Thursday, January 23, 2025
Our plan today was to visit two cities outside of Prague so we could see a little bit more of the Czech Republic. To do so, we had to take several different buses and get an early start to the day. We got up at 05:30 and a half hour later we were heading to the bus station. Our FlixBus departed at 07:00 and we arrived with plenty of time to spare. I needed coffee and mercifully there was a Starbucks at the bus station that was open.
The first bus was headed to Cesky Krumlov, located two and a half hours southwest of Prague. Thinh and I both slept during most of the bus ride. The sunrise during the first part of the bus ride was very pretty this morning. We arrived in the town at 09:30 and set off to discover the gems of this town. The bus station was located just outside of the city center, near the top of a small hill. From there, we started walking into town and stopped at an overlook so we could see the entire town. Cesky Krumlov is an idyllic town situated along the Vltava River. We could see the spires of several churches throughout the town, along with the river and the castle in the distance. Thinh and I were both eager to get into town and start exploring.
The modest Church of St Vitus was our first stop in town. Located up a charming flight of stone stairs, the church is simplistic in design. In front of the main entrance was an information board that had the shell of the Camino de Santiago in the lower left corner! We went inside for a quick look around. The majority of the interior was simplistic as well, but the main altar was predictably elaborate and ornate. Nearby was a small square with the town’s plague memorial: a tall column surrounded by religious statues. The square itself was pleasant, surrounded by very pretty buildings.
We wandered around the small streets of the town center, taking our time to admire the architecture and beauty of the town. The river wound its way through the center, enhancing the beauty of the small area. Everywhere we turned, we found something new and impressive. When we reached the opposite side of the small town center, we crossed a bridge across the river and arrived at the base of the striking castle, which is perched atop a hill overlooking the entire town. A walkway supported by a series of aches stretched from the castle across a narrow gap over to a second hill. The castle itself ran along the hill along the banks of the river. The entire area was very picturesque.
Thinh and I crossed back across the river and walked along the river before heading into the town center once again. The castle dominated the views from the river and we could see a large tower at the far end of the castle, which we were both interested in visiting. After walking through town for a little bit, we reached a wooden bridge that crossed back across the river towards the castle. We stopped on the bridge for several minutes while we took pictures of the surrounding area.
Our route took us up towards the castle at this point, which required us to climb up a few flights of stone stairs. At the entrance to the castle, we saw the enormous castle tower behind the exterior walls. The buildings themselves were elaborately decorated with colorful paintings and stonework. To get inside the castle itself, we had to walk up a steep hill which was tiring to ascend. We then walked through a long covered walkway, stopped at a small alcove that overlooked the entire town.
The castle itself was quite nice once we reached the main courtyard. There were several paintings along the yellow walls. Continuing along the pathway, we reached the walkway across to the neighboring hill that we had seen earlier from below. Statues were placed all along the walkway and small arched windows looked out across the city. The views of the city were stunning and we were both enamored with Cesky Krumlov.
On the other hill was a small plaza where a large tour group was busy taking photos. We waited for them to finish and them stopped to take more photos. A nearby building had a sundial embedded in the upper part of the wall. Thinh had never seen one before and I explained to him how it works. We tried to wait for the sun to come out so he could properly see the shadow of the dial, but the clouds refused to break. The weather was good today, but it wasn’t particularly sunny.
Retracing our route through the castle, we descended back to the main part of the town, in search of a café to relax for a little bit. We had made the rounds of the small town by this point, seeing all of the major sights. We discovered a quaint little café where we each got a drink and hung out for a little bit. We thought about getting some lunch, but ultimately decided to skip it for now because we were running short on time.
Our bus was due to depart Cesky Krumlov at 14:00 so we soon walked back to the bus station. The walk back took us through some side streets, letting us see more of the town. We stopped at a gas station next to the station to get some snacks as well. The woman at the register was not very friendly and got quite angry when I tried to order a hot dog. The hot food was right next to the register and I pointed to what I wanted and said “hot dog”, but she got exasperated, walked around to the front to see what I wanted for some reason. She threw her hands up when she figured that I wanted a hot dog, despite the fact that I had clearly said that when trying to order. Her behavior was very odd and rude. We were both glad to have the snacks though as we were quite hungry.
When we got to the bus station, I checked out tickets on my phone to make sure we were on time. Horrified, I realized that we were at the wrong station – we were supposed to be at the smaller bus station near the castle! We had about 15 minutes until the bus was due to depart, so we had to hurry back across town. I felt terrible about my mistake and apologized to Thinh about it, and he reassured me that it was okay. We reached the smaller bus station with a few minutes to spare, thankfully.
The FlixBus departed on time for the short ride to the next town: Ceske Budejovice. When we arrived, Thinh and I both decided to get something proper to eat for lunch. As we walked into town from the bus station, we found ourselves on a long avenue with several restaurants. A kebab shop nearby had good reviews, so we went there to share a kebab pizza. It was extremely good and filling – a much-needed energy boost of the rest of the day!
Ceske Budejovice is a nice town, but it paled in comparison to Cesky Krumlov. The town was full of pristine old-style buildings, making our walk through town very pleasant. One of the more unique buildings was the Black Tower, a 16th-century stone clock tower. It is usually open for visitors to go inside and climb to the top, but it was temporarily closed today. Next to the Black Tower was a blue and white church called the Dom St Nikolaus.
The nearby Přemysl Otakar II Square was a highlight of our visit to Ceske Budejovice. It is a massive open space, lined with cobblestones, and surrounded by some truly beautiful historic buildings. In the center of the square stood the Samson Fountain, which was built in the 18th-century and once served as the main water supply for the town. The most impressive building in the square was the brightly colored blue and white Magistrate Building (town hall). The Baroque-style building was built in the early 1700s and has been one of the most important buildings in the town ever since.
Thinh and I then began to just wander around the city, walking down random streets that caught our eye. One such street had a long, narrow yellow stone building with a remarkable turret on one corner. We eventually reached the banks of the Malse River, which is a tributary of the nearby Vltava River. Along the riverbank was the small stone Iron Maiden Tower. We followed the river around the out edges of the old town area for a bit. While the city was not as exciting as Cesky Krumlov, we were both glad to have the time to see more of Czechia.
Thinh and I both wanted to find a café to hang out at for a little bit before catching our bus back to Prague. This proved more difficult than expected. We found several cafes on Google Maps, but several of them were closed or not as enticing as they appeared online. It was getting a bit discouraging, but we eventually found a place back at the main square. It was nearly empty when we arrived, but the staff were very welcoming and we decided to stop there for a rest. It turned out to be a very nice café with good drinks – a good find indeed! It was getting dark and colder by this time as well, so having somewhere warm to relax was nice.
A little while later we returned to the main bus station, which was located on the roof of a shopping center. We still had oodles of time before our bus left, so we had a look around the mall in search of somewhere to eat dinner, but nothing appealed to either of us. Instead, we went to Starbucks.
When it came time to catch our bus, we went up to the bus station. The departures board listed a dozen or so busses that were leaving throughout the evening, but ours was nowhere to be seen. We went outside to check the timetable on display and the bus was listed there, but it was still strange that it was not on the actual departures board. The station wasn’t huge, but buses departed from all around the building, so we kept walking around to see if we could spot our bus.
We eventually spotted a FlixBus pulling in and asked the driver if it was going to Prague. He didn’t speak any English, but pointed us to a different FlixBus down the platform. Thinh and I rushed over to that bus, but it was not bound for Prague. As we turned back toward the first bus, some other passengers were beckoning us over to the bus. It turned out that they were going to Prague as well and had similar issues finding the bus. The first bus was the one heading to Prague, so it was unclear why the driver pointed us to the other bus. Regardless, we got on the bus and settled in for the two hour drive back to Prague.
The bus departed at 20:35 and we spent much of the journey chatting. When we reached Pague just before 23:00, both Thinh and I were hungry since we hadn’t had dinner earlier. McDonald’s was nearby and one of the few places that was open. Not wanting to spend ages finding another place to eat, we went there to eat before taking the metro back to our hotel.
Today had been full of long bus rides, but it had been well worth it in the end. Thinh and I had been able to see more of the country, visiting some smaller towns and seeing some really unique places. We both agrees that Cesky Krumlov was among our favorite places that we’ve visited on the trip. It had been such a pleasant surprise to us, and we loved our time there. We went to bed immediately upon our return to the hotel, not just from exhaustion from the long day, but also because we had yet another early departure in the morning.
This featured blog entry was written by Glichez from the blog World Tour: 2024/2025.
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