Alfred's mother wanted to revisit the city of Cesky Krumlov (German: Krumau) in the Czech Republic, where she was born and attended elementary school, with her children and their partners. So we organized a three-day trip to this beautiful city.
Castle of Ceský Krumlov with Vltava river (German: Moldau)
We had the idea of cycling to Český Krumlov and then continuing on to Prague after the family reunion. So we took the train from Munich to Passau and cycled around 365 kilometers to Prague in 7 days, with a total elevation gain of over 4,600 meters.
Our first day on May 2nd 2025, which started in Passau in the late afternoon, was really challenging – it was hot and there were very steep roads up into the Bavarian Forest. Fortunately we found a good italian ice cream parlor and a decent free sleeping place 3 kilometers east of the town Waldkirchen. The second day was much more comfortable because we cycled the Adalbert-Stifter-Weg up which was a former railroad and much less steep.
The highest point and the European watershed (between the Elbe/North Sea and the Danube/Black Sea) is still in Germany, about 5 kilometers southwest of the border.Nearby is the source of the Cold Vltava (German: Kalte Moldau), one of the two source rivers of the Vltava, which flows to Prague and then empties into the Elbe in the northwest of the Czech Republic.
There was a railway line between Waldkirchen and Český Krumlov, but it was closed by Germany after World War II. In the Czech Republic, it is still in operation between the border town of Nocve Udoli and Český Krumlov.
Marion on the Czech / German border between Nove Udoli and Haidmühle which is accessible only by foot or bicycle
Only the Czech side has access to the border with a train
From the border we headed down along the Vltava river on a marvelous and pristine landscape. Close to the little town Horní Planá we found the nice campsite Kemp u Kukacku directly on shore of the artificial lake Vodní Nádrž Lipno.
Young cold Vltava river few kilometers northeast of the border
Sunset on the campsite Kemp u Kukacku
On the third day it rained cats and dogs and we were glad that the campsite Kemp u Kukacku provided a nice kitchen with all facilities where we could spend some hours. In the afternoon the haevy rain changed to drizzle, so we put our rain gear on and dared to continue to Ceský Krumlov - about 35 kilometers much more downhill the uphill. Fortunately, we found the excellent but affordable Hotel Vltavska Pohadka in Ceský Krumlov, where we could dry off. The breakfast at this hotel, located in a medieval house opposite of the old town on the banks of the Vltava River, was extraordinary excellent.
The next day, we changed our hotel to the nearby Villa Wurmfeld, where we met up with our family. There, we had two large apartments, each with two bedrooms. The UNESCO World Heritage town of Ceský Krumlov is one of the top tourist destinations in the Czech Republic, attracting many tourists from all over the world, sometimes too many.
Map of Ceský Krumlov which shows the Ω-loop of the river Vltava enclosing the old town
Canal with the tower of Ceský Krumlov's castle
For more pictures about Ceský Krumlov click here to see the gallery about our visit in May 2013.
Together we took a short trip to the small village of Svetlík (German: Kirchschlag), where Alfred's mother's maternal grandparents lived. There she spent a lot of time with her brother and cousins until she was seven years old, before the family fled to West Germany at the end of World War II..
Church of Svetlík
Alfred's family including his mom on the graveyard of Svetlík
Alfred's great-grandfather (1863 - 1932) who was a teacher
The back of the house in Svetlík where Alfred's great-grandparents lived with his sister Claudia and Marion
We thought it would be convenient to cycle along the Vltava River to Prague, but it was a constant up and down, with only a few river crossings and short stretches along the Vltava. The route is part of EuroVelo 7, a 7,409-kilometer long-distance cycle route from the North Cape in Norway to the island of Malta (click here and see Wikipedia - EV7, The Sun Route). For us, it was well marked with yellow signs bearing the number 7, or near Prague, number 301.
It took us four days to cover the 230 kilometers to Prague, with over 4,600 meters of elevation gain. We spent the night in our cozy tent at good campsites, where Marion was able to charge her e-bike battery. We were lucky with the weather: mostly sunny and pleasantly warm. Only in the mornings was it a bit chilly; once we even experienced frost.
After driving through Ceské Budejovice (German: Budweis), the largest city in South Bohemia, we passed through small villages where time seemed to stand still. May 8th is a national holiday in the Czech Republic, so everything was closed that Friday. We were lucky to find a small grocery store to stock up on groceries just before closing at 1 p.m. But there were other interesting things on our way, animals like a viper or a dinosaur, various castles, wooden statues, etc..
Marion with the remains of a centuries-old oak tree – Opalický Dub – in the village of Opalice. It served as a refuge for two monks hiding there from the Hussites in 1420
Main square of Ceské Budejovice with its city hall
Monster north of Ceské Budejovice
In the ruins of Karluv Hrádek – Emperor Charles IV founded the fortress in the 14th century as a hunting base
Wooden man with red boots 2.5 kilometers north of the Karluv Hrádek Ruins
Smoking Temelín Nuclear Power Station which is the largest power resource in the Czech Republic
First, the last stretch to Prague was beautiful – we cycled through the valley of the Kocába river, a typical weekend destination for Prague residents, located about 30 kilometers south. After the Kocába River Valley, we had to cycle for 20 kilometers on a busy thruway without any additional cycle path before we reached small paths that were more suitable for hiking.
Marion crosses the Kocába river
Bumpy path a few kilometers before Prague
We arrived in Prague in the late afternoon of May 10, 2025, and spent the night at the beautiful Caravan Park Yacht Club campsite on the island of Císarská Louka. We had already explored Prague extensively in the summer of 2023 (click here to read the article From Dresden to Prague), so the next day we took the train directly to Munich, where we arrived after a six-hour journey.
Eastern view from the southern tip of Císarská Louka Island in Prague
Fancy bar in Prague on the eastern shore of Vltava river
For more pictures, please click here
For a map of our itineraries, click here
To download our GPS coordinates files of Czech Republic, click here