Cesky Krumlov

If these street scenes look vaguely familiar, you may have seen them in The Adventures of Pinocchio.  This little town is dripping with quaint.  My guidebook said its Golden Age was the 16th century, but in my book it is TODAY.  The history is fascinating, the art and architecture beautiful and diverse.  There is a mix of Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque thoughout the town, all sprinkled with modern and whimsical art.  With  interesting shops, excellent restaurants and cute pensions on every block, it is a traveler's dream come true.

Cesky Krumlov has had a sad history.  During the Habsburgs' reign, the town was mostly German and remained so for centuries.  In 1938, Hitler claimed this region as the Sudetenland in the Munich Agreement.  The Germans, however, were expelled after World War II, leaving Krumlov abandoned and ultimately neglected.  During the communist years, the river, which winds through the town, became polluted from paper mills upstream and the setting was destroyed by ugly pre-fab housing.  Once the Iron Curtain came down, tourists rediscovered this charming town and the money poured in.  Restoration and prosperity began.  We spent a whole day here, staying at one of the many pensions that line the streets.  It was pure joy!