Quite A Grand Adventure: Cesky Krumlov

Wandering around is so interesting. Gazing down from the castle, this little town appears to be trapped in time. Apart from the people wearing modern clothes and the occasional car that can be spotted in a parking lot, there is little to prove that Český time did not cease to move forward a number of centuries ago. The colorful and snowy rooftops look like the type of scene one would find printed on a puzzle. At night, the outer walls of the castle glow, partly due to its own lights and partly from the town lights reflecting off the river that flows through the town.

The town center looks like the setting for a video game or a short story. Everything is stone. Everything is crowded. Everything is beautiful. A large statue and water feature stand slightly off-center in the square, commanding attention as soon as one turns the corner into the square.

Everything you see while walking down the cobblestone streets is a collision of old meets new. Cafes, souvenir shops, galleries, bookstores – all crammed into tiny stone spaces that used to be houses, apartments, etc. There are so many things packed into not enough space. I stepped into a souvenir store that was only one hallway. There was barely room to pass by if someone else were inside looking around.

Czech weather is finally behaving like proper Czech winter, and the cold is bitter. Český Krumlov is just a few degrees cooler than Prague but the difference is noticeable. It's snowing a little harder. It's impossible to go out without gloves, or a hat, or a scarf. While outside, you dream of a warm restaurant and something hot to drink, and once inside you do everything to avoid heading out again. But despite the frigid temperature and intense wind, everything is beautiful, and it's a different kind of beautiful in the winter chill. Any shop with heating suddenly becomes a haven rather than just another store. People are so bundled up that their faces are hardly visible. The snow-gray sky makes you appreciate the pink, yellow, red, blue, and green houses and roofs.

I stake out the MLS Crêperie for lunch. After exploring the castle and wandering the small streets, hot chocolate and food is all I really want. With a full stomach and warm body, the only thing I want to do is stroll back to the hostel and go to sleep. Yes, stroll. I don't mind the cold, even if it requires a half hour of thaw time for every few minutes spent outside. The snow makes things magical, especially in a tiny town that was built in the late 1200's.