Cesky Krumlov – Day 2

The tour guide mentioned that in 1715, the area was hit by the plague. In a nearby village all but two residents were killed by it but it stopped before devastating the people of Cesky Krumlov. So as thanks to God, they built the plague monument that stands on the main square and I included a pic of it.

He also said that they too eat carp on Christmas Eve. He explained a little more about it. The reason they put it in their bathtubs a few days before is because it’s a bottom feeder and usually lives around all the muck so they want to clear out some of that stuff by putting it in fresh water. He said the bad part is the young kids now think it’s their pet and get attached to it so they are sad when it’s gone on Christmas Day. He said they tell the young kids that it got away down the drain and is safely back in the river! Lol

Another weird custom tied to that is they take the scales from the fish and put one under each dinner plate. Some people also put a scale in their wallet to bring them wealth in the new year since the scale looks like a coin. He said it never worked for him and all he got was a smelly wallet!

While on the tour we walked past the moat to the castle and this time I got to see the bear! He said there’s now only one of them and her name is Maria Theresa (named after the ruler from Austria since they got her from Vienna). She’s pretty big!

We then saw a bride and groom just leaving the church and taking pictures. It was one of those opportunities to take a really funny picture. Do you think the couple knew they were taking pictures in front of the museum of torture?? Lol

After the walk I took a tour of the Baroque Theater that’s part of the castle complex. It was built in 1682. Europe used to have several hundred Baroque theaters that used candles for light and fireworks for special effects but most burned down. There are only two left in the world and this is one of them and the other is in Sweden within the Royal Palace. We got to go underneath the stage to see the wood and rope contraptions that enabled scenes to be changed within 10 seconds. It was a lovely theater with an impressive 3-D effect that makes the stage look deeper than it really is. And the people used to sit on wooden benches!

I then just walked around the rest of the town I hadn’t seen and checked out all the cute side streets and alleyways. I found out if you hang out in a medieval little town long enough a celebration will break out with people in garb. I’m not sure what they were celebrating but it was fun to watch.