Rafting in Český Krumlov

The annual rafting trip is one of the highlights of the school year at Channel Crossings and this year we got to join in on the fun! It all began with a cry in the school library including the phrases "rafting", "amazing fun" and "beer", Jon and I were in.


We left on Friday afternoon to beautiful sunshine and a balmy 25 degrees. We had (luckily) pre-booked our bus tickets down to Český Krumlov on a local bus so that meant we got seating, something you completely take for granted on a four hour bus ride. But the bus was jam packed full of people. The options for the people who hadn't pre-booked tickets were a) you can get to the bus stop early to ensure you get a ticket AND a seat, b) if you don't get a seat then you can stand or c) stay at home. So the too small bus was full to say the least.


Upon arriving in Český Krumlov we realised that we unfortunately hadn't carried the nice weather with us! We were facing rainy, stormy and cold weather with the forecast for the entire weekend looking bleak. 
After a nice dinner in one of the local restaurants, we all headed out for a a few drinks to start off the weekend. A few beers and one too many drinking games later and we were all tucking ourselves up in bed ready for rafting the following day. Well most of us anyway, with the exception of a few stragglers, one of which we found curled up on the couch in the kitchen the following morning. Much to our surprise, he made the deadline for the rafting excursion and before we knew it he was back on the booze at the respectable hour of 9 am. Yuk. 


We split up into groups and launched our rafts about 5km upstream from Český Krumlov. We had the 'Aussie' raft, with the exception that we also had a Frenchman and a Belgian guy on board. We had such a hard time of making our raft go in a straight line, but on the up side, we were wonderful at going in circles! Of course, we had 'raft wars' which were less than extreme considering no one could make their rafts go in any semblance of a streamlined bumper boat. 


We managed to navigate our first slues with little difficulty and we were even surprised when we were able to paddled around a high point in the river, but it was the second slues that was the issue. We didn't hit the water on quite the right angle, resulting in a few very wet rafters. Add this to the fact that it was also raining non-stop and there was a delightful cool breeze blowing, we were freezing. Instead of the usual beer at every rest stop along the way, I enjoyed Česneková polévka (Garlic Soup) or a warm cup of honey wine!

Seven hours later plus a score of freezing and fairly intoxicated people, we had finished our trip down the river, a surprisingly short distance from the town! We all fought over the seats in the bus the again when we got back to the hostel over the showers (if we can call them that). It was one of the best feelings to be warm again after such a long time cold and wet! Even though the conditions weren't ideal, we had such a great day on the river 
with beautiful scenery and great friends.


We had dinner together at a little Italian restaurant then we all 
crashed and went to bed.

The Rafting Group

Floating down the Vltava River

Raft Wars

 The next day was still raining but we went out to see some of the beautiful historic city of Český Krumlov. The whole city is UNESCO world heritage listed and is probably one of the most beautiful places we have visited. The main attraction of the city is the castle, which was built literally out of the hill it stands on, there is even a moat with live bears in it! Granted, these bears are 100% for the tourists these days, but originally they were there to protect the castle. The castle grounds are all we had time to see, but they were exquisite and from the fortifications of the castle you could see the entire city and the surrounding countryside. As it had been raining, there were low lying clouds hanging over the city, meandering among the smoky chimneys sprouting from the red tiled roofs. It was beautiful.

Back streets of Český Krumlov

Český Krumlov from the Castle

Český Krumlov Castle

Bear guarding the Castle

Grudgingly, we hopped onto the bus to head back to Prague on the Sunday afternoon. The whole weekend had been such fun and none of us were ready to return to reality just yet. 

Český ráj

About 90 kilometers north-east of Prague is a place which the Czechs call Paradise, or Český ráj. It's a place where people go to hike, ride the bikes and just generally be "in the nature", as the Czechs would say.
Jon and I took the train there, winding our way through the picturesque Czech countryside past villages, towns, castles and fields of magnificent yellow flowers.
The weather was perfect, 23 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. We transferred trains at Turnov, from the  main train system to a small, local train. Only 12 minutes down the road we hopped off and faced a forest of dark conifers dotted with luminescent green, the new leaves of the season. We followed one of the marked trails through the forest and it was like nothing we have experienced before. The forest is so alive, birds, insects and trees work together to form a song where every instrument plays an irrevocably important part, you can't pick all the parts in the song, but you know without one of them the song wouldn't be the same. 
What's so special about Český ráj are the massive natural sandstone pillars that inhabit the forest. They have been shaped by the elements over the centuries into such interesting structures that the whole area is now UNESCO World Heritage listed because of them. You can climb them if you're brave enough, the sandstone is very soft, but we preferred to admire them from other vantage points. The pillars create such a contrast to the soft colours and movements of the forest but they only add to the beauty and magic of the place. 
As we walked through the forest we both noted how nice it was not to be constantly on the look our for poisonous snakes, spiders, scorpions and plants! Even so, we still miss the Australian Bush.
We stopped for a bite to eat at one of the most amazing view points on our hike. It was like having the whole world to ourselves, sitting on the edge of the rock, looking out over the rolling hills of the Czech Republic with the forest waving to us below. 

The view

We also visited Valdštejn Castle along the way which is situated on a cliff face tucked into the forest. Unlike other castles we have visited, once you paid the entrance fee, you could explore at your leisure. We had a look through the living rooms, the church, dungeons, billiards room, the 'romantic walk' and the look out. It is a beautiful early gothic castle which you enter via a bridge lined with baroque statues, an interesting mix. Just as a bit of info, the castle was built in the second half of the 13th century by the Waldstein family. After 1420 the castle was occupied by the Hussites, then later by the Robber Barons. In 1621 the abandoned castle was bought back by the Waldsteins. During the peak of the Baroque period, they built a pilgrimage church of John of Nepomuk. This Church actually collapsed during its consecration ceremony killing a handful of people including one of the high noble women of the time. Not a good start. 

Baroque style bridge to Valdstejn Castle

We ended up getting a little lost on our hiking adventure when we took the wrong route! So, after much deliberation (aka arguing) we retraced our steps and took the same route back again. This was a little disappointing as it meant we only got to see half of the trail, but the forest is so beautiful, cool and calm that it didn't matter in the end. It was actually interesting to see the same route from a different angle, it was almost like we hadn't been there at all before! We loved it so much there that we are think of going back before the leave Prague - who can resist another trip to Paradise?

One of the walkways

Sandstone pillars visible through the trees

The 'Stairs'