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Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Czech city offers history, Castle, beer and bears

By SHIRLEY was Bryan SMITH associated press Shirley was bryan Smith, associated press - Thu Apr 21, 9:17 pm eastern standard time
CESKY KRUMLOV, Czech Republic centuries history they have Czech city worthy of a designation as a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is a Bohemian beauty, hidden in a horseshoe bend on the Vltava River, with interesting architecture, a huge Castle and nearby National Park.
But here some Cesky Krumlov has is that you find in historical cities: live bears in the dry ditch the fortress.
And visit the town Cesky Krumlov this year offers an additional advantage: it is the year of the Rosenbergs for about 400 years of South Bohemia ruled. The family last male heir died in 1611 and special exhibitions and events are throughout the year to honor the family, including tours of Rosenberg sites, Museum exhibits and advanced planned festivals.
The castle is one of those sites Rosenberg. A giant two-story arched bridge connecting parts with baroque garden, a terrace and a Rococo cascade fountain.
But no water in the ditch surrounded the place there, to keep way above enemy hordes. Instead, there is the bears. Legend has it, that they received the Rosenberg family due to their relationship with the Italian family of Orsini. As "Orsa" means she-bear in Italian, the Rosenbergs thought the animals as a shield bearer on their coat of arms. Today, the bear moat are a popular part of the community. The animals get their own birthday parties and a large Christmas Eve bear Festival, where children bring gifts and food for them.
Inside, the castle is well preserved and restored with antique furniture, musical instruments, armor, artwork, and artfully painted and carved cover and walls.
From the Castle, I made my way down in the historical centre. Cesky Krumlov was the old part of the city comes from the 14 17 centuries in late century and most of the architecture built. A walk on the stone streets, the arcades and on the side of the shops, galleries and restaurants takes you back to those centuries in the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque blend with the medieval.
In the middle of the narrow stone paved streets, painted walls and frescoes you find buildings and pedestrian shopping red-roofed houses, work or check the Web sites. People are friendly, many speak English, and they seem to speak eager visitors.
One of the most interesting places is a Baroque Theatre, dating back to the late 1600s. It has used its original wall and ceiling paintings, stage, props, and old machines for complex scene changes. This is still a working Theatre, which is open to the public from May to late October. A Baroque Opera plays it twice in the year.
Outside the building are inner courtyards with more murals and frescoes decorated and painted faux stones with such good perspective and depth, that you would swear that they were real.
The old town fell during the Communist era of Czechoslovakia, but restoration and conservation work in recent years it has earned recognition. In the grounds of the UNESCO National Geographic calls it "one of the most beautiful historic destinations in the world".
Here and there you will find a touch of modern whimsy. I saw a small door in a courtyard with sculpted red and grey finger crowned cordoned off by rope. It showed a great sense of humor and a mixture of old and new, that somehow history seem more alive.
Despite the City tourism industry, kitschy souvenirs is remarkable. Instead, you are probably on a jewelry store sell Bohemian garnet, a fascinating and slightly haunting puppet Museum, art galleries, antique shops, a casino, cafes, pubs and a wide range of restaurants with traditional pork, sausages, honey cakes, potato dumpling and strudel find.
But not everyone comes to the area only absorb history. It is for some of the beautiful natural surroundings.
Sumava National Park, is the Czech border with Germany and Austria in the midst of forests, lakes, rivers, and alpine meadows set. In the winter, it offers both downhill and cross country skiing, ice skating and ice sailing. If the weather is warmer there is boating, other water sports, hiking, cycling and horse riding.
Most can artificial lake near Lipno boat over to other small towns or stop at the dam, which has a hydroelectric power station.
If you have beer, there several interesting breweries. Apart from making "BREW", has the brewery Eggenberg in Ceský Krumlov as well as the location for several films. And is located in the nearby Ceske Budejovice, the original Budweiser brewery, although not with the US beer companies with the same name is connected.
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If you go...
CESKY KRUMLOV: Helpful Web sites for travellers are http://www.ckrumlov.cz and http://www.krumlov.com. Visit for information on the Castle http://www.castle.ckrumlov.cz. Park and Lake information: http://www.sumava.com and http://www.lipnolakeresort.cz. Sites in the Czech Republic have English language tabs.
Arrival: Buses run regularly from Prague (110 miles or 180 km) and Vienna, Salzburg, Linz and Hallstatt in Austria. Train service on Ceské dráhy will pay you North of the main square. From there, you can with the taxi or walk about 15 to 20 minutes in the city. By plane: Fly from Prague Ruzyne Airport or from the airport of Linz-Horsching in Austria, then take a bus or shuttle.
Currency: The Czech Republic is not in the euro zone. It uses still the Czech Crown or koruna. Although many places are euro, not the rate is always beneficial. Any change that you will receive in crowns.
Accommodation: Accommodation includes a variety of hotels, boarding houses, pensions (smaller less expensive hotels), apartments, bed and breakfast, even camps and camps. Locations range from the historic part of town outside the city, near water or in the countryside. Run under $50, up more than $300 (less than 35 euros more than 200 euros or crowns under 830 crowns on more than 5,000 kroons).
Food: local specialities such as pork offer variety of restaurant dishes, potato dumplings, fried cheese, sausage, cabbage, goulash, schnitzel and delicious soups, bread and desserts, as well as pizza, chicken, steaks and vegetarian dishes. In addition, there are coffee houses, pubs, pastry shops and street vendors. Prices are very reasonable.

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