Krumlov is truly a magical town. I first came across it while reading some brochure on Czech Republic in April. The brochure insistently mentioned biking in Krumlov. A brief look-up on Wikipedia revealed more about this medieval town, as well as the Celebrations of the Rose festival in mid-June, when Krumlov would be transformed into a Renaissance town complete with tradespeople, nobles, artists, knights, etc. I had high expectations of this festival, and I was not disappointed.
Friday, 16 June 2006
The bus crossed the rolling countryside of South Bohemia, and indeed the green ocean of grass soon lulled me to sleep. At 7 kilometres away from Krumlov, there was a traffic jam (probably due to the festival), so the bus took a detour, delivering us to Krumlov's main station at about 19:30 (about half an hour late).
We walked down the hill and entered the town by the Horní Gate (of course, during this festival, we needed to purchase an admission ticket of 100 crowns for the whole stay).
The bulk of the town was built upon a peninsula-like landform: the Vltava River (yes, the very same one that flowed through Prague and that was depicted in Smetana's celebrated symphonic poem "The Moldau" from My Fatherland) took a great bent here and surrounded the town on three sides--a good natural fortification.
Like most old German city centres, the town was lined with cobbled walkways barely passable by cars. The roofs were red, and most buildings did not exceed three levels. By the time we arrived, the festival had already begun: people dressed in medieval style were walking around the town (these people did not have to pay admission fee), and there were events, such as Renaissance concerts. We crossed the Barber's Bridge and came to the Latrán side of the town, tightly huddled against the hill upon which the majestic Krumlov Castle stood toweringly. Our hostel, Hostel 99, was located at the periphery of the town, against the Gate of Budĕjovice. The room we got had six beds, but it was very large, alone containing three bathrooms. Having taken a brief shower, we set out at 20:30 to join the festival.
We arrived in the main town square for the 21:00 Celebrations'Eve. The event was commenced by a fanfare played by three trumpet players on the second floor across the town square, answered by more trumpets at the back side of the town square, beneath the inn. There were dancing, (drunken) singing, fighting that started due to the singing, and being caught in (real) nets. A magician appeared, as well as a juggler impressively juggling three or four lit torches, and later there was a sword fight (with real sparks coming off). At 22:00, the trumpets again sounded the closing of Celebrations'Eve, and soon drums were heard from afar--the famed torch parade began. A party of standard-bearers mounted the stage, and then the parade came across the bridge from Latrán, and consisted of people of different hierarchies in Renaissance time. As the parade faded into the distance, people were still buzzing with excitement, and there were still a few events left for the day, so we were inclined to go around the town.
We were planning on seeing the 23:00 show "Fire, Fire" but unfortunately could never find the location. Instead, we walked along the edge of the Vltava, observing the crowded bars and the more peaceful cafés. Across from the river, the Krumlov Castle was lit in different colours (sorry for the photograph horribly taken). The casting of light was that of the modern design mixed with an ancient architecture, and the result was truly fascinating.
We went back to the town square at about 23:30 and sat there for a while, listening to the Irish / Scottish music was being played on the main stage. Then, I became very sleepy, so we went back to the hostel.
Saturday, 17 June 2006
I had a long and uninterrupted sleep (probably the best one I have had so far while sleeping in a hostel). I slept right beneath a window, and thus was awakened by the daylight (at about 5:30). We set out at about 8:00, only to find that hostel office was still closed--we could not check out. Thus, instead of heading up the castle hill, we bought breakfast at a grocery store, and ate it on the Barber's Bridge, watching the Vltava, sparkling in the sunlight, and its water ebbing away at a moderately fast speed.
We checked out at 9:00 and climbed up the hill, arriving in the First Courtyard of the castle (it had a total of four courtyards). We climed up a tower, and were able to see the red-roofed town (the black-roofed structure, the St. Vitus's Church), snugly fitted along the twists and turns of the Vltava, and the surrounding countryside. We passed through the castle without entering with a tour, and through the various corridors came to the castle garden at the other end. At this point, the castle was already infested with tourists, and after some effort, we exited down to the First Courtyard, where a historical Bohemian fair was taking place.
For about an hour or so, we wandered from stand to stand, looking at a variety of things ranging from jewellery, shoes, clothing, ironwork, woodwork, toy weapons, pottery, and Czech food (I bought what I believe to be a Czech version of the pudding in orange flavour--sehr gut!). There were many encounters with costumed people too.
After we left the fair, we went directly into the old town, visiting the Church of St. Vitus. Then a little bit of wandering brought us back to Latrán, in the brewery gardens.
Laura wanted to see the historical dance, which turned out to be highly interesting (inclunding forms like the masque). While seeing the show, we also bought some Czech food from the stands for lunch. First I had some type of potato cake. It tasted really good, except for the fact that it was fried and dripping with oil. Then, since I was in Krumlov, I felt obliged to try the local Eggenberg beer. I bought a medium cup of beer for 50 crowns. As you know, my affinity for beer is virtually non-existent, so I had to resort to using straws for the first few sips. Unfortunately, to me the Eggenberg beer tasted just the same as Qingdao beer and smelt the same as the beer at Princeton eating clubs. But to Laura, the Eggenberg beer was quite a light beer--in the sense that it was not as bitter as some of the darker beer types.
I skipped sausage, but eventually bought a cinnamon-flavoured bread cylinder (sorry--I didn't find out its name and this is as best as I could describe it) to try, and was not disappointed.
After the dancing was over, we made an excursion to the town centre again, sitting for a while next to the Vltava, watching people kayaking or canoeing, and wishing that we had been doing the same thing. I wanted to see the 14:00 fencing show, so we came back to the brewery. The show, actually, turned out not as interesting. There were too many speeches and instructions in Czech and not enough action--or so I felt.
Then, we lined up with other people on the main street of Latrán, waiting for the historical costume procession to begin, which signified the arrival of Lord Vilém of Rožmberk (a pretended historical figure). Like the torch parade yesterday night, this parade consisted of a variety of people, grouped by families bearing different standards having different rose colours (pink, blue, black, etc.), but more immense-- children, ladies, maids, nobles, more nobles, drummers, entertainers, standard-bearers, armed people, and many more people joined in. Once the parade was gone (towards the Eggenberg brewery), we were somewhat hard-pressed for time (it was 16:00, and our bus would leave at 16:40), and the crowd in the wake of the parade was not particularly in expediting our flustery exit.
I was (and still am) very, very sorry to have missed the Tournament of the Roses, which was probably the event I most wanted to see in the entire festival. But on the way to the bus stop, on the panoramic garden, I did get a distant glimpse of colourful tents, several people waiting on horseback, and a huge crowd. Despite that, I am very thankful for the wonderful displays I saw in this lovely town, and would hope, if chance permitted, to come back one day to revisit.