The beautiful town of Cesky Krumlov

We woke up on Christmas morning to another grey and foggy day. It was just like being in London. We had booked a shuttle bus to take us from Vienna to the small Czech town of Cesky Krumlov. 

It was going to be about a three hour drive, so after breakfast we headed out to see a little bit more of Vienna before leaving Austria.

With almost everything being closed, we headed back to the Maria-Theresien Platz Christmas markets, which were open, and had been too busy when we visited a couple of days earlier.

It was almost deserted on Christmas morning so it was nice to be able to see the market without all the tourists.

We arrived in Cesky Krumlov in the late afternoon just as it was getting dark, so we checked into our hotel and walked along the river into Cesky Krumlov Old Town.

We were visiting in the off season, and Cesky Krumlov is usually done as a day trip from Prague, so in the evening there were mostly locals and hardly any tourists. The Czech Republic is so cheap, our accommodation and eating out were almost half the cost of staying in Vienna!

Cesky Krumlov castle and its Christmas Tree in the distance

We had an amazing Christmas dinner at a small hotel restaurant, we both had starters, mains and dessert and were so full afterwards we almost had to roll back to the hotel.

We had two nights in Cesky Krumlov, but only one full day, so we woke up early the next morning hoping to beat the day trippers that we figured would start arriving around mid morning.

We had thought Cesky Krumlov was lovely when we arrived the prior evening, but it was so much nicer in the daylight. There was a small Christmas market in the town square and a big Christmas tree and Nativity scene.

The main attraction in Cesky Krumlov is the huge castle that overlooks the town. For such a small town, it has a really large castle. We didn't go inside the Castle itself, but enjoyed a walk around the Gardens and within the walls.

Looking up to the huge bridge and the Castle

A lot of the Castle had been extensively restored, but the exterior was mostly painted on, rather than colourful bricks. The Castle was made a UNESCO National Monument in 1989, and included as a World Heritage Site in 1992.

The painted interior walls

The bridge between the Castle and the Gardens has an amazing view over Cesky Krumlov. The advantage of getting there early was that we didn't need to elbow people out of the way for a good shot!

Peeking through the Castle walls onto the town below

Aside from wandering through the mostly neglected Gardens, there wasn't much more to do. So we sat for awhile admiring the view and taking photos from various different points. We took so many photos of the town below, I ended up having to delete about 80 photos just of Cesky Krumlov from above.

Deciding whether we can climb inside this huge log

After the long climb down from the Castle Garden's, we stopped for a Trdelník,  a delicious Czech pastry, rolled onto a large stick and covered in cinnamon. We started with one, and quickly went back to grab another when we didn't want to share.

For the rest of the day we just wandered around the town, exploring all the tiny side streets and the river front. 

Cesky Krumlov can easily be seen in one day, however it's nice to spend the night and see the town when it's only the locals and a few tourists. 

We really enjoyed our day and a half of calm before heading to Prague, which we knew would be crammed with people!