Cesky Krumlov vs. Karlovy Vary

With only a few days left here in the Czech Republic I thought it would be nice to share a few pictures of a few places I have been to this past month. July has been pretty busy traveling from one place to another.

Cesky Krumlov

The following pictures are of Cesky Krumlov one of my favorite places outside of Prague. Cesky Krumlov is a small town south of Prague that has been around since the mid 1200's. The city's historical buildings and atmosphere is protected by UNESCO.

A view of the city and river from the castle tower.

Hostel Merlin treated us well. We only stayed one night, and other than having to step over the drunken man past out in the middle of the hall on the way to the bathroom, it was really quite a pleasant place to stay.

Yipes! There's a bear!

The temperature was in the low fifties while we were there, which explains why we were dressed in sweatshirts and jackets.

The castle tower.

Beautiful! I could live in this cute little town.

Karlovy Vary

If you have seen the movie Last Holiday with Queen Latifah then you may remember that Karlovy Vary is where Queen Latifah's character goes on vacation. A friend and I took the bus out to the city one afternoon, but unfortunately for us it was not as magical an experience when we visited. The city was nice, but I honestly expected to see more while I was there. Plus, we missed our bus going back to Prague. We had to buy new tickets and left an hour later than we had planned. The city is a spa town; people come here to drink mineral water and get spa treatments and that is about it.

There are stands all over the city selling these fancy spa cups. The handle is a straw so you can sip the hot mineral water while you stroll down the city streets.

As you walk down the street there are various fountains to choose from, with various temperatures of mineral water to fill your cup up with. People believe that the water is good for your health. Many people bring along 2 liter bottles to fill up and take home with them. The only problem is the water is nasty!

The Grandhotel Pupp is the famous hotel in the movie Last Holiday.

We took a wrong turn when trying to find our way to the city center and found this church. I forget what kind of church it is.

A view of Karlovy Vary from the top of Diana Tower, a lookout point at the top the mountain.

If you find yourself traveling through the Czech Republic and only have time to visit one of these popular places, I would suggest Cesky Krumlov all the way. It is the best!