Cesky Krumlov is one of those jewels that must be seen to be believed. The town is virtually surrounded by the River Vltava and contains a host of narrow crooked cobbled streets that are lined on both sides by Baroque and Renaissance buildings. The fairy tale castle hugs the brow of the surrounding hills

Redoubt tower- The spectacularly extravagant tower dominates the castle and the surrounding town

A view of the town from the chateau: Wonderful views of the town can be had from the castle. Our hotel (Hotel Dvorak) is the large pale-orange coloured building by the river side towards the left of the picture. The two pictures above were taken directly from our hotel balcony.

Walking the streets : You can spend a day just walking the cobbled streets and browsing in the shops

Running the rapids: A favourite pastime for tourists is to hire a canoe at one end of the town and to then drift down the fast flowing river and shoot the rapids. The picture, taken from the castle shows one of the rapids. Whilst we were watching only one in three managed to shoot the rapids successfully

Castle courtyard: One of the inner courtyards.

You guessed it: Here's one of Stephany reading about the region

More cobbled streets: It had rained briefly in the early morning but then the clouds disappeared. This picture of the Hotel Ruze shows just how effective Renaissance decoration can be. Formerly a Jesuit seminary the building is now considered to be the best hotel in town, if not in the Czech Republic.

The Redoubt Tower: and the rest of the chateau dominates the town from wherever you look. This is a picture from the Hotel Ruze.

Well what do you expect?: Stephany learning about Czech cuisine.That Pike/Perch didn't last long.

Yet more cobbled streets:

And more: The colourful buildings reminded us of southern Spain.

That Klimt umbrella: One of the many purchases made in the local shops. The proud owner showing it off.