On Halloween wwekend, Michelle and I fled Pilsen and visited a small town in Southern Bohemia called Jindrychuv Hradec. It was known for having the third largest castle complex in the country. We got a chance to see some of the castle and a lot more of this lovely, sleepy Czech town.

	At the castle there is a Renaissance birdhouse in the Persian style. Michelle wanted a picture of it because she loves this style.
	Here is a view of the main castle building. The gallery is part of the tour (you can see a tour group on the second floor) It is a nice renaissance building with furnishings that span three centuries.
	The most interesting building on the castle grounds is the rotunda. It's decorated in the baroque style, but it's roots are Romanesque. The basement is meant to house an orchestra. There is a hole in the center of the floor for music to come out. The room acts as a giant speaker.
	One nice thing about this castle is that the various ages are represented in the architecture. Here you can see the gothic tower.
	Here's a view of the rotunda from below in the castle gardens. It is done up in the cake icing baroque style that was popular in Southern Bohemia in the early 17th century.
	The waterways around Jindrychuv Hradec are lovely. There are many bridges and walkways past the river, pond and lake. Here Chris ponders the meaning of life by the pond.
	Michelle poses b the fence of the castle gardens. The gardens were beautiful with the Fall foliage. We were very lucky and had lovely weather for the whole weekend.
	This is the view as you leave the castle. There is a hotel on the right, a teahouse and a wonderful arch that serves as an entrance to the town square.
	This is the main town square. Our hotel was right on the square. You can see the town hall in the background and the Virgin Mary Column in the center of town (built as thanks by a counselor to the Emporer)
	This was the view from the hotel window. The hotel was very nice and comfortable even if it had an odd name, The Valgar(the name of the town's lake).
	On Sunday, Michelle and I went up the church tower to get a look around from above. This photo shows the town square, our hotel and the Valgar Lake.
	Here Michelle poses in front of the still lake and castle. You can get a good idea about the castle's size and mixed architectural styles from this shot.

Overall, it was a very enchanting weekend. The town is small and quiet, but really beautiful as well. It was a wonderful place to spend time and relax.

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