First day in Prague and we woke at 05:00 to the news that Ari/Andrina had a lovely new daughter and that Justin had arrived back safely in Sydney. Back to sleep for a late start dropping off the laundry and then walking around the town square, buying some fruit and generally getting our bearings. Danz took the free city walking tour while I chilled in the hotel after changing rooms from a smoking to non-smoking one which was necessary as even the pillow smelled of smoke. The hotel is a lovely old building in which Kafka worked as a civil servant processing insurance claims as a lawyer - The highest ceilings I have ever seen in any building outside of a palace or castle.
That night we discovered the Louvre Cafe a restaurant I would highly recommend. Danz had it in her mind that she had to have duck which was outstanding while I had baked goats cheese salad, salmon tartar and we shared our desert of cottage cheese pancake with hazelnuts. This restaurant so impressed us that we returned the next day. Again Kafka was a regular here.
Back to the hotel for our daily fill of Law and Order. Next morning we went on a different ‘free’ walking tour which finished up in the Jewish Quarter. Now I need to explain that the free tour is indeed that but as the guide explains they work for free and all tips would be appreciated – something she repeated at the end. With 40 people on the tour each giving an average of $7 we worked out that the free tours do quite well thank you.
As we were going to go to the Jewish Quarter next morning we went back to the hotel where we took the car. As I drive the wrong way down what was a one way street – yes the wrong way – one of two policemen standing in hiding came out with a little red ‘paddle’ to call us aside. He laughed at my GPS as obviously until recently this was a two way street – hence their waiting in hiding. One was gruff about the fact that we weren’t carrying a passport – give me a break every restaurant, shop, bar, cafe has signs warning of pickpockets and they are giving me grief about no passport. The kinder of the two explained that if were Czechs we could be fined $A140 and lose our license on the spot but out of the goodness of his heart he would only fine me $35. As he put this in his pocket – no he actually did issue an official receipt.
Our mission to reach the castle for a quick look around came to an end after we were so badly delayed by Vito’s failure and the police victory. So back to the hotel and another dinner at Louvre Cafe.
Tuesday morning and our own tour of the Jewish Quarter. We pay the $A35 for all venue admission and see five Synagogues, a Chevra Kadisha and cemetery. The Synagogues where quite awesome with one of them, The Spanish, being among the most beautiful I have seen. My legs are in good shape so we cross the Charles bridge and walk up to the castle. On the way we happen across a lovely cafe being managed by a guy from Florida. He normally runs study missions on Czech Republic and European politics and even a six week mission on the Jewish history of Czech Republic and Europe so rich is the history in these parts. Regrettably he had ten quite separate bookings and within one week they all cancelled due to the economic situation in the USA – obviously why he was now working in a cafe.
Our conversation with him was interesting. He noted that tourism to Czech Republic has been out of control until recently when it has started to decline. He noted that Prague is a once only destination and that there is no government tourism authority to work out a way of getting repeat visitation. There is apparently an accommodation glut at the moment resulting from the large numbers of apartments being built on the periphery of the city and a lot of people moving into those apartments thus vacating apartments in the old city.
The castle is quite awesome in its size and the dominant position it has in the city. However close up it is quite plain compared to many similar castles around Europe.
My perspective on Prague is that it is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe with a wonderful mixture of Gothic, Renaissance, Roman, Gothic, Baroque and Rococo architecture. However it suffers from far too many tourists – you cannot believe just how many there are - and a massive over-commercialisation which at times makes it very unpleasant – shops of all types one after the next – no quaintness at all about the streetscape. Little if any tourist type signage is in English making it quite difficult to navigate around the city.
Anyway we leave the castle and try and get a taxi back to the hotel. First one quotes $A32, second one $A16 all thievery methinks so we walk down the hill and secure a taxi prepared to use the meter. Ah that’s better think I as Danielle notes he has the tariff set to 3. We arrive at the hotel with the meter at $A22 so I call out the concierge to explain what the sign against tariff 3 means – she says it is for fares outside Prague and is around three times the normal kilometre rate. I tell the driver I will pay $A10 and if he was unhappy I would be more than pleased to discuss it with the police present – he accepts my generous offer and drives off – I hate this type of crap.
A short break in the room, a walk and coffee and back for a dinner in the room comprising bits and pieces we had acquired at the supermarket etc. We decide on a three episode Law and Order festival before bed. You may wonder why Law and Order – I can describe it this way I AM SO SICK AND TIRED OF WATCHING THE OLYMPICS IN GERMAN, FRENCH, SPANISH, CZECH AND ITALIAN AND NO F^&*(&*(G ENGLISH.
That night we discovered the Louvre Cafe a restaurant I would highly recommend. Danz had it in her mind that she had to have duck which was outstanding while I had baked goats cheese salad, salmon tartar and we shared our desert of cottage cheese pancake with hazelnuts. This restaurant so impressed us that we returned the next day. Again Kafka was a regular here.
Back to the hotel for our daily fill of Law and Order. Next morning we went on a different ‘free’ walking tour which finished up in the Jewish Quarter. Now I need to explain that the free tour is indeed that but as the guide explains they work for free and all tips would be appreciated – something she repeated at the end. With 40 people on the tour each giving an average of $7 we worked out that the free tours do quite well thank you.
As we were going to go to the Jewish Quarter next morning we went back to the hotel where we took the car. As I drive the wrong way down what was a one way street – yes the wrong way – one of two policemen standing in hiding came out with a little red ‘paddle’ to call us aside. He laughed at my GPS as obviously until recently this was a two way street – hence their waiting in hiding. One was gruff about the fact that we weren’t carrying a passport – give me a break every restaurant, shop, bar, cafe has signs warning of pickpockets and they are giving me grief about no passport. The kinder of the two explained that if were Czechs we could be fined $A140 and lose our license on the spot but out of the goodness of his heart he would only fine me $35. As he put this in his pocket – no he actually did issue an official receipt.
Our mission to reach the castle for a quick look around came to an end after we were so badly delayed by Vito’s failure and the police victory. So back to the hotel and another dinner at Louvre Cafe.
Tuesday morning and our own tour of the Jewish Quarter. We pay the $A35 for all venue admission and see five Synagogues, a Chevra Kadisha and cemetery. The Synagogues where quite awesome with one of them, The Spanish, being among the most beautiful I have seen. My legs are in good shape so we cross the Charles bridge and walk up to the castle. On the way we happen across a lovely cafe being managed by a guy from Florida. He normally runs study missions on Czech Republic and European politics and even a six week mission on the Jewish history of Czech Republic and Europe so rich is the history in these parts. Regrettably he had ten quite separate bookings and within one week they all cancelled due to the economic situation in the USA – obviously why he was now working in a cafe.
Our conversation with him was interesting. He noted that tourism to Czech Republic has been out of control until recently when it has started to decline. He noted that Prague is a once only destination and that there is no government tourism authority to work out a way of getting repeat visitation. There is apparently an accommodation glut at the moment resulting from the large numbers of apartments being built on the periphery of the city and a lot of people moving into those apartments thus vacating apartments in the old city.
The castle is quite awesome in its size and the dominant position it has in the city. However close up it is quite plain compared to many similar castles around Europe.
My perspective on Prague is that it is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe with a wonderful mixture of Gothic, Renaissance, Roman, Gothic, Baroque and Rococo architecture. However it suffers from far too many tourists – you cannot believe just how many there are - and a massive over-commercialisation which at times makes it very unpleasant – shops of all types one after the next – no quaintness at all about the streetscape. Little if any tourist type signage is in English making it quite difficult to navigate around the city.
Anyway we leave the castle and try and get a taxi back to the hotel. First one quotes $A32, second one $A16 all thievery methinks so we walk down the hill and secure a taxi prepared to use the meter. Ah that’s better think I as Danielle notes he has the tariff set to 3. We arrive at the hotel with the meter at $A22 so I call out the concierge to explain what the sign against tariff 3 means – she says it is for fares outside Prague and is around three times the normal kilometre rate. I tell the driver I will pay $A10 and if he was unhappy I would be more than pleased to discuss it with the police present – he accepts my generous offer and drives off – I hate this type of crap.
A short break in the room, a walk and coffee and back for a dinner in the room comprising bits and pieces we had acquired at the supermarket etc. We decide on a three episode Law and Order festival before bed. You may wonder why Law and Order – I can describe it this way I AM SO SICK AND TIRED OF WATCHING THE OLYMPICS IN GERMAN, FRENCH, SPANISH, CZECH AND ITALIAN AND NO F^&*(&*(G ENGLISH.
Next day we wake early and go to a nearby cafe where I had my favourite breakfast – soft boiled eggs in a glass with toast and the coffee was reasonably good as well. So off to pack the car and on our way to Plzen – home of Pilsener beer but that was not our interest in stopping. This small town is the home of the third largest Synagogue in the world. Now I am almost ‘Jewished’ out but one for the road. The Synagogue is quite impressive from the outside but poorly restored inside. The literature indicates that they made an unsuccessful plea to American Jewry to assist with funding the restoration and that it was finally a grant of $2.0 million from the Czech government which saw it restored. We again said Kaddish as we did in most synagogues and went on our way.
Pisek was our stop for an onomatopoeic stop – work it out. We decided on a traditional Czech lunch – Chinese stir fry – and good it was too. We sat there wondering what made a Chinese chef in some province of China wake up one day and decide “hey I think I will open a Chinese restaurant in a small town in Czech Republic?” Anyway our good fortune. We move on to Cesky Krumlov, a quaint medieval town. With 14,000 inhabitants and I am guessing 10,000 tourists it again has become over-commercialised.
The hotel is best described as Czech Rococo or Hunters Lodge as Danielle says. Functionally old style but it is rated four star although Danz and I are thinking of enquiring as to the methodology of such ratings which in the case of this hotel might include no-internet, no lifts no pool and no shower curtain which is strange as the over bath shower comes across rather than along the bath. But all that said the room is functional and comfortable and the bedding in usual European style is extremely comfortable.
When we checked in I had a number of questions to which the answer by the front desk person was “Ah no sorry” as she tilted her head to the right. So during the next day Danielle and I performed this routine when responding no to each other.
We have a tasty Czech style dinner in the hotel including blueberry dumplings where we share an after-dinner drink with a Japanese tour guide which was very interesting and gave us excellent insights into Japanese tourism. It’s only 20:30 so we watch four episodes of Law and Order – you guessed it Eurosport and the Olympics only in Czech here.
Next morning I am feeling a little unwell so we decide to make a late start arriving for breakfast – I eat nothing and Danielle has muesli is the best way I can describe this excuse for breakfast – and go on our way for a 3½ walk through Cesky K. The castle, the church, the medieval township all quite beautiful against the backdrop of the winding and fast moving Vltva river along which many of the tourists do kayaking and rafting not that it moves that fast that it would provide too much of a thrill for rafters.
Back to the hotel for a relax on the restaurant terrace overlooking the river and an opportunity for Danielle to catch up on her diary. For dinner we were looking for an internet cafe style restaurant because the response to the internet not working question was “Ah no sorry” with a head tilt to the right. We stumbled across the best hotel in town and had a delightful meal on the terrace overlooking the river after using the internet at the bar for a few minutes.
Next morning up bright and early to pack the car and leave for Vienna. Vito seemed to take us on a scenic route with single lane roads through quite beautiful countryside but the 200km drive took three hours. Stupidly I wound up with 4,500 CK ($A300) (forgot that I had prepaid the hotel) which I will have to find a way to rid myself of.
We are surprised to see veryh little traffic on the road it seemed very strange until we arrived at the hotel and found it was Himmelsfahrt (Ascension) Day – a Christian holiday where everything was closed. Anyway we spend a few hours driving around an empty city and getting our bearings stopping for lunch where we share a Vienna Schnitzel (seemed appropriate) and Paprika Chicken (Judy’s isn’t at risk) and two slices of Austrian Cakes. It is evident that Vienna and Austria are on the map when it comes to cake making. We relax before dinner and as none of us is too hungry we find a Chinese Buffet near the railway station which was of quite good standard with a chef cooking fresh seafood, meat and chicken dishes which one puts together with vegetables and picks sauces for.
It is raining and when we wake the next day the temperature during the whole day reaches a whole 15 degrees – colder than Sydney we find out.
Next morning we decide to take a 3½ tour of Vienna to get acquainted with the city and surrounds and we find it a quite beautiful place with an excellent selection of Museums, Castles and Churches although much of the architecture is around 100-150 years old. At the end of the tour we decide to visit the Albertina which has a collection of 100 impressionist paintings being 20% of a permanent loan by Rita and Herbert (his title is Prof. Dr Dr Herbert just in case you are interested) Batinger. He is a lawyer from Lichtenstein who, with his wife, have been ardent collectors of art for more than 50 years. I would rate this collection as one of the finest of that type of art which I really love. Monet, Cezanne, Picasso, Kandinsky and so many more. Recommended to anybody visiting Vienna. Here if you are interested http://batlinerart.net/gemalde.
After that we lunch at a delicatessen run as a cafeteria where the food is freshly cooked following which we walk down the main streets which seem very crowded. Danielle and I both find something we ‘invest’ in after which we catch a taxi to the hotel. I get to talking to the driver who is originally from Cote D’Ivoire and has lived here for 14 years. He lives in a five bedroom 104 square metre apartment with his wife and three of his five children paying €800 a month rent. I ask him if he finds racism in Austria – he says of course. There are approximately 1.5 million ‘auslanders’ out of a population of 8 million people. He even comments that there are too many immigrants - 300,000 Turks. He notes that when he first arrived the Austrians would not catch cabs if the driver was black.
I do like Vienna but for some reason cannot warm to the people. They are mostly humourless and seem very stiff – even the younger ones who work in the shops and tourist places. I will temper this by saying that I may have a pre-disposition to this point of view.
Anyway sore fingers and enough for now
Fond regards to everybody
David
Pisek was our stop for an onomatopoeic stop – work it out. We decided on a traditional Czech lunch – Chinese stir fry – and good it was too. We sat there wondering what made a Chinese chef in some province of China wake up one day and decide “hey I think I will open a Chinese restaurant in a small town in Czech Republic?” Anyway our good fortune. We move on to Cesky Krumlov, a quaint medieval town. With 14,000 inhabitants and I am guessing 10,000 tourists it again has become over-commercialised.
The hotel is best described as Czech Rococo or Hunters Lodge as Danielle says. Functionally old style but it is rated four star although Danz and I are thinking of enquiring as to the methodology of such ratings which in the case of this hotel might include no-internet, no lifts no pool and no shower curtain which is strange as the over bath shower comes across rather than along the bath. But all that said the room is functional and comfortable and the bedding in usual European style is extremely comfortable.
When we checked in I had a number of questions to which the answer by the front desk person was “Ah no sorry” as she tilted her head to the right. So during the next day Danielle and I performed this routine when responding no to each other.
We have a tasty Czech style dinner in the hotel including blueberry dumplings where we share an after-dinner drink with a Japanese tour guide which was very interesting and gave us excellent insights into Japanese tourism. It’s only 20:30 so we watch four episodes of Law and Order – you guessed it Eurosport and the Olympics only in Czech here.
Next morning I am feeling a little unwell so we decide to make a late start arriving for breakfast – I eat nothing and Danielle has muesli is the best way I can describe this excuse for breakfast – and go on our way for a 3½ walk through Cesky K. The castle, the church, the medieval township all quite beautiful against the backdrop of the winding and fast moving Vltva river along which many of the tourists do kayaking and rafting not that it moves that fast that it would provide too much of a thrill for rafters.
Back to the hotel for a relax on the restaurant terrace overlooking the river and an opportunity for Danielle to catch up on her diary. For dinner we were looking for an internet cafe style restaurant because the response to the internet not working question was “Ah no sorry” with a head tilt to the right. We stumbled across the best hotel in town and had a delightful meal on the terrace overlooking the river after using the internet at the bar for a few minutes.
Next morning up bright and early to pack the car and leave for Vienna. Vito seemed to take us on a scenic route with single lane roads through quite beautiful countryside but the 200km drive took three hours. Stupidly I wound up with 4,500 CK ($A300) (forgot that I had prepaid the hotel) which I will have to find a way to rid myself of.
We are surprised to see veryh little traffic on the road it seemed very strange until we arrived at the hotel and found it was Himmelsfahrt (Ascension) Day – a Christian holiday where everything was closed. Anyway we spend a few hours driving around an empty city and getting our bearings stopping for lunch where we share a Vienna Schnitzel (seemed appropriate) and Paprika Chicken (Judy’s isn’t at risk) and two slices of Austrian Cakes. It is evident that Vienna and Austria are on the map when it comes to cake making. We relax before dinner and as none of us is too hungry we find a Chinese Buffet near the railway station which was of quite good standard with a chef cooking fresh seafood, meat and chicken dishes which one puts together with vegetables and picks sauces for.
It is raining and when we wake the next day the temperature during the whole day reaches a whole 15 degrees – colder than Sydney we find out.
Next morning we decide to take a 3½ tour of Vienna to get acquainted with the city and surrounds and we find it a quite beautiful place with an excellent selection of Museums, Castles and Churches although much of the architecture is around 100-150 years old. At the end of the tour we decide to visit the Albertina which has a collection of 100 impressionist paintings being 20% of a permanent loan by Rita and Herbert (his title is Prof. Dr Dr Herbert just in case you are interested) Batinger. He is a lawyer from Lichtenstein who, with his wife, have been ardent collectors of art for more than 50 years. I would rate this collection as one of the finest of that type of art which I really love. Monet, Cezanne, Picasso, Kandinsky and so many more. Recommended to anybody visiting Vienna. Here if you are interested http://batlinerart.net/gemalde.
After that we lunch at a delicatessen run as a cafeteria where the food is freshly cooked following which we walk down the main streets which seem very crowded. Danielle and I both find something we ‘invest’ in after which we catch a taxi to the hotel. I get to talking to the driver who is originally from Cote D’Ivoire and has lived here for 14 years. He lives in a five bedroom 104 square metre apartment with his wife and three of his five children paying €800 a month rent. I ask him if he finds racism in Austria – he says of course. There are approximately 1.5 million ‘auslanders’ out of a population of 8 million people. He even comments that there are too many immigrants - 300,000 Turks. He notes that when he first arrived the Austrians would not catch cabs if the driver was black.
I do like Vienna but for some reason cannot warm to the people. They are mostly humourless and seem very stiff – even the younger ones who work in the shops and tourist places. I will temper this by saying that I may have a pre-disposition to this point of view.
Anyway sore fingers and enough for now
Fond regards to everybody
David
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