Inside a fairy tale !!

Praha, Czechia. Friday, 23rd May 2014

Another long-standing desire of mine was fulfilled today - a trip to the Bohemian town of Cesky Krumlov. It is a most spectacular and amazing town, spread on both sides of the zig-zagging Vltava river, with lush green fields enveloping it.

The day began earlier than usual, with the bringing of a hot water bottle from the Hotel's reception. Had tea in our room, thanks to the tea bags that Urmila had kept aside for that very purpose; readied ourselves and departed from the hotel at 07:00 with a packed breakfast. (The reception had been requested for this two days ago and they had obliged). However, when Urmila saw that the packet contained a ham sandwich, she knew she couldn't eat it. We purchased an egg-and-cheese roll at the Zabka mini-mart(thank God it functions round-the-clock), very close to our hotel. Then proceeded to I.P. Pavlova metro station, a couple of hundred metres away. Bought the tram tickets from a tobacconist at the station and re-emerged to the surface, to board a tram to Andel, five stops away. Andel had a few modern constructions, including a huge shopping mall.

Found the Na Knizeci bus station. The bright, yellow coloured coach of the operator named Student Agency departed a minute after 08:00 and was soon out of the city limits, speeding on a smooth highway towards the southern part of the Republic. The Czech country side is green and serene; and the bus halted at the towns of Pisek and Ceske Budejovice, en-route. The latter was the larger and more impressive of the two. The town seemed very well planned with the usual single or at the most two-storeyed structures with red or brown roofs dominating; and a separate colony of taller, modern buildings. The paths leading to the houses were very neat and we also spotted a couple of wide canals with arched bridges over them. The bus passed by the lemon-coloured railway station building, which was also impressive.

Reached our destination - Cesky Krumlov - at exactly 10:55. Alighted from the coach and collecting a Black and White map from a sultry lady behind the counter at the tourist reception centre adjacent to the bus stand, started strolling towards the town. After a while, we got our first views of the famous castle. The multi-coloured tower of the castle stood out among myriad red roofs and the entire scene was right out of a fairy tale! A public garden soon came by to our right and we left the road to descend towards it, to get a view of the town. We were simply taken aback by the sight!

Down below, the town unrolled in the shape of a half-cut swiss roll! The river Vltava was flowing peacefully between rows of red-roofed cottages interspersed with the greenery - trees and lawns, with the roads being completely cobbled! We wasted no time in descending towards the town centre, along the cobbled lanes and by-lanes, between rows of ancient houses with facades to match. It was a stupendous experience and we truly found it hard to believe that it was indeed happening and not just a case of Alice in wonderland! It is no wonder that the town square - that mandatory part of European towns and cities - has been recognised by UNESCO as a world heritage site.

We took our time strolling along the cobbled streets, admiring every house and every shop, seemingly dating back to medieval times. True to Czech character, a restaurant was present every 100 metres or so. We soon came to the smoothly flowing, softly gurgling river and crossed it over a typically wooden bridge. The road then curved to the right and started ascending; we knew it would lead us to the castle. A short break for coffee at Staroceske-Doborty restaurant(which was housed in a typically white, low ceiling building) and then we resumed the gentle, curving ascent. A chocolate shop to our right caught our attention and in its show window stood a huge bear, holding chocolates in its paws! The bear was made of marzipan and weighed 16 kgs!! Just before the approach to the castle, Urmila spotted a shop selling gingerbread. It had a unique façade - shapes of animals made of gingerbread, adorned it! Urmila had to enter; and pulled me in too. The shop was indeed full of old-world

charm. It specialised in gingerbread and locally made jam and honey. It also sold local, bottled beer; and cakes. I had to try both, so did. The beer was Yuck ! but the cake more than made up for it. We then went on to the castle. On the way, a little below the approach to the castle and to our left, we were surprised to find two brown bears playing in a small pond. We later learnt that the bear is the symbol of this charming town. Entered the ticket office without the intention of buying tickets but were rewarded with a most stunning view of the amazing town and its serene surroundings. Shot a video.

Descended the steps to the road by which we had come and walked back to the wooden bridge. Spent the next hour and a half at Drovcka restaurant, eating roast chicken breast in blue cheese sauce, accompanied by the mandatory draught beer. This restaurant was by the riverside and the ambience was surreal! Occasionally, enthusiastic canoeists and rafters passed by on the clear waters; tourists could be seen up there in the castle's tower.

Finishing lunch, we retraced our steps to the bus station, entering the odd shop and clicking away. Rested for a while on a bench in the public garden mentioned earlier, watching a black-and-white cat entertaining itself on the grass.

The Student Agency bus arrived at 17:00 and we left the magical town at 17:04. Admired the countryside and the town of Cesky Budjovice, once again. As we neared Prague, we found the highway wet.

There had been forecast for rain in the Czech Republic but we had been extremely lucky at Cesky Krumlov! It wasn't raining when we finally alighted at Na Knizeci, but the mercury had dropped substantially, compared to the previous evening. Returned to I.P. Pavlova stop by tram no. 16 from Andel. Ate dinner (roasted chicken wings) at U Graffu restaurant, a stone's throw from our hotel. As we were finishing dinner, a downpour started and forced us to wait for a while. It was 21:15 when we finally entered our hotel, after a long but extremely rewarding day.