Still no sign of a castle. But plenty of beautiful gardens. I'd love to sit and enjoy the beauty but it is raining steadily and all the seats are soaking wet.
Ok, my first sighting of a large structure but it isn't a castle, it's an observatory. And it didn't look like it is open to tourists but I did see rather nerdy looking sciency types bustling around, being very careful to close all gates completely after going through them.
Ok, now I'm getting somewhere. I'm guessing "hrad" means castle and "klaster" means churchy-type thing.
Another scenic garden. If I wasn't so winded I'd have spent time taking pictures of all the gardens for those that appreciate such things. They go in for lilacs, rhodededrons and roses in a big way here. The roses already have buds but no flowers. The city, too, is covered with flowers--tulips are the thing right now.
Hmm. This looks like the thing I need to climb to get a good view of the city. But by this point my shoulders are killing me from carrying a 40 pound bag filled with electronics and paper, I'm soaking wet and I am supposed to be going to a conference later today. Once I get there and see elderly Asian tourists trotting happily to the top, I decide to go for broke and attempt it myself.
Inside the base there was a young woman running the ticket counter. You could get two tickets, one for 100 crowns or one for 50 crowns. The 50 crown ticket was clearly for the elevator to the top of the tower. But it wasn't clear what the 100 crown ticket was for--was it for the castle/church/garden grounds or that AND the elevator? I asked and was told, "50 crowns for lift." I asked, "But the 100 crown ticket--is that just for the castle or the lift as well?" She shrugged and said, "Yeah, sure." I paid the 100 crowns but still am not confident of what exactly that entitled me to. I went round the backside and found the elevator door but it only goes up once an hour and had just left 2 minutes ago. Well, bugger that, I thought. So off I went to climb the tower under my own steam. I was very much reminded of climbing the tallest steeple in Europe (or so I was told--note, not highest steeple or even biggest church, just tallest steeple) in Ulm Germany. I was done in by the time I got to the top and was more than 20 years younger than I am now.
Ok, my first sighting of a large structure but it isn't a castle, it's an observatory. And it didn't look like it is open to tourists but I did see rather nerdy looking sciency types bustling around, being very careful to close all gates completely after going through them.
Ok, now I'm getting somewhere. I'm guessing "hrad" means castle and "klaster" means churchy-type thing.
Another scenic garden. If I wasn't so winded I'd have spent time taking pictures of all the gardens for those that appreciate such things. They go in for lilacs, rhodededrons and roses in a big way here. The roses already have buds but no flowers. The city, too, is covered with flowers--tulips are the thing right now.
Hmm. This looks like the thing I need to climb to get a good view of the city. But by this point my shoulders are killing me from carrying a 40 pound bag filled with electronics and paper, I'm soaking wet and I am supposed to be going to a conference later today. Once I get there and see elderly Asian tourists trotting happily to the top, I decide to go for broke and attempt it myself. 
Inside the base there was a young woman running the ticket counter. You could get two tickets, one for 100 crowns or one for 50 crowns. The 50 crown ticket was clearly for the elevator to the top of the tower. But it wasn't clear what the 100 crown ticket was for--was it for the castle/church/garden grounds or that AND the elevator? I asked and was told, "50 crowns for lift." I asked, "But the 100 crown ticket--is that just for the castle or the lift as well?" She shrugged and said, "Yeah, sure." I paid the 100 crowns but still am not confident of what exactly that entitled me to. I went round the backside and found the elevator door but it only goes up once an hour and had just left 2 minutes ago. Well, bugger that, I thought. So off I went to climb the tower under my own steam. I was very much reminded of climbing the tallest steeple in Europe (or so I was told--note, not highest steeple or even biggest church, just tallest steeple) in Ulm Germany. I was done in by the time I got to the top and was more than 20 years younger than I am now. 
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