- Walk to the closest U-bahn station;
- Take 2 U-bahn trains with one transfer;
- Transfer to the S-bahn station (a short walk);
- Take the S-bahn train to the terminating train station;
- Take an international train to just across the border in the Czech Republic;
- Take 2 Czech trains (with one transfer) to Cesky Krumlov station; and finally;
- Walk the last 1.5km into the old town and find your accommodation.
Construction of the town and castle began in the late 13th century at a ford in the Vltava River, which was important in trade routes in Bohemia. Most of the architecture of the old town and castle dates from the 14th through 17th centuries; the town's structures are mostly in Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque styles.
In 1910, the population of 8,662 included 7,367 Germans and 1,295 Czechs. During the interwar era it was part of Czechoslovakia. Between 1938 and 1945 it was annexed by Nazi Germany as part of the Sudetenland. The town's German-speaking population were expelled after World War II and it was restored to Czechoslovakia.
During the Communist era of Czechoslovakia, Cesky Krumlov fell into disrepair, but since the Velvet Revolution of 1989 much of the town's former beauty has been restored, and it is now a major holiday destination. Like much of Europe though, parts of the tourist trade shut down until April, or even August in some instances (for example the bulk of the castle complex, although the area is open, and the Egon Sheile gallery that I was hoping to visit - he lived in the town for a period).
The core of the old town is within a horseshoe bend of the river, with the old Latrán neighborhood and castle on the other side of the Vltava; as a result, all of the main sights are in a relatively compact area - however, even at this time of year, the day-tripping tourists (CK is a popular few-hour bus-stop on the way through) do tend to over-run the place (as I have already discovered in my short time here).