City tour of Česky Krumlov

We sometimes tend to forget, or not realize, what the lands no more than 5 hour’s drive away from Slovenia offer us. The southern Czech Republic can offer us many things, and among more famous are the castles. The region also offers colourful landscape and preserved medieval towns… and not to mention great food and excellent beer. Among all of them the one town, in my opinion, stands out – it’s the Český Krumlov.

The history of a town dates back to the 13th century and was always in the hands of German nobility. Most of the German population was forced out after the end of WWII. Next to the ever golden Prague this has got to be the most beautiful Czech town. The renaissance town is located at the bend of the Vltava River. It has many interesting things worth visiting, among other the art gallery of famous Egon Schieler, who spent the last part of his life here. The colourful facades of palaces and the mighty castle above the river, many churches and legends of Vampires… they all contribute to the fame of the town. The glorious architecture in the old part of the town will impress you, to show you why it was placed on the UNESCO world heritage list in 1992 already. At the main square you can see the oldest town map in the world. It’s made of tiles and placed on the wall of the town hall. It was for people, who used to come to tow to do their business. And the town offers many typical beer pubs, where you can – beside excellent beer – also get great food (mainly their goulash). From the castle, that raises over the town, you also have a great and unique view.

Czech beer, which is still among the best in the world, can be found at very favourable prices – or, as with anything else, at prices comparable to ours. Having a jug at the town square can be much more pocket draining than having one in a nice pub in one of the narrow side streets. Their local brew is Eggenberg and you can get it as dark or light beer. In general it still stands that the offer is still rather cheap, the staff is nice and friendly and as the town is only a 5 hour’s drive from Slovenia, the travel itself is not to expensive either. You can find accommodation from 10€ onwards, depend how demanding a guest you are. If you’d really like to see the town, you should stay at least for a weekend, so get and see the museums, castle, castle park, churches… And the town will leave a good impression with you. Every time I visit, I find something new in one of the side streets. Also, if you love water sports, you will love this town. You can go rowing on the river with an experienced guide.  

The Czech republic is by far best known for their excellent beer. They have many of them and each larger town has a brewery. And there’s no tourist place without at least one beer pub. You can find many of them in Český Krumlov. Apart from the great beer they are also known for great food and I must say, there’s one thing you really should try – the typical Czech Goulash. Combining its taste with a pint of beer is the cherry on the cream on the sugar coating of the cake that is the visit of this fairy tale like town. And also, you don’t have to worry about a place to sleep. They have a whole range covered, from expensive hotels to back-packing hostels. I would suggest you to choose one of the two HI Hostels you can find: they are Hostel Český Krumlov - Travellers Hostel and Hostel Havana. Both are located in the very centre of the town.

 

The small town has everything the big ones have. The castle is just a little less famous than the Hradčany in Prague and the castle park is similar, just smaller, than the famous Viennese park of Schönbrunn.