Cesky Krumlov

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Botanicus

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Liam Hetherington
Liam Hetherington
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3 out of 5
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Botanicus

Botanicus

It was the aromas that drew me in. Down Kajovska from the wax museum stood a storefront. From the high doorway came the smells of soaps and herbs. Entering, the shop was dim and cluttered, lined with tall compartmentalised racks, each holding some goody or other - a vial of scent, herbal soap, oils for the kitchen, bath-bombs. A leaflet welcomed me to the 'hortus botanicus and apothicus' - house of the botanist and apothecary. Indeed, it looked like a more earthy alternative to the reconstructed Jesuit pharmacy on show in the regional museum. To be frank, it looked like a set from Harry Potter's Diagon Alley. I half expected Dumbledore to potter around a corner at any second.

Reading the leaflet further it announced that all the wares on sale were produced from locally, organically grown products at their farm in Bohemia. When I saw that they had gift sets of bath stuffs I immediately thought that this would be perfect for my mother's upcoming birthday. At £20 for a gift set it was a comparable price to what I would pay for a set back in Britain at Lush or the Body Shop, but just looked little bit different, packed into a crate-like box with straw. A fitting gift from a little store completely in fitting with the ambience of pretty little Cesky Krumlov.

It was only once I had left the store that I read the back of the leaflet. Rather than just being an individual concern, Botanicus actually had a chain of high-end stores across the Czech Republic. They had seven stores in Prague alone. One in Tescos. One at the airport. So maybe if I had known that I would have bought a bit later into my trip, saving me having to lug it in my backpack the breadth of the country.

However, it says something that I believed that this was a genuine one-off, and thinking that, even though I was paying prices comparable to home, the goods were too good to pass up. My mother was certainly thrilled.

They have a very interesting website at www.botanicus.cz, which is translated into English. It lists their stores, details their products, and advertises their gardens and 'historic centre' east of Prague, which are open to the public.

From journal Bohemian Rhapsody

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