October 2016
Probably everyone who's heard of Czechia has heard something about Budějovice too. However I hadn't been there, primarily because they're far from Prague, and also it's unclear what there is to do there. But lately I've liked the idea of traveling to several Czech towns in one day and, so to speak, getting to know all of it already, not just Prague all the time (though it's apparently awesome).
That day I'd already visited Třeboň, but it was assumed that the main event would be Budějovice itself, since the famous brewery is located there, and I'm known to be a master at visiting breweries, here, for example, Kozel. And I was in Plzeň too, but I'll never write about it.
So, where did I leave off? We arrived in Budějovice by bus. The juiciest part - the bus arrives on the roof of a shopping center, what the fuck?
Budějovice, apparently, is a big transfer point. Many directions. Nobody wants to stay here.
It's kind of dirty around, though this is the station area.
Noticed that the Czech post has started to often put these parcel machines, so they can quietly trade in lottery tickets at branches.
We were heading to the brewery, we had to walk along this street.
There's nothing around yet.
Lamp-art?
The road went through the center. Pedestrian, that's good.
What's up with the České-Budějovice people?
Let's go forward.
Men. The only ones we've met on the way so far.
2016, the guy has a business, prints something.
The center is standard Czech.
Modern.
Then the road went through a park. Well good news, right, I thought.
I'm walking, and something's unusual. The paving isn't Prague-style.
There's a statue of an important Czech guy - Přemysl Otakar the Second. His mom lost a bet and named him that. I studied about him in history lessons in Poděbrady, by the way.
At first it seemed everything was fine in town.
There are even trolleybuses. I really love trolleybuses, rode them in my native Kaluga.
There are buses too. Looks like a crowd inside.
You can buy tickets at stops, though not at all of them. There's little logic in the placement of machines.
Bus stop. We didn't take it, I try to walk on foot.
So onwards through this wonder-town.
Everything seems even ok, here are even bike paths.
Computer club, I used to hang out in these.
Well everything exists, just something's missing. Fuck, where are the people.
Maybe there?
There's not even advertising, nobody walks around.
Emptiness, sadness. Here it hit me - the town is terribly designed, crazy noise around, wide roads, people don't walk on foot at all.
Tourists were brought in.
And around - shit.
Sadness.
Noise.
Sorrow.
Longing.
Construction. You'll go around it, bro.
This is how Budějovice people see the world.
Design.
Found a house numbered like in Třeboň, but here it's more the exception.
Nuda (Czech for sadness) :(
Samota (Czech for loneliness)
Sebevražda (Czech for suicide)
Crossing-you-won't-fucking-cross.
River.
No work :(
But wide roads to conveniently leave for Prague.
Even local officials don't give a fuck.
Well exactly like home :)
In Kaluga, by the way, a similar district is called "Moskovsky", guess why :)
Through the noisiest half hour of my life, we sort of reached the brewery.
The beer was also about nothing. The only hope left was that in the evening the town would suddenly become beautiful.
But at first it didn't seem so.
Around that time I understood what's wrong with the town. Unlike Prague, the town is not adapted for walking at all. Very wide roads, noise, transport rarely runs. In short, there are no people around. And where there are no people, the scenery is always shitty, because there's no one to try for.
No people - no windows.
You can also build without windows.
Ruins, reminded me of distant districts of native Kaluga, which officials' hands didn't reach at all after the collapse of the Union.
For completeness:
Walking to the center took about 20 minutes, my head was buzzing terribly. The center turned out not so awful.
Details. Cool that in many Czech towns old inscriptions are found, washed and left alone. In Moscow they practice this too, good job.
The center, in general, is quite nice, but rather in details than overall.
The central square is a carbon copy of Prague's Old Town Square.
With one big difference - instead of a bunch of people here's a bunch of cars. Oh, the town of victorious parking lots.
Advertising for local beer everywhere.
There's not much to see if you're not in Czechia for the first day. By the way, Budějovice is a frequent direction for one-day tourism from Austria.
I like these arches, you can often meet them in this region of Czechia.
I walked and walked, and reached the local river. The embankment is quite decent.
Almost Stockholm.
Creativity.
In this part of town it's much better.
Another bridge.
As if on order the sun came out.
The shots got cheerier.
Maybe Budějovice isn't as lost as I thought?
It was evening time, so we went to eat. Hadog burgers, you can go in, it was decent.
And then we headed home, my second(!) battery died. In general, the day was a success :)
