A Trip to Karlštejn

Spring is definitely my favorite season and even more so this particular spring. It feels like summer these days, with all the gorgeous weather, blooming flowers and all the shades of green in the forest.

View of Karlštejn Castle After our trip to the ceramic festival in Beroun, as we passed the train stop at Karlštejn, a deep desire to visit that castle started to creep into my mind. I was there so many years ago and was thinking it could be my next day trip out of Prague.

After asking a few friends, we decided to organize a trip the following Sunday. Getting to Karlštejn is so easy. I highly recommend the train from Prague to best enjoy the views on the Berounska river.

I went to the main train station (Hlavní nádraží) to buy our tickets. The ticket offices are located down on the ground floor at the “vnitrostátní” (domestic) counter.

Thanks to our friend Charlotte, I found out that if there are at least 2 people traveling together, you can get a “skupinova” (group) ticket for a lower fare. Because we all had Open Cards or the new green Lítačka, we ended up paying even less. In fact the price is calculated based on kilometers only from the point when the Prague card is no longer valid.

Charlotte’s Train Tips:
A return ticket is “zpáteční”. Unless you state otherwise, the tickets are good for the day you are buying it (and you must start the trip that day) and the next day (should you wish to return a day later). So if you are buying tickets in advance or for a later return date, be sure to have the dates written out to make this clear in your request. It is usually enough to just have the ticket for the trip, but if you need, you can also request a “místenka” which is paying for a specific seat on a specific train. They also automatically issue tickets 2nd class “druhá třída”, but if it is a more crowded day or route, you could request 1st class “první třída” and then a reservation is less necessary.

And all of the train information is at www.cd.cz (click on the flag to change languages). It will ask you for your starting and ending stations, and the date and time you want to travel, so you will know what train number and time to look for on the departure board to know what platform to go to. All the rest of the signage is as usual for the rest of Europe. Praha hl. n. is the abbreviation for the Main Train Station, so be sure you know where the trains depart from, since all stations sell tickets for all other station train departures.

Anyway, the return ticket cost each of us less than 60 CZK from Smíchovské nádraží, because it was quicker for us all to start our journey from that station. Once we arrived at Karlštejn, we followed the other tourists. The walk to the castle is short and obvious, even though you can not see the castle from the river.

This majestic castle was built by the important ruler Charles IV around 1350. The sophisticated construction of the castle is typical of the high Middle Ages. Karlštejn is said to be the jewel among Czech castles. Its largest tower houses the Chapel of the Holy Cross depicting the heavenly Jerusalem. We did not go inside but I remember from my previous visit, the rich decorations, precious stones and paintings.

IWAP ladies at Karlštejn Castle

According to the legend, no women were allowed to enter the castle… But that’s no longer the case, thankfully!

After taking the appropriate pictures from every angle, and retaking them, we left the castle for a walk in the forest. The fresh wind, mild temperatures and the smell of the forest was a pure delight. I think the happiest one of all was Mila’s dog!

Valerie Binza, an IWAP member, has lived in Prague for three years. Prior to the Czech Republic, Valerie enjoyed living in Gabon, USA, The Netherlands. Her two grown-up children live in the UK and she is planning to return back to France this summer. Valerie enjoys martial arts and has shared her passion by teaching Taichi, Qi Qung to IWAP members. She also is the head of the French Conversation Group.