Dinner Near Kost Castle



Kost Castle

In the protected area of Cesky Raj located about an hour northeast of Prague you will find magical castles and ruins, natural wonders such as rock cities and rock quarries containing semi precious stones and much more. Tucked away in the thick forest is the Kost Castle, or the Bone Castle. Kost Castle is the best-preserved Gothic castle in the Czech Republic. The castle remained untouched throughout the years, protecting its Gothic charm and atmosphere.  The hidden castle is located in a valley surrounded by dense forest, unlike most castles in Bohemia that are situated on hills.  (Information taken from the internet).

This castle is within walking distance of Justin and Michaela's ranch and a visit really takes you back to life in the medieval times.



Base of the Castle



Servant's quarters circled three quarters of the way around the base of the castle.   While not on a mountain, the castle does sit on a significant sandstone base and the servants dug into the sandstone creating "refrigerator" rooms adjacent to their living quarters a technique you regularly see in today's villages that have homes adjoining sandstone prominences .





Across the street from Kost Castle



 We ate a couple meals on the wooden deck of this hotel/restaurant.  Please note the roadway in front of the hotel; it is one car width wide, potholed, and is the only road that gets you around the castle.  It probably handles a couple hundred cars a day and no one knows why it isn't widened and repaired. We can only guess that America isn't the only country with infrastructure problems and insufficient money to fix them.



Kost Castle from
the hotel deck

 Rule #1: Never shoot a picture with the sun as your backdrop!  It still gives you a feeling for the castle and note the people in the forefront of the picture;  I believe there are two bicycles for each resident of the Czech Republic and they take their biking very seriously; they are everywhere.




Three generations of Tilton's

 The Tilton clan awaits a lunch of Jezek at the hotel's restaurant. Pork Jezek, standard Czech fare,  is a boneless pork chop pounded, breaded, and deep fried accompanied by a small fresh salad and potatoes (mashed, roasted, or croquettes).  It is a treat, we want to try to cook when we get home.



Ramp, Bridge, and Door to
Hrad Kost Castle



This is another view of the castle where tours begin.  Not pictured (yet) are the two large, gorgeous lakes that flank the castle on two sides.  Apparently, bottled water and indoor plumbing didn't go over as well here as it did in America, so seems that all the castle contractors elected to build on rivers and lakes; well as we always say, "location, location, location."