This was my first time in the Czech Republic, a notable fact since my last name and part of my family comes from here. I landed in the Prague airport and proceeded late at night to stay in a very small town with the name of Loket. Loket has a 12th century castle that was established here because of the excellent defensive position the natural terrain provides. 
The wide, deep river forms an almost complete circle around steep sided mountains. At the top of the mountain is a beautiful castle with tall walls and a central keep. I can not imagine that it was every taken by force, the cliffs are so steep. Perched around the castle are a variety of houses, small pensions, and a couple cafes. At night it is completely silent here.
A stroll through town revealed much of that charm that I was missing so badly in Italy.
We stayed in the Cisar Ferdinand Hotel. It is an old hotel in the best of the European Grand Hotel tradition. The hotel brews a brown beer that is excellent for drinking while sitting on the side patio.
The breakfast room of the hotel is covered with old photographs of military officers. Some photos includes wives and family.
There is a crest that is repeated throughout the hotel, on the curtain rods, painted on the side of the building, over the bar, etc. I noticed in the breakfast room this crest created entirely out of beetles. Kind of nasty but certainly the product of a dedicated person who must have had a lot of free time.
The wide, deep river forms an almost complete circle around steep sided mountains. At the top of the mountain is a beautiful castle with tall walls and a central keep. I can not imagine that it was every taken by force, the cliffs are so steep. Perched around the castle are a variety of houses, small pensions, and a couple cafes. At night it is completely silent here.
A stroll through town revealed much of that charm that I was missing so badly in Italy.
We stayed in the Cisar Ferdinand Hotel. It is an old hotel in the best of the European Grand Hotel tradition. The hotel brews a brown beer that is excellent for drinking while sitting on the side patio.
The breakfast room of the hotel is covered with old photographs of military officers. Some photos includes wives and family.
There is a crest that is repeated throughout the hotel, on the curtain rods, painted on the side of the building, over the bar, etc. I noticed in the breakfast room this crest created entirely out of beetles. Kind of nasty but certainly the product of a dedicated person who must have had a lot of free time.
Posts
1 comment:
I just love this town. One of my dreams is to go to Prague which was once the center of the Western world for science, art, commerce, and government! You can see how geography affects human decisions.
Tour books say you don't need to go to Milan if you have been to other big industrial cities because Milan is not quaint or interesting. We skipped Milan when we were in Italy (that sounds SO worldly!) However, just north and maybe east of Milan is the wonderful lake country. We didn't get there either!
Keep the blogs coming. Nothing like living vicariously!
Post a Comment