I am almost certain that I asked this question before, but I cannot find it. So I am asking again (or perhaps for the first time - not sure).

My husband and I are taking a trip to southern Germany and Prague in August - beer-themed trip for his 40th birthday. Bamberg and Munich are the main stops before we reach Prague. We will be in Prague for 4 1/2 days and we'd like to take 1, maybe 2 day trips to the countryside - we are interested in picturesque small towns were we can wander, take pictures, relax and soak up the atmosphere, maybe visit an interesting museum and/or churches. Small places in the countryside where we can do some light hiking would be great too. We'll be traveling by public transport.

Cesky Kumlov looks great, but it is also 3 1/2 hours by train - seems a little far for a day trip.

Thanks!

Kutna Hora is a lovely town and should hit all the right spots,it is only an hour on the train from Prague.
Karlstiejn castle is also lovely and there is some nice wlking paths around the area,only 30 minutes or so by train from Prague .
If tou are on a beer themed trip them Plzen is a must,where golden beer was really created and where we get the terms Pilsen and Pils lagers from.Easy day trip from Prague takes about 90 minutes on the train.you can do tours of the brewery and of the Brewing museum.I have been there 5 times over the years and can give you full details of how to get there if you want,just ask.
I am back in Prague in May for the Czech Beer Festival
http://www.ceskypivnifestival.cz/en/
but I will be taking trips to the small towns of Tabor and Mlada Boleslav and will report back what I think of them

For scenery/nature go to the Bohemian Switzerland National Park right on the German border (international trains stop in Decin, from there bus to Hrensko) http://www.ceskosaske-svycarsko.cz/index-en.html

or Cesky Raj: http://www.cesky-raj.info/en/

I.

I also recommend Kutna Hora for a day trip. Cesky Krumlov, in my opinion, is too far away for an enjoyable day trip, and it really deserves an overnight stay.

Here are two more possibilites - some lovely castles and, IMHO, more interesting than Karlstejn. Both are in great countryside and Konopiste is famous for being the home of Archduke Ferdinand - the man who was killed in Sarajevo and his death led to World War One.
http://www.jeremytaylor.eu/czech_rep...ste_castle.htm
Krivoklat Castle is in a small village with one of the best restaurants I've seen in the CZech Republic.
http://www.jeremytaylor.eu/czech_republic_krivoklat.htm

I would agree with Jeremy about Konopiste,well worth the trip and only an hour or so by train from Prague.We were there a couple of years ago.had a wander round the town to see the Ferdinand brewery and then walked out to Konopiste .took about 35 minutes or so from the train station and once you are out of the town it is a faily pleasant flat walk,the castle inself is lovely but best to try and book a tour,there are lovely grounds to walk around and a cafe and severa; souvineer stall there too.
One day I WILL get to Krivoklat,after seeing jeremys pictures it is a must visit place.

I 2nd Plzen, great brewery tour.
Plzen also has an underground tunnel network that is open for tours between certain times of the year.
http://www.plzenskepodzemi.cz/en/

If DH has a WW2 interest learning about what happened to Lidice a small town not far from Prague followed up with a visit there is sobering.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lidice

And if you want even more sobering, Terezine transit camp is interesting too.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/...t/terezin.html


If WW2 isn't your cup of tea then don't worry.

One other thing, crystal glass is cheaper in Plzen than Prague.

Muck

Did the original poster say something like "picturesque small towns", "countryside" and "light hiking"? LOL

Thanks for the suggestions - they all look great. I think we will definitely put the Plzen on the list, being related to the theme of the trip and all

Ingo - Yes, I did say that. Can you clue me in to what is funny about that though? I seem to have missed the joke.

Well, Plzen is not a small town but a city and I don't see where the other suggestions include the 'light hiking'. Thus they are a bit off topic.

the OP did mention they were on a beer themed trip,seems a shame not to mention Plzen.my other advice fits in with their remit as well. seems my suggestion worked well for them but then again I did read their full post.
November-moon,nearer you tripo remind me and I will post full detail on how to get to Plzen by train and the walk to the brewery etc.

I read the full post as well. The beer trip was handled in the other thread. In this post they ask specifically for this:

"we'd like to take 1, maybe 2 day trips to the countryside - we are interested in picturesque small towns were we can wander, take pictures, relax and soak up the atmosphere, maybe visit an interesting museum and/or churches. Small places in the countryside where we can do some light hiking would be great too."

Where is the beer mentioned? I'd say the Plzen recommendation had fit better into the other threads, no?

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...h-republic.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...uereienweg.cfm

My husband and I are taking a trip to southern Germany and Prague in August - beer-themed trip for his 40th birthday.
The previous had got lost in the long list of threads and |I did not seehtem.I don't sit wainting for threads and if i miss something then it happens,I was just glad the the OP mentioned in there p[ost something that I was bale to pass on.OK it may be repeating another thread but usefull info no the less and that is the piont of this website,passing info from one traveller to another in mutaul reciprocation,not scoring points from one another over what should be responded to and what shouldn't.If the OP is happy then I am happy and so should you be.
You gave some advice which is appreciated you do not need to reproach people for the advice they have given regardless of what you think of it.

I was happy about the laugh I had. Thought I share that with the others here on Fodor's who read it.

Thanks for the instructions on what to do and what not, dear Ma'am. Of course you're entitled to your opinion.

I want to also add my vote for Kutna Hora. We took a bus ($3 one way!) from the main bus station located behind the main train station in Prague, then got off at the bus station in Kutna Hora. We toured the medieval silver mine, St. Barbara's church, got lost and couldn't find the church with all the bones, but still enjoyed ourselves tremendously.

ungleus--if you click on your screen name, all your posts show

that will narrow down your search

About 6 years ago we stumbled upon an area such as you describe, near Bamberg.
If you google Gossweinstein, you can find some links to the town. As you approach from the west, you pass a babbling brook. The countryside is somewhat rolling, and a little rocky. We sensed it was an area where Bavarian tourists in the "know" came to vacation, much like the mountains of Colorado, except not mountainous. There were many hikers.

Bellarosa , the Bone church is about 2 kilometers outside the town,it is closer to the main railway station which is nearly 3 kilometers from the town,there is a local train that links the two.

Well, I didn't think that the other suggestions that didn't include light hiking were off topic. I thought they were great. The light hiking was an addendum - more information about the types of things we are interested in should there be something in the area that fits the criteria. If a walk in the woods doesn't happen, that's ok. We will have done some of that earlier in the trip.

And I did mention beer in my post, it's a beer-themed trip - the main reason we are going to the Czech Republic this time around

there may be a mini Beer Festival in Prague in August,I will have details of it in the next few months,last year it was at the very end of August and the beginning of September,I will post onfo once I get the info.