Cesky Krumlov & Charles Bridge

(pronounced Chesky Krumlov)



Roadtrips are always entertaining and this one proved to be nothing less. We left here quite early Saturday morning (us being Bryan, Natalie, Sharon, and myself) headed off to Cesky Krumlov. As we arrived at the office to get in the car we found Natalie driving a stick shift for relatively the first time. She had driven before but driving in the city of Prague is a different experience than anywhere else. And she's also only driven the van, so the following problem makes a little more sense: she couldn't get the car into reverse. So as we enter the parking garage we find the car diagonally parked in the middle of a three point turn, stuck. So naturally I filmed it while Bryan pushed the car. It was a good start.

So we make it Cesky Krumlov which is the second most visited city in the Czech as well as home to the second biggest castle, and one of two Baroque style theaters in the world still in existence. It was a really nice city and I would suggest googling it actually. Parts of Hostel and The Illusionist were also filmed there. The city also has a river that snakes around the city center, almost like a natural fortress. It was really awesome to watch the kayakers going around the city and even watching some wipe out when going over this small dip in the river. Entertaining.

We parked right next to the castle and then walked under a wall of the castle to get in. It was different. Although it was a castle... it didn't look anything like Cinderella's in Disney. There was one section, the tower that looked like your typical castle but the rest was mostly a serious of buildings with corridors and courtyards along the way. The castle did have a moat of sorts. However instead of the typical alligator moat you think of, this one had bears. And there were actually bears in there wondering about.



The castle had a lot of neat architecture and corridors and things that we couldn't really see but from what we did it was amazing. One interesting this is all the detail inside buildings and outside is all fresco, meaning it's painted on. They have a theater, for performing arts there that is from the Baroque period. We do not have any pictures because we were not allowed to take any, and the lighting in there was horrible. But it was really neat. This building also had the fresco paintings so everything looks 3D but it's really painted that way on a flat surface. Kinda awesome. This theater is only used three times a year since it is so old, and only one of those times is open to public. it's very small inside as well so not many people would be able to sit in there anyway. We also got to see under the stage and all the machines they used to move things on the stage during performances, etc. And they had the wind machine, rain machine, and thunder board they used to imitate storms for plays. The bad thing was they only had German tours offered that day so we joined with one so we could at least see it. Good thing was Bryan studied this theater in school (which was one reason we wanted to see it so bad) and since he studied it, he knew a lot so it wasn't a waste since everyone else in the room spoke German.



We also climbed the castle tower and saw the overview of the city, which was too beautiful. We went to town square, saw old buildings with all their historical significance, went into the old church, souvenir shops, local shops, and a basic walking tour through the whole town. One food they have here which is amazing is a "turdlo". I called it a turd-load all day because I didn't understand what was being said. Classy. It's dough baked on a cylinder and once it's done they pull it off so it's a cylinder, empty in the middle and roll in cinnamon or sugar. Delicious!



Then we tacked a hike (the tour book called easy, I would disagree) called the Stations of the Cross. It was up a hill with the stages of Jesus' death along the way. I believe at one time the the markers (which were large) had paintings of each station on them, however now are mostly gone. These lead up to the Chapel on the Hill/Mountain which overlooks the entire city and has amazing, amazing views. it's a difficult hike, but would be great for anyone able to make it!

It was a great visit and being able to see another town, or even countryside and life outside the big life of Prague was nice.

Today we went over to the Charles Bridge. Bryan went before and saw the excitement but I was eager to go as well. And since it was nice all weekend (hallelujah) we went. Charles Bridge is going from City Center over to the Castle. It's really pretty and the castle sits right on the other side. The bridge is a walking bridge only and is often lined with tourists since it's one of the most popular tourist areas. Therefore the local artists, musicians, and street performers set up there as well. There are mostly jewelry stands and then artists. They sell a lot of pictures or paintings of the Prague scenery. As well as some caricatures and then you have the musicians. it's a very fun place to go, and you actually hear mostly English while there (it's nice!) I got a necklace that I just love from there today and there were plenty of other things I would like as a souvenir as well!

For those who have seen Mission Impossible that first part was filmed in Prague. (I hadn't seen it until tonight when we watched it so i could see all the parts filmed in Prague!) **Spoiler Alert** This movie came out mid-90's but if you just haven't gotten around to watching it... I may ruin something with my next few sentences! The "embassy" in the beginning of the movie (which I think is just some performance building or something) is right by the bridge and I saw that tonight & the bridge Jim falls off of when "he's shot" is the Charles Bridge! It's a true story.



All in all, great weekend. We traveled, saw some great things, grocery shopped, cleaned the kitchen, and did laundry. All with the sun shining brightly outside. Can't beat that!




-Brittany