Fireworks Will Disturb the Bears

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In the afternoon we drove out of Salzburg through the southern part of the Czech Republic to the town of Cesky Krumlov. Having not learned our lesson when we drove into Salzburg a few days earlier we again tended to rely too greatly on the GPS sytem in our car. This caused us to find our way onto another aptly named "unnamed road" which we followed for probably 45 minutes. While doing this the afternoon gave way to darkness and snow began to fall. We continued through forests on a road barely wide enough for one car through the darkness and snow. The entire 45 minutes or so we spent traveling this road we only encountered one other car and maybe 5 or 6 desperate seeming hitchhikers. But, all was not lost as we eventually emerged from the forest exactly where we intended to be - at the bend in Vltava River where we found Cesky Krumlov.

The town of Cesky Krumlov is a UNESCO World Heritage site that has seen a lot of restoration work following the Velvet Divorce of The Czech Republic and Slovakia. Now it seems to have a mostly tourism driven economy catering largely to German and Austrian visitors.

The town itself plays host to a pretty large and impressive castle overlooking the Vltava. The strangest thing about this castle to me was that the area that was once the defensive moat has since been filled with earth and is now home to a handful of bears. I guess this qualifies as a zoo of sorts that somehow seems less safe than most as you have to walk over a walkway directly over the bears to enter the castle. As an added bonus for us, visiting just days before New Years Eve, there were temporary signs posted all over the castle reminding people in Czech, German, and English that throwing fireworks into the bear pen was not advisable and that fireworks will disturb the bears.

After walking around the castle we spent the rest of our time wandering the town and stopping into bars and shops all the while before heading back to Prague. Cesky Krumlov was a peaceful detour between Salzburg and Prague. If you are every traveling this route by car Cesky Krumlov is absolutely worth a stop.

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