Cesky Krumlov

• By admin
• July 26, 2016
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Several people had recommended that we visit the town of Cesky Krumlov situated close to the Austrian border. The sat nav thinking we had morphed into a medium sized car directed us along narrow, bumpy roads but constantly reassuring us we were taking ‘the fastest route’. There were frequent intakes of breath as we came head to head with other vans and lorries who must have been using the same make of satnav. These small, challenging roads did however mean we saw some beautiful, rural Czech villages which looked as if they had remained undisturbed for centuries. We resolved to return one day, preferably with a smaller vehicle. We didn’t reach Cesky Krumlov until late afternoon but enough time to walk around this charming medieval town set into an oxbow of the river. The town is overshadowed by the  spectacular Český Krumlov Castle, dating back to 1240 and built on tall rock cliffs jutting out over the Vltava river.

Despite the rain we wandered through the narrow streets admiring its splendour. This is the town of  the artist  Egon Schiele and we visited art gallery dedicated to him, containing many of his less well known paintings. His mother lived here as did he until he was asked to leave by an outraged community for using local, underage girls as models for his ‘indecent’ paintings. His rise to fame and prominence seems to have enabled the townsfolk to overcome such attitudes and the gallery was a fitting tribute to his work