Our Journey to the quaint little town of Cesky Krumlov started with a train journey from Salzburg.
The step down from Austria to Czech
We get in the first train. It’s sparkling, beautiful, goes at 200km/h, has a full on restaurant and free wifi! On top of that the scenery is breathtaking. We could spend an entire week just sitting in the train enjoying the restaurant the wifi and taking in the scenery. But our enjoyment was cut short just an hour later…
We switch trains to go from Linz in Austria to Cesky Budojevice. Gone is the wifi and the restaurant. The train gets a bit grungier. But it’s still clean enough that you can lie on the floor (which I did, to do my physiotherapy).
Chug-chugging away
Funnily enough, the initial reason we had switched from Budapest to Salzburg as the transit point from Zagreb to Krumlov was to avoid a broken track close to Budapest. As luck would have it, the track close to Budojevice was broken as well, and we were all carted out from the train and onto a bus to take us to the next station.
So you want to have the romance of the railroad eh?
There, we transferred to the last train to cesky krumlov. Now we were getting very close to Indian Railway standards. The outside of the train was covered with grime and graffiti. The toilets were dirty. Fortunately, the seats, in stark contrast to the rest of the train, were nice and clean. Groaning creaking and with the familiar rhythmic beat that I was used to in Indian trains, we slowly chugged our way to Krumlov.
Cesky Krumlov is a tiny, very pretty little town nestled to the south of its more famous cousin, Prague. Walking through it felt almost like walking through a fairy tale town. The town is resplendent with a plethora of colors and curves.
Krumlov Skyline
And interesting street names…
And below it was a sign that said, “For a good time, call…”
Walking through this beautiful city, I was left scratching my head at the style of construction. Builders in Krumlov either seemed to be unable to make up their minds, or had way too much time on their hands. When constructing a building, first they would use bricks and mortar to build it. Then, they would cover the bricks with cement. Finally, they would paint back the bricks that they just covered, painstakingly back onto the cement?!!!!
Oh you think those are bricks, do you? Well think again!
Nope. Still paintings!
Food wise we got to sample a Central European favorite, Pork Knuckle!
It’s called knucke. But its the knee of a pig. There must be lots of pigs limping around at this rate…
We also enjoyed the best version of a Trdelnik. They are these pastries in the shape of a hollow cylinder made from sugar butter flour and eggs. Delicious Heart Attacks waiting to happen. While in Prague they are just handed to you, in here you could get them coated with Nutella. As if it wasn’t yummy enough…!
Yummy Goodness!
There was one other interesting thing I noticed though, in Krumlov. And that is the unusually high amount of Asian tourists (specifically Chinese tourists) wandering the town!
China? Nope, still Krumlov.
There must be a tour company in China and one in Korea that are laughing their way to the bank with Krumlov tours sold, for their is a crazy high concentration of chinese tourists walking the town. I swear, if it weren’t for the signs with a Latin Alphabet and Cobblestoned streets, I would have thought we were in Cesky Peking.
Cesky Peking
Oh and one fine day a bunch of classic American Muscle cars decided to show up in the main town square of Krumlov.
Apparently Krumlov is also the starting point of a few rallies and car club events!
Oddities aside, Krumlov was the perfect small place to enjoy a few restful days. The small town has a beautiful feel to it. You don’t feel rushed, the weather is great, and it’s a good resting spot before immersing yourself in the madness of Prague.
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