Nipping It In The Bud

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We were back at Ceske Budejovice bus station the following morning for another exploration of the Czech countryside. I wasn’t reprimanded for taking photographs this time and there was no sign of the keeper of the bus station. The bus to take us to Hluboka duly arrived at the stand on time and a mere 21 Czech Crowns was determined to be the price for our tickets. There was not the throng of tourist types on this service, so the signs were good that the destination wouldn’t be quite as busy as yesterday in Krumlov. A family of Czechs boarded bound for the zoo, which transpired to be just outside Hloboka. After a 25 minute journey through the industrial quarter of Ceske Budejovice and out into the countryside, we alighted at the “Under The Church” stop in the centre of Hluboka I had done a spot of research that suggested the church was not that easy to spot for the said spot and it so it proved. A more apt name would have “One Street Back From the Church” stop. Fortunately, there are plenty of signs and the object of the exercise was a Castle so logically that would be up a hill. If in doubt, an obvious clue was spotted outside the Church – a bright red miniature train full of Japanese tourists sailed past and headed up the hill opposite.

Hloboka Castle is a white gothic structure. It was been the site of a castle since the 13^th century, but it was transformed into the current structure sometime at the beginning of the 17^th century. The Schwarzenburg family ordered the reconstruction in the “romantic” style. The inspiration was apparently Windsor Castle, but having now been to both something seems to have been lost in translation. I would say however it makes a dramatic impact and is obviously very different to your routine medieval castles, which are 2 a penny in these parts.

We approached up the hill and for such a landmark, the entrance is not that straightforward. The path takes you round to the back of the residence, where 2 storey ornate metal balconies extend from the accommodation areas. We walked all the way round the far side and duly arrived outside the main entrance. There was no sign of the red train or our Japanese friends. It was fairly quiet. I was relieved. After a few photos – the sun was in the wrong place, but these things cannot be helped with a limited time window. Tip – go in the afternoon for better photographs. We wandered into the ticket domain, which was a rather congested zone with only 1 window open for business. A short queue formed, whilst the world’s most indecisive group figured out what their choice of tour would be and then proceeded to sort out the required amount of money. It was painful to watch. The sheer complexity of their decision making nearly caused us to miss the 11 am tour, but we made it with 5 minutes to spare. The Canadian couple behind us congratulated us on getting our tickets with speed, which enabled them to also make the 11 am. The tour was in Czech (160 Czech Crowns), but full printed explanations were given to us for each room. "Would you like English, German, French or Russian?" I am not sure if the tours in English and other languages were available outside of bus tour groups, but they were certainly more expensive than the Czech version.. The interior was what you might call elaborate. Decorative doors and mirrors that all cost an arm and a leg. Mrs Schwarzenberg was following the English fashion. She had never heard of austerity. The tour lasted 55 minutes and we emerged into the conservatory area. We headed for a walk in the woods from where the best vantage points are to be had for views of the front of the castle. Alas, the sun remained in the wrong place. We dined in the village. If you have read of the other recent Czech blogs, you'll have noted that I was in pursuit of a collection of works of art statues in Ceske Budejovice. It transpired that I could have looked high and low for them all. 50 yards away from our lunch venue, a model of 2 chatting ladies was in situ.

It was a really warm afternoon, so we sat in a café on the shady side of the main square. We noted the Canadians from Hluboka, as they parked their car nearby and disappeared into the Grand Hotel Zvon. Mr Canadian would later join us for a beer. Well actually, it was beers - plural - in his case. It was so hot, we retreated for a lie down. Getting old! We returned to the main square later on where some form of Mis Budejovice was underway. A band, the Pub Animals, then played. A mixed up white reggae band, whose top track seemed to be their latest single, Fatherland. I checked them out on Youtube. The video for their track for another song - 1st May - should be "x" rated, so don't check it out if easily offended.



The following day was our last in Ceske Budejovice. We had an extended walk round the outer sections of town. A new ice hockey arena – the Budvar Arena – had been built a mere 250 metres from the main square. It was quite well hidden, save for the large Budvar Arena sign in one direction. The advertising for the prime tenant - Motor Ceske Budejovice Hockey Club 1928 - was in evidence, but this was close season. The club currently plays in the 2nd tier of Czech ice hockey, after a bit of a spat with the sponsors of the Extraliga 1st tier. This is Budvar territory, but that went against the will of the Liga who signed a deal to sell only Radegast beers in the arenas during games. The compromise was that the locals withdrew from the league and the franchise took the American way out and moved to another city, where the identity with the local beer was not as strong. We moved on to the local football club, Dynamo Ceske Budjovice. I have strong footballing connections with Bohemia. I play for them. Yes, seriously. Bohemia - the 6 a side team that plays down Forest Fields on a Thursday night - as opposed to the geographical of the Czech Republic. There aren't many teams left around the still using the prefix Dynamo, which usually denotes some sort of allegiance to the secret police in previous political times. I can't find anything about that in their history though and they seem to have been around since 1905, according the club badge. The prefix Dynamo was added in 1953, lost for a while in the 1990s and then re-added thereafter. The usual Man in the Middle tactic of trying all gates to gain access to the ground was unnecessary and we just wandered straight into the VIP section behind the goal to take a look around. We were left unhindered for 20 minutes or so, while I got some snaps of the tidy, but small, Stadium Srelecky Ostrov. The most famous former player to have graced this pitch was the 2nd most capped player in Czech football history, Karel Poborsky. He would later go on via spells in Prague to play at Manchester United, Benfica and Lazio before finishing his career. back in Budejovice.

We walked back to town, skirting the factory of Koh-i-Noor Hardtmuth pencils. This is one of the world's largest manufacturers of pencils and art supplies.......making pencils since 1790. In 1802, the company patented the first pencil lead and relocated production from Vienna in 1848. A large red brick chimney dominates the immediate skyline and the nearby football club and ice hockey arena. A couple of large and impressive mansions on the adjacent street act as the company HQ. We walked back via a monument to Czech RAF flyers from World War 2 and the Koh-i-Noor outlet shop. A 2nd souvenir of the trip was purchased - a giraffe made of pencils. He resides with the other wooden animals from the Kay Bojeson collection, although he probably has more in common with the hippo with 1 short leg from Livingstone, Zambia. We till laugh about that cunning wrapping switch to this day, that left us with a hippo uneven on his pins!



We was caught a bus to the Budvar Brewery. The original brewery started up in 1785 and began exporting to the US in 1871. Anheuser Busch registered the brand trademark in 1878. Meanwhile, another Budvar Brewery formed in Budejovice in 1895, which prompted a spat with regulators that lasted until 1938. The brewery building today is a shiny exterior that houses the offices and a large beer hall. The visitor centre is tucked away in the next building along the side street. The walk up tour was at 2 pm, but other tours by appointment are on-going to cater to the bus tours market. A regular supply of punters were deposited for the brewery tour followed by their lunch in the beer hall. The tour itself was a bit hallow, but interesting never the less. The free sample duly arrived. The English among the group were recognised as likely participants in a second sample. I don't mind if I do, thanks very much. We headed back to town for further samples.

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Photos

Ceke Budejovice
RAF Monument

Pub Animals
...... performing Fatherland

Comments

[Rainyb]

Very nice! Thanks for sharing!