This trip was cancelled and changed so much by circumstances that the itinerary got a bit weird, but we had a great time. We originally bought tickets into Munich and out of Prague to make a trip out of attending our son's graduation in Austria, but then a covid resurgence cancelled that plan entirely and we able to reschedule the same flights for 10 months late in hopes that things would be better. No more graduation ceremony, but the opportunity to make a trip fit the plane tickets.
So we flew into Munich just to stay one night. Coincidentally, my brother and his partner would fly into Munich the same day, so we got to enjoy a beer and dinner together at the Hofbrauhaus before going our separate ways. After planning just a one night stay (I have been to Munich many times) I found out that my husband had really only changed trains and helped his sister move out of a dorm there. So we quickly added a Mike's Bike tour on our arrival day and we found it a great way to beat jet lag - lots of fresh air and sunshine. For one night's quick stay near the train station, we found the Aloft hotel very convenient.
Next morning, we were up early and off to Cesky Krumlov. We arrived at Castle View apartments, dropped our bags a bit after two and started exploring. Had a lovely dinner just across the alley at Krcma v satlavske. The next morning we walked up out of the historic district to be picked up to go canoeing. We were provided an inflatable canoe, life jackets, paddles and a dry bag and drive to Rozemberk to a put in on the Vltava river. We spent 5 hours paddling back to the far side of Cesky Krumlov. I do recommend the inflatable canoe for this trip if A) you are not experienced canoers and B) you don't want to get too wet. You have to pass multiple weirs (small dams) that have a chute for small rafts and boats to go down. A number of these felt steeper than their dams or had standing waves at the bottom. Most of the kids we saw in plastic canoes were taking on a lot of water and had to pull over to the side to bail water after the weirs. We got some splashed but never got swamped. We stopped about halfway at a nice campground to have a drink and use the WC. Our provider picked us up at Camping Krumlov and took us back to the edge of the historic district. It was a fun day. Dinner that night at Kvejk - nice woodwork inside. The next day was devoted to the Baroque theater tour in English - very good and the Castle tour - ok since it let us get inside for a while. Interesting that all of the bear pelts inside are from the former residents of the bear pits - or so we were told. Don't miss the garden out back. Lunch was very good pizza at Nonna Gina - outside and dinner was outside on the river at the Hotel Dvorak which was a lovely experience with excellent food and fun views.
Next up - Melk - yes, the backtracking begins...