When I’m away from my blogging career, hopefully, I’m working hard at my real job, it helps pay the bills. . I’m back now to rescue my readers that I abandoned in the middle of the Czech Republic. We head north to another incredibly beautiful city. Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. It is one of the larger cities of Central Europe and has served as the capital of the historic region of Bohemia for centuries. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava River, the city is home to about 1.3 million people. My Sweetheart insisted we get a glance of the city by doing a short and quick city tour before we started roaming. The city tour occurred in a low roofed mini-van at about the speed of a Nascar race. I remember seeing Prague’s famous Crazy Building from ground level as a burr passing by quickly. By the time we reached the Prague Castle I was ready to bale and bale I did. Of course this means I would have to walk from the Castle District back across the Charles Bridge to our hotel in Old Town. The Charles Bridge is a famous historic bridge that crosses the Vltava River and was constructed in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV, and finished in the beginning of the 15th century. As the only means of crossing the river Vltava until 1841, the Charles Bridge was the most important connection made Prague important as a trade route between Eastern and Western Europe. The bridge was originally called the Stone Bridge or the Prague Bridge but has been the "Charles Bridge" since 1870. Today after my long walk up and down it’s entrance stairs, I have my own name for the bridge. The bridge is 1675 feel long and nearly 40 feet wide, resting on 16 arches shielded by ice guards. It is protected by three bridge towers, two of them on the Lesser Quarter side and the third one on the Old Town side. The steps leading up from the bridge and the Old Town bridge tower is often considered to be one of the most astonishing civil gothic-style buildings in the world. The bridge is decorated by a continuous alley of 30 statues and statuaries, most of them baroque-style, originally erected around 1700 but now all replaced by replicas. The most popular is the statue of St. John, a Czech martyr who was executed by being thrown from the bridge into the river. Rubbing St. Johns belly is suppose to bring good luck and also ensure your return to Prague one day. During the day the bridge and all of Old Town is a very busy venue with painters, owners of kiosks, and vendors alongside numerous tourists crossing the bridge, but at night Charles Bridge turns into a quiet place and it is in this area of Old Town we found a wonderful sidewalk restaurant for dinner and a glass of the local wine. Weakened by my long walk and the cooling night air, I slept in the following morning while my sweetheart visited the Jewish Cemetery. She enjoyed the guides tour of the cemetery and I enjoyed a much needed rest before we headed for Dresden, Germany.

I Left My Heart in Cesky Krumlov

The last time I left my readers, after war damage in Europe, the Vienna woods and sunset on the Danube River, we were crossing the Alps in the snow to arrive in the Czech Republic. For those who are fascinated by that last sentence, it was designed to optimize my hits on the internet. A blatant act of self promotion by the blogger who travels the globe to educate his fellow man. I can feel the new hits already.
Anyway, we did arrive in Cesky Krumlov. Cesky Krumlov is a small city in the southern part of the Czech Republic and is best known for the fine architecture and art of the historic old town. The Castle in Old Český Krumlov is a World Heritage and was given this status along with the historic Praque Castle. During the communist era of Czechoslovakia, Krumlov fell into disrepair, but since the Velvet Revolution of 1989 much of the town's former beauty has been restored, and it is now a major holiday destination popular with tourists. The Old town is surrounded by the Vltava River with many cafes and restaurants overlooking the river. If the café is not overlooking the river it is buried in one of the many underground caves and wine cellars.
The Cesky Krumlov Castle is unusually large for a town of Krumlov's size; within the Czech Republic it is second in extent only to the Hradcany castle in Praque. Inside its grounds is a large garden with an extensive bridge over a deep gap in the rock upon which the castle is built. The castle itself, which has many different parts dating from different periods of time. Český Krumlov Castle preserves its Barouqe theater, built from 1680-82 and renovated with modern stage equipment in 1765-66. With this original stage machinery, scenery and props it is among only a few such court theatres that still exist. Due to its age, the theatre is only used three times a year (only two are open to the public), when a Baroque Opera is performed in simulated candlelight. My Sweetheart in her unsupervised wandering stumbled into one of the theater company’s practice sessions.
This town is the cradle of endless Czech culture and seems stuck in is own time warp. I would highly recommend visiting the restaurants, shops and Castle, and even staying a few days, because visiting Krumlov means visiting the old world in the Czech Republic, and it is an experience you will remember for a lifetime. It may be a little trying on old knee joints as you stroll up and down the narrow cobble stone paths but there is always a comfortable chair and glass of wine around the next corner.

On to Vienna

On to Vienna
Wait for a lifetime, dream for a lifetime and suffer an enormous disappointment. I'm glad that was not me. We arrived in Vienna on a cold, rainy day. There were some periods of sunshine but the overall feeling was depressing and gloomy. But my expectations for the capital city of Austria were never high. In fact my expectations were non existent. Because of the rain and our schedule of tour buses and sightseeing my enthusiasm for the city never got off the ground. With our arrival luncheon being a stop at McDonald's, shopping on the Ringstrasse never gained the feeling of grand excitement that I hoped for. Of course, we did the city tour, visited the Schonbrunn Palace and walked the Ringstrasse at sunset but my itchy feet kept wanting me to move on. And move we did.
Feeling we had not left anything behind in Vienna we hit the open road to the Czech Republic. We were shortly rewarded with looming forest and open fields that looked like they had been growing from the beginning of time. Somehow scenery like this always makes me hungry so we pull into local truck stop. No menu's, only a buffet so I order something that looks familiar and the lady behind the counter keeps asking me something in the local language which baffles me completely. After three try's the truck driver behind me say's "she wants to know if you want gravy with that". Don't let them fool you, they all speak some English. Back on the road, we get a light dusting of snow as we cross the mountains into the Czech Republic.
My advance reading about the area helped in my hasty retreat from Vienna. My guide books all mentioned a small Czeck town called Cesky Krumlov. Opposite my feelings of Vienna, I wanted to stay forever in Krumlov. This is a town out of medical times, a real Brigadoom. More next time on a city I wish you all could visit, Cesky Krumlov.