celebrating summer, art, + love in krumlov

ahhh, the good month of june that ushers in the long-awaited summer season. still the unpredictable spring weather, yet we can rely on its warmer temperatures and suddenly, everything is a-buzz. no longer am i hibernating indoors because how can you when there is so much to do? outdoor festivals and concerts under the stars, barbecues with good buds, and open-air theater.

we are lucky here in south bohemia that one of the best and most well-known open-air theaters is right here in our region, located in český krumlov. not only is it an outdoor theater, only open in the warmer months, but it’s a revolving theater (otáčivé hlediště). that is about all i knew about it until recently, and it’s been on the “bucket list” for years. to my surprise, our good friends m & v helped make it happen last week when we saw one of the first productions of robin hood. (photo via)

when you arrive to the theater, you walk through this beautiful english-style garden (wow!!) and take your seat on the large, single-panel of risers. it turns out that the seats are the thing that revolves, not the stage like you would think. at dusk, the play begins, and the panel of seats begins swiveling around to the different natural areas in the park (and a chateau, above), which serves as the stage. it is incredible what you can do with a theater like this! horses, cars, fire… so much can be possible that you would never see in a theater. i was just in awe.

i also loved how many people we ran into from budějovice at the play. in the words of a friend of mine, “the revolving theater is our theater, with our theater company and actors. we are very proud of it."

if you are heading to český krumlov in the summer, i can’t recommend this true south-bohemian theater experience enough – absolutely one of the top three of my life (and that’s even with the words in another language, so you know it must be good!). one word to the wise that tickets book up over half a year in advance sometimes so plan your visit early!

unfortunately, no photography or filming is allowed during the performance (blogger nightmare!) so if you’re still curious, have a look at this video, below.

over the weekend, alex and i came back to český krumlov to spend a bit more time doing our favorite krumlov things, which should include a visit to the always excellent egon schiele centrum, which currently has a jungle themed exhibition called “spirit of the primeval forest” (two czech and one peruvian artist) based on the travels and life of the artists in both peru and india. (i have to say… my interest in peru is currently at an all time high… the wheels are turning!)

as well as wandering around on the shiny wet cobblestones and gazing at the perma-green vistas of the valley from the town, we stopped by a relatively new "strudelarna” located on the ground floor of hotel latran and i’m so glad we did! strudel may be a total austrian thing, but here in český krumlov, we’re close enough that the locals really know a good strudel! the tvaroh and cherry was impeccable.

it was fun to browse the shops and treat ourselves a little – a nice day out to properly celebrate our first wedding anniversary! this first year really flew by, i’ll tell you! it’s been a great one.