Cesky Krumlov : The Journey Onwards

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All good things come to an end, we all know that for a fact. Time had arrived to leave Prague and head southwards for Cesky Krumlov, a town often labeled as ‘fairy tale-like’ and ‘a miniature of Prague’.

On tram no. 9, we went back to where we originally arrived, Hlavni Nadrazi train station. Getting into Cesky Krumlov, which is also a UNESCO Heritage Site, is not merely a simple train ride. The first leg of our journey would be 2.5 hours train ride to Cesky Budejovice. If you know your beers, this town is the home of Budweiser beer. Before I came to Czech Republic, I thought very little of the American Budweisers that lined our supermarket shelves. Let’s just say the American Budweiser is a brand name ripped off from the Czech Budweiser and they failed to rip off the Czech’s recipe because the real Budweiser beer here is extremely tasty!

A mug of Budweiser beer later amidst the sprawling splendor of the town square, we were ready to continue our journey. A public bus would take us with giant bags included to Cesky Krumlov for 32Kc (€1+) each. On board the bus, locals heading home after a day’s work occupied every seat. Apart from the both of us with large backpacks, there were six other Australian backpackers with even larger luggage and hence there were only standing room left.

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With no air-conditioning and tiny ventilation windows, I know the rest moaned with me silently when the bus stopped to pick up more passengers. The mere few minutes felt like eternity! Perhaps to forget about the ride, the girl in front turned back and we chatted for the whole ride. Two girls from Perth took time off university to see Europe in four months – a darn good idea which I am now too old to emulate. About 40 minutes later on the bumpy bus with a heady odour of sweaty bodies, we all got off.

It was a long and tiring uphill walk (it is always long and tiring with our backpacks! Note to self : pack even lighter next time) to finally arrive at our Pension. What a relief!