Today we left Germany for a few days to visit the Czech Republic. We cross the border near Strazny in the region of Southern Bohemia - an old Cold War frontier town! A little further down the road we came to the village of Volary which has a very sad connection to WWII. It was here that we visited the graves of 96 young woman who died on a forced march by the Nazis from Poland as the war was coming to an end. Theses were but a few whose bodies were found by the American forces in May of 1945. When the American forces enter Volary they came across a barracks of over a hundred women who were the only remaining woman left alive after a 700 km march from concentration camps in Poland. Volary also has a memorial to an American soldier - the last known soldier to die in Europe during WWII. A very sobering experience.
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| Cemetery at Volary. |
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| And this young woman was 16 and died the day the WWII ended - how sad! |
We drive in a little further to Ceske Krumlov for a very different experience - perhaps the most visited place in The Czech Republic after Prague. What a visual delight - a happy snappers paradise! This historical town is famous for castle complex which overlooks the cobbled stone streets and winding alleyways of the town below. The town itself is built on the bend of the river which nearly surrounds the whole site. From whatever direction you are heading their are stunning vistas that open up.
Having wandered the streets and soaked up the atmosphere we headed up the hill to the castle complex. This is truly amazing - build along an outcrop of rocks, it straddles the rocky outcrop and the adjacent hill.
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| Ceske Krumlov |
After leg weariness set in we returned to the van and drive a little further up the road and found a delightful lake to relax by for the rest of he afternoon.
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