The All Day Adventure to Český Krumlov

 December 20:  Day 6

Today was a long day but it was an excellent day in many ways!  We were out the door by 8:15am and it was pretty chilly on the five minute walk to the bus.  AND our stateroom girl had told me we were supposed to get snow in Český Krumlov  I'd doubled checked the weather and it said that it was supposed to start snowing 40 minutes from when we left.  BUT the entire trip up and upon arrival it was clear skies and sunshine.  We walked up a very good incline from the parking lot to the castle level and enjoyed spectacular views of the medieval town and then began working our way through the sky way bridges between the five courtyards as we descended down to the village level.  Once there we toured around for about an hour including seeing the castle from river level as we stood on the river bank.  As those who follow our adventures know, I like to get socks on each trip and something to remember the trip by.  And if you really know me, you know that I have always been a big Disney, and especially Mickey Mouse fan.  So we walk by this one store and there is this "Little Mole" cartoon character and our guide explains that all Czech children grow up with this Disney-like character and his cartoons.  The light bulb goes off that he'd be the ideal item to buy to set on my bookshelf as a remembrance of the trip.  After the tour we enjoyed a wonderful trip, courtesy of Viking.  As we left I asked our guide about places to find socks and she had some general suggestions.  But as we were heading back towards the shops we'd targeted for some souvenirs, we passed a small store with socks.  And lo and behold there were some socks that were.....wait for it........The Little Mole.  Had to do it :)  We had way too much free time and despite wandering around (to the tune of nearly 5 miles of walking) we were back early by over 35 minutes.  But it was a great day, and Khloe even said it was her FAVORITE day :)  We went to the disembarkation meeting - we leave the ship at 5:50am on Sunday - and then had dinner with our pals Nancy & Amy.  We agreed tomorrow to meet in the Christmas market and find a pizza place for lunch.  It was a long day, we're tired, but it was a wonderful day.  We'll be back to the ship tomorrow early afternoon which will give us a chance to do all our packing for the long travel day home Sunday. 

Český Krumlov Panoramic from the castle

The photo-op of the day

The tower & the palace - the oldest buildings of the castle complex

The walkway between the residential area and the castle complex

Inside (left) is one of only two baroque theatres (all wood) in Europe - the connecting passage way to the rest of the castle above the first of five courtyards

Original frescos from the 1600's & 1700's on the courtyard walls

Close-up of the frescos

Carved above entry to residential area, 3 devil heads to ward off evil spirits....and YET the castle is haunted by the "lady in white!"

One last panoramic from above before descending down into town

Streets of Český Krumlov

View of the castle from river level in Český Krumlov

The Christmas Market

The Christmas Tree in the market

Another view of the market

One of the booths - note the nutcrackers....our friend Colleen had been looking at every market for these - but she didn't come to Český Krumlov today :(

Showing off my gluhwein mug, souvenir socks & "trinket"
Got a miniature "Little Mole" and socks featuring this cartoon character which apparently to the Czechs is like our Mickey Mouse!

Merry Christmas from Český Krumlov