Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic; We revisit this gorgeous city

We made our way south, past Prague, to Cesky Krumlov…for the second time.  Our first visit was only for two hours, and I felt this city needed more of a comprehensive stay.  We also wanted some downtime without a lot of early mornings and day-long tours, so we stayed here for 3 nights.  We saw enough new stuff to make a new post, so here we go!

The view of the castle tower never gets old!

I took a more detailed photo of the castle portion below the tower.  These wall paintings were restored fairly recently, which is why they look so fresh.

We walked back through the castle entrance, and watched the bears in the moat for awhile.  They are quite good at posing!

The Mama Bear looked pretty casual here…like she was just sitting at the pub!

We took a tour of the Castle Museum and Castle Tower, and since it was mid-week it wasn’t nearly as crowded as I thought it might be.  This is the entrance to the museum/tower.

In the museum they had this interesting antique typewriter from the early 20th century.  It looks like it would take forever to actually type something since you have to constantly move the needle to point at a letter.

They also had this replica of the “Holy Lance”, the tip of the spear that was used to stab Jesus as he was on the cross.  They really do like these morbid relics!  The original is supposedly in Vienna at Hofburg Palace.

For the ultimate in lazy, check out this chair/toilet!  I can’t imagine just flipping the seat down and sitting atop this after taking care of business.

They even had a little theater in the castle showing an old black and white silent film of the last royals who lived here.  I noted this poster on the wall for the movie “The Golem”…the Jewish-based monster that is supposed to live in the attic of a Synagogue in Prague.

We then climbed up the stairs of the beautiful Castle Tower, and the views from the top are well worth the effort!

This little city is so photogenic!

After departing the castle we ventured to the outskirts of the town we hadn’t yet explored.  There really are stunning views around every corner here!

The Castle Tower is beautiful from every part of the city.

We found a pub along the river with excellent views!

As well as excellent beer!  This Budejovicky (Budweiser in German) Budvar beer is made in the nearby city of Ceske Budejovice, which has been brewing beer since 1245.  They have been in a trademark dispute with Anheuser-Busch over the use of the Budweiser name since the start of the 20th century.  The main difference between the two companies is the Budejovicky Budvar is actually drinkable, as opposed to the swill made in the US.

We took a short hike after our beers, and this little storm came out of nowhere.  At least we had our raincoats with us!

We were in Cesky Krumlov on May 8th, known as Liberty Day in most European countries, when the end of WWII is celebrated.  This business had the American flag flying since this city was liberated by the Americans.

We also visited a pretty cool little museum, Fotoatelier (Photo Workshop) Seidel.  This was a studio for an acclaimed early photographer, Josef Seidel, whose photos date back to 1888.  His son, Frantisek Seidel, took over after Josef’s death in 1935.  The studio was forced to close by the Communists in 1949, but Frantisek continued to live there with his family.

After Frantisek’s death in 1997, the house was being cleared out, and in the attic area they discovered all the old photography equipment, as well as tens of thousands of old photographic glass plate negatives in perfect condition, which provided an incredible snapshot back in time.  There were also thousands of post cards the studio created, which have been very helpful with Czech historians.  This photo shows all of the old boxes of  developed film in their original spot in the attic, although all of the glass plates are now in safe storage.

Here is some of the film development equipment in the lab that was run in the studio.

This is the actual studio where thousands of photos of families were taken.  The room faces north, and the glass wall/ceiling allowed indirect daylight into the room for taking the photos.  The white curtains in the photo could be moved as necessary to shield the subjects on particularly bright days

All in all this was a very cool little museum, and well worth the visit.  We took one final shot from the castle gardens on our way back to our hotel.  Definitely make this little town a visit if you plan to go to Prague!

Up next, we visit the town of Brno, Czech Republic, our last stop of the trip.

 

Bohemian Switzerland, Czech Republic; Bastei Bridge, Bad Schandau Elevator, Decinsky Sneznik Tower

Day two of our Bohemian Switzerland adventure included more incredible sights, and for the first one we had to venture into Germany.  Our first stop was the Bastei Bridge, which is actually in “Saxon Switzerland National Park”.   Bastei Bridge has been a tourist attraction for over 200 years, as it affords excellent views of the Elbe River and the surrounding area for miles and miles.  First were some shots from a viewpoint above the bridge.

The views make you really feel like you are on top of the world!

The term “Bastei” refers to the inclusion of steep rocks to make a defensive ring around the old castle.  Bastei in English is “bastion”.  The stone bridge spans some sandstone rocks where “Neurathen Castle” once stood hundreds of years ago.  The sight of this bridge, which today leads to nowhere, is quite stunning!

Which means it’s selfie time!

This tablet on the bridge commemorates the first mention of Bastei Bridge in travel literature, way back in 1797.

We were here on a Sunday, so it was pretty damn crowded.  I’d suggest visiting during the week if you can.  If you look closely at the below photo you will see a viewpoint in the upper middle, which is where I took the first two photos.

There are excellent views around the bridge.  You can even visit the castle remains in the summertime, but I can’t imagine how crowded it would be then!

This is the view looking up the Elbe River (the opposite direction from the first photo in the post).  This is such a gorgeous spot!

I saw this figure on a nearby rock and wondered what it could be.?  It turns out this is a popular climbing spot called Monch (Monk) Rock, and the figure is a tin weather vane made to look like a monk.  Strange, but it looks like the monk is sleep walking to me.

On our way back up the steps we saw this gap in the rocks, which made for a cool photo!  Fortunately it had a secure railing to keep the little kids from falling down the cliff.

We headed back towards the Czech Republic and decided to stop at a spot we saw earlier in the little town of Bad Schandau, Germany, simply called “Historic Elevator”.

The elevator to the viewing platform has been here since 1904.  We love the Art Nouveau style!

The viewing platform provides excellent views along the Elbe River, both to the east…

…and to the west!

After the elevator we briefly stopped back in Bohemian Switzerland National Park to see “Belvedere Viewpoint”, but based on other viewpoints we’ve seen, the hassle to get there wasn’t really worth it.  It did provide a nice view of this small community along the Elbe.

Our last stop was one of our best.  Our car did it’s best “Christine” impersonation by using the GPS to try to kill us, but my phone showed us the correct way, and after a very narrow roadway we appeared at Decinsky Sneznik (say that 3 times fast) Lookout Tower.

This tower dates back to 1864, and is one of the oldest in the Czech Republic.  To get access you have to pay your fee (plus deposit) to a lady with zero English skills, and she hands you a key.  You have to unlock the tower and then lock it behind you to keep others out.  You then return the key after exiting/locking the door to get your deposit back.  The tower is gorgeous!

You have an incredible 360 degree view from the top!  The city of Decin is off in the distance in the below photo.

While to the west you could see this storm on the horizon.  This was a favorite spot of the day, and we had the tower to ourselves!

Selfie time!

That storm never made it to Decin that night, but the sunset with the buildings out of our hotel window at least gave us a little show.

Up next, we head back to Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic, where we made a brief visit with Casey and Terri about 8 days ago.  I’ve already posted about that visit, but there were some new things we saw that deserve another post!