My Adventures Underwater and On Land: Cesky Krumlov

Here's a whimsical town we covered in our Europe stint: Cesky Krumlov in Czech Republic.

We had a boo-boo moment traveling to this town. On arrival in Amsterdam at the beginning of our trip, we purchased what we thought were bus tickets to Cesky. And much to our horror when we arrived at the bus station, we were told the tickets we have on hand are train tickets. The stress is utterly damning esp. when you're luggin' a giant suitcase in the snow. Alas, we bought tickets from a blind guy ... just in time.

As we got closer to the town, it got whiter and whiter..

Cesky Krumlov is a small city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. When we were choosing among the many places in Europe, Boonboon set his mind on Cesky when i told him it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Amazingly, it was also ranked 16th of the top 100 historic destination around the world in 2008.

Also, "UNESCO rated it so highly that it featured second in importance on their World Heritage list behind Venice, and with good reason. Cesky Krumlov was badly damaged by the floods a few years ago, but it is now largely back to its best. This sleepy town curls around the Vltava river in a swish of churches, old town houses and a picture-postcard-perfect castle, which hangs high above the scene."

This place is one of the highlights of our trip. The architecture of the old town and castle dates from the 14th through 17th centuries, mostly in Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque styles. It is so so beautiful, and unbelievably magical. It looks like a town out of a cartoony fairytale. You just have to see for yourself =)

The town was very deserted except for a handful of tourists, probably due to the fact that it's winter or simply because it happened to be a Sunday! Most shops were closed, but it's quite an experience browsing their shop fronts. Their door flaps and window sills are all decorated to wow the young at heart.