August 9....Excursion to Czesky Krumlov

On our last full day in Prague, we all hopped on the tour bus and headed to Cesky Krumlov, a small historic city in the South Bohemian Region . As we left the Old Town, the rapid transition from majestic historic buildings to a city filled with contemporary structures was almost jarring. We whizzed by the most well known of these, designed by Frank Gehry with Vlado Milunic, called the "Dancing House", aka 'Fred and Ginger'....Bizarre but interesting.

Shortly before we arrived at our destination, a few hours outside of Prague, we stopped in the
town of Budweis, the largest city in the South Bohemian Region. Budweis has long been well known for the beer brewed there since the 13th century with the founding of the first Svitrvy brewery in 1256 and, for a time, it was the imperial brewery for the Holy Roman Emperor. Budweiser Bier (beer from Buidweis) became one of the best known lagers and, today, brewing remains a major industry.  As we entered the city, we passed by a stunning, huge glass structure that is the famous, modern day Budweiser Budvar Brewery, originaly founded in 1785. 

Budweiser Budvar is one of the highest selling beers n the Caech Rebublilc and exports into more than 60 countries across all continents. It is the best selling imported beer in Germany and Austria, and in Great Britain the best selling Czech lager.

The company started exporting to the United States in 1871. Anhauser-Busch started using the Budweiser brand in 1876 and registered it two years later . The American lager was originally brewed as an imitation of the famous Bohemian original, but over time has developed its own identity. Nevertheless, there have been continual trademark disputes between the companies and Anheuser-Bush has made offers to buy out the Czech brewing company in order to secure global rights to the name "Budweiser", but the Czech government has refused. regarding the Czech Budweiser name as a matter of national pride.

The city of Budweis is charming and we were able to spend a little time strolling around the town square admiring the historic buildings, particularly the blue City Hall and this enormous yellow building at one of the corners of the square.

As we entered Cesky Krumlov, we could see a number of people kayaking and rafting on the Vltava River. Our guide told us that, every summer, there are thousands of young people who spend several days going from Cesky Krumlov to Prague via the Vltava .....Oh to be young again! We stopped for lunch at the Pivovar Restaurant Eggenberg According to our guide, beer was originally brewed in the nunneries and the restaurant where we ate used to be the sleeping dormitory for the nuns with their beds stacked seven high. 

Situated right outside the entrance to the restaurant is a bastion of a former medieval fortification from the start of the 16th century. The tower was operational until the end of the 18th century and is an important historical landmark. Today, however, it is known as Pension Ve Vezi, a lovely 4 room bed and breakfast.  Maybe we'll stay there some day.

For our lunch, we had a delicious three course meal with the choices of fish, breaded chicken or veal and dumplings following a scrumptious steaming hot soup.

 After lunch, we continued on to the Castle and would visit the Old Town afterwards.  Construction of the town and castle of Cesky Kromlov, which has been given the status of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, began around 1240 and was situated on an important trade route at a ford in the Vltava River . 

In 1302 the old town and castle were acquired by the House of Rosenberg. Since then, like Prague, the history of ruling families and ruling countries is long and complex....too complex for my little brain to remember.  I do remember, however, that, the House of Eggenberg came after Rosenberg, and then the House of Schwarzenberg, who had the longest reign, came next. That's a lot of Bergs. Most of the architecture of the old town and castle dates from the 14th through 17th centuries with the structures mostly in the Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque styles. The core of the old town is within a horseshoe bend of the river, with, what's referred to as the Latran neighborhood and the castle on the other side of the Vltava.

The Cesky Krumlov Castle....to be continued