Richard & Rhonda in Europe: Český Krumlov

Day 16 - 31 May
This was to be a busy day, starting in the German town of Passau, moving on to the Czech Republic, before finishing the day in Austrian town of Linz.

We woke up to this view of the river near the German town of Passau

I was very excited to be visiting what I thought was the birthplace of the actor David Krumholtz. I was less thrilled to find out that we were actually going to visit the well-preserved medieval town of Český Krumlov, in the Czech Republic. Krumlov - Krumholtz, they sort of sound the same.
Our tour guide congratulated our group for not taking the 'Sound of Music' tour, and we responded with a spontaneous rendition of 'Do-Re-Me'.
Most of us managed to stay awake for the bus ride to Český Krumlov, and we passed through some stunningly-beautiful German and Czech countryside on the way there.

Some of the 'gang' looking suitably stunned by the view of the countryside

Český Krumlov is a beautiful town (a little bit like every other town we have visited) and is well preserved because the Soviets didn't bulldoze it and replace the medieval buildings with poorly-constructed concrete boxes.

First port of call in Český Krumlov - the newest building in town, the toilet block (we are showing our age)

Peter enjoying the view while shading the back of his neck from the sun - good job the sun wasn't in his eyes or he'd have had to turn his cap around, unlike the guy in the picture below

But I digress. Back to the beauty of Český Krumlov.

Back view of the castle

The cobblestones could be just a little more level

The town square

Lyn, Peter, Maggie and Peter enjoying the view of whoever was taking the photograph

Of course, it wasn't all beer and skittles, because we weren't in the restaurant shown below (which was a little way out of town). No, not the supermarket, the Restaurace (Czech for 'Restaurant') Bowling.

Restaurant Bowling - now there's an idea

We did, however, have to stop for sustenance after completing our walking tour of the town. Luckily the tour guide had recommended a coffee shop. They did a great selection of chocolates and cakes.

Yummy

After morning tea a trip to the WC was called for. Imagine my delight to find that the gentlemen's toilet was raised on a plinth. I felt quite regal.

A toilet fit for a king

Then it was time to get back to some serious sightseeing.

A seriously-seen sight

Part of the castle wall

This should teach me to look at the front of the figure before sticking my head in for a photograph

Rhonda was getting a little bored by this time so she decided to ramp up the thrills by booking us on a Segway tour of the town. John joined us and we had a 30 minute race around the older parts of the town. It was a lot of fun, and not disrupted by excessive bureaucracy.

A lot of fun

By then it was almost time to leave Český Krumlov.

One of our final views of the town

We boarded the bus and the tour guide asked us not to sing ridiculous Sound of Music songs again, to which we responded by singing the first verse from 'The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music - La, La, La La'. After this John needed a grandpa nap.

Zzzzzzzzzz

Had John not been quite so tired he might have seen the view below of the Austrian countryside.

I think Julie Andrews once danced here

Back on the ship we barely had time to attend happy hour before another incredible dinner.

More homoeopathic soup

Main course

One of our shipmates was putting on a bit too much weight by this stage of the cruise, and his wife suspended his eating privileges.

The sign around his neck reads: Please do not feed

The evening's entertainment was provided by members of the crew who put on a concert for us. They did a variety of singing, dancing and comedy - a great effort that kept us entertained throughout.