Day 26 – 13 October 2012 - Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic – Rest Day

Our little home at “Krumlov House” provided us with the most comfortable night that we have spent on this tour without doubt. Our 350 year old converted lolly shoppe is larger than many apartments back home. It has one very large room with a double bed, single bed, couch plus plenty of extra space. There is a separate kitchen and eating area with fridge and cooking plate, and a separate toilet and shower. We are nestled on a steep hillside barely 1k from the village square, within 50 metres of the lovely Vltara River which winds and twists its way through the village.

We had a lazy start to the morning. The sky was a clear blue and promised to be a very lovely day. We prepared our own breakfast with apple, banana and yogurt, with slices of the most wonderful cob of bread laced with seeds of every variety. It was not until about 10am that we finally headed out for the day to fully explore this beautiful UNESCO listed village, cited by National Geographic as in the top sixteen most beautiful wonders of the world.

Cesky Krumlov is recognized as a pocket sized Prague. It is a tightly packed medieval village built tightly around the meandering twists and turns of the Vltara River with a prominence of tightly packed housing and riverside cafes and bars lining the maze of narrow, winding cobble stoned lanes and alleyways.

The enormous Gothic fortress which has been transformed into the imposing 16^th century Renaissance Chateau is the centrepiece of this model Bohemian village. The village has apparently not changed for 200 years, with much of the village being carefully restored following the long period of architectural neglect under the post WW2 communist regime.

We initially walked the edge of the river until the massive castle filled our view. Considered the central jewel of the city, only Prague castle can compete with its grandeur and size. The river was alive with a canoe/kayak festival event which seems to be running all weekend. We rarely lost sight of the river as we climbed the enormous heights of the castle, admiring its panoramic views from every angle.

The castle still retains a dry moat, which has live brown bears roaming free for all to see. The castle covered many acres, and was simply a bewilderment as to how man all those centuries ago could design and build such a magnificent structure on massive rock outcrop without any of the technology of the modern day. The castle grounds contained vast and beautiful gardens with mazes of large hedges, acres of dense forest of yellowing oaks and elms, and large grassed areas covered with the carpet of yellow from the falling leaves of autumn.

We spent much time in and around the castle, then found a lovely riverside café where we enjoyed a light lunch while watching the hundreds of kayaks and canoes of all shapes and sizes come constantly down the river past our café. It was lovely in the sun, and taking in the activity as well as the beauty of the sights of this heritage listed village.

It was a great rest day, and a time for recovery and also reflection. We are having dramas with our small laptop that we are carrying, with it refusing to connect to ‘Internet Explorer’. It has been very frustrating. We enjoy keeping up with the blog, but without the convenience of the computer, it is always a challenge to find a computer facility that allows uploads from USB’s or camera cards.

Today we found one, a rare one, so while I (Kelvin) spent time catching up on the blog, the girl’s did more wandering and drinking of coffee in sunny cafes.

There are many museums in the village, but the one that we resisted the most was the Museum of Torture that is next door to the Information Centre. While initially we thought it may be interesting, a mere glimpse through the front door was enough to turn us off. We thought we would only end up feeling depressed. Man’s inhumanity to man has no doubt been captured in the Museum of Torture, but we preferred to have our hearts and minds nourished by more positive experiences!

Dusk is a wonderful time of day. It was a final blessing before the day ended for us to walk through the narrow lanes, and climb stairs to a high vantage point from where we could get excellent views of this beautiful ancient village before the sun went down for the day. High from our hilltop perspective, we could almost see the entire ancient village from above. The castle stood supreme, but so did the beautiful church that also dominates the village skyline along with the castle.

It was great to reflect on the magnificence of what mere mortals could construct that have been so lasting in terms of time. For Australians like ourselves, with a mere 200 years of European history, we can only but marvel that such beautiful creations of mankind can stand for centuries and still be as beautiful and magnificent as the days when they were constructed.

It seemed fitting though to reflect at the end of a day like today on the words of Scripture. The Psalmist in Psalm 127 draws comparison to the building of magnificent structures and the building of our lives. He says ‘unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labour in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain”. (Psalm 127:1-2).

Man might be capable of building fine structures, but when it comes to the building of our own lives, we need to put our trust in the divine architect for our lives to have a sure and certain foundation that lasts.

From the 16^th most beautiful wonder of the world, Cesky Krumlov in Sth Bohemia, Czech Republic, we send our love.

Kelvin, Julie and Sarah-Jane