Blague #29: Day One in Český Krumlov

Tim Nash

Friday, June 14th

To start the day, we woke up bright and early to meet at the bus stop at 8:45 to begin our journey to the medieval town of Český Krumlov. After a two and a half hour bus ride, we arrived and checked into our hotel. Immediately, we were set loose to eat lunch, so some friends and I wandered our way to an Italian restaurant where we feasted on an assortment of delicious pizzas, pastas, and the like.

After lunch, the group met at the town square to begin a tour of the town and the State Castle. First, we were introduced to our tour guide Bryce, a former Floridian who has been living in the town for over 20 years now. Over the course of the tour, he made a compelling case to be the best tour guide we’ve had over the course of this trip. He cracked jokes, quoted Phineas and Ferb, and gave us a comprehensive and engaging tour. We started with a tour of the town, including all of the significant landmarks and history culminating in a picturesque view of the town.

From there, we walked to the castle. We started with the grounds which included a moat that houses several live bears. After walking through several courtyards, we stopped to take a quick break, giving me the opportunity to take this picture with the exquisite and vertically challenged Professor Jay Putnam.

The interior of the castle is one of the best preserved castle interiors in all of Europe. This is due, in part, to the fact that when the last residents of the castle left, they didn’t take any of the furniture or decorations. So everything is left almost exactly as it would have looked centuries ago. For example, this dining room contains almost all of the original furniture pieces, tapestries, and silverware.

After the castle tour, we were set loose to wander the streets of yet another new city. After taking as much of the city in as we could, my friends and I grabbed dinner at a burger restaurant. As a deeply patriotic American, it brings me some pain to admit that a hole in the wall burger restaurant in a small town of the Czech Republic could outdo just about any burger I’ve had in America, but I assure you that this burger was among the best I’ve ever had. 

To round out the night, we found a bar to watch Germany dominate Scotland 5-1 in the first match of the Euro Cup. Finally, Patrick, Bennett, David, and I went back to our hotel room where the four of us had only one bed within which to sleep.