Karlštejn Castle

Today, 10/8, I went on a day trip to the Karlštejn Castle with NYU. I got off the wait-list for this trip since I had heard from many people that, besides the Prague Castle, it's the other must-see castle in The Czech Republic.

First, we hiked a trail to the Bubovický Waterfall and then visited the Koněprusy Caves. We had a tour guide show us the caves, which are in the middle of the nature reserve of Czech Karst. The caves are developed in 400 million years old Devonian limestones. The caves are several kilometers long but the accessible part is only 620 m long.

The limestone mine

The waterfalls were surprisingly anticlimactic. Apparently, they're supposed to be a lot better in the winter with more water and ice.

Inside the caves

Next off, a several kilometer hike to the castle. The weather was gorgeous, and the day was perfect for hiking though. The skies were blue, the sun was out, and leaves were turning autumn colors all around us. We got to the castle area, and had an hour before our tour started so got some lunch at a local Czech restaurant first. To expediate the process (we only had an hour) we all ordered the same dish. The RAs helped us with the Czech only menu, and we all got the chicken with cheese and broccoli.

Hiking along the trail...

Some background on the castle: it was founded in 1348 by Czech King and Roman Emperor Charles IV as a place for safekeeping the royal treasures. The castle is in the Karlštejn NNR, which is a predominantly forested territory lying north of the Berounka River in the Central Bohemian Region. I, again, was not allowed to take pictures inside the castle... and we also had to wear these slippers over our sneakers, which was funny.

 The castle

Afterward, we walked on the main road and window shopped. There were a bunch of tourist-y souvenir shops that we went in and out of. We left shortly after, and got back to Prague in the evening.