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No Photos. No photos here. A portly gentlemen with no apparent official status waved his finger at me. As a keen snapper, you get used to the occasional reprimand. The last time that happened was one of the minders for a Bollywood film in Dubrovnik, who was over keen to ensure that I didn’t spill the beans on a plot of the latest movie featuring Shah Rukh Khan. I didn’t actually know who he was at the time, so it had been unlikely. We were in the bus station at Ceske Budjovice, which wasn’t a top secret military bunker last time I looked. I checked. There were no warning signs, beyond the No Smoking signs. I had already taken the snap, but my new friend didn’t realise that. The reason for the illicit snap was to remind myself of Jake Bugg’s new status in the world. The subject was a poster for the “Czech Woodstock” – Festival Trutnoff. An apparent “Celebration under the Mountains”. Jake was well down the bill, behind Petrov Stelar but encouragingly still above Fat Freddy's Drop and Monkey Business . We were waiting for a bus to Cesky Krumlov, the focal point for tourism in this area
of South Bohemia. It was obvious we were in the right place, judging by the other tourist types forming a loose queue in a way that continental types do. Cesky Krumlov is by all accounts the second most visited location in the Czech Republic and beaten only by Prague. I had sold it on that basis to the Other Half, as worth a visit. The buses were conveniently every 20 minutes or so and the journey typically takes 35-40 minutes. The driver was clearly predicting the majority of customers were heading to Krumlov and was ready to print off the 32 Czech Crown tickets.
The outskirts of Krumov is anywhere ville. The modern face of an old town. The majority of the passengers alighted at the stop before the bus station terminus. We did likewise. The area just in advance of this stop is a busy traffic light controlled intersection. Chaos. Queues of traffic. A busy weekend in the height of summer could be a bit problematic, one assumes. The bus drops off and does a U turn back to the intersection to turn for the bus station, so if you don’t want to queue twice –
Cesky Krumlov
View from the Castle get off. This is the closest stop to the Castle. The circus that is Krumlov had begun. Krumlov is bus tour land. There seemed to be copious supplies of local accommodation, although most possibly just come on a day trip from Prague. The lines are clear to see – all busy following their respective “guides” with their umbrellas or national flags aloft. I think I should qualify that an say following their guides very slowly.
The entrance moat to the Castle was causing quite a stir. The inhabitant of the pit below was attracting the interest of the many Far East Asian visitors. A large brown bear prowled in the pit beneath. He impatiently wandered around in a circle beneath the bridge and then back out into the open, anxious that his mid-morning food was served sooner rather than later. There is a history of bear keeping at the Castle going back to 1707, although there will be many who have mixed feelings about the practice now. As I am not in tune with modern bear enclosures at zoos these days, I am not sure whether the accommodation on offer as good, bad or indifferent. The bear
looked in good condition, but was probably bored senseless.
We bought two tickets for the Castle Tower before the crowds had chance to grow further. In view of the Other Half’s step climbing difficulties, we thought it best to get up there and down early doors. The weather was disappointingly overcast, but the view of town was still fairly impressive. A number of groups were kayaking or rafting on the river, which encircles the town. As a veteran of the Johnstone River in Queensland, I wasn’t sure whether some of the participants should have been entrusted with a paddle. The aerial photographs and panorama complete, we descended. The Castle inner courts were overrun with people and we decided against a tour. We settled for additional views back across town and walked up to the gardens. There were preparations for an outdoor classical performance going on in the upper garden. We came across a wedding being photographed, as we walked back from the gardens. A nice day for a White Wedding? A great many moons it was. It was our own wedding anniversary.
The Other Half wandered off as she does, when I go into
camera overdrive. I set about shadowing Mr Wedding Photographer. The Other Half wasn’t even convinced that the happy couple had in fact got married. She based this observation on a lack of rings. The bride had an interesting tattoo on her collar bone. I wonder what she will think of that as the years go by. We would meet them later at another vantage point in town. It seems Cesky Krumlov qualifys as a fairytale background for the wedding photos. Indeed, it is picturesque. A UNESCO heritage city, no less. We descended from the Castle area, crossed the river and wandered the backstreets of town. The main streets are busy. The back streets are busy. Every last building seemed to have either been given over to accommodation or another commercial enterprise. The shops were what I would class as full of tourist produce. It seemed that most visitors could not resist, as all were doing very nicely thank you very much. The leaders with their umbrellas hoisted presumably lose a few on the way round as they disappear into the shops, which creates a bit more space on the bus back to Prague. We even joined the masses. The Other
Half bought a small wooden decoration. She will no doubt add to her 1994 vintage Czech duck on wheels that loiters in the house.
We found our wedding couple again. I repeated the photographic exercise. The bride’s dress wasn’t quite looking so pristine by this point, but both were still looking pleased with the day. The gardens or terrace near the Museum were the vantage point this time. They were joined with a great many more of their countrymen and women, all busy trying to get the perfect shot with the Castle in the background. The photographs complete with the larger cameras, a whole generation of selfie sticks attached to the I Phones were brought into use. Our wedding couple retreated for lunch and we did likewise. We sat on the terrace at Pappas. The Other Half supped her glass of prosecco. She wondered in vain where the champagne was. She is still wondering. We dined on pasta and wished that the temperature would go up a couple of notches. Alas, it had become a little overcast and chilly. We pondered the options and headed back to the Bus Station and the slightly calmer surroundings
Cesky Krumlov
The Other Half makes a rare appearance on camera of Ceske Budejovice. The sun came back out and all was well. We went for a Budvar.
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Keep Smiling
Mike Fossey
I'm sure it was unintentional...
...that two photos titled Cesky Krumlov (one of the lovely Miranda with a slanting tower growing out of her head and the other of a wicked witch with pointed hat) appeared next to each other! :0)