At the tourist information office the day before we had learned that the easiest way to get to Çesky Krumlov was by bus. At the bus station in Tábor we tried to buy a ticket but as far as we could tell you had to buy one from the driver. There was also no obvious way to find out which bus stop to go to without visiting each one in turn to look at the sign. Everything worked out all right though, when we found our bus and bought a ticket.
On the bus I met a Slovakian lady who saw my guidebook and started chatting to me in English. She told me that it is worthwhile to visit the neighbouring country of Slovakia and that many people went there for the trekking.
We arrived at the bus station on the edge of Çesky Krumlov and made our way down the hill into town. We found a pretty little blue painted pension with very cheap but comfortable rooms. Once settled we made our way through the town's attractive, narrow streets towards its main attraction, the castle Krumlovský zámek.
We crossed the moat where a somewhat lonely bear lived, and went through into the courtyard beyond. The first thing to do was climb the tower, for a fantastic view over the town. This tower was not as high or difficult to climb as the one in Prague, but was great fun all the same. In another courtyard we found our way down into an underground dungeon where an art exhibition was on display. Not only was it an interesting setting, but the sculptures - some by British artists - were fascinating too.
Further on we found ourselves on top of a bridge callede the Zámecké divadlo for yet another superb view over the town. This route led around the back of the castle from where a road took us unexpectedly to the castle gardens. These were a huge with several adjoining park sections, some with lawns and hedges and others lined with trees. The centre piece was a beautifully carved fountain, and in a garden beyond was an open air theatre. It would be great to come here to see a performance, but the season by now was over.
In the evening we had dinner in a small traditional Czech restaurant set in a vaulted basement beneath a shop. Afterwards Natalie insisted that we visited a cocktail bar that we had spotted earlier in the day. This turned out to be Zapa's Cocktail Bar and proved to be great fun. The staff were friendly and welcoming, the music was good and at just the right level that you could listen to it and still talk to each other, and the cocktails tasted great. Best of all, the place never seemed to close.
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