Český Krumlov is a beautiful place. It is the second largest city in the Czech Republic (the first being Prague). But first, some smaller updates.
The Flaming Cocks show was good, although not as good as the Prague Ska Conspiracy show. Tessa went with me, another Chicoan, but the opening bands just weren't as good; their songs sounded the same. The Flaming Cocks were awesome, however.
I have also posted some photos of Český Krumlov, more of Prague, and of the Bohemian Carnival. The carnival happened last week, but I haven't had a chance to edit the video so that post is next on the list.
"Český" in the name means "Czech" or "Bohemian" to us, to distinguish it from Moravia, which is a different part of the republic. "Krumlov" is a German word for "crooked meadow" or something similar, and the town was given that name because the Vltava River winds its way through town in a crooked fashion, creating a semi peninsula.
We almost didn't go because figuring out the bus schedule from Prague proved to be more complicated than we originally thought. Krystal, Kathy, Gabi, Lucy and I missed the first one but caught another bus an hour later.
By the time we finished the three hour bus ride from Prague, it was dark. This was actually a lucky thing, because Český Krumlov is gorgeous at night, with the castle walls, the flowing river and the strategically placed lights. At our hostel, we had two very cool roommates: Yuta, a Japanese tourist who is ridiculously good at playing Bullshit and has been traveling for two months, and Dori, a Chinese tourist who was with a group but was put in our room. Yuta left us a very sweet note because he left while we were still sleeping, but I wish he'd left his email address!
Since it is off season for tourism, many things were closed. However, we still got to go up to the castle (just not the inside). You could see the whole town from there; it was the stuff of postcards and book illustrations.There were also large groups of Chinese and Japanese tourists, which I thought was odd.
I also went on a tour of the Eggenberg beer brewery with Lucy. Sierra Nevada's is more impressive, let me tell you. However, it was interesting nonetheless. We got a "free" beer that was included in the cost of the ticket. It tastes like a rich Budweiser. Unfortunately, Lucy got very sick towards the end with flu like symptoms but she is now feeling better.
