Spa towns, UNESCO sites
The Czech Republic, although small, is varied enough to offer much that is alluring about the whole continent: architecture from many periods, a rich and varied history, once-fashionable spa towns, numerous UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Mother Nature has done her part, too, with a good mix of rolling hills, mountains, rivers and lakes.

When the communists were ousted from the region, venturesome Westerners relocated to newly open cities, but Prague was especially popular. Vaclav Havel, already a much-admired playwright who had been jailed by the communists, added to favorable publicity for his homeland by becoming its political leader.

About the Czech Republic
It doesn’t seem so long ago that citizens of Czechoslovakia agreed to split the country in half — without bloodshed. That was in 1992. The western half, renamed the Czech Republic, benefited from this political surgery because it allowed officials to concentrate on facilitating the economic development of Bohemia and Moravia. The former Soviet-bloc country has blossomed into one of central Europe’s success stories, and tourism is one of the reasons.

Tourism succeeds in large part because the country is a sightseer’s paradise with border-to-border photo ops in countless charming, well-maintained old towns. In addition, the country is comfortable for tourists (good hotels, train services, food and wine).
A visit to the Czech Republic centers around Prague, one of Europe’s most beautiful cities (some consider it No. 1) whose well-preserved architecture displays examples of all the great European building styles.

When traveling about the country, visitors appreciate the sense of stepping back in time and experiencing a touch of that melancholy angst that is part of the central European psyche. In the countryside, medieval castles and numerous picturesque villages appear amidst rolling hills and dark pine forests.

Another facet is music: The Czechs love music and Prague abounds with classical and semiclassical offerings, including opera, during high season. Festivals are staged outside the capital, too. Mozart lived in the Czech Republic for part of his life. Anton Dvorak and Bedrich Smetana were born there. As always, venturers lead the way in visiting new vacation destinations, and centrics are close behind. As Americans come to perceive the Czech Republic as part of mainstream Europe (now in the European Union, it will get the euro, too), its ratings will rise among all groups.

Fortunately, joining Europe for certain financial and political benefits does not mean the country will be a cookie-cutter version of neighbors to the west. Prague has been quite popular with Americans for several years, and tourists will meet many American residents and travelers there. April through October is the desirable time of year for visiting the Czech Republic. Winters are cold and bitter, and many attractions are closed.

• Go rock climbing among the Czech Republic’s sandstone “rock towns,” a collection of rock towers and deep valleys found mostly on the Bohemian Plateau. They attract cyclers and hikers, as well.

• For a sobering reminder of World War II, visit the Lidice Museum and Monument commemorating the razing of the entire town by Nazis in 1942; also, see the Theresienstadt concentration camp at the town of Terezin.

• Take a hike. The Czech Republic cares for a vast system of marked tourist trails.

• Sample Olomouc cheese, described locally as the world’s smelliest. It must be stored outdoors and tourists cannot take this home.

• Attend the July film festival in Karlovy Vary. The spa town is one of four European cities to host an A category film event, along with Berlin, Cannes and Venice.

• Go cycling in the Sumava mountains, a forested area in Bohemia.

• Fish, surf or go yachting on local fish ponds and reservoirs such as Lipno, Nove Mlyny and Orlik. Rivers are suitable for boating and rafting trips, too.

• Run in the Volkswagen Prague Marathon in May.

• Go to Olomouc for Europe’s second-largest beerfest after Munich’s.

• Sample the locally made herb liqueur Becherovka.

• Rent a bicycle at one railway station and return it at another. Or, take a guided cycling trip in Bohemia. The Czech Republic has 18,560 miles of cycling routes.

• Sip the curative waters at Karlovy Vary (formerly Carlsbad), an old and well-loved spa town. Even if the waters don’t appeal, buy a sipping cup to take home as a souvenir.

• Choose a folk festival. Options include one of the largest and oldest in Europe, the international folklore event in Straznice. Also, there are the Roznovska Valaska International Festival, the Roznovske Slavnosti Festival, a bagpipe festival in Strakonice and the International folklore event in Karlovy Vary. Check with the Folklore Alliance of the Czech Republic at www.folklornisdruzeni.cz/en/

• Drink the original Budweiser beer. Visit Ceske Budejovice, where it is made, and tour the brewery. Or drink Pilsner Urquell beer in the town where it is made — Plzen — and tour the brewery. Some beer aficionados consider it the finest lager in the world.

• Go to the races. See the Velka Pardubicka Steeplechase in Pardubice, considered to be among Europe’s most demanding horse racing events. Or, go to the horse races in Karlovy Vary.

• See the Sedlec Ossuary, a church near Kutna Hora, which is decorated with the bones of more than 40,000 bodies buried in its graveyard from the 13th century onward. Even crucifixes and chandeliers are made from bones. Also, mummified aristocrats and monks can be seen in the Capuchin Monastery in Brno.

• If you are interested in religious history, specifically Protestantism, follow the trail of the religious reformer Jan Hus (who preceded Luther). This will take you to Tabor, founded by Hus followers and the radical center of the reform movement, and to Prague.

• Come to the Czech Republic to shop in the Christmas markets. Stay on for Christmas, too.

• Pursue examples of a unique artful way to decorate buildings: sgraffito designs, which are created by scratching a smooth surface of one color, getting the design by scratching down to a surface of another color. Look for incredibly detailed illustrations in the little Bohemian towns of Slavonice and Prachatice; inside the castle in Litomysl, plus a modern rendition of sgraffito at Litomysl’s town square, a piece of art that is astonishing for its world of demons; and on the walls on Prague’s Castle Hill.

• In a land with more than 200 crystal works, tour a glass factory. Then, buy some crystal to carry home (carefully).

• In autumn, attend a wine festival. The largest annual events are held in the historic South Moravian towns of Mikulov and Znojmo as well as at the Czech castle, Karlstejn.

• Pass some time in the legendary Cafe Savoy in Brno in that city’s St. Jakub Square. Czech artists display their works in the cafe’s gallery, and jazz concerts can be heard on the cafe’s top floor.

• Attend a music festival. There are plenty to choose from including multiple choices that honor Dvorak, plus the open-air Smetana’s Litomysl International Opera Festival.

• Take a guided sightseeing tour of Prague, the only way to grasp how many truly appealing sights and activities are competing for your attention.

• Commit to a few days at a spa resort in a Czech spa town; the best-known of the towns are Frantiskovy Lazne, Karlovy Vary and Marianske Lazne, where the springs have been tapped since the Middle Ages. Spas in this part of the world are more focused on medical matters than on pampering and relaxation.

• See one of Europe’s largest castle complexes, dating from the Middle Ages, in South Bohemia’s Cesky Krumlov. One of several Czech UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Cesky Krumlov also is striking for its topography with the castle high above a small town center that is nearly encircled by a river.

• Or, visit any of a host of other charming and beautifully preserved towns: Ceske Budejovice, Holasovice, Jindrichuv Hradec and Trebon; also, Hluboka Chateau, Rozmberk Castle and the monasteries in Vyssi Brod and Zlata Koruna.

• Play golf.

• Go east to Olomouc, now a regional capital in Moravia but a town dating from the Middle Ages and noted for its extensive collection of Baroque architecture.

• Make your own religious pilgrimage to one of the Czech Republic’s numerous such sites.