Farewell Tour: Day 3

The last day. The end of a brilliant holiday. For the final day of our Southern Bohemia tour, we stayed in Český Krumlov, one of the most famous and picturesque towns in the Czech Republic. To give you an idea of the scope of this town's beauty, the entire downtown of Český Krumlov is a UNESCO World Cultural World Heritage Site. This town is, naturally, swarming with tourists all year round, but especially during the summer months. At the end of September it was a little more manageable, but we were certainly faces in the crowd. If Český Krumlov is well-known throughout the world, it has reached almost legendary status with the Asian tourists, who are without a doubt in control of the town. The castle has fallen. This may largely be in part to the amazing preservation of the town, which gives visitors the feeling that they are stepping into a fairy tale. During our time there I saw countless wedding couples snapping photos throughout the streets, something that is also commonplace in Prague. I loved Český Krumlov, and it's very tiny size made its exploration completely doable in a single day. 

Český Krumlov

Here are the photos of the final stop of the trip...

The Vltava as it meanders through the city of
Český Krumlov

At the synagogue in Český Krumlov

A window into the castle and into ages past

The iconic Castle Tower 

The famous Czech stationary company

Old aqueducts of the Český Krumlov

When you gotta go, you just gotta go!

The town of Český Krumlov as seen from the top of Castle Tower

It's hard to escape the crowds, but it's easy to find a great view by
following them!

In the castle gardens

Who says we get shorter as the day goes on?

The controversial rotating theatre of the castle gardens, designed by Joan
Brehms. Many argue that the theatre does not fit into the aesthetics of the
castle gardens, but others cite its uniqueness as simply adding to the
UNESCO location

A bear still roams the castle moat to this day. In the past, protection, now,
simply entertainment

Finally, after a full day of touring, we drove the couple hours back to Prague, Czech capital and point of origin for this journey.

Farewell Tour: Day 2

Long delayed, but finally here is the second of the 'final trip' trilogy. I will separate the post into the different destinations again.

Písek

From Zvíkov, our starting point on the second day, we continued south for roughly 25 minutes along back roads to the town of Písek. The main boast of Písek is its bridge, which is widely regarded as the oldest bridge in the Czechlands. While certainly not as ornate or impressive as the Charles Bridge, there is certainly something to be said for its knack at 'hanging in there' throughout the countless years of war, flooding, and other potentially bridge-bashing events that might have come its way. 

Walking through the Palackého Sady

Czech field trips

Písek Kamenný Most, the oldest bridge in the Czechlands

There was a sand sculpture exhibition/competition on the riverside

Vendula was not intimidated by the dragon and even went so far as to face it one-on-one
to a staring contest, which she unfortunately lost

A little girl peeking out of the cannabis shop

Bike against an old wall mural

Zlatá Koruna 

After a tour of Písek we continued on our merry way about 70km to the south, ending up at the Cistercian monastery (no longer functioning) of Zlatá Koruna, or Golden Crown. This monastery was founded back in 1263 to help with the bolstering of southern Bohemia's spiritual prestige. For more detailed information on the monastery, here is a site that provides a small history.

Close-up on Our Good Little Lord's knees

A view of the Gothic windows from the monastery's inner courtyard

Courtyard of the monastery, wall of the monastery, and forest out past the walls

Map of the ancient world. If you click and zoom in close you will be able to see
all of the believed locations of various biblical events. Ironically, the Garden of
Eden is in Syria

Inside the monastery halls

A glimpse into the inner courtyard of Zlatá
Koruna

No secret what type of emotions this donation box
is trying to evoke...

České Budějovice 

The last stop of the day was the city of České Budějovice, capital of South Bohemia and home to the world-renown Budvar Brewery. This town had a pleasant atmosphere and was maybe ever so slightly under-explored by us, as time was against us with our evening arrival. 

We were fairly tired by the time we arrived in
České Budějovice...

An interesting exhibition was going on during our visit. If you look in the background
you can see an elevated walkway crossing the main square. The fountain in the middle
of the square, the iconic Samson's Fountain, was encircled by a huge black wooden wall.
The way into that small space was through this walkway. Once there, it was you and
the fountain in a much more intimate and enclosed environment than would normally
be the case. This project was meant to inspire discourse on public space and feelings
towards it. What happens when you 'capture' something that is public and everyone is
no longer able to see it? What feelings arise? Entry was free.

Samson's Fountain from the inside of the exhibit

We finally ended up in the absolutely magnificent Český Krumlov for the night. This brilliant little town will be the settling of our next fairy tale. 

Farewell Tour: Day 1

Everyone hates to see something so good end, and that is exactly how it was for me during my last week in the Czech Republic. However, that is not how it will be for you. Similar to the amazingly overextended final installments of many popular trilogies/series on the big screen, I have decided to separate the blog post on my final trip in the Czech Republic into three sections, creatively titled Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3. 

My last trip in the Czech Republic was a journey back to my "Pavlik" roots of sorts. The destination was Southern Bohemia (one of the most gorgeous landscapes I have ever been to), which is where the Pavlik family originally was residing before their trans-Atlantic voyage. I'll keep you in a little suspense as to the future destinations, but the locations crossed off the list on Day 1 were Tábor, Božetice, and Zvíkov. We'll revisit them together. 

Tábor

Roughly an hour and a half south of Prague, Tábor is named after the biblical mount upon which the Transfiguration took place. The city itself is not very big, but it is a destination for southern sojourners. The amount of tourism, however, pales in comparison to that found in places such as Prague, Český Krumlov, and Kutná Hora. 

View of the Town Hall from the tower of the local church. Tábor is a town that
still really only has one square in the middle, the center of the city being the
church and town hall just like in the olden days. Attendance, however, I'm sure
has declined, as is the case across the board in the Czech Republic

Another view out the tower window

Colorfully decorated trashcans made me think of creative cousins and relatives
in Verdigre, Nebraska who always seem to find ways to make public spaces
a little more beautiful

A cool little bench found outside the Tábor gallery that was a gift from Tábor's
sister city of Orinda, California, which is just 20 minutes from San Francisco
and is very near UC Berkely 

I do want to provide a link to the fun and interesting connection between Tábor, Czech Republic and Orinda, California. You can see the relationship and history of the sister cities on this website and even make a point of attending the "King Wencesles Festival" they will be holding in honor of their Czech counterpart in 2017! 

A final view of Tábor before driving away

Božetice

This very small Czech town, about half an hour away from Tábor, was home to the good-old-ancestor-Pavliks. The town reminded me very much of Verdigre, Nebraska, where the Pavliks eventually ended up. Božitice is exactly what I would imagine Verdigre to look like if it were in the Czech Republic...and somehow even smaller. Verdigre is a very small village of roughly 600 inhabitants that is very much an agricultural community originally founded by Czech immigrants. Verdigre still holds onto its Czech heritage: many older inhabitants speak a bit of Czech, there is an annual Kolach Days festival, and there is a family owned and run bakery that has fresh Kolaches sitting in the window. For all my Czech friends, you may be interested in 'czeching' out Verdigre's website to do a little fact checking, as it boasts to be the "Kolach Capital of the World" - no small title! 

Entering the homeland

The Božetice recycling center

Vendula and I decided that this is the origin house of the Pavlik clan

Large 'pools' were used in earlier times especially for fire-fighting purposes. Trucks
could back up down a ramp and refill in the reservoir. Božetice has converted its
into a swimming pool

An old mill seems to be the pride and glory of little
Božetice. The museum dedicated to it basically IS
the town and one can take a tour was a very passionate-
looking elderly man that lasts roughly 90 minutes.
Unfortunately, we didn't have time to embark on this
enlightening adventure, but were amused by the fact that
such a little place was boasting tours longer than any
of those found in any major tourist destination. Small
town feel. 

Hrad Zvíkov 

Continuing on another 40 minutes or so, we ended the day at Zvíkov Castle, an amazing semi-ruin with iconic placement on a peninsula reaching into the Vlatava River. The castle is now a self-tour of sorts. One pays a very reasonable admission fee and then is at liberty to explore the entirety of the castle grounds, with information boards, arrows, and exhibits helping lead and explain the visitor's way through the structure.

Source: www.flyfoto.cz

The entrance of Zvíkov

Peering into the courtyard and spying on the serfs...

Beautiful frescos and wall paintings had been recreated in likenesses of their
original forms

View of the Vltava from the castle tower

Little Vendula not missing the beautiful potential present in a Vendula-sized castle

At water's edge

One among the crowd

The romance of Zvíkov

Making an exit...