Czech Republic: July 21 and 22: Hradec Castle, Cesky Budejovice, and Slavonice

This is the castle at Hradec which is just north of the city of Cesky Budejovice. It was owned by the Schwartzenberg family who were apparently pretty brutal people.

They sure made a pretty castle though.

This was the coolest part of Cesky Budejovice. The square was kind of boring, especially when compared with the other squares we've visited. We didn't spend a lot of time in this city. One interesting fact is that this is where the original Budweiser beer comes from. Budejovice in Czech translates to Budweiser in German.

When we got back, our hosts with Airbnb invited us to pick berries in their back garden. The boys LOVED it!

There were lots of raspberries, red currants, and another type of berry that we couldn't identify.

Eamon went crazy. He loves raspberries and just kept eating them off the bush

This is the garden.

Isn't it pretty? The big tree here is a walnut tree.

The view from our window. Yesterday evening.

Today we took it easy and drove a bit through the local countryside.

Eamon in Slavonice.

Lots of pretty paved streets in Slavonice.

Every town has a clock tower.

The boys in the car. Gio has some wheat we picked from a nearby field. He was curious.

Doing a little after tour climbing.

Czech Republic: Castle Tour: July 20: Cesky Krumlov

The first thing we did when we got to Cesky Krumlov (pronounced Chesky Kroumloff) is head up to the top of the castle tower for a view.

Gio kept saying it was "spooky" and it kind of was!

Huge old bell!

The walk up was worth the gorgeous view. 

This is the castle complex. It's the second largest, after Prague's.

The river Vltava runs around the village next to the castle. People raft up the river and drink beer in biergartens on the way. Looks pretty fun. Not doable with 2 small children!

The tower where we were looking down.

Walking through the incredibly cute and very touristy town. Cesky Krumlov is a Unesco World Heritage site. It's relatively untouched since the 1700's. We really could feel what it might have been like to live here 300 years ago.

Of course Gio had to succumb to some of the touristy stuff.

The boys in a narrow alleyway.

The town square.

Isn't this a great rain gutter?!

The medieval restaurant where we ate dinner that night. It's a barbeque place that serves tons of meat. Gio smelled barbeque and requested it specifically. He said he wanted "stock". We couldn't figure out what he wanted until we asked him to describe it and learned he wanted steak!

Ready to eat!

Gio contentedly waiting for his food, while lightly shackled.

Mmmmmm. Gio really put it away this night!

For an after dinner treat we got this pastry called a Trbelnik. It's a roll of cinnamon bread.

Gio gobbled it down.

The beautiful countryside on the way home.