Often when we make plans for travel, we are not quite sure how to break up our itinerary. We love big cities because of the art, accessibility from airports, and public transportation (we are still not brave enough to rent a car in a foreign country). But on the last few trips, the quaint and slow paced towns off the beaten path have been our favorite, and unfortunately the smallest part of the itinerary. Not learning our lesson yet, we only planned 24 hours in Český Krumlov, my favorite part of our last trip. I could have spent a week there hiking, biking, canoeing, and walking around town. For an overview of our time, check out the Český Krumlov overview post.
View of the Czeck Countryside
After a busy day trying to fit everything in, David read in Rick Steves about an lookout point that you must see at sunset. Oooh… romantic. So I agreed even though I was pretty tired and just wanted to relax. Well, David is often over ambitious on vacations and I am often under ambitious on vacations. David wants to see and experience everything and I am happy sitting at an outdoor cafe with some coffee. Sometimes our expectations hit just right and we are golden! This was not one of those times. Haha. I would not describe the hike as an “easy 20 minute” hike like our travel book suggested. But, by the end of our experience, I am glad we made it up to the view point. It was gorgeous, peaceful, and I would suggest it to anyone!
Abandoned Church – Hill of the Cross
The trail you actually follow leads you to an abandoned church called the Hill of the Cross or Krizovy Vrch. You follow the Stations of the Cross, which is a traditional, reflective walk most commonly associated with the Catholic faith. There are stations, or stopping points which feature the different points of Christ’s journeying to be crucified. When you walk on the trail, you will see these station through a neighborhood, meadows and up a hill. Not all 12 stations are still standing. There were only a few other people on the trail with us. We started following each other as we were all new to the trail.
Once you make it to the top, you can relax and take in the gorgeous panoramic view of Český Krumlov, the old and new town, as well as the rolling hills. Some people even brought a picnic up to the lookout point. If you stay long enough, lights will eventually highlight the Castle complex and the Church of Saint Vitus in the Old Town.
Directions taken from Rick Steves Prague and the Czech Republic, published April 2014. “…walk to the end of Rooseveltova street, cross at the traffic light, then head to the first (empty) chapel-like Station of the Cross. Turning right, it is easy to navigate along successive Stations of the Cross until you reach the white church on the hill…”
One final suggestion: make sure you have a flashlight or that your phone is well charged if you have a flashlight app for your descent down the hill.
Český Krumlov Castle at Dusk
My apologies up front for the long comment. I love your discussion of ‘big city’ vs. ‘countryside’. I recently ran into a couple from London touring the Texas Panhandle. I started off, as typical, with the ‘why on earth are you out here when there is Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, or iconic San Antonio to see. The man’s response was perfect. He said: “I can get the feel of these big cities via books and online. I can spend a day there and see what I need to see. To understand Texas, we wanted to get away from there and truly experience your state. You live in an amazing place and even better part of Texas.” He went on to describe how they had rented a car and drove and toured through the Midland oil fields, caught a Texas Tech football game, and were headed ‘north’ to drive through ‘cattle country’ and stop off in Palo Duro Canyon. They eventually were headed towards Santa Fe before jumping on a plane and headed toward the Maine countryside and touring south towards New York to head home. These people really ‘got it’ in my opinion. When they sit around and talk about Texas, no doubt they will mention the RiverWalk, Alamo, Downtown Cattle Drive but more likely they will show and discuss the wide open sky, miles and miles of oil derricks, the loud roar of a crowd singing a fight song in unison, and the majestic sunset in a unknown canyon. They weren’t in a hurry to see the entire USA or even all of Texas. They were out to ‘discover a state’. Much like your post, they ventured out and away and have some amazing stories to tell because of it. I love it. And I need to do more of it! Thanks as always for sharing!
Justin,
I love your comment! Sometimes when you step back from all the busyness of cities, you can really tell what a place is like.