Český Krumlov, Czech Republic - An Experience In Itself

We found that while Vienna required "multiple experiences" because of its geographical layout, there were no similar problems on visiting the small Southern Bohemian town of (Old) Český Krumlov in the Czech Republic . A small medieval town just 3 1/2 hours shuttle trip from Vienna,  it became the next stop in our Eastern European excursion. Two reasons we chose to go there were: 1) It is designated a UNESCO World Heritage site, and 2) It is not Vienna or Prague which are teeming with tourists  (especially selfie-stick wielding Americans)  and off the beaten path.

According to Wikipedia:

Construction of the town and castle began in the late 13th century at a ford in the Vltava River, which was important in trade routes in Bohemia. In 1302 the town and castle were owned by the House of Rosenberg. Emperor Rudolf II bought Krumlov in 1602 and gave it to his natural son Julius d’Austria. Emperor Ferdinand II gave Krumlov to the House of Eggenberg. From 1719 until 1945 the castle belonged to the House of Schwarzenberg. Most of the architecture of the old town and castle dates from the 14th through 17th centuries; the town's structures are mostly in Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque styles.

For this brief (2 day) stay we elected not to go to a large hotel but a smaller boarding venue called "Villa Beatika" featuring a 3-story former apartment bldg. now configured for tourists.  The owner, an expatriate Brit named Michael - was extremely helpful including showing us the best way to get to the Old Town, as well as the best places to dine and the major sights to see.

Given the length of traveling time the first day - some three and a half hours from Vienna to Český Krumlov , we decided to just walk into the Old Town to take in the sights and maybe get a meal at a place recommended. It took us about ten minutes to walk the half mile or so and immediately it was like lurching into the Middle Ages as we encountered cobblestone streets and walk ways and castles from the 13th century providing an awesome backdrop for any photos.


As Michael had told us, it took barely fifteen minutes to walk across the entire Old Town center with stunning sights at every turn.  Some of them are shown below:

First afternoon out with castles in the background as we head toward town center.

Overview of the town and the Vltava River .


Another view from the 2nd day we were there.


Night time view of ancient buildings and Vltava River below.

The photo above was taken two hours after sunset from a bridge joining two parts of the town, and a roughly ten minute walk from Svejk, the restaurant we ate at the first night. Janice had a delicious veal dish with horse radish and dumplings while I ordered a roast pork dish with potatoes, the total cost perhaps $11 U.S. if that. Another American couple that arrived soon after us ordered roast rabbit, a delicacy in South Bohemia.

On our last day we enjoyed one of the best meals we had in eastern Europe at a place called Konvice  at one edge of the Old Town square. Some 5 hours later we returned to enjoy the sights of the  other side of town and especially the magical view of the castles with their lights dancing on the River Vltava - surely presenting a spectacle that exceeded any of the artificial creations seen at Disney World.

Castle seen from an alley in the Old Town square at night.

One of the other highlights of our stay there included  visiting an ancient livery stable museum featuring medieval riding gear, including a sleigh, e.g.

But we both decided to pass up visiting the "Torture Museum".  (Strangely, every place we visited - Budapest, Vienna, Bratislava, Český Krumlov   and Prague - featured some kind of Torture Museum with some of the most horrific instruments one could imagine on display in the windows.) Neither of us had any desire to pollute our minds with images of human brutality and "man's inhumanity to man".  We opted for the more "magical" scenes (as Janice often referred to them) shown in the preceding images.

No - Bratislava Is Not Full Of Butchers Running Hostels To Kidnap and Torture Randy Americans

Bratislava was the 3rd stop in our recent trip to eastern Europe. The name almost always draws a blank from Americans, unless they have seen the movie 'Hostel'. Perhaps no recent film did more to cast a shadow over Bratislava and Slovakia than this 2005 Quentin Tarantino gore fest.  It focused on three backpackers, two from the States and one from Iceland, who are looking for hot chicks in Amsterdam, then are told about the "really hot girls" in Slovakia and especially Bratislava who will "do anything". They are pointed to a specific hostel outside of Bratislava, and so catch the first train there that they can.

They become wary when their passports are taken by the desk clerk, but soon forget that little detail when they encounter girls who are indeed eager to go to bed. Then, one by one they begin to disappear - actually drugged by the women, then carted off by kidnappers to a really brutish dungeon where members of a hunting lodge club (each with a bulldog tattoo on his hand or arm) registers to be able to select a "trophy" victim to torture, or chop up as he/she sees fit. One of the Americans, Josh, has the misfortune to meet up with a failed surgeon from the Netherlands who now uses his dungeon-hunting lodge member status to improvise on skills he never had in the first place.

To be sure, this film is not for the faint of heart or the squeamish. It was also not received well by the countries in which most of the action unfolded. According to a Wikipedia entry on the film:

"The film's release was accompanied by strong complaints from the country of Slovakia, and also from the Czech Republic. Slovak and Czech officials were both disgusted and outraged by the film's portrayal of their countries as undeveloped, poor, and uncultured lands suffering from high criminality, war, and prostitution,fearing it would "damage the good reputation of Slovakia" and make foreigners feel it was a dangerous place to be. The tourist board of Slovakia invited (Eli) Roth on an all-expenses-paid trip to their country so he could see it is not made up of run-down factories, ghettos, and kids who kill for bubble gum. Tomáš Galbavý, a Slovak Member of Parliament from the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union – Democratic Party, commented: "I am offended by this film. I think that all Slovaks should feel offended."

Putting oneself in the place of a proud Slovak this is exactly what would be a normal reaction, and certainly our brief visit showed a charming and enchanting place full of ancient castles and warm-hearted people. (Though one young American woman in our day tour group asked her companion, 'Where is the hunting lodge, like in Hostel?')

Director Roth, as the Wiki entry notes, tried to defend himself and the film by arguing: "Americans do not even know that this country exists. My film is not a geographical work but aims to show Americans' ignorance of the world around them."

But the point is, even if this is so - and to a large degree it is - a fictional name could have been chosen for the country and the city (formerly called Pressburg, before the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) left innominate and generic so as not to offend. Again, this is not 'PC' but rather simply displaying some mode of rational sensibility. ( Pressburg was also the capital of the Empire until it was moved to Buda - part of modern Budapest - really two cities, Buda and Pest,  in 1809 after the French captured it).

Once regarded as a suburb of Vienna, Bratislava now stands as a cosmopolitan capital in its own right - drawing much investment, and one of the most attractive and historical European cities one can visit.  Some of the sights we saw on our brief sojourn included: Bratislava Castle, St. Martin's Cathedral - towering 85m above the city, and commemorating 19 coronations between 1563 and 1830.  We were also interested to see the Opera House of the Slovak National Theater, where scenes from the James Bond flick, License to Kill were filmed (Featuring Bond girl Maryam d'Abo as a star Cello performer who Bond - Timothy Dalton) ends up rescuing from the baddies. 

Below is yours truly with the Slovak National Theater in background:

For our part, we'd go back to Bratislava in a heartbeat. The sights- monuments were captivating, and the foods served terrific, tasty - and the only knock, probably too fattening!

But if you're looking for the "hunting lodge" or butcher dungeon featured in "Hostel", best not to waste your time!