Medieval Magic

The CK Gang! L-R: Laurie, Christine, Jo, Greg, and Sonja



Late October had come, all my Prague buddies and I were well settled into our new teaching careers, and I thought it was time to spice up our weekends. And so, I decided to introduce to the Czech Republic a time-honoured tradition that had been crafted by Michael and I in Korea so very well - The Weekend Getaway! Back in the Korean Day Mikey and I absolutely lived for our weekends out of town. Many of my best memories of Korea are of our little weekend trips we used to take, often with Eric, Addie, Pauline, or the rest of the gang in tow as well. Camping trips, river rafting, hiking, KTXing to Busan, road trips to random towns with strange and unusual landmarks....anything and everything was worth a go. There was even a stretch in Summer 2004 where Michael and I had seven consecutive weekend trips, all back-to-back. Such good times!

So, now I'm here in the CR and my god are there plenty of places to choose from! Where to go first? Well we all decided on one of Czech's most popular destinations - Cesky Krumlov. Cesky Krumlov is a gem of a little town, and quickly becoming a legend in Europe. Located in South Bohemia not too far from the Austrian border, Cesky Krumlov (CK) is a tiny midieval town that has been spared the ravages of not only two world wars, but somehow miraculously has also survived Nazi and Soviet occupation, and also modern development. To visit CK is to take a trip back in time. Upon entering this little riverside village you can instantly feel the centuries melt away, and you're suddenly immersed in a landscape of cobblestones and castles, stone bridges and town squares, churches and city gates. CK has changed very little since midieval times and now, despite the annual tsunamis of tourists that flood this little place, somehow remains peaceful and relaxed. Cesky Krumlov is so precious, in fact, that the entire town has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located in a tight bend of the Vltava River, CK is bordered in by the water and a wall of rock, with the country's second largest chateaux guarding atop the riverside cliffs. It is completely gorgeous a simply magical little place if there ever was one. Instantly, we were all in love with the little town.

After a 2.5 hour bus ride (that turned into 3.5 after our bus rear-ended a car in a small town on the way down) we arrived in CK and sought out our accommodation. The six of us (Scotty, Jo, Sonja, Greg, Laurie, and her pal Christine visiting from Berlin) checked into our hostel and were pleased to be given our very own room - 6 beds and a little kitchen just for us. Perfect! We spent the rest of the first day just wandering around the labrynth of winding lanes, visited the beautiful and enormous church that lies right in the town centre, and just took in the relaxed atmosphere. We also visited Chateaux Cesky Krumlov - a huge castle quite different from Prague's. CK's castle is a sprawling complex much like Prague Castle, but instead of a cathedral in the middle, has a tall, round-shaped tower at one end, painted in a brilliant array of Easter-egg colours. We climbed the winding steps up the tower and were rewarded with a magnificent view of the little town below. Wow! We also took some time to explore the castle ground's sprawling gardens. It was the tail end of autumn's foilage and the gardens were a beautiful place to wander and explore at our leisure.

That night, we had dinner at a delicious vegetarian restaurant and then went on a 90-minute historical walking tour of the whole maze that is Cesky Krumlov. After our tour we had some drinks in the pub of our hostel, but after a long day, were feeling pretty beat so we decided to hit the hay. Bedtime was relatively early, but of course not before Scotty told some truly chilling 'True Stories Of Real Horror'. For those of you who have heard me recount such real-life tales of terror, all I have to say is the word "logging road" and you know *exactly* which story I'm referring to... *shudder*

Sunday was a nice chill-out day as well. We began with a loooooong brunch in the hostel, which I believe is always the best way to begin a Sunday morning. Laurie and Christine had to head back to town early, so the remaining 4 of us went into "12-year old Mode" and had a fun, silly, childish day. We ran around wandering and jumping through creek beds and off-limit fields, scampered up and down rocks and old staircases, meandered along the riverbanks and explored the ruins of an abandoned house, and later had some more play time in a park. The park was full of huge piles of leaves, and this was simply too good to resist. Massive leaf fights quickly ensued, as did squeals of delight and giggles all around. Greg found a soccer ball so we had a short game of 'boys vs. the girls' and resulted in a tied game. Such good ol' fashioned innocent fun! It was like being a young, care-free teenager again, such unabashed silliness and youthful recreation!

By this point it was already later afternoon and time to get ready to head back to the city. We gathered up our belongings and made our way to the train station. We decided to opt for rails instead of the road, and even though it was a longer ride, it was much more comfortable and enjoyable. The 4 of us took up residence in the train's dining car and spent the whole time sipping tea and hot chocolate, chatting, and playing some silly games. We arrived back in Prague around 9:30pm and it was time to head home.

Our weekend away in Cesky Krumlov was truly a breath of fresh air and a much needed escape from city life. CK deserives all the honours, praise, accolades, and attention that it gets. It is truly one of the most magical places that I have ever visited - completely romantic and serene - and is just how you would imagine a 'long lost midieval town' to be. Well worth a trip to anyone who's in this corner of the globe!

Cesky Krumlov's magnificen church.

A typically quaint and colourful street in CK.

Cesky Krumlov's town square. The column on the left is a memorial for everyone who dies in The Plague.

The Easter-Egg-like tower of Chateaux Cesky Krumlov.

Most of CK's steets are like this - stepped, narrow, winding. How romantic!

Atop the tower, The Sonj rules over all of CK below.



Looking down on picturesque Cesky Krumlov.

This is the bulk of the town - notice the church in the background.

From here you can see that the Chateaux is quite massive, and consists of several additions all connected together. One of the castle's many inner courtyards can be seen on the right.

I love this picture! The Vltava (yes, the same river that flows through Prague) wraps its way around CK like a snake.

Scotty & Jo: madly in love atop the tower! ;-)

A gap in the castle's walls makes for a perfect picture frame.

Cesky Krumlov as seen from the castle's gardens.

The Belles of Cesky Krumlov!

The impenetrable castle all lit up at night.

Jo, giddy with childish autumn glee, opens her arms and sets flight to an armful of leaves.

Sonja, in an autumnal trance-like state, becomes *one with the leaves* before setting them free to the world again.

Oh no! Not The Leaves again! Greg grimaces in fear as the leaves attack him a la Hitchcock's 'The Birds.'

The swarming contiues as Greg and Scotty fight for their lives from the attacking leaves!