Karlstejn Castle, Karlstejn, Czech Republic

Karlstejn Castle Close
Originally uploaded by Martin Callum.

Friday brought more pouring rain and if it weren't for the train tickets we had bought the day before, we probably would not have visited Karlstejn Castle. Glad we did. It is an ancient castle built for Charles the IV between 1348-1355, 33 km southwest of Prague and is perched on a high crag overlooking serene and now peaceful hills. Its fantastic towers and turrets loomed into view through the mist and rain as we climbed the steep lane to its entrance. Thankfully, because it was such a soggy day, the normally overcrowded castle was pretty empty when we got there at 9.30 and we were able to get on a much sought-after tour of the two big towers and the Chapel of the Holy Cross. The latter was very impressive with a large collection of original Gothic paintings dating from the 1360s, and the vaulted ceiling was composed of 8000 gold lenses designed to reflect the light and look like stars. It was great trip despite the rain. *Mush and Stub