Hluboká

Castle Hluboká is one of the most famous castles in the Czech Republic. It resembles the Windsor castle in England. In fact, you can imagine that you are in England when you walk through the beautiful English garden and see this impressive white building from almost everywhere in the garden.

The castle was made to impress. It was made by the architect Frans Beer for Johann Adolf II of Schwarzenberg in 1840. They broke down the old castle and it took them 40 years to build the new castle.

If you are impressed by the exterior of the castle, wait until you have seen the interior! Take a guided tour that will take you through the most important quarters of the castle. The woodcarvings in the castle are something special! Every room has hand carved wall panels, ceilings, floors and furniture. They had a complete team of woodcarvers working in the castle for decades. The rooms are stuffed with really nice furniture, antique weapons and paintings.

The castle is located in Hluboká nad Vltavou just above České Budějovice. You have to park in the town of Hluboká nad Vltavou and follow the signs to the steep path that leads to the castle. On the way up to the castle notice the very luxurious and exclusive hotel near the castle.

Černé jezero

I had a great walk yesterday to Černé jezero (The black lake). The weather was great, it was a bit cold but the sun was shining, so a perfect day for taking pictures and enjoying the scenery. I parked my car at the ski centre of Špicák and followed the marked route to the lake.

The lake is the biggest natural lake in the Czech Republic and known for its photogenic scenery. Sometimes the water surface looks very dark, even black, hence the name of the lake.

The lake was indeed beautiful and mysterious at the same time so I was already exited by the fantastic pictures I was going to take today! I was very disappointed to find out that my batteries of my camera where empty and I did not bring spares with me…

After overcoming my disappointment that I could not take some pictures, I still had a very nice walk along the lakeshore and even saw some deer that jumped up when I came too close and got scared.

I’m sorry that there are not pictures included in this post; you just have to imagine the scenery, or visit it yourself of course.

a day at Klenová Castle

Last time I visited Klenová Castle turned out to be my lucky day. Klenová castle is situated between Klatovy and Nýrsko.

It was my lucky day because it turned out that today there where medieval plays in the castle with dancers and actors and "real" sword duels.

I usually go to Klenová Castle to admire the art that is displayed in the castle. They have beautiful collections of modern and classic art. And between the remains of the old castle they have an impressive collection of modern sculptures at display.

The whole yard was used by the medieval plays, there where stalls where you could buy medieval food and drinks, a black smith who made swords and axes and the kids could shoot with a bow.

At the end of the day I totally forgot that I was there to look at the art collection, but I'll be back soon...

Welcome

This page is dedicated to the nature and culture that the Czech Republic has to offer.
The Czech Republic is my favorite holiday destination, in particular Šumava, better known to most people as the Bohemian forest.

I will only post details about the Czech Republic that are interesting for you as a traveler.
I have a good interest in nature, historics and culture, so I will focus my posts on these matters.
Politics, commercial activities, media etc. will not be discussed here. This is meant to be a fun page.

Greetings from the Czech-blogger.