Karlstejn Castle

Karlstejn Castle and the road up to it.

We actually were packed and on the road by 9:30--rare for us.  We didn't encounter too much traffic on our way out of Prague, heading southwest to Karlstein Castle.  Since today and tomorrow are Czech holidays, we were a bit concerned about housing, so Rob had planned to secure that first in Beroun.  But the Pension that LP recommended didn't answer the doorbell (a stroke of luck as it turned out), so we headed for the castle.  To get to it one parks in the town center and hikes a kilometer up a steep road, past numerous restaurants and gift shops.  


We got tickets for the 12:40 English tour and wandered around unit then.  Our "senior"ity has saved us a good deal of money so far.  Senior tickets are usually 1/2-2/3 of regular.  The tour encompassed the main living quarters, with very limited furnishings but much interesting history dispensed by our guide.  The castle was built by Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV (of bridge-building fame) between 1348 and 1365, though much of the current castle dates from reconstructions in the 1890s.  The large tower housed the crown jewels for 200 years and was considered impregnable, surviving even the Swedish assault in the 17th century.

Our Bonnie in the Jawa Motorcycle Museum

On our way back down we decided to sample one of the restaurants.  Is this getting to be a habit?  Finally departing the town of Karlstejn we  traveled through pleasant countryside to Konopiste, site of tomorrow's visit to the Hunting Lodge of Franz Ferdinand.  Again Rob had read enough to find us a pension near the lake, with a two room apartment (no kitchen, but breakfast is included).  An additional attraction is a Jawa motorcycle museum within the building.  We looked around and talked to the owner who encouraged us to park our Bonnie in the museum tonight, which we have done.  That will probably never happen again.


Though rain threatened we took the chance and started an evening walk at 7, only to be hit by light rain and then a downpour with much nearby thunder and lightning.  We almost made it back to our pension but had to duck under some cafe overhang when the storm intensified.  Twenty minutes later we managed the final 300 meters.