After last night’s thunderstorm we pack up a wet tent and are ready to leave around 9AM.
But not without a delicious Sunday breakfast at the local bakery!
Just before the Austrian border we are hunted down by a huge thunderstorm. We take shelter at a local bus stop for a while until the worst has passed before we head into the Czech Republic.
We enter the Czech republic in the raiin, but soon after passing the border, the clouds clear out and the temperatures rise again.
Around 6PM we reach Cesky Krumlov and we start looking for a campsite. Camping Paradijs doesn’t seem to be where the gps thinks it should be. So on to the next. That turns out to be Kemp Nove Spoli just outside the city. When we arrive, we have the place almost to ourselves so we choose a nice flat spot.
Before we can start pitching our tent, a group of kayak enthousiasts arrive and before we know it, we are surrounded by Czech blokes stripping down to their underwear and pitching tents all around us.
We do not take a quick shower since the washing facilities are just that tiny bit too primitive to our taste and then head into town for dinner. According to the lady at the campsite, the town is just a 20-minute walk so we take our chances.
And she was not wrong. Less than half an hour later, we walk into the city center. The traffic jams we saw an hour ago have all gone and we walk into an almost deserted city. Except for the omnipresent Japanese tourists. A few hours earlier, this would have been a lot more crowded and a lot less pleasant.
We find a nice little place for dinner next to the Vltava river and with a nice view on the castle.
And then it’s Beer O’Clock of course!
Delicious trout for dinner!
We have our laughs with the Japanese tourists taking more selfies than actual pictures of the city.
After dinner we take a walk further into town and up to the castle, which is, surprisingly, free of charge.
The castle is a huge complex dating back to the 13th century with Renaissance and Baroque additions in later times. It holds an imposing position over the town and seems impossible to conquer.
They also have a strange sense of humour here…
And we run into some more Japanese tourists.
The castle itself is quite impressive with several courtyards. Also, all stonework is painted beautifully.
We reach the garden at the far end of the castle, separated by a huge bridge. This is also the highest point and provides impressive views over the city.
On our way back down we spot this sign. Bears? Really?
And sure enough, instead of a moat, they have a bear cave as the first line of defense.
We make our way down again and explore the rest of the town before returning to the campsite.
We spot a remainder of the photo exhibition that took place earlier today. We’re not the only ones that noticed the self-absorbed habits of today’s youngsters (and Japanese tourists).
One last view of the castle.
And then it’s back to the campsite, hoping that the Czech invasion did not start a camp fire next to our tent.
Lights out at 11PM.
