Cesky Krumlov, July 4

Overnight, Alexandra spent in her aerie perch, while I slept in the bed below.  This morning, she woke up and volunteered to get us some pastries with our tea, bringing back 2 very fine pieces of strudel.  Afterwards she Skyped with her boyfriend Bo, and afterwards we were off to the Castle.  It forms one of the most priceless historical monuments in the Czech Republic.  The complex of buildings, the second largest of its kind in the Czech Republic, was built on high rocks overlooking the valley of the Vltava River.  Today, the Castle contains nearly 40 buildings and a large area of gardens.  I had toured the castle before, and knew that Alexandra would particularly enjoy the Baroque theater, so we got tickets for a tour of it at 2:00.  Right past the Renaissance House in the Castle complex, we walked the peaceful castle gardens.  They were laid out after 1678, and are surrounded by a wall with openings permitting views of the countryside.  Steps from the summer riding school took us to the Lower Parterre of the gardens.  The dominant feature of the slope dividing the Lower from the Upper Parterre is the cascade fountain, one of the most beautiful and valuable in the Czech Republic.  The Upper Garden is the most extensive of the terraces in the Castle gardens.  In contrast to the symmetrical layout of the Lower Parterre, most of it is styled like an English park, with some parts having the character of woods.  Objects attracting our attention were a recolving auditorium which enables visitors to enjoy the remarkable experience of an open-air theater show on summer nights, and, on the right side of the auditorium, the Bellaire Summerhouse, one of the most priceless buildings in Bohemia.  The original pavilion stood here in 1692.  There is also a music pavilion, with painted allegories of the seasons of the year on the ceiling.  A castle pond, at the highest part of the gardens, completed. the visit.  We spent some time there sitting on the grass, watching the ducks, and soaking up the sunshine.  Afterwards we went to a cafe off to one side of the Upper Parterre Garden and had an excellent lunch of Bratwurst and sauerkraut.  After lunch we made our way to our tour of the theater, undoutedly the most precious of all ancient monuments at the CK Castle.  There exist only two theaters in the whole world where practically the entire original equipment from the second half of the 18th c. has been preserved--one is at Drottningholm in Sweden, and the other in CK.  The beginnings of the theater date back to the 17th c.  Jan Christian v. Eggenberg had the theater built in 1682, and in 1766 Josef Adam v. Schwarzenberg had the building improved and modernized.  During the main tourist season, when the number of performances is limited, a tour of the theater evokes for visitors the atmosphere of the former glory of the theater.  After an hourlong tour, we went back to our apartment for a short respite before going back outside to find the box office where we procured tickets to hear a vocal ensemble called Octopus pragensis perform music of the Renaissance in the Hall of Mirrors in the Castle complex at 6:00 p.m.  We had a little time to kill, so leisurely made our way to the 2nd courtyard and waited there until we were ushered into a very Baroque room where the group performed music of the Renaissance, both by Czech composers and Italians and Spaniards.  Thoroughly delightful, tight performance which we both enjoyed.  On our way back we decided to pick up some ramen soup and bagel chips, and we enjoyed nectarines and yogurt for dessert, as well as a cup of tea.  Tomorrow back off to Prague, but not till noon, as we have a few more places in CK we want to see.  Superb day!