Between Prague and Vienna we stop in Cesky Krumlov (CHESS-key s KROOM-off). The name means "Czech Bend in the River". It is the second-most-visited town in the Czech Republic and described as an "enchanting Bohemian village". The town holds a rich mix of buildings displaying Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque styles of architecture. Movie producers consider it ideal for films. The opening scene from the 2006 film, The Illusionist, was filmed here.
Czechoslovakia was created in 1918 after the vast Habsburg Empire lost WWI. In 1938 this area was ceded to Germany and the Czechs were expelled. Hitler posed here for pictures with a backdrop of long Nazi banners to celebrate the takeover. 30 years later, Russian tanks rolled over the same spot. In 1993 the Czech Republic was formed along with Slovakia. Shifting borders with ethnic cleansing. We have it easy in the US!
After a brief walking tour of the village with our guide we break for a "light" Czech lunch :-)
I had a very tall beer with my potato pancakes, rabbit, slaw, ham and bread for about $8.00. After lunch we found a place where a gal was preparing and selling "chimney cakes". These were pastry dough wrapped around a 3" diameter tube; rolled in butter and cinnamon; baked in an oven and slid off the tube (hot) and into my waiting hands.
This evening we have been promised a trout dinner with potatoes and blueberry dumplings for dessert. The trout is fished from the river next to where we had lunch and the blueberries are picked fresh from the forest adjoining the town.
This stop was intended to allow us to catch our breath before entering Austria tomorrow morning to visit the Abbey at Melk and check into our hotel in Vienna. Here are some shots from our venue here.
Yum!
ReplyDelete