Czechia Excursions

We've just returned from a very relaxing soak at the Szechenyi baths here in Budapest. This is our last night here and tomorrow we'll be taking the train to Ljubljana, Slovenia. It's time now to get back to my overdue updates.

Tuesday April 26th: This was an action packed day and still one of our favorites of the whole trip. As planned we packed up our things, strapped our front and back packs on, and checked out of the hotel. I'd rebooked us on the early morning train to Kutna Hora which is about an hour outside of Prague. The plan was to leave our big packs in lockers at the train station, pop out to Kutna Hora for a quick tour and lunch, get the first afternoon train back to Prague, grab our packs, and then jump on a yellow internet bus headed to Cesky Krumlov for the night where I'd already booked a room for us. Cesky Krumlov is about 3.5 hours South of Prague and a good halfway stopping point between Prague and Vienna. I'd even booked a van from CK Shuttle company to pick us up at our hotel in Cesky Krumlov and take us the rest of the way to Vienna the next morning. It was all perfectly planned out.

On our way to the train station that morning we reencountered the hole in the sidewalk that almost claimed Kat from a couple nights ago. We decided to do a quick reenactment of the event and record it as a warning and a public service. At the train station we eventually found the lockers and stored our big bags for later then we scrambled to find our platform because it was getting close to departure time. Along the way we encountered another group of tourists heading to Kutna Hora who asked me directions to the train, because I look like a directions-knowing kind of guy I guess. Together we made it to the right platform in time and Kat and I got comfortable in our own private little cabin on the train.

The ride was relatively short and right on time, about 50 minutes, even with a couple stops along the way. The train station was a bit of a ways outside of Sedlec and Kutna Hora but we opted to walk rather than take the crowded tourist bus. A few minutes later we were at the Sedlec Ossuary. This was the main attraction for me and had been something I wanted to do ever since I learned I had missed it the first time I was in Prague. The chapel wasn't much to look at yet the small graveyard around it was well maintained. The real good stuff was in the crypts below the chapel however. There lies the remains of somewhere between 40,000 and 70,000 people fully on display, their bones arranged in gigantic bell shaped piles, swooping garlands, crosses, urns, goblets, spires, and even in the form of the crest of House Schwarzenburg. Unfortunately, the famous chandelier was missing, having been taken down to be repaired. Still I was struck dumb by the powerful atmosphere of the place. It was mind-boggling to think on how every skull in that place represented an individual who had lived hundreds of years ago and died probably from a plague or from some violent war, to be buried in the church yard only to be dug up again centuries later when they needed more room, and have their bones arranged artfully by a half-blind monk, and then to be forever on display to a never ending parade of strangers who snap a few pictures or maybe even toss a few coins into empty eye-sockets, like some sort of absurdly morbid carnival game. It kind of made me want to have my bones sent to Sedlec when I die.

Once I had had my fill of staring my own mortality in the face so to speak, it having been my 40th birthday the previous day and all, we left the ossuary and returned to the main road. Along the way we stepped into the tourist information center to pick up a map and ask directions to Kutna Hora town center. They suggested we take the bus instead of walking because in their own words, "There's nothing between here and there." It looked like it would only take 10-15 minutes walking and we really don't like packing into tight buses and trams so we chose to walk in spite of their advice. There wasn't much to look at, as they said, but we still found it enjoyable. It is interesting to watch a gritty and sprawling industrial town, where the main industry is a Phillip Morris factory, slowly morph into a tightly packed and alley riddled medieval city at its center.

When we got to the old town square we stopped at a cafe for some hot caffeinated drinks and free wifi. I ordered a coffee with whipped cream and Kat ordered what she though was going to be a chai tea latte, but what turned out to be a caffe latte with chai flavoring. I ended up drinking both coffee drinks and she ordered a hot chocolate instead. We spent the rest of the morning wandering the old town center, admiring the cute buildings as we went, and marking off the landmarks and sites listed in Rick Steves' walking tour. Because we had both had Alchemy classes at Czocha we could not pass up the small Alchemy museum in a cellar beneath the tourist info center in the middle of old town. It consisted of about four rooms in a cramped basement complete with cheesy mannequins, displays, and sound effects. The best part was it didn't take too long. Then we stopped by the Stone House, which Kat had misheard me read as the "Scone House" while we were on the train. Unfortunately they were not serving any scones there. At some point during the walk a local man noticed my book and took issue with it. He said, "This is Central Europe, not Eastern Europe." There was nothing I could really say to that though and we went our separate ways. At the end of our walk we reached St. Barbara's Church where we were rewarded with a spectacular view.

It was getting on toward lunchtime and Kat and I had worked up an appetite so we got our or trusty guide Rick and had him lead the way. Our first choice turned out to be closed, but the runner-up was nearby and served a delicious pizza that went quite well with a couple of cold beers. Then it was time to get back to the train station and catch our ride back to Prague. We took a smaller shuttle train from the old town station back to the main station and waited. Our train arrived pretty much on schedule, however we had heard that the other train coming in from Prague had been delayed by at least 20 minutes. It didn't register at the time, but it should have dawned on me that we might encounter the same delay heading that direction.

It turned out to be a much longer trip back to Prague. We were late by almost 40 minutes, just shy of twice the time it took to get out there. This was a major problem because I had booked the internet bus for an hour after we were supposed to be back and the bus station it left from was on the other side of the river. Kat and I booked it off the train as soon as it stopped, ran to the lockers to grab our packs, strapped them on in a hurry and then ran through the streets of Prague to the closest Metro station that would take us across the river. Several stops later and with less than 5 minutes on the clock we charged up the stairs into an unfamiliar part of town and tried to locate the bus station. A helpful man on a bench saw our frantic looks and pointed us in the right direction and we took off running again. We came around the corner, spotted the buses and with 30 seconds left on the clock we reached the big yellow internet bus and were the last ones on. We threw our big packs in the luggage compartment and then collapsed into our seats while sweating profusely.

During the ride I uploaded some pictures and worked on a blog post which made the time go by quickly. I overheard a couple behind us reading about Cesky Krumlov from the same Rick Steves guidebook so I struck up a short conversation with them and we shared our mutual love for Rick. Before I knew it we were pulling into Cesky Krumlov and it was time to put our packs back on again. The bus station wasn't at all far from old town so walked again. Coming over the hill we got our first good look at the town. If we thought Kutna Hora was picturesque Cesky Krumlov was downright quaint and charming. The entire place is crowded with tiny cute buildings with towers and steeples protruding upward here and there. The old town is surrounded on three sides by an oxbow in the river and connected to the other side with little bridges. All the streets are cobbled, but well maintained. It was an absolutely adorable place and we wish we could have stayed more than just a night there.

Our first stop was our hotel of course. We met the very nice front desk lady and got our key, which we needed to use on the front door, an inner door, and our room door. So many doors to unlock and lock behind us when they came and went. The room was amazing, even more so in person than it looked on the website. I got us the attic room with a castle view and it really was a great spot even though I cracked my head on one of the many low beams. It was a charming sort of smack to the head. Kat was super excited to see that we even had a full bathtub and one of those heated drying racks in the bathroom so we could do a bunch of laundry and have it dried by the morning.

After unloading a bit we set out to do a quick tour of the place and then find some dinner. It was a little after 18:00 and still light out for a bit. We saw all the things including old town square, the castle, and the castle gardens. At the castle the drawbridge was guarded by a bear pit, but there weren't any bears in it that we could see so we decided they were invisible bears. Rather than throwing food into the pit you are encouraged to drop coins in a slot which will be used to buy the bears a more diverse diet. Kat got really excited about that so I gave her a coin so she could feed the invisible bears. All throughout the castle complex, which seemed to wind on forever, there were these squat little half-sized doors that were just about the right height for Kat. I made her model in front of one for me and then I stood in front of a slightly larger one for comparison.

When we got done with our walk we were ready for dinner. The top recommendation turned out to be directly across from our hotel. We attempted to get seated but they said they were booked up until at least 21:00. That gave us about an hour so we said to put us down for it and we'd be back. I took the opportunity to shower and Kat took a bath and then we did laundry together before getting dressed for dinner and heading back downstairs, unlocking and locking all the doors as we went.

We arrived at the designated time and found another American couple in front of us getting the same routine, no room until at least an hour from now. They were about to leave but Kat thought it might be nice to invite them to join us. I made sure there would be room at our table and then extended the invitation. They were taken by surprised and delighted to say the least. We ended up having a great time and conversation with them during dinner, sharing stories about our travels, how we met our significant others, and life in general. Then at the end of the meal they surprised us by picking up the check. I'd say it definitely pays to be nice sometimes.

After dinner we said our fond farewells and then Kat and I made the long trek across the street back to our room, unlocking and locking all the doors along the way, and finally collapsed into bed to get some much needed rest from such a long, eventful, and fun-filled day.