the second largest in the Czech Republic. The entire town is a UNESCO world heritage site, but the castle is the gem. It was built mostly by the Schwarzenberg family in the eighteenth century (on foundations begun in the 13th c.), and features beautiful gardens, a Baroque tower, and an arched walkway to the castle that looks like a Roman aqueduct. It also (theoretically) has three bears that live in one of its moats. We did not see them, and think the "moat bears" might be a legend. Not seeing them was the one disappointment of our trip.
The town is, in a word, gorgeous. The river was running high, and rushed under a quaint wooden bridge in the middle of town. In the summer, you can canoe on the river, and there are pubs on the banks with places to tie up and stop for a drink. There is also a local brewery in town, Eggenberg, and we visited their on-site restaurant for a taste. They brew about eight different types of beer; stick with the basic lager or the dark - everything else went down hill. We also distracted ourselves during the day by fooling around at THE COOLEST PLAYGROUND IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND. Sure, it was 25 degrees, and sure, we're thirty, but the playground equipment there was pretty awesome. It was also the first and only place we've seen in the Czech Republic with signs prohibiting alcohol - that just goes to show how rad this place was.
We stayed at a quaint little hotel by the wooden bridge, but the real highlight of our trip was our dinner in Cesky Krumlov. On a recommendation from our friend Dustin, we made reservations at a restaurant called Tavern Krčma v Šatlavská. Wow. It is a basement restaurant with waiters and waitresses in medieval period dress, and they cook their meat on an open fire in the middle of the dining room. We ordered combo meat platters that featured: pork, beef, turkey, sausage, and roasted veggies and potatoes. I made the mistake of ordering garlic soup to begin (it was spicy, in a bread bowl, but unnecessary given the ensuing carnage), and Mike and Rebecca split a pretzel. We all ate so much (plus beer, of course) that each of us either a) went into a meat coma upon arriving at the hotel, or b) got a wicked case of the meat sweats. It was worth it.
We headed back to Prague the next day, after another walk through town and a leisurely walk through the castle (still no bears, though). It was an amazing side trip, and I hope a great wedding present for Mike and Rebecca.
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