Prague Sept 22

The weather in Prague has been perfect. Another sunny day, high 22.

Every European city I have visited the last few years has an LRT system, and they are great. The on in Prague is quite extensive, and as a bonus it is FREE for anyone over 70. I love it.

Prague is similar to Budapest, in that it is divided by a river, the Vitava, or Moldau, as it was known under the Hapsburgs. The Old town is rather flat, while the other side rises up from the river. This is the side where the castle and St. Vitus Cathedral is.

(I love my iPad, but it sometimes is irritating. It doesn't know all the saints, and when I typed in Vitus, it changed it to Virus. I wonder if the pope knows about St. Virus)

We started out by taking a the tram up the hill, where our first stop was the Strahov monastery. The most important aspect of this monastery is its beautiful library. The collection of over 20 000 books date back to the 1400's. The library rooms are, themselves, works of art.

Near the library is a large statue dedicated to Tycho Brahe and Johannesburg Kepler, two of the most influential physicists of the 17th century. They worked together, sort of, in Prague. (It's a long story)

Next on the agenda was a visit to the Royal Palace, and the impressive St. Vitus Cathedral. It is a Gothic Cathedral, finished in 1344. It contains the St. Wenceslas Chapel, where relics of the saint are buried. I think it is his right ear, and left testicle, but I'm not sure.

The view from the castle is outstanding.

We made our way back home, had some lunch and then revisited the Charles Bridge. It dates back to the 1500's, and is the most famous of the bridges crossing the Vitava. There are 30 large statues lining the bridge. The are numerous arts and crafts stalls along the bridge.

After dinner, and some more shopping we went to a concert at the Smetana Hall, at the Municipal House. The hall is beautiful, Art Noveau, and the acoustics are perfect. The performance was by the Prague Music Orchestra. I don't want to be picky, but the term "orchestra", in my mind, means more than 8 members, but that's all that appeared on stage. 8 men, all dressed in black. 6 violinists, and 2 cellists. 

A couple of ladies, obviously friends, recorded the whole concert on their cell phones. I can just hear the conversation back home,

"Joy, you have to come over and see my video of a concert I saw in Prague"

"I'd love to, Shirley, but you have to see mine first"

Now, the music was great, but I don't think a cell phone will have great sound, and, to be honest, there wasn't a lot of action on stage; no shimmy-shimmy shaking, no pelvic thrusts, not even a single toe tapper. 

I shouldn't complain, because I really enjoyed the music. It was beautiful. I just closed my eyes, and let the music flow over me. Magic!

Photo 1 three physics guys, I'm the one on the left 

Photo 2 the Theological Hall at the Strahov library

Photo 3 the view from the castle grounds

Photo 4 the balcony at Smetana Hall

Prague Sept 23

The weather has been pleasant, high of 22, mostly sunny.

We did a lot of walking today. The high-light was a guided tour of the Municipal House. This building was built between 1905 and 1912, and is in the Art Noveau style. It has a lot of historic significance, because the Czech independent was announced here in 1918. It served a the parliamentary building for many years. At the moment is is no longer used for government purposes, and it is closed to the public, except for tours. The rooms are in beautiful shape, with most of the furniture and chandeliers original from 1912. The Art Noveau theme is gorgeous, one of the architectural gems in the world.

It is also the home of a big concert hall, where we will enjoy a concert tomorrow evening.

Afterwards Sandy and Sonja had a lot of fun window shopping, and some real shopping.

One of the big attractions in Prague is the hourly display at the Astronomical Clock. There are literally a couple of hundred tourists waiting for this event. At the hour bells chime, two small doors open, and several saints appear. The whole thing doesn't take more than a minute. Very anti climatic.

We also visited the old Jewish quarter, located near the town square in a beautiful area of Prague. The street leading to the Jewish quarter has every expensive boutique you can think of, there were even some Sonja didn't recognize. I did recognize a few.

The synagogue in this area is the oldest, continuously active synagogue in Europe. It was built in 1207, and, the story goes angels transported stones from the ruined temple in Jerusalem to Prague, to build this synagogue. 

Another interesting feature is the Jewish cemetery. Because of anti semitism it was not allowed to expand. It is relatively small, but is the burial place for 20 000 graves. Because of the limited space the cemetery is several feet high.

When Sandy and I were in Prague in 2007 we discovered a great Italian restaurant, a bit out of the way. Lo and behold we actually found it again, and had a great meal there.

It pays to have a good memory.

Photo 1 the Municipal House

Photo 2 One of the rooms in the Municipal House

Photo 3 the coffee lounge. The coffee machine still works, 110 years later

Photo 4 another photo of the Main Square. The statue is a memorial statue of Jan Hus, who was a religious reformer, before Luther. The Catholic Church didn't like his ideas and burned him at the stake. So much for religious dialogue.

Photo 5 the Old New Synagogue. The explanation for the name is long.

Cesky Krumlov Sept 24

Sept 24

Everything went smoothly this morning. We left the apartment, and took the Metro to a bus station to get our bus to Cesky Krumlov. The ticket agency was kind enough to store our big bags, until we return to Prague on Saturday; thus we could travel light.

The bus was quite nice, a lot better than the Aer Lingus flight to Budapest. The seats are more comfortable, more leg room, there is an electric outlet, an entertainment unit, WiFi on the road, even free coffee served by an attractive attendant. She smiled at me...my heart is aflutter.

We arrived in Cesky Krumlov, one of the most picturesque places I have visited. The old town consists of buildings from the 14th to the 17th century, and the town is situated inside a horseshoe formed by the Vitava River, the same river that goes through Prague. The old town is quite small, only about 5 blocks square, but very charming. On the other side of the river is a steep cliff, on the top of which is a large castle from the 13th century. The tower is quite unique.

One of the tourist attractions is a boat ride, using inflatable canoes, down the river. The company drives you, and your boat, to a spot 30 or so kilometres up-stream, and then you paddle back down to Cesky Krumlov. It is customary to stop at several of the beer gardens along the way, so by the time they get to the town many are quite inebriated. To make things interesting there is a small set of rapids, in town, and when I saw it, more than half dumped, and floated the last few metres.

The temperature today was a high of 14, so there were no canoeists.

After settling in our Pension, we walked around the old town. It is truly like a Disney World, only the real thing. Most of the buildings are either pensions, hotels, restaurants or boutiques. During the day there are a lot of tourist buses, here for a day visit. In the evening it is much quieter.

There are a lot of oriental tourists, more than any other group.

After dinner we came across a group of about 25 orientals, all dresses in medieval costumes. Quite a sight, they seemed to be having a lot of fun

Photo 1 one of the restaurants in Cesky Krumlov

Photo 2 a view of the castle and tower, and the town

Photo 3 the main square

Photo 4 Multiculturalism in action

Cesky Krumlov Sept 25

Sept 25

Our last full day in the Czech Republic.

After breakfast at our pension, we hiked up to the castle. It's a bit of a hike, all uphill, but we survived. Further up from the castle are the Palace Gardens, featuring a large fountain.

Another interesting feature is the rotating theatre. It is set in the garden, and the seats face an old villa. The unique aspects of the theatre is that the audience rotates. This means that different scenes can be set up in the woods and gardens surrounding the seats. Nifty.

We then continued walking down to the castle, with its great views of the town.

The weather today was lovely, cool, but sunny.

An interesting fact about Cesky Krumlov is that it has very many jewelry stores. And almost all feature Baltic amber from the Gdansk region in Poland. When I was in Gdansk someone told me that 80% of the world's amber comes from the area around Gdansk. Why there is so much amber jewelry in Cesky Krumlov is beyond me.

We also has a cappuccino, and the decoration of the foam on top was spectacular. You almost hated to break it up.

After a siesta we did some more walking. We walked along the river and came upon the Eggerberg brewery. The Czech Republic is known for the many excellent beers it produces. The towns of Plzen and Ceske Budejovic haven been brewing Pilsener and Budweiser beer since the 13th century. The Eggenberg brewery, in Cesky Krumlov, was established in 1552. Sonja and I had a beer at the brewery; it was excellent.

This weekend, Cesky Krumlov is having a St. Wenceslas Festival. The main square is occupied by booths selling crafts of many types, and a lot of food vendors. There is a main stage with musical acts. 

Another feature are local groups that perform traditional dances at various sites in the town. We caught one of the acts in front of the castle. We also saw a performance, by a trio , at the main stage. The trio was an odd combination, two guys on guitars and a girl on a cello. They were very good, especially the lead guitarist. He was outstanding.

Photo 1 Sandy's cappuccino 

Photo 2 the three of us in front of the fountain at the castle garden

Photo 3 a view of Cesky Krumlov from the castle

Photo 4 the dancing group

Prague Sept 26

Sept 26

The head line in today's Prague newspaper:

TOURIST TRIES TO COMMIT SUICIDE BY HITTING HIMSELF WITH HIS IPAD

But let me start at the beginning.

After a hearty breakfast we set off for Prague, ETA at noon. As I mentioned a great ride. The only slight problem was that the bus broke down about an hour from Prague. A couple of people were in a panic, they had flights at 2.

After about 15 minutes the driver waved his magic wand and we were off. At 10 km/ h.

We were stuck going up a hill, and when we started again the bus slowly crept up to the top. Took a while. Once we reached the top we picked up speed. I had hopes it was all downhill to Prague. What are the odds?

Every slight hill slowed us down to a crawl, and we all held our breath as the top of the hill slowly, very slowly, neared. Then the thrill of reaching the top, and picking up speed. Much more breathtaking than a roller coaster. A cyclist passed us going up a hill, but we whipped right by him on the way down.

Then the real fun started. We had left our three bags at the ticket booth where I bought the tickets. The lady, mistakenly told us she would be open all day Saturday. Not true. Our bags were inside, and nothing we tried, and we tried many things got us our bags.

What to do.

We finally decided Sandy and Sonja would fly to Dublin, and I would stay behind, collect the bags, and then fly to Dublin tomorrow. Altering my ticket was a nightmare. I had to go through TDExpedia, in Canada, and that agent had to talk to the agent in Dublin, who then had to ok everything with her boss. I timed it, it took two hours and six minutes to make the change. And most of the time I was on hold. As most of you know patience is not one of my strong points, but amazingly I didn't lose it. Must be maturity.

That wasn't the end of my fun day. I then had to find a room...on a Saturday, in Prague. Out of the first seven hotels only one had a room, at 100 Euros. I might have patience, but I am still frugal, or cheap as some of you would say. The last hotel I tried had a nice lady at the desk, and she let me use her computer. I did find a room, but it was 5 km away. And it was the only room they had left. I jumped at it, as a bonus it was only 40 dollars. It is also situated at the top of a km long street.

The room is actually quite modern.

I hope things improve tomorrow.

Only one picture today

Photo 1 our bus. Notice there is none of the blur you get when you take a picture of a moving object.

Prague Sept 27

Some things are just plain bizarre. I went to sleep around eleven, and I was pretty tired. It had been a long day.

I half-woke at around one. What woke me up was a furry feeling on my cheek. In retrospect I am amazed I didn't freak out, but I only reached over, and discovered a cat rubbing against my face. There are children reading this, so I will keep it clean, but talk about room service.

My room was very warm, and I had opened the windows, but I overlooked a ravine, and I am still perplexed how the cat got in.

It was a sweet kitten, very pretty, and after some cuddling I did put her out.

In the morning I left to check on our bags, and discovered the area, where my hotel was, was quite nice, it looked a lot better than in the dark last night.

You can't imagine my feeling when I got to the bus station, and discovered it was not open. I just stood there and hyperventilated. I headed to another bus station, where this company had an office, but suffice it to say I got nowhere. This is a long weekend in the Czech Republic, and all the people with keys to this office are out of town. At least that's their story. Not a lot of cooperation.

The other fact is that because of the holiday they are also closed tomorrow, so I have to wait until Tuesday to get the bags.

This also meant having to reschedule my flight, once more.

I went to the airport to see if anyone there could help me, but again, no luck. So it was back on Skype, and an hour later I finally did it. I have a flight on Tuesday, which means that all I get to see of Dublin is what's there on the way from the airport and back.

I finally finished my running around at 4. I did luck out for a hotel. I didn't really want to go back to the boonies. That one km uphill walk was too much to face. So I tried one of the hotels that was full yesterday, and I lucked out. It's central, and I was upgraded to a double room. It is gorgeous room, on the seventh floor, overlooking the city. It's only 75 dollars a night, and that includes breakfast. Something nice, for a change.

I did get an email from Sandy and Sonja, and they are having a good time in Dublin. The townhouse we booked is beautiful and they had a nice pub supper last night.

I won't mention what I ate yesterday

The SAGA continues tomorrow.

Photo 1 my room in the boonies

Photo 2 my room in the second hotel

Photo 3 beer ad

Photo 4 view from my room

Sept  28

With nothing to do, I decided to take a bus to Telc, for a day trip. I needed a day away from Prague and all the problems. Telc is a small town about 160 km from Prague. I visited there on my first trip to the Czech Republic, and then came back with Sandy a few years later.

The main attraction is its main square.

I am of the opinion that the town square is a mainly European tradition. Aside from Tienamin Square in Beijing, I can't think of any other Asian city that has a central gathering place, where  people can meet.

                                                                                                                                                                                In Europe every town, and most cities have a place where locals can

congregate, enjoy the outdoors, and gossip. Before TV, radio, and even newspapers, the town square is where all the action was.

Even now most families live in crowded conditions, and the town square is where families will gather, young couple have some degree of privacy, and kids can run around. Not so much in the big cities, but certainly in the smaller communities.

One of my favourite things is to sit at a cafe at the local square and just people watch.

You can still do this, although TV, and now the Internet, keep people at home. It still attracts teens, and families.

To get back to Telc. The old town, from the 13th century, is on a piece of land, surrounded, on three sides, by large man-made ponds, which, at one time were stocked with fish. The square is unique in its architecture. The houses are not majestic, they are two stories high, all with gables, and beautifully decorated and maintained. It is a charming place.

There is also a Renaissance chateau, from the 17th century, with a lovely English garden. It replaced a small castle built in the 14th century. Around the town is a lovely park. It's not on the tourist tour itinerary, and so its peaceful and lovely. Just what I needed.

I took the bus for the three hour ride, and, on the way there, the route was on secondary roads, with several stops. The countryside is lovely; fairly flat, with rolling hills. Lots of farms, with small villages. The villages are clean, and prosperous. 

The geography of this part of the Czech Republic is similarly flat to Poland. Good farm country, but also the easiest route for European armies to invade Asia, and vice versa. For centuries this part of Europe has been overrun by invaders. The Nazis in 1939, the Soviets in 1945, are only the latest. The resilience of the people is amazing.

Telc was as lovely as I remembered. I wandered through the town, the gardens, and the parks, and had a nice lunch, right on the square. It had warmed up by noon, around 16, and sunny skies. 

I must say that one of the interesting sight was a family with three poodles, made up like I have never seen before. Incredible.

The trip back was faster, the bus took mainly highways. I was grateful.

Some of the buildings on the square