During our central/eastern Europe vacation we took a side
trip to Cesky Krumlov. I was lukewarm
about visiting Cesky Krumlov when Megan first proposed the idea. It seemed out of the way and we had so many
other big name places that we wanted to include. Megan persisted and fortunately her tenacity
paid out as we had a wonderful time in this small countryside town.
Cesky Krumlov
Visiting Cesky Krumlov is akin to stepping back into
history. The town center is a UNESCOheritage site, making it well protected and preserved.
All the shops, bar and restaurants are local and authentic. The roads are winding, narrow and paved in
cobblestones. The heartbeat of the city
center is the pretty town square with shops and cafes. The city center is in the shadow of the
beautiful Rosenberg Castle across the river. The Rosenberg Castle has two really cool things: an authentic baroque theatre and a bear pit!
Laibon - Cute CK Restaurant
Our first night we ate at a wonderful restaurant on the
river. We arrived just before dusk and
were treated to some magical views.
The atmosphere was cozy, romantic and unpretentious. We struck up conversations with the staff and
enjoyed chatting with the owner – a nomadic world traveler. The food was quite tasty. We got the vegetarian sampler – a bit of dhal,
thai curry, middle eastern seitan, and Mexican black beans. It was eclectic and
tasty. The beers were tasty too.
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| Enjoying our delicious dinner at Laibon |
River Kayaking
Our main attraction for Cesky Krumlov was the river
kayaking. There is a bit of
infrastructure in place where you can rent kayaks or rafts and then journey
down the river for a day or more. Along
the river there are stops every 2-3 miles where you can resupply with food,
restrooms and beer. The route was quite
scenic in August as we saw plenty of Green.
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| Impressive selfie work by Megan. |
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| Pure Czech Republic. |
Each of the small stops had its own local flair. We indulged in pancakes, chips, fruit, and multiple orders of sausages.
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| Sausage, pumpernickel bread, mustard and beer after a few hours of kayaking |
One stop even had a touch of bizarre Amercana.
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| Must also be an SEC fan |
The major challenge we encountered was a rainstorm 2/3 of
the way through our trip. We were
enjoying one of our sausages and beers when the rain began to come down with
ominous clouds in the sky. At this point
Megan and I decided to race out the weather rather than stay in the comforts of
the shelter. It was a big mistake. We ended up getting absolutely drenched and I
was freezing for the next hour. Our lack
of composure in our composure in our decisoinmaking was pretty poor. After 30 minutes the rain stopped and we made
it to a shelter where warm food and drink warmed us up.
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| Enjoying the views from the Castle. |
We would highly recommend rafting in CK as a way to see the
countryside, get some exercise and sample local food.
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