Behind the Iron Curtain 2006 – June 12th
Monday morning started out very early – we were up at 5 to catch a 6:30 AM train to ?eský Krumlov. ?eský Krumlov is a small medieval Czech town situated on the bend of a river that hasn’t been heavily commercialized like many others have in western Europe. It’s located about 4 hours (by train) south of Prague near the Austrian border. We originally didn’t plan to go to ?eský Krumlov, but we didn’t want to see everything in Prague before Beth arrived.
Our adventure started badly – we didn’t have change to buy tickets for the metro. There are no change machines, no ticket booths, and no open shops at 6 AM. We finally decided to risk it and ducked on to the train without a ticket. Even though it was only two stops, it was a big risk since the train cops in Prague are vicious. I bet we were checked a half-dozen times while we were there. Fortuantely, this wasn’t one of those times and we made our train just in time.
We managed to find a seat in a compartment with an older Czech woman and a Canadian college girl that was on her way to Slovenia. Luckily, the conductor spoke enough English to explain that only the last four cars of the train were going to ?eský Krumlov and we’d have to move before the last hour of the ride.
It was fun to see the Czech countryside on the way – it’s very pretty country and not unlike the area just south of the Twin Cities. No wonder New Prague was founded there! Curiously, we also passed through a town named Veseli on the way as well. For those not in the know, Veseli is just outside of New Prague in Minnesota. I was even able to see an entire train full of old Soviet tanks parked on a siding on the way down.
Old Soviet tanks parked on the railway line
We made it to ?eský Krumlov at about 11 AM and we had about 5 hours before we had to catch our return train to Prague. We found our way to the city center fairly easily (it’s a small town) and were instantly blown away with how neat it was. It was all cobblestone streets, castles, ornate buildings, and shops. And, being Monday morning – it was almost empty. Of course, that meant the castle was closed – but we could still walk through the grounds. We got lunch at Na Louži – another Rick Steves recommendation. It’s a little Czech bistro that serves the hometown Eggenberg beer. My lunch was more protein and carbs – beef with dill sauce and a dumpling. Heather had fried cheese with ham – it was basically the grilled ham ‘n cheese from HELL. Very yummy.
The Town Square in ?eský Krumlov
The rest of the afternoon was spent doing a walking tour of ?eský Krumlov with a rented audio guide. It was very interesting, but went on a little too much about the architecture styles of each building. Fortunately, there were also enough tales of defenestration, murder, and mayhem – most involving the Rožmberks – to keep things interesting. The views from all over town were absolutely postcard perfect.
A view across the valley in ?eský Krumlov
The long trudge up to the castle and the scramble back to the train station left us very sweaty for the first – and FAR from the last – time on the trip. The train was no joy either – it arrived 25 minutes late to make the connection and it had to be over 100 inside. Our good “Amazing Race” juju held up and our connection in Ceske Budovice waited for us.
Side note: I have a bad habit of indulging a fantasy that I’m either hosting or participating in the Amazing Race. Getting Phil’s hosting job is my dream job. I made a point of adding lots of Amazing Race style commentary throughout the entire trip. I’m sure Heather loved it. Really.
We finally made the joyous reunion with Beth back in Prague at about 8:30. She was waiting in the pub across the street watching team USA getting owned by the Czech Republic team. I think we were being mocked by the locals. One just looked at me and said “KAPUT!”.
We took Beth back downtown through Wenceslas Square and we ended up at U Flecku – the oldest beer hall in Europe. You guessed it – more traditional Czech food and more great Czech beer with drunken Europeans singing soccer songs in the background. Beth and I washed down our dinner with Becherovka – with I think translates into something like “Tastes like wretched burning herbal bile” or something like that. Ugh.
Important point. If a liquor is described as “herbal” – RUN AWAY!! IT’S GOING TO SUCK!
After a really long day, we turned in right after dinner. All in all, it was a great day – especially considering it was a last minute decision to go to ?eský Krumlov. Both Heather and I agreed that it was one of the high points of the trip.
See all of the pictures uploaded so far at: Behind the Iron Curtain 2006