kristi_nash_77

Hello. We will be in Prague in June for 5 days and taking a private hired car to drive us to Vienna for another 5 days. Along the way, we can stop in one of these places they recommend to spend around 4 hours... Cesky Krumlov – Melk Abbey – Mikulov – Lednice Valtice Unesco area.

We are in our mid-40's (no kids) and it's our 10 year anniversary trip. We love good food and wine tasting (we are from Oregon, so tired of Pinot Noirs even tho they are tasty). We do like historical architecture and learning a little about them, but not doing long boring group tours. Not a fan of viewing painting after painting of art either (did that in Paris and was not so fun.. .no offense meant art lovers!).

With all that said, do you have a recommendation on what city we should visit, and then what we should see/do while there within 4 hours? Highly recommended cafe/restaurants? Wine tasting bar? Castle to view? Neighborhood to explore?

Thank you in advance.

BigRuss

Czechville is beer territory (Pilsner = from Plzen). And the pivo is cheap. Not recalling a Willamette Valley comparative in Bohemia.

I'd go to Cesky or Melk.

What means "good food"? Who do you know that likes bad food?

Neither Czech (pick a dumpling, any dumpling) nor Austrian will rank with the world's great cuisines . . . Check Timeout.com and Inyourpocket.com for suggestions.

greg

If you have 5 days in Vienna, you can visit Melk easily. It is only one hour by train and you can make a Wachau Valley loop out of it. If you were to hit the Cesky Krumlov later, it would be 3.5 hours by train from Prague and 4 hours by train from Vienna. If I hold a trump card like this, a free stop for 4 hours, I would not expend it on an easy to visit destination.

mytravelove

If you like wine, then you should definitely go to Mikulov! It's right in the South of Moravia, Czech Republic's main wine region. There are lots of vineyards around the city..
Oh, and it's not touristy at all! (as opposed to e.g. Cesky Krumlov - which is beautiful but beer rules over wine there )

kristi_nash_77

Thank everyone. Follow up questions...

greg, if we go to Cesky Krumlov, any specific agenda suggestions that would only take 4 hours?

mytravellove: If Moravia, where should we go? Any specific wineries we should stop? Restraints? Any must-see's in that region? Since we'll have a driver, I'll need to probably have idea as to where we want to go... As far as Melk, we prob won't have time in our agenda to take a day trip, that's what the day trip in between is for, and why we decided to hire a driver vs taking the train. So, if you truly had to choose, which and what to see is best?

BigRuss: We love wine and I was just pointing out that Pinot Noir & Reisling is about all we get if tasting local (funny tho' , big spicy bold reds we love best!)... With that said, my hubby never misses the annual Oregon Brewers Fest (he goes for the dark, I go for the light fruit or a Heff), so beer is in our trip agenda for sure, espec in Prague. I'm sure I'll like the Pilsner as I'm not a huge fan of super hoppy beer. You're funny by the way and you are right, who likes BAD FOOD?!!! Good point! Ok, here's my question for you: if we go to Cesky Krumlov, any specific agenda suggestions that would only take 4 hours?

mytravelove

There are so many wineries in and around of Mikulov, you can have a look at the official website: http://www.mikulov.cz/tourism/wine-a...ontentId=77504

I don't know which exact one to recommend, sorry for that.

BigRuss

I don't know Cesky - want to go because of its rep and its old town feel. Our day trip from Prague was more enlightening and less lighthearted (Terezin). So I suggested it based on my own preference. That said, if Melk is an hour from Vienna, greg's suggestion is dead-on: don't waste a stop there because you can do it from Mozartville.

And the Czech beer is legitimately good and inexpensive. Most Europeans (and Australians, good gosh are they bad about it) still overrate their own beers because they think American = Bud (or worse, Coors Light) and haven't smartened up to the fact that the American craft brewing revolution is taking root in Europe.

BohemeVit

Hi Kristi, as June is the start of the peak season and since Cesky Krumlov is highly promoted to tourists visiting the Czech Rep it can get crowdy (also while the center keeps its medieval character of rather narrow streets). Southern Bohemia (Cesky Krumlov) is not a wine region, Ceske Budejovice (very close to Cesky Krumlov) is the seat of Budweisser Budvar beer which probably gives you the idea. Going to Vienna via Southern Bohemia will take you longer as there are fewer highways on the Czech side.

Instead, going via the highway to Brno and through Southern Moravia, which is the wine region, makes more sense. White wines can be spectacular and you can find some very interesting and good red wines as well. Mikulov will be right on the way, there's a renessaince castle. I wouldn't go to any of the many wine cellars there (unless recommended by a wine proffessional) as quite a lot of them are touristy and some of small local produce can be of a low quality. Vino Lipa winery is my advice in Mikulov - family run (two brothers), winning medals, good price for their outstanding quality (one of my favourite since I tasted them three years ago at a wine fair in Prague). Generally, try some established wineyerds - some of them can even offer great modern architecture (like in the US): Gotberg, Sonberk, Krasna Hora (a little detour this one but an old wooden windmill above the village).

Local white wine variety is Palava (name of local hills/nature reserve), try it - especially late harvest can be nicely fruity. Pinot Gris should be a certainty as well, Pinot Blancs are aslo good. Local riesling variety is Vlasky (Wallachina) Ryzlink. Try Veltlin, local variety that tends to be very interesting and good from capable wine-makers.

Lednice and Valtice are also on the way, just below Mikulov on the way to Cz-Aut border. Lednice is a lovely anglican style castle with a beautiful garden/park surrounding it. Nearby Valtice is also home to wineyards. Chateau Valtice is a big producer, wine tasting is in the cellars.