Day 1 in Cesky Krumlov

We spent 3 days in Cesky Krumlov and arrive about noon on the Friday (1/23). All the roads are cobblestone and the roads are not wide enough for the bus so we had to park outside the town. To walk into the town you have to walk under a very tall bridge that was quite breathtaking in the morning light.

After checking into our hotels and unpacking we had a bit of free time to explore the town and get lunch.

After lunch we went on a tour of the castle and the rest of the town. The castle was beautiful and had a bear moat!

Apparently it is a tradition to have bears at this castle. Two of the bears are rescue bears from Russia and the third one is descended from the bears that have lived here for centuries.

After gawking at the unexpected bears for a while we climbed up onto the bridge and got to look over the town.

The views were beautiful but not a beautiful as the inside of the castle. The castle was closed but we were allowed a special tour for our group. We got to see the ballroom and the theatre. Apparently during parties people would switch between watching operas and dancing when they got bored. We got to go below the stage and see how people used to move sets and create effects!

After the castle tour our group walked around the town and learned about the legend of the white lady who, depending on the color of her gloves, can signal fire, good news, or bad news. The last time she was spotted by more than one person was right before WWII when she was wearing black gloves (signaling bad news). I popped back by the castle later that night hoping to see her but unfortunately no such luck.

After the tour we headed back to our hotels for a bit and then headed to our group dinner.

We ended our first day in Cesky Krumlov at a local bar. No one spoke English so the Czech students we are living/traveling with had to translate for us. The beer here is very cheap (about $1.50 or 35 kc) so we all had a very good time.