Driving from Cesky Krumlov to Brno, my GPS took me via a very strange and longer route than I anticipated. I’m looking at the map, I’m looking at the GPS and the 2 don’t seem to be ‘communicating’. Arggh. Anyway, found medieval Castle Kamen along the way, an important strategic point for Hussite troops in the religious wars in the 15th century. Really bad weather along the way and many a roadworks to hold traffic up on the freeway, where I was driving. Got into Brno at 16:00 and was really tired. Watched a European Volleyball Championship game on TV, Czech vs Belgium…so close… but Czech Republic won. Then read a bit of a “the Road to Ruin”, by Niki Savva….got me to sleep pretty quick. Haha! 
Better weather the following day….my one day in Brno….started in Namesti Svobody (Freedom Square): amazing early Baroque plague column from 1689, its a reminder of plague outbreaks in Brno. Then walked to Moravian Square, with the amazing St Thomas Church and the equestrian statue of Jobst of Luxembourg by sculptor Jaroslav Róna. 
Was driving to get to the Cathedral and all of a sudden saw David Cerny’s “Pink Tank”, a symbol of the fall of Communism in 1945, that has been installed at Komensky’s Square as part of an exhibition. 
Lots of huffy puffy to get to the Cathedral of St Peter and Paul, located on Petrov Hill. 
It is a national cultural monument and one of the most important pieces of architecture in South Moravia. The interior is mostly Baroque. Beautiful detail on wooden pulpit staircase. What an amazing ‘confessional’!
Just a few kilometres away…I parked my car down a side street, and walked up (serious huffy puffy!) to Špilberk Castle.
Its construction began as early as the first half of the 13th century by the Přemyslid kings and completed by King Ottokar II of Bohemia. From a major royal castle established around the mid-13th century, and the seat of the Moravian margraves (military commanders) in the mid-14th century, it was gradually turned into a huge baroque fortress (considered the harshest prison in the Austro-Hungarian empire) and then into barracks. This prison had always been part of the Špilberk fortress. At the same time Špilberk was used as a prison, Protestants were the first prisoners forced to serve time here, followed later by participants in the revolutions of 1848–49, although hardened criminals, thieves and petty criminals were also kept here. There was a Modern Art exhibition today and I liked the following two paintings…
Loved some of the other buildings in the neighbourhood…
Got my Budget rent a car in Prague, and tried to work the GPS. The guy who handed over the car couldn’t speak English. Grrr. Anyway, using my Iphone which wasn’t connected to Internet, but nevertheless showed me where I was in the city…managed to get myself on a highway out of Prague to Cesky Krumlov, some 170kms away. When I arrived, discovered I’d have to park my car and walk into town, taking only what I could carry to the hotel. Really happy with the boutique hotel that I had chosen….only about 700m from car park, delightful Czech cooking and super friendly staff. The green/red ceramic looking thing to the right, is a heater – they stoke a fire inside and it keeps you warm over winter months, a “Pech”, its called.
With a river looping around twice, you can’t help but walk around in circles all day in amazement, as I did, certainly the first afternoon.
St Vitus Church, lacked the capacity to serve the needs of the growing population of the capital residential town of the Rosenbergs. So Peter 1 von Rosenberg looked after its reconstruction between 1407 and 1439. Baroque tower, neo gothic interiors that are rich both in design and in material used.
A pear and nut strudel for lunch! Delicious.
has a precinct that encapsulates a number of palaces, the significant St Vitus Baroque church 
and….what I was particularly looking for…the Lobkowicz Palace (the no.1 museum in Prague because of its collections).
The Lobkowicz family is among the oldest and most distinguished Bohemian noble families. For more than 700 years they have played a prominent role in Central European history. The successive generations have not only held the titles of Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, but were patrons of artists such as Ludwig von Beethoven and collectors/caretakers of exceptional cultural heritage.
Great views over Prague from the Palace Terrace …and yummy fresh fruit/ice-cream shop at the end of the 280 step staircase you climb down to get to transport options.
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