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Published: June 25th 2008
Finally We Leave Vienna
Even though we seemed to spend forever trying to leave the environs of Vienna proper, we didn't photograph anything along the way. Our story continues here as we head North from the Danube River basin toward the Czech border.
Once again we were lucky - no tickets, no tire boot and no dents or scratches. Once we had crammed our now bulging suitcases in back, rearranged our loose junk laying on our seats and powering-up Nuvi, we pulled-out into late rush hour traffic. We had gotten used to eating heart breakfasts so we were on the lookout for a place to eat. As we cruised down Lasallestrasse we kept an eye out for bakeries or breakfast shops but before we could spot anything interesting we were being directed onto the Autobahn.
It was at this point that Nuvi seriously began to irritate me: as we drove on one of the numerous Autobahns surrounding Vienna traffic was moderately heavy. The three or more lanes were moving at a steady speed but there was enough traffic that changing lanes Lichtenfels Ruins
After a couple hours of driving with my still sore heel I looked forward to an oportunity to hop out of the car. After driving mile after mile through boring farmland we crossed-over a reservoir with an old castle along its shoreline. Despite the snow falling I hopped out to snap a few pictures. was a major headache. Nuvi continually gave me confusing and/or conflicting directions. Often it told me to turn with barely any pre-warning. Exits were to the right and left side so I generally stayed in the middle to make my last second swerves a little less hair-raising. Adding to the confusion was the fact that a few times the GPS would say “Go right on A22” when there was no exit, just a bend in the road. Other times it would tell me to take B7 but the road signs didn’t have B7 on them. Instead it was referred to as B3. Not all of this confusion was Nuvi’s fault. Back home I have the GPS mounted on my dash so that I can watch the map as I drive. In the rental van we had nowhere to hang the unit so Gail handheld it. I couldn’t see what was coming up. I had to react to the vocal directions. And they were usually late in coming. Next trip we take the suction cup holder so I can keep an eye on the map.
Before too very long we were totally lost. Nuvi was telling us to do a
Why I Love Europe
No matter where we go off the beaten path as we drive through Europe we seem to always run into something thought-inspiring where we least expect to find anything at all. This appears to be a little memorial chapel just across the bridge over the reservoir. Maybe in memory of drowning victims? Or maybe for dead drivers? U-turn in the middle of an 8 lane highway. I pulled-off at the next exit. As luck would have it, this led to a McDonald’s. I was only going to stop so that I could look at a roadmap but Gail suggested we go in for breakfast. I was kind of hoping to order something uniquely Austrian but this McDonald’s breakfast menu had nothing that we couldn’t get back home. We settled for a couple of Egg McMuffin’s, some orange juice and hot chocolate. It wasn’t all that exciting or filling but it was still better than most southern European breakfasts.
When we finished-up our stop with a parade to the bathrooms we were ready to continue on to Cesky Krumlov* over in the Czech Republic. For some reason we were suddenly back on the same page with Nuvi. We found our way out of Vienna’s industrial sprawl after about 20 minutes. The route took us on a rather heavily congested two lane highway meandering alongside the Danube. We moved steadily but slowly through miles of truck and bus traffic in a primarily commercial area. Nothing much to look at here. Even the river was boring - dirty, slow
This Must Be the Ottenstein Reservoir
Thanks to Gail's picture of this sign I have now determined that we stopped on the banks of the Ottenstein Reservoir in Austria. It seems this is a very popular summer camping and boating region. and empty of any shipping.
When we reached the city of Krems the GPS directed us away from this riverside drive. We immediately began to climb up a long hill. Before too very long snow flurries started to fall. Now I began to worry. We had no snow tires or chains. We had been very lucky avoiding bad weather so far. I had no idea of how this huge van would handle snow or ice. The farther up the hill (maybe it was a mountain) we drove the heavier the snow fell. Luckily for us it never laid on the road. Of course I was being cautious as we chugged up hill; not knowing what lay around the next bend. Meanwhile local knuckleheads would pull up to within inches of my rear bumper then blow around me at the first opportunity.
Our ride didn’t take us through the most scenic regions of Austria, but compared to the boring drives between Prague and Budapest and Budapest to Vienna, this was positively scenic. There were plenty of farms and fields. We spotted scores of hunting stands and a few deer and hawks. We also passed a modest castle or two.
Boy Did We Take a Wrong Turn
It may look like we somehow passed by the Washington Monument on our way to Cesky Krumlov but this was simply a stonecarver's shop displaying his funerary memorials. I would think you'd have to have a very inflated sense of your self-importance to order this baby. During this ascent the van handled the snow magnificently. But our windshield was sure a mess! I was constantly spraying washer fluid and wiping the salt off the streaky windshield.
Just before we reached the Czech Republic we stopped in Gradnitz, Austria to fill up our gas tank and to grab a few groceries. I even found a little marzipan pig to bring home for a co-worker. We re-filled our windshield washer reservoir too since we had been using a great deal driving up the heavily salted hilly roads. When we left the gas station the snow had not only totally stopped, but the sun was now shining brightly.
After about twenty more minutes of travel on the two lane L68 highway we approached the Czech border. It was odd to see a rather large complex of customs and immigrations booths located out in the middle of nowhere. Just as we had seen elsewhere on this trip the border formalities had been totally dispensed with. The buildings were now totally deserted and some were boarded-up. From the minute we entered the Czech Republic we felt like we were in a different world. The drive from Dresden, Germany to
Austrian Roadside Memorial
A different kind of memorial and a much less ostentatious one was this shrine dedicated to a victim of a traffic accident. These are found all over the countryside in Germany and Austria. We've seen them in Greece too. So much more dignified than the helter skelter tributes littering our highways in the US. Prague had been primarily over super highways. It had been difficult telling where Germany ended and the Czech Republic began.
Coming from Austria via a secondary road into this region of the CR was a complete shock. It was just like the border crossing in the movie “Stripes”. The road we found ourselves on was barely wide enough for our van. Nuvi’s directions from here took us along back alleys and dirt roads through the bleakest Central European town that we had encountered so far. Cesky Velenice will never end up in any tour guidebooks. Apparently it was leveled during World War II and was rebuilt by the Commies. They need to level it again. Nearby was a Concentration Camp where over 500 Hungarian Jews were exterminated. Even without knowing that at the time it seemed a dreary place.
Our route then headed out of town and became a dirt and gravel affair. I was beginning to wonder if we were driving up a long private driveway as the road became narrower and more remote. Fortunately for us no one came in the opposite direction because the road was extremely narrow and lacked any place to pull off
Hunting Stand
There wasn't a whole lot to look at on this steadily ascending route through Northern Austria. I kept Gail on the look-out for these wooden platforms erected for hunters. We spotted them in most of the large fields we drove by. to the side. Most of the way trees lined the road. At one point we had to cross an unmarked railroad crossing.
By now it was just before noon but as we drove through an area of wide open farm fields there was still frost on the ground. We spotted a half dozen huge hawks circling the fields. As we passed an especially expansive pasture I caught a glimpse of a red fox racing through the field. There were fuzzy cows and hairy goats grazing in many of the fields.
We finally returned to civilization when we came to the little village of Nove Hrady. It was much more inviting and interesting than Cesky Velenice, but it still had the air of a Communist run hamlet. There were virtually no advertisements, more farm tractors on the street than cars, drab building colors and school kids walking in orderly lines. The whole town consisted of maybe 5 square blocks, but the place reeked of history. It was probably the market town for the many farms we had passed by on our way here. It was located on top of a high hill near the border so I’m sure it
Yes They Do Have Some Nice Homes in the Czech Republic
Once we drove into the Czech Republic we noticed a distinct difference between the farmhomes in Austria and those in the CR. In the latter the homes were uniformly drab and simple. None more so than those we saw in the border town of Ceske Velenice. But at least the birds were given pretty lodgings. had a military significance too. Something about the place made me want to stop and explore, but we were running late. Nuvi confused me again and forced us into an extended detour that brought us to some sort of security dog training camp. To continue on to our intended destination of Cesky Krumlov we had to pass through Nove Hrady once again. Passing the same town square for the third time must’ve freaked-out the local shopkeepers who probably rarely see any tourists, but this time we actually made it through town and back on the appointed route.
Now that I’ve looked-up Nove Hrady on the internet, I see that there’s a beautiful pink palace somewhere in town. The photos indicate that tour buses bring tourists here to see the castle. “Hrady” means “castle”. Judging by the lack of hotels and restaurants around town I assume the bus groups just make a quick stop here on their way to other sites along the way. If we ever make it back to the Czech Republic, here’s another place I’d love to visit.
After a few more communication problems between Nuvi and the driver we finally started to see signs for
Cruising in Bohemia
This tiny road we found ourselves after crossing into the Czech Republic had its share of interesting sights. I didn't capture any of the wildlife on film, but we found this little shrine pretty picturesque. It must be well-used judging by all the footprints in the snow. Cesky Krumlov. The little detours proved kind of interesting. We got to see parts of Bohemia that tourists normally miss. We drove through tiny hamlets and farms. We saw local wildlife. We got to observe the rural Czechs at work and play. I found this part of the Republic much more interesting than what we had seen around Prague.
Reaching the outskirts of Cesky Krumlov we wasted ten minutes trying to find a parking spot in the upper part of the Old Town. Having no luck here we followed the well-posted tourist info signs to an ample nearly vacant lot on the opposite side of town. We had been hoping to avoid paying for parking since we had no Czech money on us, but because we were running out of daylight we decided to park and hopefully find an ATM.
As soon as we got out of the car we were freezing. The parking lot was located on the North side, below the elevated town castle where the sun barely shone through. We quickly hiked along the path leading to the castle and Old Town. The temperature became much more bearable as we emerged into the sunshine.
Killer Dog School
After getting a little off track navigating through Nove Hrady, we stopped in front of this training school for guard dogs. This little feller didn't respond well to my Dog Whisperer techniques. And this was the friendlier of the two. We soon found ourselves in front of the castle moat. A crowd was peering down into the moat which lay just before the castle gate. Just before walking up to see what all the fuss was about I remembered reading that this castle hosted a couple of bears down in the moat. Bears have lived and bred down in the moat since the 1700’s. They are huge tourist attractions. And of course they were on vacation when we showed-up. All we could see down in the moat were a few shriveled apples and some dried-up bear turds. Since there were food remnants and scat lying around we assumed that the bears might be hiding someplace, but more likely they were hibernating. Or maybe they simply weren’t working that day. Nobody else at the castle was.
We walked through the impressive gate and into the first of a number of elegant courtyards. The museum entrances we passed were all closed. So was the door leading to the castle tour office. We were able to pass from courtyard to courtyard but none of the buildings forming the courtyards was open. We never found out why the place was closed-up tighter than
Scene from a Parking Lot
We parked in a big municipal parking lot just behind and below Cesky Krumlov Castle. The castle effectively blocked sunlight and warmth from reaching this area and we were freezing as we began our search for the way up. a drum on this sunny Friday, but in the long run it was probably a good thing that we didn’t spend an hour or two of our precious little remaining time inside the castle in Cesky Krumlov.
From the castle ramparts we enjoyed a magnificent view of the medieval town. We spent a good half hour taking pictures from various angles, trying locked castle doors and gingerly trying to avoid the frozen icy puddles formed on the cobblestones. This was another place where I was totally ignorant of the history. With so many petty princes, electors and noblemen at one time lording over tiny principalities in this part of Europe, it’s just impossible for me to place myself in the moment (as Cesar Millen and Jurgen say). Normally I can sense the historic import of a site we’re visiting in Olde England or Ancient Rome, but in this part of Europe I don’t feel I appreciate how the long ago inhabitants impacted my life. As I said, it’s ignorance on my part but even after reading the castle guidebook after we got back home, I’m completely lost when trying to place Cesky Krumlov’s (or even Prague’s) role in European
Not Like the Roofs in America
We spent some time watching workmen retile the roof of this house. There was no insulation or tar paper laid down as they installed these terra cotta rooftiles. Neither Nails nor glue were sued to put them in place. They were basically just hooked together like giant Legos. The rafters of the place must be straining under the weight of those things. history. The names and places confuse me just as much as trying to sort out what was happening elsewhere at the time. Too bad our schools don’t teach us more about the rest of Europe’s history.
Since it was getting mighty cold on top of the castle walls we reversed direction and walked back through the castle courtyards. We did see an open door leading down into what I assumed might be dungeons so I led our way down a narrow corridor. At the end of this tunnel I emerged into a basement room filled with modern art and a ticket booth. As soon as we saw that this was nothing more than a subterranean art museum (with entrance fees) we quickly spun around and snaked our way back up that same tunnel. Nearby we found the castle gift shop open. Here I picked-up my guidebook while Gail and her mother got their postcards.
Heading back out of the castle grounds was much easier than when we first came in. There was a pronounced downhill slant to the roadway. The descent eventually took us into the narrow main street of the Old Town. Nestled beneath the castle we
We're Getting Closer
When we were nearly at the summit of the long hill we got this glimpse of the castle walls. The desgn all the walls are all painted-on. You see the same design throughout the castle. It must cost them a fortune just to keep the exterior looking this way. spent almost as much time enjoying the various lovely views of the fortress above us as we spent looking in the shop windows before us.
The town was interesting and picturesque but also extremely touristy. It’s funny that so many Fodor’s travelers call Rothenburg ob der Tauber “too touristy” yet rave about Cesky Krumlov as being “unspoiled”. The experience was the exact opposite for me. Krumlov felt almost as phony as the manufactured Europe of Disney’s Epcot. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I enjoyed both. There didn’t look to be any business other than tourism in Krumlov. At least Rothenburg had a few butchers and grocery stores where the locals shopped. I didn’t see any of that in Cesky Krumlov - it was all souvenir or antique stores, hotels and restaurants.
We were unable to travel more than a few steps without stopping to check-out the souvenirs and antiques. We were completely unable to resist the smell of a café’s steaming hot coffee and chocolate. What we hoped would be just a brief snack break turned into an extended lunch. The Czechs are just as leisurely about their dining as the rest of Europe. We just
A Whole Lot of Rules
As you can see from the signs at the castle gate, much is verboten here. Most important of all is not to lean into the moat full of bears. Getting mauled could ruin your whole vacation. ordered a couple of baked goods from the bakery display but somehow we spent close to an hour inside. Nice bathrooms though.
We continued walking along the winding main street and across the old bridge into another part of the
Old Town . It was even colder here than up on the castle hill. We hurried along thinking that constant exercise might warm our numbing appendages. I almost welcomed the frequent opportunities to duck inside a shop. There were a lot of keepsakes made from wood or fabric on sale but nothing I particularly felt a need to buy. After yet more time wasted in souvenir shops we headed through the little town square then up another cobblestoned hill and back to the part of town where we originally tried to park. We were treated to another nice vantage point overlooking the Old Town.
Gail found an itty-bitty shop specializing in women’s clothing nearby where she proceeded to pour through virtually every item in the shop while the rest of us stood outside and froze. From time to time we would go inside the shop hoping to hurry her along and to warm-up a bit, but it was so cramped
Where's the Bears?
We weren't sure what was going on here: we didn't see any bears, but there was bear duty all over the moat plus bits of food lying around. Check out the Christmas tree decorated with loaves of bread. inside and so stifling that we preferred to return outside into the Arctic chill. I’m not even sure whether she found anything to her liking. I was too numb to care.
The little town was certainly photogenic but being as cold as we were and still having to find our way to wherever it was that we were sleeping that night, we hustled back through town and back to our parked car. I can’t say I disliked Cesky Krumlov but I was a little disappointed. It didn’t appear to have much more to offer than a few photo ops. In fairness, this too might be a place best enjoyed during warmer weather. The many restaurants and bars probably sport colorful outdoor tables and awnings and the town is no doubt much more alive when the temperature is above freezing. Someday I’ll give it another chance but I’m not in any great hurry.
Somewhere along the line we had picked-up a few korunas to pay for parking. We were almost the last car out of the municipal parking lot as the sun slowly dipped in the West. By the time we were leaving the city limits of Krumlov it
Into the First Courtyard
Even though the castle's buildings were closed for the day we were still able to walk through the courtyards. This was the first we enetered and the biggest. From what we could gather from all the old cannons laying around and the somewhat less ornate large barracks-like buildings, we assumed this was the soldiers' quarters. was dark. The drive to our accommodations at
Hotel Zamecek Kaplice was supposed to take 22 minutes but somehow I misunderstood Nuvi and we found ourselves driving through the back alleys of beautiful downtown Kaplice. This town reminded me of Nove Hrady where we were lost earlier the same day. Same gray buildings, same narrow streets, same lack of personality. It was while we were floundering around here that I realized why I found these little Czech towns so drab - not only do they not have much in the way of advertising or signs for stores, the private homes weren’t anywhere near as charming as those we’d seen elsewhere in Europe nor did we see any Holiday decorations. The Germans were almost as nutty about using Christmas lights as Americans. The Czechs didn’t seem to use them.
When we extricated ourselves from Kaplice’s winding narrow byways we followed Nuvi’s directions past a very modern-looking housing development. This was the most incongruous sight we’d experienced in our few days in the Czech Republic. It looked like tract housing one might see in the suburbs of Philadelphia or Los Angeles. Nice big houses with modern windows, driveways and garages as well as
Another Section of the Big Courtyard
This part of the castle interested Tyler and me but not only was it closed like everything else, in this case they wanted to make sure nobody would get inside. bright exterior lighting. Still no Christmas decorations, however. As we drove past these homes the road narrowed and went from being a city street to a farm road. It was paved, if poorly, and led us past small farms and occasional copses of trees. After a few miles I began to wonder if we were lost again. And if this was the right road, did we really want to stay out here in the middle of nowhere? But then I remembered the hotel’s website: this was supposed to be an old palace and the pictures of it were pretty impressive. Besides, it was cheap and where else were we going to find a room now?
As the road seemed about to turn into a mere footpath, we saw the familiar amber glow of floodlights illuminating a three story building out here in the middle of Nowhere-isky. We turned up the snow-covered driveway and stopped in front of what looked more like a simple hotel than a palace. It was a large place compared to the average Czech dwelling, but it didn’t look quite “royal” to me. In the clear light of day the next morning, I changed my opinion
Decoration above a Building Entrance
I thought this was a pretty interesting decoration on the door lintel. about this “simple” accommodation.
When we walked inside we saw that the exterior was indeed deceiving. There were large rooms off to each side of the large foyer. A wide winding staircase climbed to the upper floors. Since no one was at the check-in desk we did a little snooping around finding a nice little library of books in various languages and a rack of the highly desirable local postcards. When I walked over to stand at the check-in desk, a tall middle-aged gentleman walked in and stood next to me. He asked:
“Do you speak Czech?”
“No” I replied.
“Me either” he said. “It is very difficult”.
I thought that was a little odd. After a few seconds pause he asked: “Are you Gluhwein?”
“Yes, I am” I answered. (Gluhwein is my e-mail name).
“So you have reserved three rooms, eh?”
Then I figured-out that this was the innkeeper. As he led us upstairs to inspect our rooms he continued to crack little jokes and play English word games in a totally deadpan manner. The more we talked to and observed of Ton Veldman, the more I saw him as a cross between
The Second Courtyard
Our walk through the castle grounds took us ever upward and through a few more courtyards. The walls here were decorated from top to bottom with the phoney building block paintings. Why don't grafitti artists imitate this style of defacing walls? Victor Borge and Basil Fawlty. He would lean toward us when we talked then suddenly jumped back if we cracked a joke. He would tease us about America or the English language then make a wacky face when we laughed at his humor. He was very entertaining. I asked him if there were any good places to eat back in town. With a straight face he said “no, there’s no good food in town.” Then he told us we should eat here at his place because it had to be better than anyplace in town. “My wife is the cook, but the food is still good here”.
Once again Cassie irritated Gail by selecting the biggest room. It was huge. We had nice big beds and a little nook with a kitchen table next to a large picture window. Since she was my roomie and I benefited, I kept my mouth shut. We had to go back out to the car to get our suitcases. Lugging them up the big marble steps was a chore since there was no elevator.
After we spent a little time settling-in and cleaning-up, we walked back downstairs to the dining room. It
The View from the Gallery of Cesky Krumlov Castle
The climb to the top was well worth the view. We spent about half an hour enjoying the view of the Old Town below us. was a fairly big room with lots of tables but no patrons. Ton had the Fawlty Towers schtick down to a T and guided us to a large table as he sashayed across the room. He even made a slight bow as he presented each of us with menus.
After he asked if we wanted something to drink he positively beamed when we said “Yes, beer”. He told us that we were in the right country if we came looking for beer. He had a couple of interesting choices including Heineken, but when I heard they had genuine
Czech Budweiser we all ordered a round. It was the best beer we had had so far. Lighter than many of the other beers we had had before and very thirst quenching. We were ready for a second round by the time Tom came back to get our dinner orders.
The menu choices were indeed an eclectic mix: there were Austrian Schnitzels, English ribs, Asian noodles, Dutch pea soup and Italian pastas. Around this time a huge group of what we assumed was skiers came in and sat at the largest table in the room. It was probably three or four
Statue of Limitations
Cassie was actually willing to pose for a picture for maybe the first time on the trip so I had to take advantage. This is the backside of that tall aqueduct-like structure overlooking our parking lot. tables joined together since their group numbered close to twenty people. We could tell by their dress and the fact that they were gigantic that they were not Czechs. When they ordered multiple bottles of Heineken we figured they had to be Dutch.
When Ton returned with our Dutch Pea Soup we told us that the noisy people at the next table were his family and that he would make them quiet if they bothered us. It was about this time that Tom told us that he was Dutch and that not only were the people at the biggest table Dutch, but a few of the other tables which were now occupied were also Dutch people. It seems Ton is a retired Dutch cop from an unpronounceable town in Holland. He is using his retirement pension to run this hotel and restaurant. He said he is lucky to have a very big family who keeps him in business.
We had a great meal; one of the best on the trip. We were thoroughly stuffed, buzzed from the beer and half-blinded by the cigarette smoke in the now completely full dining room. We kidded around with Ton awhile, met
What a Unique Photo!
We must've done this exact same type of shot at every castle, church and scenic overlook we encountered in Europe. This one actually came out alright though. This is looking over the opposite side of the gallery wall. his family and finally headed for bed close to 11:00pm. We had probably had 4 or 5 beers each. It was nice being able to walk right up to our rooms instead of trying to drive.
Back in our room I watched a little TV while Cassie took her hour long shower. Even though it was a bit cool in the room, the thick puffy eiderdown comforters kept us very warm throughout the night.
*Point of interest: "Cesky" does not mean "Czech" like I thought. It means "Bohemia". Thus we were visiting the Krumlov in the state of Bohemia rather than the one in Moravia, elsewhere in the Czech Republic. There is also a "Cesky Budejovice" just North of where we stayed. Germans call it "Budweis" and it is where the beer originated.
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