By: Sindhuja Kodivalasa, Staff Writer

Photo Credits: Bhuvnesh Chethal

Cesky Krumlov, a small medieval town in the Bohemian Region was our weekend getaway. This was a trip organized by Thunderbird and so most of the students hung out here over the weekend. This was probably the first time during the entire module abroad when most of the class was together over the weekend.

Cesky Krumlov

Cesky Krumlov is a beautiful town located on the banks of the river Vltava. The River flows like a snake in the middle of the the town. There is a magnificent Palace overseeing the town with a tall tower. Most of the town has old structures with beautiful Bohemian architecture. People usually have this tradition of dressing up in the medieval outfits and reenacting small dramas in the city’s town square. When we were there we got to see one such drama on the streets. Though it was spoken in Czech and none of us understood it, we had fun watching it.

Many students decided to go on a hike on Saturday morning. Students separated into small groups for the hike. Some went on longer hikes while others took shorter routes. There were students like David Roman and Sarunyu Thepbunchonchai who went for a total of a 30 km hike. There were other students like Isha Rao and Jayadeep Tanikonda who went on shorter 10 km hikes. Most of the students spent the entire Saturday hiking and exploring the town and surrounding areas.

On Sunday, April 12, in the morning many students took the guided tour of the castle. They got to visit some of the special rooms. Students enjoyed the experience where they saw the royal way of living. They got a chance to see where the day to day activities of the royal family took place. The view from top of the castle is absolutely breath taking.

The Castle

The Back View of the Castle

The biggest attraction of this town are the beautiful restaurants. Many restaurants were situated on the banks of the river. These were small places serving amazing Czech food. But, that was not all. There were some vegetarian restaurants serving Indian cuisine and there was a Chinese venue. And most of all the seafood in all these places was absolutely delicious. The restaurants were close to the banks of the river. So people had an opportunity to sit by the banks of the river and enjoy an amazing meal amidst the breath taking view of nature.

One more exciting factor of this place is it has white water rafting. But, unfortunately we were too early in the season. April 11, Saturday, was first day of rafting. There was just a ceremony and the tourists were not allowed to raft in the river. We were informed by the locals that the official rafting season started in two weeks. Though we did not get to go rafting, we still enjoyed the ceremony.

The city overall is a beautiful sight. The castle, the buildings in medieval architecture and the many restaurants with amazing food. The town square was filled with small souvenir shops. The entire place is a scenic view. It is a perfect getaway from the busy life. The internet there is spotty, there is not much of a nightlife. But we got to hang around the town, have some delicious food and do some hiking. This is a perfect place to cool off. It was a perfect weekend.