At the top of the tower After our all-to-brief stay in Paris, we hopped on a plane to Prague.  When we landed we headed straight to the car rental agency to pick up the little Skoda (it got great gas mileage) and made our way south to the little town of Cesky Krumlov.  We were on the road at sunset and were blown away by its beauty and of the rolling green hills of the Czech Republic.   We would love to go back and just explore the countryside of the Czech Republic.  Beautiful Cesky Krumlov The little taste we got was quite enticing.  We arrived into CK a little after 8pm and the friendly owner of the Pension that we stayed at met us, helped us get situated, recommended a couple of places to eat and helped us park our car on the outskirts of town.    (Cesky Krumlov is nearly 100% pedestrian!) The room we had rented was essentially part of a B&B and was huge!  We had a sitting/TV room, a bedroom and a full-fledged bathroom.  And we were right off the kitchen where breakfast was served each morning.  The spaciousness of the room was a nice change from the tiny room in Paris (the dollar goes a lot further in the CR).  But the best part of the Pension Nostalgie were the views of the castle from the sitting room window.  We loved it.

We were pretty worn out from Paris when we arrived in CK and opted to keep it pretty low-key that first night.  We went to a restaurant recommended by Vladimir (our contact at the pension) that served typical Czech food.   It was the first of many potatoes to come --and quite delicious. 

The Bears of Cesky Krumlov The following morning we woke up, ate breakfast with Vladimir and then headed straight for the castle.  We learned there are castles all over the Czech Republic, but the two biggest and best maintained are in Prague and Cesky Krumlov.  The castle tower During our time there, we saw both.  The one in Cesky was without question the best one.  Our favorite part was the Tower.  The art on its facade and the views from the top were awesome.  Spring hadn't quite sprung in Cesky, but some of the trees were in bloom and the hills were green an gorgeous.  We loved it.  We took a tour of the castle (although it was limited due to the time of year.  It was still so cold (25 degrees that morning) that the far side of the castle is too cold to tour until late May.)  After gawking at the bears in the castle moat, we wandered through the gardens -- we could imagine how pretty they would be once the leaves were on the trees.   We enjoyed the views from the terraces and hillside and then walked back down to the heart of town.  

Cesky Krumlov

Easter Market Wares The day we were in Cesky Krumlov happened to be the Thursday before Easter.  It couldn't have been planned better.  As we got into town that first night the men were busy setting up the plaza in the center of town for the Easter markets.  The markets opened on Friday and were a highlight of our time in the Czech Republic.  Prague had Easter markets too -- but the one in CK felt more authentic and less catered to tourists.  We loved it.  We spent a couple of hours there checking out the Easter wares and tasting some of the best food we had while we were in the CR.   We sampled sausages that reminded me of the polish sausages my grandpa would send us for Christmas - only these were far better.  Best Potato Chips ever We had the BEST.POTATO.CHIPS.EVER at that little market.  We watched them cut and slice the potatoes and fry them right before our eyes.  Hot and salty chips?  Delicious! We also tried waffle on a stick with nutella.  Pretty great snack that allowed us to hold out for a late lunch. 

We visited the local church, wandered the cute little streets and made our way to the famous Eggenberg brewery for lunch.  They are known for their beer, but they also brew their own sodas so we tested those out.   We then did more wandering -- stopping in at the little shops, checking out the gardens and different views of the castle.  Enjoying the views It was a really fun day.  Expensive one too as we did a lot of shopping for birthday presents for nieces and nephews for the upcoming year.  :)  That night we had a delicious spread of meats and potatoes at a restaurant built around a cave before heading back to our little "apartment". 

Streets of Cesky Krumlov We only had a couple of hours the following morning before we had to hop in the car and head back to Prague.  It was a cloudy day and we were grateful that our full day there had been one with blue skies and sunshine.  We wandered more streets, went back to the Easter market and found a great little park with the best views of the castle.  We regretted not having found it sooner! 

We absolutely loved Cesky Krumlov.  It was one of the highlights of the trip.  We'd love to go back!