Prague Photos, a set on Flickr.
Friday, 13 April 2012
Prague Blog
When I was in Cesky Krumlov, one of the other guests told me about a bus company called Student Agency Bus. Anyone can use it, not just students. It was a great find because I was able to travel from this place to Prague for just €8. The bus was a decent one too, offered free tea and coffee and showed a movie on the way. Anything to save a few dollars.
Prague was really overrun with tourists as it was Easter holidays but it's a beautiful city. There are about 1.5 million people who live here so it's not too huge in the big scheme of things. The only negative was the extreme cold! For the first two days, the temperature didn't get above 5 degrees but for a lot of it, it was zero and snowing. I was forced to go and buy some extremely attractive woollen tights in an effort to keep my legs warm. There'll be no photos of that particular sight!
I did a 4 hour walking tour on my first full day, just to get my bearings, along with a bit of the history. And then, for the remaining days, I returned to the various areas and covered them in more detail. The whole Jewish Town was really interesting. This was the ghetto area before and during the war. There's one of the oldest surviving synagogues in Europe here, built in the 13th century. It's called the Old-New Synagogue which is rather a strange name. When it was first built, it was called the New and Great Shul but, when more synagogues were built in the 16th century, it became known as Old-New. I also found the cemetery fascinating. It's not known how many people are buried here because there are layers of tombs but an estimate is 100,000. According to a Jewish custom, you're not allowed to destroy graves or remove the tombstone. Because there was only a limited amount of land available, layers of soil were placed on the existing graves, the new person was then buried and the original tombstone put back in place. There are 12 layers of burials here and the tombstones are really close together and kind of all over the place. If you have a look at my photos, you'll see what I mean.
I spent a whole day exploring the castle area. It's dominated by a huge cathedral and there are a whole collection of other buildings that have been added over a period of 1,000 years so the styles of architecture are very different. I learnt a new word - defenestration, the act of throwing someone out of a window. This happened to some statesmen back in 1618, which resulted in the thirty year war starting.
I loved an area called Golden Lane, near the end of the castle complex. There is a long row of tiny little houses (apparently the average height back then was only 5 ft) that were originally built for the castle guards. About 1,000 years later, goldsmiths moved in and that's how it got it's name. A whole lot of them were demolished in the 19th century because they were completely unfit for living. Poor people and criminals moved into the remaining ones but they were all evicted after the second world war when the powers that be saw that tourists were fascinated so they might as well make some money out of it! They were all spruced up with a coat of paint and some of them were equipped with the furnishings of the time.
5 days was about the right length of time to stay here, I got to see pretty well everything I wanted to, without being too manic about it. There's a good tram system that you can use but, if you're not in a rush, it's easy to walk everywhere.
I left Prague yesterday and, for the first time on this trip, I missed my bus! I hadn't looked at the ticket properly and just assumed that I'd be catching the bus from the same station where I arrived. But no, that wasn't the case. By the time I figured out that I was in the wrong place, it was too late to get to the right station so I made my way to the main train station and caught a train instead. The ticket was only €8 so not the end of the world. And it got me to the next place 2 hours before the bus would have arrived anyway so all was good. I'm now in a town called Olomouc which is to the east of Prague. I've found that I need the calm of a small town or village after being in a large city, just to unwind and relax. A couple of days is enough and then you're ready to go again. Tomorrow I head south to Slovakia, to the capital city of Bratislava. I'm hoping that it'll be warmer!
Saturday, 7 April 2012
Ceske Krumlov/Budejovice Blog
Leaving Austria behind, I caught a train into the Czech Republic, to a gorgeous village called Cesky Krumlov which was just across the border. My hostel was more like a family home and would probably rate as the best one I've stayed in since my travels began. It's owned by an American lady who came here as a tourist 15 years ago, after her marriage broke up. She'd intended on staying for a couple of days but fell in love with the place and ended up buying the hostel.
From the hostel, it was an easy 5 minute stroll into the main square. The village is built in a valley so it was very easy to walk around without a map, you just had to look up and see the castle to know where you were. All of the streets are cobblestones and, rather than go in straight lines, they 'meander'. Like Vienna, the buildings are a mix of architectural styles but at least someone put some thought into the layout and the result is 100% better. A river winds its way through the village which adds to the appeal.
I stayed here for 3 nights and it was nice to be able to completely relax and not feel the pressure to walk for 8 hours a day trying to see everything! Sitting in the square, I even started to feel a bit resentful of the huge groups of tourists that came swarming through, following their leader with the raised umbrella! Shows I'd started to feel like a local!
Unlike the owner of the hostel, I'm not staying for ever so moved on to another town called Ceske Budejovice, just an hour away. This place was quite a bit bigger and nowhere near as nice. It did have a lovely square, surrounded by beautiful buildings but lacked the charm. The main tourist attraction here is the Budweiser factory, this is the home of budvar, as they call it here. Unfortunately, as my only full day was Easter Friday, I wasn't able to do the tour and have a free taste of all their products, shame. The weather had taken a turn and it was raining and freezing cold so I was forced to have a very lazy day at the hostel. Which means that I'm now well and truly ready to move on to Prague and explore what is supposed to be an amazing place.
Sunday, 1 April 2012
Vienna Blog
This is the last of my five nights in Vienna so time for an update before I pack my bag and continue wandering. Vienna is a much larger city than I thought it would be so a 3 day train/tram/bus pass was a necessity. Travel operates on a trust basis. Not once did anyone check to see whether I'd purchased a ticket but apparently random checks are carried out and it's a huge fine if you're caught freeloading. The system is excellent and you never have to wait more than 5 minutes before something comes along.
Because of the size of the city, and because of the haphazard way in which the roads are laid out, I thought it best to join a walking tour and get a bit of the history at the same time. Otherwise you find yourself constantly checking the map to see where you're going and you forget to stop and look at the sights! Not only were the roads in a haphazard formation, I felt that the buildings were a real hotch potch of architectural styles. You look one way and see a Gothic style building or church and then right next to it is something in Baroque or Renaissance style. And, apart from the few that were bordered by gardens, it was hard to stand back and admire the buildings because they were constructed very close together. Most of them were made of brick but had been plastered with a fancy facade. The tour was interesting but I wouldn't call Vienna a pretty city. There's loads of history here, mostly connected to the Hadsburg monarchy, once the mightiest empire in Europe. Their main home was the Hofburg but that is now used for a number of different purposes such as the Treasury, the National Library, a museum, the arena for the Spanish Riding School and the Vienna Boys Choir, to name a few.
I visited two castles, Belvedere and Schonbrunn. Belvedere means "beautiful view" and it was originally built as a summer estate for Prince Eugene of Savoy. I didn't go inside but the grounds were certainly lovely and, at the time, it would have had a lovely view over Vienna because it's built on a bit of a hill. However, the rolling green pastures are no longer there so the view is over an urban landscape.
I did go inside Schonbrunn, which was the summer palace of the Hadsburgs. It's a beautiful palace filled with treasures and the gardens were magnificent. I'm not quite sure why they had their summer palace built here because it's only a 10 minute train ride from the centre of the city. But, I guess back in their day, it would have been a longer trip by horse and cart.
One morning I went to see the practice session of the Lipizzaner horses. For those that don't know (me included before this visit), these horses are born with black hair. Over time, the hair gradually turns to gray and then to white. But underneath the hair, they're still known as gray horses. (A white horse is born white, has pink skin and often has blue eyes.) The horses used to be bred for battle but now it's for ballet. Only stallions are used and the movements include stylized jumps, all to music by one of the famous composers. The horses only get taught one specialized movement each so, when they do a proper performance, several teams of horses are needed to showcase the whole range.
I also got up early this morning and went to Sunday Mass - I know, wonders will never cease! The real reason behind this was to listen to the Vienna Boys Choir. Apart from concerts, the boys sing every Sunday morning and, as there wasn't going to be a concert during my time here, it was off to Mass for me. Obviously, the whole thing was in German so I didn't understand a word of it but, when it was the boys' turn to sing, you just sat back and enjoyed their beautiful, pure voices. Really lovely.
Tomorrow I head to the Czech Republic. I was hoping that the weather would have warmed up by now but it's absolutely freezing! Today it actually started snowing while I was walking around. It'll be a wonder if I don't come down with the flu because I'm definitely not dressed for this kind of cold. I'm longing for the lovely warmth of Central America again!
Because of the size of the city, and because of the haphazard way in which the roads are laid out, I thought it best to join a walking tour and get a bit of the history at the same time. Otherwise you find yourself constantly checking the map to see where you're going and you forget to stop and look at the sights! Not only were the roads in a haphazard formation, I felt that the buildings were a real hotch potch of architectural styles. You look one way and see a Gothic style building or church and then right next to it is something in Baroque or Renaissance style. And, apart from the few that were bordered by gardens, it was hard to stand back and admire the buildings because they were constructed very close together. Most of them were made of brick but had been plastered with a fancy facade. The tour was interesting but I wouldn't call Vienna a pretty city. There's loads of history here, mostly connected to the Hadsburg monarchy, once the mightiest empire in Europe. Their main home was the Hofburg but that is now used for a number of different purposes such as the Treasury, the National Library, a museum, the arena for the Spanish Riding School and the Vienna Boys Choir, to name a few.
I visited two castles, Belvedere and Schonbrunn. Belvedere means "beautiful view" and it was originally built as a summer estate for Prince Eugene of Savoy. I didn't go inside but the grounds were certainly lovely and, at the time, it would have had a lovely view over Vienna because it's built on a bit of a hill. However, the rolling green pastures are no longer there so the view is over an urban landscape.
I did go inside Schonbrunn, which was the summer palace of the Hadsburgs. It's a beautiful palace filled with treasures and the gardens were magnificent. I'm not quite sure why they had their summer palace built here because it's only a 10 minute train ride from the centre of the city. But, I guess back in their day, it would have been a longer trip by horse and cart.
One morning I went to see the practice session of the Lipizzaner horses. For those that don't know (me included before this visit), these horses are born with black hair. Over time, the hair gradually turns to gray and then to white. But underneath the hair, they're still known as gray horses. (A white horse is born white, has pink skin and often has blue eyes.) The horses used to be bred for battle but now it's for ballet. Only stallions are used and the movements include stylized jumps, all to music by one of the famous composers. The horses only get taught one specialized movement each so, when they do a proper performance, several teams of horses are needed to showcase the whole range.
I also got up early this morning and went to Sunday Mass - I know, wonders will never cease! The real reason behind this was to listen to the Vienna Boys Choir. Apart from concerts, the boys sing every Sunday morning and, as there wasn't going to be a concert during my time here, it was off to Mass for me. Obviously, the whole thing was in German so I didn't understand a word of it but, when it was the boys' turn to sing, you just sat back and enjoyed their beautiful, pure voices. Really lovely.
Tomorrow I head to the Czech Republic. I was hoping that the weather would have warmed up by now but it's absolutely freezing! Today it actually started snowing while I was walking around. It'll be a wonder if I don't come down with the flu because I'm definitely not dressed for this kind of cold. I'm longing for the lovely warmth of Central America again!
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