Dobry Den,
I recently travelled to Klatovy, in the Southwest Regions, with my Czech girlfirend. Sightseeing is great. We saw a whole variety of sights which I will go through, believe me, if you have not been, I would recommend it to anyone.
The "Katakomby" was brilliant, well presented, however, I feel there could have been a little more information in relation to how the "mummies" were discovered. As for the presentation, again, I was impressed. They are situated in a crypt and all are in a coffin shaped box with a glass cover, to be fare they are a little ugly, however, I don't suppose I would look so good after been dead for over 300 years..... It cost 40 Koruna (approx £0.95) and in my eyes, this is value for money, especially if you go in the summer as the venitlation brings some very welcoming cool air.
I feel that whilst I am not aware of much of the history, what I saw told so many stories.... The Katakomby is situated beneath a church and leads to several underground passages, which at one time used to connect the town and tourists could follow the trail to be advised where in the town they were, however, I found this was not available to myself and believe it to be due to unsafe structures underground. Shame.... Would have been nice to see....
Next to the church (which I can not remember the name of) is the Black Tower. This is a very tall tower, (strangely enough) and the views from the summit are breath taking. I was fortunate enough to visit on a very warm, clear skied summers day. You can see directly below onto the town square, along with this are 2 crosses, one made from cobbles, approx "jumping distance" from the tower (explained to me a memorial of a student who plummeted to his death from the top of the tower after breaking up from his partner) and the other, I believe to be Steel, on the opposite corner of the square, rumoured to mark the spot the tip of the tower fell (however, I am not sure when or why). If you like beautiful countryside or buildings with history, this is a place to visit!!!!
On a seperate visit to Klatovy, during the same trip in July of this year, I was fortunate enough to arrive whilst the annual festival was in town, initially it appears to be like those I have experienced in England, a fair ground with the usual stalls round, however, as we travelled further down, there were Indians chanting and singing, various crafts, however, what impressed me the most on this day was the Town Square as it housed more stalls. Right in the centre, on boards covering the fountain, were local Czech's carrying out Traditional dances and ceremonies. From girls dancing in traditional dresses etc to the guys exchanging hats in a game of elimination... Until you have seen it you can not gully appreciate that!!!!
From my experiences of Czech, I have been there 3 times now, since December, I love it. I am aware of the differences in living standards so where as a Rum and coke (their Rum is beautiful) may appear cheap to the typical Brit, in actual fact it is not to a Czech person on minimum wage, yet they have so much to offer us that money can not buy.... More examples:-
In England, certainly in Southern England, you will struggle to find a river or lake to swim in, however, in Czech, we swam @ 3 seperate locations, the first was a "pond" in a village next to Bolesiny, this was the size of maybe half a football pitch, as it was warm and had been for a little while (approx few weeks), the water was not cold in comparison to English standards. It was like a sauna compared to the North Sea. (Well, not quite). Next was a lake that I do not know the location of. It apparently started as a quarry, however, a Spring was struck and the rest is history... The water was very clear, the surroundings were superb, almost a different world to the rest of the planet. Isolation at its best I feel.... A family have rented the site from the Czech authorities (National Park I think) and they preserve it. For the price of less than a pound, we were able to swim there all day, purchase food from the wooden building the family operate (also serving beverages including some rather tasty Czech beer). You are also able to Scuba Dive at this site and whilst I did not have any equipment with me to try, I was advised there is a "casom" approx 8 metres down (maybe 8 feet and I misheard but I do not believe so as I am 6ft and I could not reach the bottom) and from there you can see to the surface (and also breath as it has an air supply pumped in from the surface.) In short, truly amazing.... It is big enough to lose yourself but not your group....
The 3rd swimming location, appearing to be another quarry with some additional "holes" been worked on around the main one, it was approx 3 x football pitch and was probably the most popular with access available by car, prob public transport as well. I was not so keen on this one, mainly down to the fact that the 2nd one had surpassed any expectation I could have had.... Never mind...
Eating out was also a pleasant experience. I should point out that I am far from fluent in Czech, as a result, they found it quite amusing to hear an Englishman attempting their language... (Which was good because they do not speak a great deal of English).
I visited one restaurant, Country Saloon, Benovy, Klatovy. This was very authentic decor of something you would imagine from the Wild West. Situated on the main route to the 2nd of the swimming locations, I had noticed it a few times (as we swam daily) so when we actually arrived, I was looking forward to my experience.... The food was very well prepared and the presentation, whilst not overly imaginative, was just right in order that I could tuck straight in and get a good mixture. My only complaint about that restaurant was the flies.... We sat outside and they were plentiful. The facilities on site were very clean and I did not fear for my health. I am aware the cost of the meal (for 5 of us) was probably the weekly earnings of most Czech people from the surrounding area to where I was, however, to by the same meal in London would cost you well over £150.00 as opposed to about £31 which we paid.
In short, I would say my experience of Czech this time, was not a case of better or worse than previous, however, it was completely different!!! My impressions may well be different to everyone else, however, of the people I met, (including the hairdresser that cut my hair this time and last time, this was amusing as my girlfriend had to translate my request whilst I was sitting the chair.... Could have been a painful slip of the scissors) they are very patient, pleasant people and will try their best to understand what you are trying to communicate. There are odd peolpe who speak english, however, your phrase book will definately come in handy. (I will try review the one I purchased over the next week)
For the night life, Klatovy did not appear to be bursting at the seems, however, I wasn't really looking for it so I am sure there are places to go clubbing and I was actually in a bar where people were dancing when I left to go to a local pub (at 01:00)The flights were cheap (if booked early enough via easyjet at under £90 return) and the sights were fantastic. (And for the guys amongst you, the women are beautiful.) I would go again tomorrow if I could, in short, I would say it is a MUST!!!!