I’ve been living in the Czech Republic for almost ten years now but it’s only recently when I heard of this château in Southern Bohemia called Orlík nad Vltavou.  My husband knew about it, of course, but he’s a local  — which means he tends to ignore the best places his country has to offer because, well, they’re just there.

It’s sunny and warm again this weekend after almost a month of cold and fall-like weather. Yesterday we decided to drive down to the village of Orlík where the chateau is,  about 80 kilometers from Prague.  I’m happy to note that it’s definitely worth checking out.  It also cemented my belief that Southern Bohemia is the loveliest region in the whole Czech Republic.

Chateaus and castles near Prague are often teeming with people especially when the weather is warm, but it was quiet here  yesterday saved for two wedding pictorials going on at the entrance and at the courtyard. There was no mad rush of tourists.  It’s the kind of place you want to spend lazing on a bench or on a blanket with a good book to read.

The best thing about this château is its location.  It’s sitting pretty on a rock towering the bend of the Vltava river.  I can just imagine how beautiful it must have been years ago before the valley below was flooded in favor of the Orlík dam.  Still the view is breathtaking and here it’s easy to forget that the Czech Republic is a land-locked country.

You can take a boat tour around the château and I think it’s also possible to rent a  boat or a canoe.  There are a few boat trips from here to another pretty castle called Zvikov for about 140kc/ pax.  We wanted to sail there but we missed the last trip so we went by car instead.  Zvikov castle will be the star of my next blog post.

For acquarium lovers,  there’s a museum very near the chateau which has several acquariums containing freshwater fish of CZ waters.  Entrance fee for adults is 45 kc.

If you won’t or couldn’t go sailing, another option to get a better view of the château is to go for a walk through the woods around the river. Unfortunately, we didn’t have much time for that as we still had to drive about 20 km to Zvikov castle and it was already late in the afternoon.  One day soon we’ll come back to do that.

xoxo