Czech Republic Update - Cesky Krumlov

     Shortly after an early supper we loaded up in the cars and headed out. Due to traffic it took longer than expected. First we headed to the town square and met up with part of our group that had gotten left behind. Then we climbed up to the castle.

     Because we were there after hours there were no more tours and parts of the castle had been closed off. After climbing a long set of stairs we entered the first castle building. The moat had been dried up and made into an enclosure to house a small colony of bears. We saw the habitat, but no bears. There was also an over-abundance of Asian tourists. We walked through several courtyards and then threw an open air walkway that had a beautiful view of the town.

    
     Small side-quest: The walls of the castle courtyards were decorated in what looked like an attempt at a more modern style of interior design. They were actually patterns from the Renaissance Age that were intended to mimic rare limestone blocks (note: picture shown below).

     On our way back down we stopped on a bridge that had a view of the castle. Apparently they were going to do a light and music show on the castle walls. So we waited and waited and then we listened to the announcer make a very long speech (plus he had to say everything again in English). Then finally the show began.

     Part of our view of the castle was obstructed by a large tree so our viewing experience was diminished. We watched the show for about two songs and moved to another spot for one more song before returning to the town square. On the way back to the cars we stopped at an outlook of the town and castle to catch the end of one more song. By the time we got back to the camp it was after 11:00. Still, it was a very nice night and the town was beautiful.