It was a great night’s sleep in our room at the ‘Hotel Garni Wildermann’ in Linz. The girl’s enjoyed a sleep-in, while I did the walk in the brisk cool air just after dawn to get the tea and coffee from the corner bakery.
We had decided to take the train into the Czech Republic to the beautiful historic village of Cesky Krumlov. The original plan was to cycle there, but uncertainty about roads, bike paths, distance and terrain helped us decide to experience the Czech republic train system.
We arranged with the ‘Hotel Garni’ to mind our bikes and most of our gear for two nights, for which they were most obliging, and we packed a few things in a backpack and headed off for the train station about 10am. Our train was due to depart at 11:15am, and arrive at Cesky Krumlov at about 1:50pm, with a change of train at the city of Cesky Budejovice.
We purchased the tickets for about $20 return (!) each, had coffee while using the internet service (the computer we are carrying is refusing to connect to Internet Explorer), and at 11:15am we found ourselves boarding a slightly older version train with Harrz Potter Hogwarts ‘Orient Express’ type carriages and seating compartments. It felt ‘old world’ – something like off old fashioned spy/thriller movies. We claimed a compartment all to ourselves, and thoroughly enjoyed the ride through northern Austrian countryside, which was stunningly beautiful, as we climbed the rolling hills towards the Czech republic border.
The two and a half hour journey to Cesky Budejovice passed ever so pleasantly, and before long we were pulling in to a very different railway station to the one we departed from at Linz. The Czech republic is significantly different countryside, and to a large extent the railway system reflected the long years of communist regime. We piled on to the platform along with a lot of other people, wondering where to go and where to find the directions for the next train. Within minutes we found ourselves in the midst of a crowd of other people, including some Australians, anxiously trying to work out where and how to catch our connecting train to Cesky Krumlov.
Within minutes of the train being due to depart, the information finally flashed up an old fashioned monitor, and we all rushed forward to find the platform and the train. It was more complicated than words can describe, but after rushing and surging in one direction, we all changed and surged in another direction, before being directed to the smallest train that I have ever travelled on. It was very cute to say the least, but a real ‘rattler’. The crowd of people surged on board, and for many it was standing room only for the 50mins to Cesky Krumlov, and the dozen or so country towns along the way.
We eventually made it, and once off the train we did our best to orient ourselves with the small town map that we were carrying from ‘Lonely Planet’. It was about a 2k walk from the station to the central square of Cesky Krumlov, but we hadn’t gone far before the most stunning views began to appear.
Cesky Krumlov is one of the worlds best kept secrets! It is a UNESCO listed world heritage city in Southern Bohemia, and listed by National Geographic as the 16th most beautiful wonder of the world. It is an absolutely stunning sight to behold. As we descended a very long hill from the railway station, we were not quite prepared for the spectacular beauty that filled our horizon. Cesky Krumlov is an historic medieval village built around a tightly curling River Vltara. The centrepiece is the 14th century castle that dominates the entire village. It is no small village either, but has been built over the centuries around the curls and twists of the River. Being autumn here in Europe, the golden and red colours of the oaks and elms made the sight before us one of the most stunning that we have beheld so far on our journey.
We were looking for our humble Hotel, Krumlov House, which was on the opposite side of the village to the railway station. It just meant that we had to weave our way through the winding, narrow, cobbled streets taking in all its beauty and wonder. It is apparently a very popular attraction for tourists from all over the world. The benefit in coming in late autumn is that the peak of tourist season has passed, so it was lovely to stroll the streets and not feel overwhelmed by crowds of people.
We knew that our humble hotel was one of the cheapest in town, but we were very surprised to discover our beautiful home for the next two nights was so quaint and wonderful. Being one of the newer houses in the village, it was only a mere 350 years old! Apparently it started life as a bakery upstairs, and the downstairs apartment which we scored from our booking, was an original lolly shop! It was beautiful - three beds, frescos on the wall, separate full kitchen and also separate toilet and shower. We loved it. In fact we loved it so much that we really didnt want to go out exploring again! It was so homely and comfortable.
As we walked with the darkness for the evening finally beginning to overtake the beautiful day, SJ reminded me of a wonderful truth. She shared with me that she had been thinking about the things that happen from day to day, which could otherwise cause people to be bitter and or disappointed. She reflected on the airline at Vienna neglecting to ship her bike panniers with her bike to Linz. She said, you know, if they had not messed up the luggage, she would probably not have been able to get on the bus from the Linz airport, with bike as well as her loaded panniers. With just the bike, she was allowed on the to bus by the driver. The airline had her panniers couried to the hotel later in the day.
I thought it was a pertinent reflection for the end of a day when a lot of things could have seemed to have gone wrong. St Paul in his letter to the Philippians, urges people of faith to be glad in all circumstances. He does this because he knows that the divine hand that is upon our lives promises to turn our disappointments into victories. In this life that we live by faith, we can be glad in our circumstances whatever they may be, because we have the promises that He who put the stars in place will turn our sorrows into joy, our disappointments to victory.
From the edge of the River Vltara in the beautiful medieval masterpiece of Cesky Krumlov in southern Bohemia, Czech Republic, we send our love.
Kelvin and Julie, and Sarah-Jane
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