Day 27: A Little Taste of Bohemia

Once I knew I was passing through the Czech Republic, I was hankering to get back down to Cesky Krumlov, a small, historic and World Heritage-listed town in southern Bohemia.  I was last there in 1999 when it was just popping up in the travel guidebooks.  I had a fantastic few days there checking out the castle up on the hill (and its expansive gardens), walking along the river bank, or exploring the narrow cobbled streets, and I was dying to get back there for another look.

It’s been well worth coming back, but WOW how times have changed!!!  I hate to sound like a seasoned and slightly bitter traveler but "when I was here" there was only a handful of hostels, a couple of postcard stands, some good restaurants and that was about it.  The place has definitely had a lick of paint since then and looks even more amazing than I remember, but every second building is now a pension, hostel or hotel, and the others are pricey restaurants or expensive jewel/Bohemian crystal stores.  I guess the changes were unavoidable and inevitable, but it’s definitely lost a tiny bit of its original off-the-beaten-track appeal.  It’s however still one of my fave places in Europe…