Czech Republic part 2 of 4: Karlstejn Castle and Teplice

[Mister F]

Karlstejn Castle was originally built in the 1300s to house the Czech crown jewels. It's one of those hilltop
storybook castles romanticized by Disney, and it's only 20 minutes from Prague.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Karlstejn/P1020779_resize.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Karlstejn/P1020788_resize.jpg

Villages nestled into the valleys like this are a common sight in the Czech Republic
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Karlstejn/P1020800_resize.jpg

The castle's design provides all kinds of interesting angles for photography
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Karlstejn/P1020801_resize.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Karlstejn/P1020806_resize.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Karlstejn/P1020810_resize.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Karlstejn/P1020819_resize.jpg

You wouldn't know it by the pictures, but he castle and the village below were packed with tourists and school groups.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Karlstejn/P1020821_resize.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Karlstejn/P1020831_resize.jpg

We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the castle. You could only take guided tours,
and to get into the tallest tower took a special advance booking
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Karlstejn/P1020834_resize.jpg

Ouch!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Karlstejn/P1020847_resize.jpg

The village of Karlstejn is full of souvenir shops and restaurants.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Karlstejn/P1020851_resize.jpg

Turns out households still burn coal in the Czech Republic, mostly in the rural areas.
It stinks up the air and contributes to a haze that often blankets the country. The government is planning to
ban coal burning in the next 5 years or so.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Karlstejn/P1020855_resize.jpg


Teplice isn't close to Karlstejn, it's about two hours away near the German border south of
Dresden. I just put them into one thread for because they're my smallest sets.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Teplice/P1020882_resize.jpg

Our ride. A Skoda Fabia. 3 cylinders. 0-100 km/h in 19 seconds. Comically gutless. And that's coming from an Accent driver.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Teplice/P1020873_resize.jpg

Crazy European roads. This one has a guiderail. Impressive!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Teplice/P1020859_resize.jpg

A manor or something in Most
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Teplice/P1020878_resize.jpg

In the middle of the foothills near the border, in the industrial heartland of Bohemia, is
Teplice. It's a fairly major spa town, though not as much as places like Karlovy Vary or Mariánské Lázně.
It's where my dad grew up and he gave me a tour of his old stomping grounds.

What a nice first impression
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Teplice/P1020886_resize.jpg

A statue of the first Czech president after Austria-Hungary collapsed. He's widely admired (note the flowers)
for uniting the Czechs and Slovaks. Well, A for effort I guess.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Teplice/P1020973_resize.jpg

A spa
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Teplice/P1020971_resize.jpg

Love that 12x zoom
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Teplice/P1020967_resize.jpg

Communist workers
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Teplice/P1020965_resize.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Teplice/P1020964_resize.jpg

Teplice has about 51,000 people but its downtown is a lot bigger than any comparable Canadian city I've been to.
Teplice is easy to pronounce - emphasis on the first syllable, every letter is pronounced, and the "c" sounds like the "zz" in pizza.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Teplice/P1020962_resize.jpg

The spire is being used as a transmission tower! There are a few abandoned buildings dotting the city, but
nothing like the mass abandonment in some American cities.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Teplice/P1020961_resize.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Teplice/P1020925_resize.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Teplice/P1020953_resize.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Teplice/P1020952_resize.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Teplice/P1020951_resize.jpg

Beethoven apparently frequented Teplice
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Teplice/P1020937_resize.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Teplice/P1020935_resize.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Teplice/P1020918_resize.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Teplice/P1020913_resize.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Teplice/P1020933_resize.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Teplice/P1020930_resize.jpg

Teplice city hall.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Teplice/P1020928_resize.jpg

More wonderful commie architecture!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Teplice/P1020927_resize.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Teplice/P1020921_resize.jpg

I've been told that all these buildings used to be grey. They look amazing the way they're painted now.
All the buildings are stucco it's easy to give them new colours.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Teplice/P1020910_resize.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Teplice/P1020914_resize.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Teplice/P1020895_resize.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Teplice/P1020955_resize.jpg


Up next: Prague

[SLO]

Outstanding shots, what a great trip.

[the pope]

What a fun (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Karlstejn/P1020806_resize.jpg) little place to have a home

[arbeiter]

what an elegant country... isn't it great that the czech republic survived keeping much of its indulgent, capitalist pre-revolutionary architecture in tact?

looking at the pedestrian street, you'd think it was a much more prosperous country beyond the (former) iron curtain.

[Bergenser]

Stuning again!

Villages nestled into the valleys like this are a common sight in the Czech Republic

Seriusly that was cool, haven't seen anything similar. :)

[dktshb]

Very nice, thanks for sharing! :tup:

[keninhalifax]

Wonderful! I'm looking forward to Prague.

[denveraztec]

Fantastic tour! Thank you.

[Chelsea Spy]

Very beautiful! Such romantic castles...

[MobyLL]

Great photos... very interesting.

This bldg looks positively demonic. Must have been the inspiration for "Monster House"

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Teplice/P1020925_resize.jpg

[harryc]

Great photos... very interesting.

This bldg looks positively demonic. Must have been the inspiration for "Monster House"

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Teplice/P1020925_resize.jpg

My favorite, I love the "dormers" in the roof.

[williamphilapa]

cool photos!

[Ex-Ithacan]

Enjoyed the tour, and love all the colors of the buildings. But this one made me feel someone/something is watching me.:(

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Teplice/P1020925_resize.jpg

Thanks.;)

[Evergrey]

loads of character... i love this country

[CrooklynDodger]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Teplice/P1020873_resize.jpg


Nice, are you from Bratislava?

[Stephenapolis]

Wow! Just wow!
Great series. I love the styles of architecture.

[Mister F]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/brighterhell/Teplice/P1020873_resize.jpg


Nice, are you from Bratislava?
Nope, I'm from Canada. For some reason the rental car had Slovakian plates.

[Wheelingman04]

Totally amazing.

[M II A II R II K]

Very unique architectural styles there.

[ItsConanOBrien]

I got to get me a passport. Nice pics!

[ColDayMan]

Nice!

[Magnus1]

nice stuff!