Cesky Krumlov (Czechia) - Graz (Austria)
19 August - 20 August 2016
19 August - 20 August 2016
For years the town of Cesky Krumlov had somehow in my
mind become interchangeable with Moravsky Krumlov. The reason, aside for them
containing the same name component 'Krumlov', which Wikipedia also portends to by
saying that Cesky (Bohemian) was a deliberate addition to
distinguish is from Moravian Krumlov, is because my father at
one point in his life lived in Moravsky Krumlov for several months during WWII.
Hence every time I'd hear the name Cesky Krumlov I'd consider it to be one in
the same with Moravsky - apologies to Cesky Krumlov, you are special for a
reason, even though you’re only a short 200km drive away.
Cesky Krumlov - Bohemia - Czech Republic
Cesky Krumlov - Bohemia - Czech Republic
Our stop in Cesky Krumlov was only a drive through, a few
hours dedicated to seeing a town that has been called a mini Prague, and since
1982, has been a World Heritage listed site. Meaning simply that it is a town of
cultural, historical or scientific significance, legally protected by international
treaties. A funny thing UNESCO World Heritage listing. A few studies have in
fact targeted the World Heritage convention as being somewhat of a toothless
tiger, having little or no legitimacy under international law. For me and the
little I know about international law I agree, World Heritage listing simply
acts as a ‘rubber stamp’, it’s a type of
honour bestowed on a place more as an identification credit or marketing tool for
significance or importance. Great from a touristic perspective though, it
assists in identifying places that you should see over others, so I guess that’s
a bonus.
Cesky Krumlov - Bohemia - Czech Republic
Cesky Krumlov - Bohemia - Czech Republic
Cesky Krumlov - Bohemia - Czech Republic
Cesky Krumlov is an impressive place though. Without
question, one of the most picturesque small towns in Europe, commonly mentioned
in the same breath as Hallstat (Austria), Colmar (France), Bruges (Belgium),
Dubrovnik (Croatia) or Sintra (Portugal), it would certainly challenge any of
those places as being the headline on the list.
Charming and fairytale like, this town in Southern
Bohemia has all the things that you look for in a place like this. The lovely Vltavy
river bounding the town in an S-shape, providing an element of both fun and
frivolity in the Summer months. Then of course there are the cobble stoned
road, endless bridges, architecture and typical artisanal fair that always
appears to make its way to the heart of places like this,
Cesky Krumlov - Bohemia - Czech Republic
Cesky Krumlov - Bohemia - Czech Republic
Cesky Krumlov - Bohemia - Czech Republic
As I mentioned earlier, our time here was only very
short. It’s the type of place that you could easily dedicate a few days to and
wind back your ‘speed of life’ to a 2 on
the dial.
Cesky Krumlov - Bohemia - Czech Republic
Later that evening we made our way into Graz. Unfortunately
we had absolutely no time to explore this town and somehow I’ve often found
myself in the position, both before this day and after it, whereby Graz has
become a transition city. It has never made it to ‘end-point’ destination
status and it irks me a little as it’s the birthplace of one of my
grandparents. For the record, the grandparent birthplace mix goes Vienna
(Austria), Split (Croatia), Belgrade (Serbia) and Graz (Austria).
Apologies Graz, I only saw a few of your desolate streets
through the lens of a weary late evening arrival and equally bleary eyed
morning departure.
