Day Trip to Trakoscan Castle-9/7/08

A lovely Sunday morning and today we decided to venture out in the van. The folks we had met at the airport highly recommended visiting the Trakoscan Castle so that is where we were off to. The drive to the castle wasn't bad, we found it with little trouble. Missy (the GPS) got us close enough to the town so we simple had to follow the signs to the castle.

We had a drink before we headed up to the castle. A short trek up the walkway (always up to a castle) and a reading of the brief history of the castle and we were in. The castle was in very good repair having been restored in the first half of the 19th century and occupied for several generations after that. The various collections were well displayed and quite interesting. We found the castle well worth our visit. The countryside surrounding the castle was lovely and the views were simply breathtaking. It is always easy to see what the draw was for the original castle builder. You are up above everyone else with stunning sights and clear view of all who get near.

After the castle we decided to try navigate the countryside and head toward Koprivnica to find the beer hall Kralus. I had read some good reviews so this seemed like a nice destination. Tom characterizes this particular drive as the drive from hell. We ran in to road construction and detours which sent us in to Slovenia. While we love Slovenia, that was not our destination. Luckily we always carry our passports. We could have had a problem here had we not had them with us. We were all now tired and hungry and this zigging in and out of countries was no longer amusing. We finally did find the town, located a parking space and ventured towards what appeared to be the city center.

The town was abuzz with families, out with their strollers and children on bicycles. This is a traditional small town sort of thing in this country. Families are out and about on Sunday afternoons, walking along the pedestrian friendly walkways and stopping to chat with friends they meet along the way. We just happened upon the Kralus Beer Hall while walking so stopped to have our meal. Since it was so nice out we did want to eat outside. I think the experience of a beer hall is probably best had on the inside. While I did see the inside when I used the ladies room, we did not have our meal inside and I think that is where the "experience" of Kralus would have been. We did have a decent dinner although the table was so small it was difficult for the waiter to get everything on it. In retrospect we should have eaten inside the beer hall.

This was the only place we ran in to a child beggar. He came around to all the tables with his sad eyes and hands out. When he approached our table we waived him off, shaking our heads no but he came forward anyway. Another patron, I assumed he was a local, yelled at the boy and told him to scat. Just like that the sad little face turned hateful and the boy flipped the man the bird and trotted off.

The ride back was much nicer than the ride there. We managed to get back to our place all in one piece and ready for another pleasant wind-down on the balcony. Plans for the next day are the crystal factory.