Business Beyond the Reef

Český Krumlov – Driving from Austria into the Czech Republic revealed a stark picture of recession for the first time on this journey. We crossed the border north of Linz bound for Český Krumlov. It wasn’t the proliferation of casinos on the Czech side of the border that caught our attention. This is an agricultural area with low population density, but we were surprised at the immediate difference between the well-groomed Austrian fields and the less-cared-for Czech farms. An even stronger image was the number of prostitutes waiting on the country roads we were driving. In the first five kilometers across the border we must have seen at least three dozen young women (girls, really) in provocative poses at bus stops, by dirt roads, or just by the highway. I’m not sure if this is a comment on the Czech economy, Austrian men, or both.

Cesky Krumlov

Our mood lightened considerably upon pulling into Český Krumlov, a UNESCO World Heritage site, that has been one of our favorite places for years. Truly worth the journey, Český Krumlov is largely unchanged since the 15^th century and boasts a superb castle with dynamite views.  One of our favorite things to buy in Český Krumlov is marvelous reproductions of Renaissance glassware – the sort with bubbles in the glass and rough places for greasy fingers to hold on to.

We left the Czech Republic through an extremely rural area before crossing into Bavaria. This crossing featured few people and no prostitutes.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 14th, 2009 at 7:58 am and is filed under Austria, Czech Republic. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.