Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic
As a town's popularity increases, so do the number of terrible campgrounds surrounding it. Cesky Krumlov being one of the biggest tourist draws in the Czech Republic, we stayed at one of the riverside campings (the first non-riverside one we tried to find led to a run down apartment complex). The showers were communal, and we resolved to swim in the river in lieu of a shower. In the morning, however, we found it to be rather too chilly except for Yannick who paddled around happily.
Stinky and sticky, we explored Cesky.
The town was a spectacle to behold with red roofs and colourful towers. This lookout point was chock full of visitors taking photos, and one particularly annoying giant tour group who made everyone move to the side so they could get just the right picture. Our morning was spent wandering along the cobblestoned streets, going down whichever path took our fancy.
Lunch comprised of gourmet toasted cheese sandwiches and iced drinks from Deli 99. It was such a nice experience that we considered returning for dinner, but they closed just a tad too early for our dream to come to fruition.
Just a few steps past the café's door was an old gate bearing the town's coat of arms.
On our way up to the Renaissance era castle we noticed that a crowd had gathered on the drawbridge and was interested by something in the moat. I assumed they were feeding the ducks, but when we looked down, the moat was dry and there were bears inside!
The moat seemed to be made into a small zoo enclosure where the bears could roam and eat their vegetarian diet of fruits, vegetables and bread. Even thought I know they are large predatory animals, they looked so cute and fuzzy munching away on their carrots. Several eateries and museums cashed in on the ursine attractions by having bear-themed signage.
Once we tore ourselves away from the cuddly bears, we climbed the pretty castle tower for yet more amazing views of the town.
From our lofty vantage point we could see ant-sized people trudging along the road that crosses a bridge and leads all the way to the main square. The square contained several intriguing things including a plague column, a group of buskers playing catchy music (with an accordion, guitar and clarinet), and some middle-aged ladies who found the toe-tapping too restrictive and instead let their hair down and danced.
Rafting and canoeing the river is evidently a drawcard for Cesky, as you start surrounded by nature and flow down past the fairytale-like seventeenth century buildings. For the influx of tourists are many stands selling funnel cakes (though the cake makers always seem to be clouded by a swarm of wasps eager for something sweet), and bars promoting cheap alcoholic drinks - the thriftiest I saw was selling three shots for one hundred koruna, or around €3.70.
As we left that evening, we walked under the archways of the castle to find our carpark, serenaded by buskers the whole way. Opting for a real shower, we had checked in to a small hotel in a nearby village. Upon arrival, an oblivious cat wandered out in front of our car. We stopped to let it pass, and a passerby tourist tried to use her walking stick to bring it back onto her side of the road (she had been patting it just before and probably wanted to keep its attention). This had the opposite effect and actually spurred the cat to walk further in the path of our vehicle, but frantic prodding from the stick eventually led to a clear street.
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