Gate1 Tour - Cesky Krumlov

Our second full day in Prague was a trip to Cesky Krumlov, a medieval town dating back to the 13th century and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We had an early morning pick up of 8 a.m. from our hotel. I, along with mostly everyone else, was hoping for a quiet 2+ hour bus ride so we could nap, but our enthusiastic tour guide talked the entire time.

Upon arrival into Cesky Krumlov, you can see the map of the geography of the city with its horseshoe bend around the Vltava River. 

High walls as you enter the city

Some activities you can engage in is river rafting on the Vltava River or you can sit in the outdoor restaurant and watch the river rafters go by.

The start of the tour was of the State Castle & Chateau

At the entrance to the castle, below the bridge is a bear. 

I was able to get this quick shot before it went into hiding.

Within the Castle grounds. 

I really like the paintings on the building walls.

A movie was to be filmed here and this is part of the movie set.

These animals are not real and also part of the movie set.

This our Gate1 tour guide who was showing us the Castle Museum.

View of the city below from the Castle.

After our Castle tour, we had lunch at Krcma V Satlavske or Tavern in Satlavske Street.

We were placed in a cavern-like room with no windows. It was hot and cramped. 

Meat was cooking on the grill as we walked in.

This is a sample of the lunch (included in the tour) which consisted of a choice of entrees, a soup, a drink, and a dessert.

After lunch, we were free to roam around the city.

At the main square was a Mustang car show.

Or, you can walk and shop along the narrow cobblestoned streets. 

Since the streets are so narrow, many building corners had concrete barriers to prevent cars from scraping the buildings. This particular building had a more creative barrier.

More city buildings with an artistic facade.

Some stores with creative decorations to attract you inside.

Wherever we went in Prague or Cesky Krumlov was this mole.

We found out it was a Czech cartoon character called Krtek from the 1950's and 1960's.

Have you seen this character before?  It even went into space.

After the tour, we arrived back to our hotel with still enough time to explore Prague in the late afternoon. My next segment will include Nuremberg and Amadeus Royal embarkation.

- Karen