We will be in Prague in early June. Our time is limited but would like to visit Cesky Krumlov for a day. <BR>What is the fastest and best way to get there.<BR>Will we be dealing with crowds of people the first week in June?<BR><BR>Thanks all<BR>carol<BR><BR><BR>.

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Carol, I was there last year in mid june and I did not feel like it was crowded at all. I took the train but I don't remember how long it took-maybe three hours? It was a very comfortable trip though with mostly locals.

Debbie, Was the train you took direct(no transfers) from Prague? Did you stay over or return the same day? Did the trains run frequently?<BR>Thanks Carol

The train is not direct and you will have to change at Cesky Budejovice. Buses leave Prague between 0700 and 0800 direct service to CK which take 2hr 50 mins and cost around 150kc. On http://www.jasoncholt.com/prague you'll find a page called "Getting Around" which has a bus/train planner in English. Enter Praha and Cesky Krumlov along with the date of travel to get your options. Bus station in CK is in the centre of town. Good Luck.<BR><BR>Jason

Thought I'd add a link to a story about Cesky Krumlov -- which I first heard of in this forum and would like to visit some day -- in this past Sunday's Seattle Times by travel writer Carol Pucci (who often writes about Paris in the Times.) <BR><BR>Ms. Pucci notes that Cesky Krumlov gets its name -— meaning "Czech bend in the river" —- from the twisting S-shaped Vltava river that surrounds the town and flows north toward Prague. <BR><BR>"Living history: A medieval city in the Czech Republic entices visitors with castles, concerts and canoes"<BR><BR>http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/<BR>web/vortex/display?slug=cesky09&date=20020609&query=cesky<BR> <BR>_____________________<BR><BR><BR>Also, here's a companion piece:<BR><BR>"Tips on visiting Cesky Krumlov"<BR><BR>http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/<BR>web/vortex/display?slug=ifyougocesky09&date=20020609&query=ce sky <BR><BR>

Capo, we visited Cesky Krumlov based on reports I'd read on this forum. It was a wonderful place that we would never have gone to save for the recommendations I read here. You'll love it.

Thanks, Julie; I appreciate your recommendation as well. When I opened the travel section on Sunday and saw her article about Cesky Krumlov, I thought, "Hey, I recognize that name from the Fodors forum!" <BR><BR>I've yet to visit any eastern European countries and would like to include Cesky Krumlov on a future trip to Prague and Budapest. Also, my mother's ancestors are from Bohmemia and I was never sure exactly where that was in the former Czechoslovakia so it was interesting to learn, from a map accompanying the article about CK, that Bohemia makes up most of the current Czech Republic, with CK in South/Southern Bohemia.

Cesky K is a place that most tourists (esp. germans) go as day trips from Prague. So if you stay the night, you'll get to wander through a very quiet town.

The Germans on a day trip in CK are probably Austrians from Linz and other places closer to the border. After all, Cesky Krumlov/B&ouml;hmisch Krumau was an Austrian town until 1918. <BR>Egon Schiele´s mother was born there. The Viennese painter himself set up home there in 1911 with his model, but the unmarried couple were not so popular with the locals. Some of his drawings and paintings of the town are today in museums of Vienna, Z&uuml;rich and Jerusalem. <BR>Cesky can also be translated as Bohemian, as opposed to Moravian, the southeastern half of the new country. The other meaning of bohemian comes from the numerous gypsies (from Egypt, but that is another digression).<BR>CK is in middle between Prague, Vienna and Salzburg. Ceske Budejovice is of course the ancestral home of your national brew.

Capo: We too hope to visit Prague and CK sometime soon. We have found my husband's roots in Italy and now it's my turn. I too am of Czech descent. The family name was Novak (as in Kim--no c), which I understand is as common as Smith in the US. Don't have much hope of finding info on my family based on the name and the lack of facts that I have regarding them. In any case, look forward to visiting that part of the world. All previous trips to Europe have been in the west.<BR><BR>Printed both articles on CK and look forward to visiting there as much as Prague.<BR><BR>j

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