Český Krumlov, Czech Republic

Český Krumlov is an amazing little Medieval town in the Southern Bohemian region of the Czech Republic.  I've seen the town described on several random websites as a "hidden gem," or one of Europe's "most picturesque towns."  I definitely have to agree with those descriptions.  I think Český Krumlov is one of the prettiest, most atmospheric towns that we've visited.  We made the five and a half hour drive due east to stay for three nights on one of Kyle's four day breaks.

We had a wonderful time with gorgeous fall-like weather which added to the coziness of the town.  I love visiting small towns like this since you don't feel the need to walk your feet off to try and see everything.  We spent our first full day and a half here strolling the narrow cobblestone streets, enjoying the sun and the views as well as the local food and drink. The town feels so quaint and cozy, and the air smells like wood smoke, making you feel that you've really stepped back in time.  The centerpiece of the town is a huge castle built over many different time periods, with the earliest part dating back to 1240.  The castle,especially the brightly painted tower, is incredibly picturesque.  I think Kyle must have taken over 100 photos of the castle alone!

View from our Pension, or B & B

We had dinner our first evening in an old stone cellar.  Very cozy!

One of our favorite snacks that we first had when we visited Prague a couple of years ago is called Trdelnik.  The dough is wrapped around a rolling-pin shaped mold, and is cooked over coals or a fire.  My favorites are the ones dipped in cinnamon and sugar.  Delish!

Gorgeous views from the castle gardens

Bears have been in the moat guarding the castle since the 16th century

Can't resist posting such cute pics of Gizmo!

Enjoying beer and dinner at the local Eggenberg brewery

The second evening there, some local musicians played folk music in the courtyard by the fire of our Pension.  It was wonderful relaxing by the fire and listening to the old Bohemian music!

On the third day of our trip we ventured into the Czech countryside to see the tiny village and UNESCO World Heritage site of Holašovice, with a population of just 136.  The town is very unique in that 23 private little farms or "estates" are set around a rectangular town square, or village green.  The estates are built in the whimsical rustic Baroque style.   It's a town that's off the beaten path, so it doesn't get a lot of visitors.  Very little of the town has changed since it was originally built.  There is one cafe and one restaurant/pension.  It's unlike anything we've ever seen!

He's actually harvesting with a sickle!

The town's other claim to fame is called Holašovický Stonehenge.  When we first read about the town and decided to come see it, we thought that we would be seeing an ancient stone circle.  While we did see a stone circle, it definitely was not ancient!  The stone circle was built in 2008.  (An actual Celctic settlement from 2nd century BC is about 10 km away, so it seemed plausible that it could have been real!)  People use the circle's energy to "positively affect 95% of the spectrum of pathological diseases," meditation, and to "eliminate pathogenic zones."  Kyle and I, however, used the circle to take pictures.  

I guess she's channeling the healing powers...

And so is he.

After enjoying the quiet town of Holašovice, we headed to the much larger capital of southern Bohemia, České Budějovice.  The city dates back to the 1200s.  While it definitely has some beautiful areas, it lacks the charm of Holašovice and Český Krumlov.  It was worth the stop since we were so close.  We walked the streets of the old town, and enjoyed a Budvar, since the town is the home of the Budweiser Budvar Brewery.  (The American Budweiser was originally brewed to imitate the Czech Budweiser beer.)  They had a large street festival set up, which was fun to see.

We enjoyed our last evening in the Czech Republic back in Český Krumlov. It's such an enjoyable little town!

Kyle and I are so glad that we were able to spend a good amount of time in Český Krumlov.  It is worth much more than a day trip from Prague!  The food and drink are excellent, the people are very friendly, prices are cheap and the atmosphere is wonderful!  I would not mind going back at all!

The Joest's in Germany: Part II

Earlier this summer, my family came over to Germany for a two week visit.  In the first blog post about their visit, we went to Lake Garda, the Bodensee and the Black Forest.  We also kept very busy during the second part of their trip.  We enjoyed visiting more nearby towns and markets and doing some nice walks in the local area.  (There is never a shortage of new hikes to check out around here!) We also went to France and Switzerland! It was definitely a packed two weeks full of good food, beautiful scenery and great company!

Drinks and lunch at a local brewery, the Schönbuch.   (Kari's isn't beer, although she's of the legal age in Europe!)

On one of the days that Kyle had to work, we took a day trip to the Alsace region in France, just across the border.  Kyle and I have been to the Alsace several times, but it's a favorite place of ours, so we love going there!  It's in the Rhine river valley between the French Vosges mountains and the German Black Forest.  The valley is full of vineyards and picture perfect little villages right out of a fairy tale.  We visited a couple of my favorite villages, Riquewihr and Ribeauville.  We also went to feed the monkeys on monkey mountain!  It was raining when we saw the monkeys, but it was still so much fun to feed them popcorn right out of our hands!  The barbary macaque monkeys there are the same type that we saw when Kyle and I visited Gibraltar and Morocco.  The Alsace definitely needs more than a day trip to do it justice, but at least they got to see a little piece of it!  (These pics are from Mom and Dad.)

A stork wondering around the village doing some window shopping

 Kyle had a second set of four days off when my family was visiting, so we headed south to enjoy the spectacular alpine scenery in Switzerland.  All five of us and Gizmo piled into our Volkswagon and made the three and a half hour drive to the 200 year old house rental in the Simmental valley.  (Mom, Kari and I think the house was haunted, but we all survived.)  There was a mix up with the keys and getting into the house, so we went on ahead to walk the Lauterbrunnen valley about 25 minutes away from the rental house.  We had food for a picnic, and we were all pretty hungry, but Switzerland has a surprising lack of picnic areas!  We ate our lunch in an avalanche shelter instead.  At least it was dry!

'Lauter brunnen' translated means "many fountains."  The valley has 72 waterfalls, so the name fits it well!

Gizmo enjoying the cold and fresh mountain water

We climbed up a short but steep walkway that led through a tunnel in the side of a cliff and behind a waterfall.

We saw quite a few base jumpers, which was pretty awesome!

Luckily we got the keys sorted out, and were able to get into our rental house when we got back to the Simmental valley.  We had a cute little outdoor dining area that we enjoyed each evening.  We had two types of soup that we made in Germany and brought with us, and one night we had fondue night.  Yum!

A cute little church behind our rental house

The rain moved out and the next day was clear and beautiful.  We went to the Grindelwald area to see the infamous Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau peaks and do some scenic hiking.  It was a great day!

I love that there's always a place to stop for drinks while hiking in Europe!

We had lovely views for our picnic lunch after our first walk of the day.

Here are some photos of our second walk in the Grindelwald area.  It had a wide variety of scenery from rocky cliffs to the lush forest.

Dad and Kari headed back from the hike early, and this is what we found when we got back to the car.  

We were driving home the next day, but the weather was amazing so we did another hike before heading out.  Dad's ankle was bothering him, so he stayed at the house while the rest of us headed up the mountain.  There was a cable car up to the the peak of Stockhorn just down the street from our house in the tiny town of Erlenbach im Simmental.  We took the cable car halfway up to hike around two little lakes.  The lady working told us that they were quick and easy hikes.  The scenery was spectacular and the hikes very enjoyable, but they were definitely not easy!  (I would hate to see what she calls a difficult hike!)  It was so peaceful and serene hiking the alpine meadows full of wildflowers and hearing the cowbells in the distance.  The paths went right through pastures, which was fun to see the cute cows.  (If I was a cow, I would want to live in one of those pastures!)  Kari was less than thrilled with walking through the muck and getting her shoes dirty, but those views were worth it for me!

Being up on an alp puts me in the mood to frolic!

Mom, Dad and Kari headed back to the States on July 17th, Kari's 17th birthday.  She didn't get a free birthday upgrade to first class like she thought she should get, but they did bring her a first class dessert!

Kyle and I (and Gizmo) had such a great time having my family here in Germany.  It was nice being able to show them some of the places we're always talking about.  We all put a lot of miles on our feet, but we covered a lot of ground in just two weeks!  I'm already looking forward to Mom and Kari's visit here next summer for some fun under the Tuscan sun!