Friday, September 19 2008
Pictures of our trip to Nürnberg.
(Editors' note: this post was a joint effort. Karen is writing first so that you understand who pronouns refer to.)
We headed out on a train to Germany. We bought seat reservations as Friday travel on trains can be very busy and I wanted to assure I would have a seat for the 6 hour trip. Apparently on Czech trains it really doesn't mean too much. After multiple failed attempts of asking the conductor where our seats were (she spoke Czech and was only pointing to the cars at the front of the train), we tried to find our seats. Unfortunately we had seats number 123 and 124 and the seat numbers ended at 101. Yikes! So, after much confusion, I found us seats that didn't have the reservation signs on them and we sat there. Thank goodness, because the train really filled up as we went along. And, I must say there were a lot of angry travelers, especially of the English speaking variety. We did meet a nice guy from Sweden on our trip, who meets up with friends and each year goes to an Oktoberfest in a different town in Bavaria.
It was a nice treat going to Nuernberg. First, I was excited to visit my friends Gunnar and Iris and meet their daughter Yanina. Next it was refreshing finally to have some idea what was going on (knowing the language - or at least being able to more than get by - is awesome!)
Nuernberg public transportation is easy to navigate. We bought our tickets, validated them, and hopped on a subway towards Fuerth (next town over, but only like 5 or 6 stops - quick trip). Thanks to Gunnar sending us multiple directions/maps to his place (gotta love the German processes! woohoo!), we had an easy walk there.
They live in a super cute neighborhood, schools and playgrounds and tall brick/stone buildings. It's actually the old American army base that was there, but the buildings have been updated and re-furbished. Their apartment is beautiful - high sealings, open kitchen/living room layout, balcony overlooking the middle grassy commons, 2 bathrooms!
And, best of all, I got to see my friend from college, Gunnar, see Iris again and meet their absolutely adorable daughter Yanina.
During our stay at Gunnar and Iris's, we were fed amazing food (they prepared most of it), had great conversation and got a personal tour of Nuernberg and Fuerth.
Saturday, Sept 20, we headed out to Nuernberg for the day. Nuernberg was having a fall festival (Herbst Markt) that weekend, with vendors, food and music.
Located in the main plaza in Nuernberg is the Tugendbrunnen (Fountain of Virtues). There is a gate surrounding the fountain. Legend has it that if you spin the ring that is on one part of the gate you will have good luck. Tourists line up to reach for the golden ring. But the locals know better. There is a black ring on the other side of the fountain gate, which is the real ring that when spun will bring good luck. Needless to say, of course I spun the black ring (no line waiting for that one - suckers at the gold ring! haha!); a little luck or hopeful luck never hurt anyone! We walked along the Pegnitz river and over the Henkersteg (Hangman's Bridge).
We stopped for lunch at a hole-in-the-wall(how Gunnar/Iris described it) Italian restaurant. Good food and great dessert (panna cotta with a fresh raspberry sauce)! Yanina was so funny. She would not be bothered with eating - she would rather do laps around the big table in the other room. Good thing for Iris and Gunnar that they could split the Yanina circles in 4 instead of 2, as Maciej and I offered to take a bunch of laps. After lunch, Yanina was accompanied home with Mama Iris for a little nap-time and Gunnar took us off for some more sight-seeing. We walked up the the Nuernberg castle, which provides a beautiful view of the city.
While walking around town we stopped to buy some Nuernberg beer (Hausbrauerei Altstadthof). Luckily for us, there was a tour of the beer cellars that was about to start, so we did that as well. Unfortunately for Maciej, the tour was in German and since we already bought the beer, he had to carry 2 liters of beer along with him.(Maciej says: "They gave me a booklet with English text version of the tour and I was prepared to drink the beer if I was no longer able to carry it") The tour was interesting, but the tour guide was difficult to hear (some of which had to do with the pour acoustics underground and the large tour group). In the middle ages, people found that those who drank beer stayed strong and lived. Those who drank the water ended up sick and died (they didn't know about bacteria back in those time), so kids as young as 3 drank beer! I don't think that would go over so well in this day in age. The beer cellars were also used as bomb shelters during WWII. Apparently the bombings were so bad, that when people went back out to the streets, many of the streets were completely unrecognizable.
(Maciej taking over now since Karen decided to go sleep)
On our second day there, we all slept in (thanks Yanina for not waking up early). We walked over to a bakery and bought a variety of cakes. Lunch that day was tea and lots of cake. In the afternoon we took a ride to a nearby town, Cadolzburg. Gunnar and Iris had to visit a flooring store before they closed. Karen and I entertained Yanina while they took care of business. This involved following her around the store making sure she didn't get hurt. She found the free gummy bears pretty quick. Karen managed to keep her from eating too many by empty the little bags of all but a few pieces when Yanina wasn't looking. (Note, I'd never fall for that kind of trickery). The other neat thing about this store trip is that I got to drink some beer . I guess the owners keep beer, sausages, and snacks on hand to server to customers. I wasn't offered a sausage, but that's ok, I was still kind of full from all the cake I ate for lunch. I think I would buy a floor from these people. I see now why they offer beer.
As Karen mentioned, Gunnar and Iris took great care of us. I was amazed how relaxed and laid back they were(given they have a little child that likes to climb on everything and basically never sit still when awake). I think I finally started to unwind on this trip/vacation thanks to them.
Tuesday, 30 September 2008
Czech Ice Hockey
Thursday September 18, 2008
Pictures from a hockey game
Karen and I went to see an ice hockey game. We saw HC Slavia play against HC Vítkovice Steel
What a game. It had everything: a penalty shot, gushing blood, ice princesses skimpy outfits, crazy fans, and cheap beer.
HC Slavia is a team in a Czech ice hockey league. It is one of two teams in Prague in this league. Last year they won the league championship so I guess they are pretty good. The style of Czech hockey is much different than what one would see in NHL. There is very little hitting. That I think translates a little bit into less defense. Or maybe different style of defense. The score in the game was what I would think of as normal in hockey, 3-2. Almost all the players had a half shield on their helmets. Some even had a full cage. The uniforms of both teams were covered in advertisements. Even the refs had ads on their uniforms!
In the first period a player on Vítkovice Steel was breaking in on the goalie and was held up by a Slavia player who was behind him. The ref awarded a penalty shot to the Vítkovice Steel player. Awesome! The shooter scored on the goalie easily. He made it look so smooth and easy.
Gushing blood... in the second period their was a pile up by the Slavia net. Some of the players crashed into the net and knocked it off. One of the Slavia players got injured in the face, blood was streaming onto the ice. He skated off the ice and went straight into the locker room. The cool part about this is that there was so much blood that the arena crew had to come out and scrape the blood/ice up. They had to scrape the ice and pick up the pink/red snow all the way from the net to the bench.
Ice princesses... every tv time out a couple of young ladies in short skirts and mini tank tops skate out to clean the ice near the nets. I've seen something similar at Bruins games. The difference is that at this game there were 2 skaters that just do figure skating turns/spins at center ice. And did I mention they have short skirts on?
Crazy fans. The seats directly behind the nets were reserved for the team fan club. Slavia's end was filled with fans dressed in red/white. Vítkovice Steel had like 5 people, but one of them did have a drum. He was beating on it through the entire first period. He didn't even stop when arena security came up to him and talked to him. I think he wanted the fan to move the drum off the seat, but the fan ignored the security people and kept beating the drum. The security guy just grabbed the drum and took it away from him. That was the closest thing to a fight during the entire hockey game. The fan ended up sitting in the aisle instead and beating on his drum. By the third period he was no longer beating the drum. He looked like he had passed out or fallen asleep . Slavia had 6 drums on their side! And they were allowed to rest them on the seats. Home ice advantage?
Cheap beer. All the concessions were cheap. 40 korunas for a beer which is about 2.30 in USD. Wow. Beer and chicken wings was like 8 USD. A beer at a Bruins game is probably about 8 USD now. The other neat thing about the game is that it started at 5pm. So you can bring your kids to a game and not have to worry about being up late.
Slavia won the game in overtime. OT was 4-4 and lasted all of 2 minutes before the game winning goal. The game was alot of fun. I'd definitely suggest seeing one if you like hockey at all when visiting Prague.
Pictures from a hockey game
Karen and I went to see an ice hockey game. We saw HC Slavia play against HC Vítkovice Steel
What a game. It had everything: a penalty shot, gushing blood, ice princesses skimpy outfits, crazy fans, and cheap beer.
HC Slavia is a team in a Czech ice hockey league. It is one of two teams in Prague in this league. Last year they won the league championship so I guess they are pretty good. The style of Czech hockey is much different than what one would see in NHL. There is very little hitting. That I think translates a little bit into less defense. Or maybe different style of defense. The score in the game was what I would think of as normal in hockey, 3-2. Almost all the players had a half shield on their helmets. Some even had a full cage. The uniforms of both teams were covered in advertisements. Even the refs had ads on their uniforms!
In the first period a player on Vítkovice Steel was breaking in on the goalie and was held up by a Slavia player who was behind him. The ref awarded a penalty shot to the Vítkovice Steel player. Awesome! The shooter scored on the goalie easily. He made it look so smooth and easy.
Gushing blood... in the second period their was a pile up by the Slavia net. Some of the players crashed into the net and knocked it off. One of the Slavia players got injured in the face, blood was streaming onto the ice. He skated off the ice and went straight into the locker room. The cool part about this is that there was so much blood that the arena crew had to come out and scrape the blood/ice up. They had to scrape the ice and pick up the pink/red snow all the way from the net to the bench.
Ice princesses... every tv time out a couple of young ladies in short skirts and mini tank tops skate out to clean the ice near the nets. I've seen something similar at Bruins games. The difference is that at this game there were 2 skaters that just do figure skating turns/spins at center ice. And did I mention they have short skirts on?
Crazy fans. The seats directly behind the nets were reserved for the team fan club. Slavia's end was filled with fans dressed in red/white. Vítkovice Steel had like 5 people, but one of them did have a drum. He was beating on it through the entire first period. He didn't even stop when arena security came up to him and talked to him. I think he wanted the fan to move the drum off the seat, but the fan ignored the security people and kept beating the drum. The security guy just grabbed the drum and took it away from him. That was the closest thing to a fight during the entire hockey game. The fan ended up sitting in the aisle instead and beating on his drum. By the third period he was no longer beating the drum. He looked like he had passed out or fallen asleep . Slavia had 6 drums on their side! And they were allowed to rest them on the seats. Home ice advantage?
Cheap beer. All the concessions were cheap. 40 korunas for a beer which is about 2.30 in USD. Wow. Beer and chicken wings was like 8 USD. A beer at a Bruins game is probably about 8 USD now. The other neat thing about the game is that it started at 5pm. So you can bring your kids to a game and not have to worry about being up late.
Slavia won the game in overtime. OT was 4-4 and lasted all of 2 minutes before the game winning goal. The game was alot of fun. I'd definitely suggest seeing one if you like hockey at all when visiting Prague.
Kutná Hora
Wednesday September 17, 2008
Pictures from this trip.
Karen signed us up for a tour to go to Kutná Hora and Sedlec which is a suburb of Kutná Hora. In Sedlec there is a Roman Catholic chapel that contains an ossuary(place for final resting place of human bones). The Sedlec Ossuary is amazing. It supposedly contains anywhere from 40,000 to 70,000 human skeletons that have been arranged into various shapes and used to build things.
Kutná Hora was known for being a mining town. It it's heyday it was second only to Prague as the most important city in Bohemia. While there we visited St Barbara's Church and the old royal mint. The church is amazing. We took pictures but they don't do it justice. The place is massive. Inside there are numerous chapels and frescoes. At the mint we took part in an English tour. It was interesting to hear about the history of the silver dinar and how it helped propel the area into prosperity. But as soon as the silver mines dried up, the town was forgotten.
So those were the major things we saw as part of the tour. The other interesting part of it was the constant game of stay away from the stinky guy. There was one guy (and his wife) on the tour that had some kind of strange cologne or aftershave on. He had alot of it on. It made Karen nauseous. So we were always trying to find the best place to stand to be upwind from him and close to the tour guide. Fun!
Now let me complain, er... talk about the actual tour. The good thing was having transportation arranged for to and from the town. It was about an hour from Prague by bus. There were only about a dozen people on the tour so Karen and I could both have window seats on the bus. The bad? It was a rush job. We had no chance to stop and explore side streets, shops, strange smells, etc... Though the tour guide seemed to suggest there wasn't much to see or explore so maybe it was ok. After this tour we decided no more guided tours (until our next trip that is).
Pictures from this trip.
Karen signed us up for a tour to go to Kutná Hora and Sedlec which is a suburb of Kutná Hora. In Sedlec there is a Roman Catholic chapel that contains an ossuary(place for final resting place of human bones). The Sedlec Ossuary is amazing. It supposedly contains anywhere from 40,000 to 70,000 human skeletons that have been arranged into various shapes and used to build things.
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| From Prague2008_KutnaHora |
Kutná Hora was known for being a mining town. It it's heyday it was second only to Prague as the most important city in Bohemia. While there we visited St Barbara's Church and the old royal mint. The church is amazing. We took pictures but they don't do it justice. The place is massive. Inside there are numerous chapels and frescoes. At the mint we took part in an English tour. It was interesting to hear about the history of the silver dinar and how it helped propel the area into prosperity. But as soon as the silver mines dried up, the town was forgotten.
So those were the major things we saw as part of the tour. The other interesting part of it was the constant game of stay away from the stinky guy. There was one guy (and his wife) on the tour that had some kind of strange cologne or aftershave on. He had alot of it on. It made Karen nauseous. So we were always trying to find the best place to stand to be upwind from him and close to the tour guide. Fun!
Now let me complain, er... talk about the actual tour. The good thing was having transportation arranged for to and from the town. It was about an hour from Prague by bus. There were only about a dozen people on the tour so Karen and I could both have window seats on the bus. The bad? It was a rush job. We had no chance to stop and explore side streets, shops, strange smells, etc... Though the tour guide seemed to suggest there wasn't much to see or explore so maybe it was ok. After this tour we decided no more guided tours (until our next trip that is).
Friday, 19 September 2008
Český Krumlov Day 2
Sunday 9/14/2008.
Wooo... it got really cold (and cloudy). The weather changed pretty quickly in one night. I didn't mind until my feet started to get cold. But I'd rather be cold than hot.
Our hotel, Hotýlek U Malého Vítka, included a buffet breakfast. It was nothing special. The coffee was decent. Interesting thing here a guy Karen and I observed eating. He basically loaded his plate with food. He emptied the sausage warmer of little sausages and piled on meat and cheese. It was amazing to watch him go at it. And the amount of butter or meat pate he spread on his bread to go with it.
After breakfast Karen and I walked over to the castle to sign up for a tour. It didn't start till 11:30 so we had about an hour to kill. The interior of the castle is not open to the public unless you are on a guided tour. So we started to explore the outside of the castle. One thing that struck me was that the walls had a painted on design that imitated bricks and sort of gave off a 3-D look. See the wall on the left of this picture?
I'm not sure what the deal is with that. Is it historically accurate? I tried to not to think about if the painting was done recently to spruce up the place and how cheesy it looks.
Towards the rear of the castle we passed by a door with a sign outside. All the info was in Czech, but I did see a word that I think meant "FREE" so I figured here was a part of the castle you could go inside and not have to pay, sweet! The room was originally the stable. There were some original items from the 18th/19th century inside, a sled, a carriage, and some horse tackle for example. Pretty neat stuff to look at for a couple minutes. After about 10 minutes inside, the castle employee sitting near the door stood up and started talking Czech. No idea what she was saying. Then she walked over to the door and locked it. Um... ok. She walked over to the exhibits and started talking out loud. I'm guessing about the stuff in the room. It was all in Czech! I tried to follow some of it but she was going too fast. Karen and I looked at each other and grinned. Oh well, good thing it only last 15 minutes. After we got out of there we explored the royal gardens all the way in the back of the castle grounds. That is where the royals went to promenade and ride their sleighs in winter.
The tour of the inside of the castle was interesting. We learned about the history of it and I learned what Rococo style means(gold gilding on stuff, straight lines/patterns, and oriental themes). We weren't allowed to take pictures inside which is too bad because there were some really neat things inside, including lots of bear rugs.
We ate lunch at Na Louzi (again) after that. And spent the rest of the day looking for a ceramic dishes. Side story here to explain why. When Karen and I got married, she wanted to register for china. I didn't. My reasons: we have no space, we'll never use it, we can get it later. Karen's reason: we probably won't buy it later so let's get it now. In all fairness I'm sure she had good reasons but since I'm writing this post I'm going to slant it my way :). So instead of registering for china, we decided to collect it place settings from the places that we travel to. We started on our honeymoon in Greece. And now we wanted to add to it with stuff from Czech Republic. End of side story.
We found a shop that made artsy ceramics, not traditional stuff. The shop did not have plates though, so we just bought a bowl and cup/saucer. The lady working there was very nice. We talked to her in German/Polish and explained what we were doing. She was very sorry for not having a plate. I think she liked our idea alot because she ended up giving us a plate that was holding some cards in the shop. The plate had streaks in the glazing so it wasn't a plate that would sell normally I think. But it's the thought that counts and she was very generous to offer the plate. Karen and I did find plates in another shop with more traditional designs on them so we were all set!
I bought another trdelnik to snack on. These are traditional pastries cooked on spinning rollers to form a tube shaped yummy snack. This video isn't one I made but shows what they are pretty well.
We went to Cafe Puro (again) for cappuccinos and to fill out some post cards while waiting for our bus. Unfortunately the owner had to close up because he had run out of coffee and needed to buy some more. So we walked over to the bus station to wait for the last hour. It started to rain at this point too. Can't complain since in the 10 or so days we were on our trip, this is the first time it rained.
The bus ride home was about 3.5 hours but on a bigger bus this time, and older. It had a 70s style decor to it. Or maybe you can call it communist style. Anyway, the bus was pretty full and some people had to stand for part of the journey. I guess you can buy tickets but without a seat assignment. One of two teen boys in front of us had such a ticket. But they didn't offer to leave the seats they took until someone else finally asked them to show their tickets.
So that was our adventure to Český Krumlov. It was a great place to visit. I would definitely suggest going to anyone who is in the area. And do try to go for more than 1 day. Besides the sightseeing stuff, there are hiking trails and an company that rents rafts so you can paddle down the Vlatava river.
Wooo... it got really cold (and cloudy). The weather changed pretty quickly in one night. I didn't mind until my feet started to get cold. But I'd rather be cold than hot.
Our hotel, Hotýlek U Malého Vítka, included a buffet breakfast. It was nothing special. The coffee was decent. Interesting thing here a guy Karen and I observed eating. He basically loaded his plate with food. He emptied the sausage warmer of little sausages and piled on meat and cheese. It was amazing to watch him go at it. And the amount of butter or meat pate he spread on his bread to go with it.
After breakfast Karen and I walked over to the castle to sign up for a tour. It didn't start till 11:30 so we had about an hour to kill. The interior of the castle is not open to the public unless you are on a guided tour. So we started to explore the outside of the castle. One thing that struck me was that the walls had a painted on design that imitated bricks and sort of gave off a 3-D look. See the wall on the left of this picture?
I'm not sure what the deal is with that. Is it historically accurate? I tried to not to think about if the painting was done recently to spruce up the place and how cheesy it looks.
Towards the rear of the castle we passed by a door with a sign outside. All the info was in Czech, but I did see a word that I think meant "FREE" so I figured here was a part of the castle you could go inside and not have to pay, sweet! The room was originally the stable. There were some original items from the 18th/19th century inside, a sled, a carriage, and some horse tackle for example. Pretty neat stuff to look at for a couple minutes. After about 10 minutes inside, the castle employee sitting near the door stood up and started talking Czech. No idea what she was saying. Then she walked over to the door and locked it. Um... ok. She walked over to the exhibits and started talking out loud. I'm guessing about the stuff in the room. It was all in Czech! I tried to follow some of it but she was going too fast. Karen and I looked at each other and grinned. Oh well, good thing it only last 15 minutes. After we got out of there we explored the royal gardens all the way in the back of the castle grounds. That is where the royals went to promenade and ride their sleighs in winter.
The tour of the inside of the castle was interesting. We learned about the history of it and I learned what Rococo style means(gold gilding on stuff, straight lines/patterns, and oriental themes). We weren't allowed to take pictures inside which is too bad because there were some really neat things inside, including lots of bear rugs.
We ate lunch at Na Louzi (again) after that. And spent the rest of the day looking for a ceramic dishes. Side story here to explain why. When Karen and I got married, she wanted to register for china. I didn't. My reasons: we have no space, we'll never use it, we can get it later. Karen's reason: we probably won't buy it later so let's get it now. In all fairness I'm sure she had good reasons but since I'm writing this post I'm going to slant it my way :). So instead of registering for china, we decided to collect it place settings from the places that we travel to. We started on our honeymoon in Greece. And now we wanted to add to it with stuff from Czech Republic. End of side story.
We found a shop that made artsy ceramics, not traditional stuff. The shop did not have plates though, so we just bought a bowl and cup/saucer. The lady working there was very nice. We talked to her in German/Polish and explained what we were doing. She was very sorry for not having a plate. I think she liked our idea alot because she ended up giving us a plate that was holding some cards in the shop. The plate had streaks in the glazing so it wasn't a plate that would sell normally I think. But it's the thought that counts and she was very generous to offer the plate. Karen and I did find plates in another shop with more traditional designs on them so we were all set!
I bought another trdelnik to snack on. These are traditional pastries cooked on spinning rollers to form a tube shaped yummy snack. This video isn't one I made but shows what they are pretty well.
We went to Cafe Puro (again) for cappuccinos and to fill out some post cards while waiting for our bus. Unfortunately the owner had to close up because he had run out of coffee and needed to buy some more. So we walked over to the bus station to wait for the last hour. It started to rain at this point too. Can't complain since in the 10 or so days we were on our trip, this is the first time it rained.
The bus ride home was about 3.5 hours but on a bigger bus this time, and older. It had a 70s style decor to it. Or maybe you can call it communist style. Anyway, the bus was pretty full and some people had to stand for part of the journey. I guess you can buy tickets but without a seat assignment. One of two teen boys in front of us had such a ticket. But they didn't offer to leave the seats they took until someone else finally asked them to show their tickets.
So that was our adventure to Český Krumlov. It was a great place to visit. I would definitely suggest going to anyone who is in the area. And do try to go for more than 1 day. Besides the sightseeing stuff, there are hiking trails and an company that rents rafts so you can paddle down the Vlatava river.
Tuesday, 16 September 2008
Český Krumlov Day 1
On Saturday and Sunday, 9/13,9/14 Karen and I took a trip to Southern Bohemia to the town of Český Krumlov
The trip actually started the day before with us trying to buy bus tickets. Details on that in another post. The bus left at 9am from Florenc bus/metro station. Pretty easy to get there from our apartment. We got there about 1/2 hour early and walked over to the platform listed on the ticket (by platform I mean sidewalk with metal bars that guided people to form a line. It seemed like a lot of people were on line for the small bus. So I asked the person ahead of me in Czech if this was the bus to Český Krumlov. The young lady said yes and then fired off a bunch more words in Czech. I said in English that I don't understand that much Czech. She just went on reading her book. Hmph... So I asked another person in line and she answered "Oui". She probably wasn't Czech but at least she understood "Český Krumlov". This same lady happened to sit down in front of us on the bus. After a few minutes she turned around and exclaimed, "You speak English". Turns out she was American. I chatted with her awhile on the bus ride while two young Czech teens in the seats next to me alternated between sleeping and making out.
Karen and I were in the last row of the bus which was actually quite nice. I got some neat pictures through the back window of a nuclear power plant in Temelín. The bus was actually a "mini" bus but the ride was comfortable. It took us about 3.5 hours with a couple of stops to pick up or drop off passengers but without any pit stops. So you know the first thing we looked for when we got to Český Krumlov.
The tourist office was great. They helped us find a hotel because we didn't have any reservations and pointed Karen to the nearest public WC. We stayed at an awesome little hotel called Hotýlek U Malého Vítka or "Little Vitek's Hotel". Each room in the hotel was named after a character from Czech fairytales. They had numbers too since the key-ring labels would have to be huge to print room names legibly.
Our first task was finding food. We went to eat at a hospoda called Na louzi which was recommended in our guide book. What a great place. The local beer served in most places is Eggenberg. It came in light and dark flavor both of which were tasty. The place was full at lunch time, with locals and some tourists. The place is also a hotel so no wonder.
After eating we strolled over to Hrad(castle) Krumlov. The castle has a moat but it isn't filled with water. Instead it has two bears living in it. How cool is that? See the fuzzy wuzzy pictures.
It was about 3pm-ish and too late for a tour so we decided to climb up the tower instead. That was a great idea. The weather was beautiful Saturday and the views were great.
After the tower we went back to town to explore it and to have some coffee. We found a cafe that served fair trade coffee. Yay! Karen ordered a crepe with blueberry sauce... it wasn't very good. I'm not sure if the blueberries are fair trade too but they didn't taste too good. The cappuccinos we had were good. After that we headed over to Hotel Růže to see a classical concert. The flyer said horn concert or something like that. By concert I thought a group of players, featuring french horn or trumpet or brass. They meant a pianist, violinist, and french hornist. They played about 6 pieces, half of which featured the violinist soloing. So I wouldn't call it a horn concert or anything special really. I'm not trying to be mean. It was nice, but meh... I'll leave it at that.
When the concert was over Karen and I headed out to look for a place to eat dinner. We tried a couple places, including Na louzi but they were all full. So we ended up eating at our hotel. There was a guy playing piano, and a lady joined him later on to sing. They played/sang mostly oldies, I mean old oldies, what was probably pop music back in that day. Karen and I liked it. The food was ok. It came with more vegetables than the average Czech meal we had so far on our trip. And they served Eggenberg beer.. yay! Karen wanted to try the fruit filled knedle(dumplings) for dessert. Guess who ended up finishing them? Ahyup... Maciej. I was so stuffed after dinner. That's been a general theme on this trip for me.
So anyway.. that was our first day in Český Krumlov.
The trip actually started the day before with us trying to buy bus tickets. Details on that in another post. The bus left at 9am from Florenc bus/metro station. Pretty easy to get there from our apartment. We got there about 1/2 hour early and walked over to the platform listed on the ticket (by platform I mean sidewalk with metal bars that guided people to form a line. It seemed like a lot of people were on line for the small bus. So I asked the person ahead of me in Czech if this was the bus to Český Krumlov. The young lady said yes and then fired off a bunch more words in Czech. I said in English that I don't understand that much Czech. She just went on reading her book. Hmph... So I asked another person in line and she answered "Oui". She probably wasn't Czech but at least she understood "Český Krumlov". This same lady happened to sit down in front of us on the bus. After a few minutes she turned around and exclaimed, "You speak English". Turns out she was American. I chatted with her awhile on the bus ride while two young Czech teens in the seats next to me alternated between sleeping and making out.
Karen and I were in the last row of the bus which was actually quite nice. I got some neat pictures through the back window of a nuclear power plant in Temelín. The bus was actually a "mini" bus but the ride was comfortable. It took us about 3.5 hours with a couple of stops to pick up or drop off passengers but without any pit stops. So you know the first thing we looked for when we got to Český Krumlov.
The tourist office was great. They helped us find a hotel because we didn't have any reservations and pointed Karen to the nearest public WC. We stayed at an awesome little hotel called Hotýlek U Malého Vítka or "Little Vitek's Hotel". Each room in the hotel was named after a character from Czech fairytales. They had numbers too since the key-ring labels would have to be huge to print room names legibly.
Our first task was finding food. We went to eat at a hospoda called Na louzi which was recommended in our guide book. What a great place. The local beer served in most places is Eggenberg. It came in light and dark flavor both of which were tasty. The place was full at lunch time, with locals and some tourists. The place is also a hotel so no wonder.
After eating we strolled over to Hrad(castle) Krumlov. The castle has a moat but it isn't filled with water. Instead it has two bears living in it. How cool is that? See the fuzzy wuzzy pictures.
It was about 3pm-ish and too late for a tour so we decided to climb up the tower instead. That was a great idea. The weather was beautiful Saturday and the views were great.
After the tower we went back to town to explore it and to have some coffee. We found a cafe that served fair trade coffee. Yay! Karen ordered a crepe with blueberry sauce... it wasn't very good. I'm not sure if the blueberries are fair trade too but they didn't taste too good. The cappuccinos we had were good. After that we headed over to Hotel Růže to see a classical concert. The flyer said horn concert or something like that. By concert I thought a group of players, featuring french horn or trumpet or brass. They meant a pianist, violinist, and french hornist. They played about 6 pieces, half of which featured the violinist soloing. So I wouldn't call it a horn concert or anything special really. I'm not trying to be mean. It was nice, but meh... I'll leave it at that.
When the concert was over Karen and I headed out to look for a place to eat dinner. We tried a couple places, including Na louzi but they were all full. So we ended up eating at our hotel. There was a guy playing piano, and a lady joined him later on to sing. They played/sang mostly oldies, I mean old oldies, what was probably pop music back in that day. Karen and I liked it. The food was ok. It came with more vegetables than the average Czech meal we had so far on our trip. And they served Eggenberg beer.. yay! Karen wanted to try the fruit filled knedle(dumplings) for dessert. Guess who ended up finishing them? Ahyup... Maciej. I was so stuffed after dinner. That's been a general theme on this trip for me.
So anyway.. that was our first day in Český Krumlov.
Monday, 15 September 2008
Days 5 - 8: September 9-12
Day 5: September 12
Another hot day. I decided to go see the Lapidarium today, which hosts sculptures and statues from the 11th - 19th centuries. It is located way over the river, off the beaten path as the tour book says. Since it was a nice day I thought I'd take my time and take a walk over there. So, I head on my journey, which takes me through parts of town that I have not been through, including past an ice cream store. I walk over a bridge (for cars and pedestrians), but it seems as though pedestrians don't use it as often, taking the smarter route and using the metro. The bridge takes me to an area that is definitely not tourist friendly and a bit challenging to navigate, but never-the-less, this is one museum I definitely want to see. I finally, after having to walk under streets using multiple sets of stairs, find my way to the metro station that is for the Lapidarium; this took about 45-60 minutes from the start. Great! I'm looking at my trusty map, which does not go out as far as this museum is. After walking around and looking for the museum in the area, I walk down into the Metro station and there is not an English speaker around. A map is nicely located on the wall, which from what I was reading was telling me I had to take a tram to the area where I needed to go (thanks Guide Book! failed to mention that little detail). So, I hop on the tram, which takes me to the location. It was a little odd when I got off the tram because there really weren't many (may 5 or 6 tops) people around near the museum. I walk over to find that the museum is closed today for "technical problems". It was annoying, but at least there was a cute park that I could walk around, near some gardens and the planetarium. The good thing is, now I know exactly how to get to the museum.
Maciej and I decided to try a restaurant, Vallenta, for dinner. The Guide book listed it as having their favorite meal in Prague. We set out on our journey and find the restaurant has either moved or is no longer in business. Yikes! It's getting late now and the sun is half set and Maciej wants to continue to walk around. We end up at a restaurant, Pizzeria Grosseto. This is a restaurant that we have passed numerous times, always is packed and appears to attract the locals. End up having a fantastic Italian meal. Maciej and I each got a pasta dish - they make their own pasta there! We tried a Moravian Chardonnay, which was dry at first taste, with a sweet aftertaste. Overall, after having a few set-backs, had a fantastic dinner!
Day 6: September 10
Maciej had a 5 pm (Prague time: 11 am EST) con call, so I met him down in Chodov for dinner. We ate at a restaurant called Sphinx. The food was okay, nothing particularly worth mentioning. We tried Bernard beer, yet another Pilsner made in the Czech Republic. This one I am not a fan of..a little too light for my liking.
Day 7: September 11
I found the large Tesco, a local grocery chain, yesterday. This one is huge - it is 6 floors of goodness. Each floor is dedicated to a different set of goods (i.e. ladies department, home goods, sports department, liquor and obviously food). It was awesome. It's interesting to walk around and see the different types of food that can be purchased, and how similar foods can be. I didn't see a lot of canned goods, such as soups - in fact the only soups I found were in a pouch in which to add water. I'm not talking Campbell's type, these come in larger bags - I'll let you know how the one I bought is. I didn't find as many low fat versions of dairy products as in the US, but let's face it - the US is the queen of low fat products. Regardless if you look, there are some basic low fat dairy products like yogurt and some cheeses (it's pretty interesting to see Laughing Cow, but written all in Czech - thank goodness for pictures and brand names). They do have a "whole foods or organic" section as well. I spent longer than needed in the store checking out all sorts of neat products - now if only I could read the labels! There were super long lines, even though it was early afternoon. It was very interesting, the woman behind me started speaking to me in Czech. Of course I had absolutely no idea what the words coming out of her mouth meant, but I definitely got the gist of what she was saying. She was making comments about an older (had to be at least in her 70's) woman, who kept asking people in the line next to us if she could go ahead of them so she could buy their Lipton Yellow Label tea. The woman behind me (probably in her 60's) was definitely joking around, and I didn't have the heart to tell her that I don't understand Czech, so I just smiled/laughed and nodded since I could at least get the idea of the conversation (hopefully that's what she was saying - if not then I totally mis-read the non-verbal signals).
Enough about the grocery store...I went to Meduzza cafe, which one of the Czech websites (written by an English speaking person who spent time in the Czech Republic) raved about and is conveniently located in our neighborhood. I ordered a cappuccino and chocolate cake. The cappuccino was okay, was laking a little in flavor (from the espresso) and froth, but definitely drinkable. The chocolate cake was a 3/4-inch high x 4 inch long x 3 inch wide slice of dry chocolate baked good, covered with a fudge-like frosting, with a massive pile of whipped cream on top. It was garnished with a small slice of orange on each side. It was nice to be outdoors, but some other cafes have definitely had better food.
Maciej and I met up with one of his co-workers for drinks (well, we had dinner as well). It landed us once again at Pivovarsky Dum. This place has great beer, but is so unbelievably warm inside - we think it's a conspiracy to make people want to drink more! Despite wanting to order the same meal as before, I resisted the urge and tried another meal. Maciej ordered a pork knuckle, which was HUGE! He enjoyed eating it, but I could barely look at it - yuck! You could definitely tell it was part of an animal, skin, fat, bone and all. Yikes! I'm glad Maciej's co-worker was there so I could focus on talking to him instead of on the poor pig. Interestingly, Maciej's co-worker is originally from Greece, but has extensively traveled and lived in different countries. He has been living in the Czech Republic for the past 2 years. We met up with his co-workers girlfriend after dinner, who is a native of the Czech Republic, a classical guitarist, speaks English well and is also super nice.
Day 8: September 12
Maciej took care of our adventure on the Vltava.
Another hot day. I decided to go see the Lapidarium today, which hosts sculptures and statues from the 11th - 19th centuries. It is located way over the river, off the beaten path as the tour book says. Since it was a nice day I thought I'd take my time and take a walk over there. So, I head on my journey, which takes me through parts of town that I have not been through, including past an ice cream store. I walk over a bridge (for cars and pedestrians), but it seems as though pedestrians don't use it as often, taking the smarter route and using the metro. The bridge takes me to an area that is definitely not tourist friendly and a bit challenging to navigate, but never-the-less, this is one museum I definitely want to see. I finally, after having to walk under streets using multiple sets of stairs, find my way to the metro station that is for the Lapidarium; this took about 45-60 minutes from the start. Great! I'm looking at my trusty map, which does not go out as far as this museum is. After walking around and looking for the museum in the area, I walk down into the Metro station and there is not an English speaker around. A map is nicely located on the wall, which from what I was reading was telling me I had to take a tram to the area where I needed to go (thanks Guide Book! failed to mention that little detail). So, I hop on the tram, which takes me to the location. It was a little odd when I got off the tram because there really weren't many (may 5 or 6 tops) people around near the museum. I walk over to find that the museum is closed today for "technical problems". It was annoying, but at least there was a cute park that I could walk around, near some gardens and the planetarium. The good thing is, now I know exactly how to get to the museum.
Maciej and I decided to try a restaurant, Vallenta, for dinner. The Guide book listed it as having their favorite meal in Prague. We set out on our journey and find the restaurant has either moved or is no longer in business. Yikes! It's getting late now and the sun is half set and Maciej wants to continue to walk around. We end up at a restaurant, Pizzeria Grosseto. This is a restaurant that we have passed numerous times, always is packed and appears to attract the locals. End up having a fantastic Italian meal. Maciej and I each got a pasta dish - they make their own pasta there! We tried a Moravian Chardonnay, which was dry at first taste, with a sweet aftertaste. Overall, after having a few set-backs, had a fantastic dinner!
Day 6: September 10
Maciej had a 5 pm (Prague time: 11 am EST) con call, so I met him down in Chodov for dinner. We ate at a restaurant called Sphinx. The food was okay, nothing particularly worth mentioning. We tried Bernard beer, yet another Pilsner made in the Czech Republic. This one I am not a fan of..a little too light for my liking.
Day 7: September 11
I found the large Tesco, a local grocery chain, yesterday. This one is huge - it is 6 floors of goodness. Each floor is dedicated to a different set of goods (i.e. ladies department, home goods, sports department, liquor and obviously food). It was awesome. It's interesting to walk around and see the different types of food that can be purchased, and how similar foods can be. I didn't see a lot of canned goods, such as soups - in fact the only soups I found were in a pouch in which to add water. I'm not talking Campbell's type, these come in larger bags - I'll let you know how the one I bought is. I didn't find as many low fat versions of dairy products as in the US, but let's face it - the US is the queen of low fat products. Regardless if you look, there are some basic low fat dairy products like yogurt and some cheeses (it's pretty interesting to see Laughing Cow, but written all in Czech - thank goodness for pictures and brand names). They do have a "whole foods or organic" section as well. I spent longer than needed in the store checking out all sorts of neat products - now if only I could read the labels! There were super long lines, even though it was early afternoon. It was very interesting, the woman behind me started speaking to me in Czech. Of course I had absolutely no idea what the words coming out of her mouth meant, but I definitely got the gist of what she was saying. She was making comments about an older (had to be at least in her 70's) woman, who kept asking people in the line next to us if she could go ahead of them so she could buy their Lipton Yellow Label tea. The woman behind me (probably in her 60's) was definitely joking around, and I didn't have the heart to tell her that I don't understand Czech, so I just smiled/laughed and nodded since I could at least get the idea of the conversation (hopefully that's what she was saying - if not then I totally mis-read the non-verbal signals).
Enough about the grocery store...I went to Meduzza cafe, which one of the Czech websites (written by an English speaking person who spent time in the Czech Republic) raved about and is conveniently located in our neighborhood. I ordered a cappuccino and chocolate cake. The cappuccino was okay, was laking a little in flavor (from the espresso) and froth, but definitely drinkable. The chocolate cake was a 3/4-inch high x 4 inch long x 3 inch wide slice of dry chocolate baked good, covered with a fudge-like frosting, with a massive pile of whipped cream on top. It was garnished with a small slice of orange on each side. It was nice to be outdoors, but some other cafes have definitely had better food.
Maciej and I met up with one of his co-workers for drinks (well, we had dinner as well). It landed us once again at Pivovarsky Dum. This place has great beer, but is so unbelievably warm inside - we think it's a conspiracy to make people want to drink more! Despite wanting to order the same meal as before, I resisted the urge and tried another meal. Maciej ordered a pork knuckle, which was HUGE! He enjoyed eating it, but I could barely look at it - yuck! You could definitely tell it was part of an animal, skin, fat, bone and all. Yikes! I'm glad Maciej's co-worker was there so I could focus on talking to him instead of on the poor pig. Interestingly, Maciej's co-worker is originally from Greece, but has extensively traveled and lived in different countries. He has been living in the Czech Republic for the past 2 years. We met up with his co-workers girlfriend after dinner, who is a native of the Czech Republic, a classical guitarist, speaks English well and is also super nice.
Day 8: September 12
Maciej took care of our adventure on the Vltava.
Prague by Night
Karen and I signed up for a tour of Prague by bus and river boat. The Vlatava river flows right through Prague.
Here are some pictures from the tour and our walk back at night from the boat.
We took the tour on a Friday evening. The bus part was pretty lame but we didn't mind. The boat part is what we were really interested in. The bus dropped us off at the dock where our boat left from. We didn't get any pics of the boat though.. too bad. There were about 40 people on the boat. We got a little glass of a Czech aperitif, I think it was Becherovka. We had to pay for drinks which were priced outrageously compared to other places that sold drinks. Not surprising I guess. The boat floated along the river. A guide who spoke English, Italian, and Czech gave bits of info about stuff we saw along the way. He had a funny way of speaking.. "Here you see so and so.. mmmm. And now you see why blah is so... mmmmm". It's like a person giving a speech saying "umm.. uh" alot when pausing between sentences or something. But this guy added on a "mmm", sort of in a questioning manner to end every phrase. Maybe you had to be there.
The boat had to go through a lock at one point. That was fun to watch. Four or six boats can fit in the lock. They line up in side by side in pairs. Our boat was next to last in the lock. The last boat came flying in but glided right in and stopped without bumping the boat in front. But I guess someone forgot to tie up the boat inside the lock because it swung out and bumped our boat pretty hard. Hard enough to cause drinks to slide on tables a little. The guide started cracking Titanic jokes. I would of added that in case of emergency, please finish your drink and look for a life vest. There was no "safety" presentation when the tour started, so I actually had no idea where any vests were. But I did know where my beer was at all times.
There was also a buffet style dinner included in the tour. It was nothing special. But they did have good chicken nuggets and some kind of ball shaped fried bread thingies. And, rare for Czech food, steamed mixed veggies that were actually good!
The tour last about 3 hours. About 1/3-1/2 of that was spent waiting to get in and through the lock. Overall it was nice trip because you got to see some sights from the water. But at night it was hard to see stuff. I wouldn't suggest doing this unless you really want to. Maybe a different tour company would give different results.
Here are some pictures from the tour and our walk back at night from the boat.
We took the tour on a Friday evening. The bus part was pretty lame but we didn't mind. The boat part is what we were really interested in. The bus dropped us off at the dock where our boat left from. We didn't get any pics of the boat though.. too bad. There were about 40 people on the boat. We got a little glass of a Czech aperitif, I think it was Becherovka. We had to pay for drinks which were priced outrageously compared to other places that sold drinks. Not surprising I guess. The boat floated along the river. A guide who spoke English, Italian, and Czech gave bits of info about stuff we saw along the way. He had a funny way of speaking.. "Here you see so and so.. mmmm. And now you see why blah is so... mmmmm". It's like a person giving a speech saying "umm.. uh" alot when pausing between sentences or something. But this guy added on a "mmm", sort of in a questioning manner to end every phrase. Maybe you had to be there.
The boat had to go through a lock at one point. That was fun to watch. Four or six boats can fit in the lock. They line up in side by side in pairs. Our boat was next to last in the lock. The last boat came flying in but glided right in and stopped without bumping the boat in front. But I guess someone forgot to tie up the boat inside the lock because it swung out and bumped our boat pretty hard. Hard enough to cause drinks to slide on tables a little. The guide started cracking Titanic jokes. I would of added that in case of emergency, please finish your drink and look for a life vest. There was no "safety" presentation when the tour started, so I actually had no idea where any vests were. But I did know where my beer was at all times.
There was also a buffet style dinner included in the tour. It was nothing special. But they did have good chicken nuggets and some kind of ball shaped fried bread thingies. And, rare for Czech food, steamed mixed veggies that were actually good!
The tour last about 3 hours. About 1/3-1/2 of that was spent waiting to get in and through the lock. Overall it was nice trip because you got to see some sights from the water. But at night it was hard to see stuff. I wouldn't suggest doing this unless you really want to. Maybe a different tour company would give different results.
Pictures of our apartment
Finally, some pictures. Here is where Karen and I are staying. There are towels, lines for bed, and a little bit of TP. Some dish soap and sponges. Dishes/cutlery are simple stuff from IKEA. There is one frying pan, a small pot, and bigger pot. There is an electric kettle which is very useful. We had to buy tissues, paper towels, laundry soap, garbage bags, and more TP. There was also some salt, sugar, and coffee left behind.
Prague apartment pictures.
Prague apartment pictures.
Monday, 8 September 2008
Day 4 - September 8, 2008
While Maciej's away, Karen will play.
Today Maciej had to go earn the bread and head into work. This meant Karen had the day to...tie up loose ends. It all started by getting my hands dirty and cleaning out the drain in the shower. It kept backing up, which I find to be extremely nasty. I don't think they sell Drano or products like that in the area - they're pretty conscious about what goes down the drains (I've looked in about 10 stores and haven't found any sort of product - going by the picture on the label, of course). So, I found a pair of chopsticks in the silverware drawer (go MacGuyver) so I wouldn't have to use my hands to reach into the drain (yuck) and got to work. The efforts were beneficial and there are no more backups (so far).
Next led to a little grocery shopping; I explored around in a fairly large radius and found a bunch of stores. Being the thrifty shopper I am, I have been noticing prices for commonly used goods at stores (i.e. cereal, milk, cheese, TP) and have been finding where the best prices are. Since I don't have any work time restrictions while here, might as well use my feet and my talents will take me to successful trips.
Since I was such a good little doobie, I explored around our neighborhood (which is not like the touristy area downtown at all) and found myself a cute little outdoor cafe to sit at and read. I utilized my Czech language skills (really the only few words I know) to order my warm caffeinated beverage of choice and sat back soaking in the fresh air and atmosphere. The cafe was on one of the four sides of a square with a fountain in the middle. The fountain was perched up on a small hill and had grass around it. In the middle, the fountain had a fish with water spurting up through the mouth. There were 3 figures (a lion, a hippo and what looked like an armadillo) around the edge of the fountain also with water streams coming out of their mouths. My cappuccino came out and had a flower on the top made of cinnamon.
There was also some good people watching. There were 2 older men who sat down at the table next to me. They each ordered a cappuccino, one also ordered a glass of red wine and one a cigarette (looked like a clove-type cigarette). They also ordered a cheesecake to share. Cheesecake variations have been on almost all of the menus I have seen thus far.
Maciej said he would write about or dinner adventure.
One last interesting note: the toilet in our apartment has a button on top, which one side you push down to flush and the other side you have to push to stop the flushing (it actually has the word "stop" on it).
Today Maciej had to go earn the bread and head into work. This meant Karen had the day to...tie up loose ends. It all started by getting my hands dirty and cleaning out the drain in the shower. It kept backing up, which I find to be extremely nasty. I don't think they sell Drano or products like that in the area - they're pretty conscious about what goes down the drains (I've looked in about 10 stores and haven't found any sort of product - going by the picture on the label, of course). So, I found a pair of chopsticks in the silverware drawer (go MacGuyver) so I wouldn't have to use my hands to reach into the drain (yuck) and got to work. The efforts were beneficial and there are no more backups (so far).
Next led to a little grocery shopping; I explored around in a fairly large radius and found a bunch of stores. Being the thrifty shopper I am, I have been noticing prices for commonly used goods at stores (i.e. cereal, milk, cheese, TP) and have been finding where the best prices are. Since I don't have any work time restrictions while here, might as well use my feet and my talents will take me to successful trips.
Since I was such a good little doobie, I explored around our neighborhood (which is not like the touristy area downtown at all) and found myself a cute little outdoor cafe to sit at and read. I utilized my Czech language skills (really the only few words I know) to order my warm caffeinated beverage of choice and sat back soaking in the fresh air and atmosphere. The cafe was on one of the four sides of a square with a fountain in the middle. The fountain was perched up on a small hill and had grass around it. In the middle, the fountain had a fish with water spurting up through the mouth. There were 3 figures (a lion, a hippo and what looked like an armadillo) around the edge of the fountain also with water streams coming out of their mouths. My cappuccino came out and had a flower on the top made of cinnamon.
There was also some good people watching. There were 2 older men who sat down at the table next to me. They each ordered a cappuccino, one also ordered a glass of red wine and one a cigarette (looked like a clove-type cigarette). They also ordered a cheesecake to share. Cheesecake variations have been on almost all of the menus I have seen thus far.
Maciej said he would write about or dinner adventure.
One last interesting note: the toilet in our apartment has a button on top, which one side you push down to flush and the other side you have to push to stop the flushing (it actually has the word "stop" on it).
Sunday, 7 September 2008
Tourists being tourists
Day 3 - September 7, 2008:
We (well, only Karen) donned our sneakers and went off for a day of sightseeing in the Jewish district armed with our camera. First we stopped for a little fuel at Radost cafe. Their brunch starts at 10:30 a.m. on Sundays and 11 a.m. all other days. It is a American style food place. They have massive portions, food items like omlets, pancakes, waffles, coffee(but only 2 free refills). Maciej had an omelet (looked like a 3 egg omelet that was made from real eggs, not the liquid ones) with cheese, spinach and mushrooms, home fries and toast (1 slice). I ordered the waffles with fresh fruit (the guide book said the pancakes and waffles were good). It came with 3 large waffles, mounds of fresh fruit (grapes, pineapple, banana, nectarine and apple) and 2 super large peaks of whipped cream - the whole thing was in a blueberry sauce. Somewhat overwhelming, but we were up for the task. No, I didn't finish it - but Maciej did. I've noticed that the fresh fruit (I've had fresh fruit with my meal multiple times) here is very different then in the US. In the US, typically the fruit is a combination of melons, grapes, maybe bananas and berries. On foods like waffles or pancakes it's usually berries in the US. Here they use whatever is in season. And, whenever I ask if there are melons (i hate swelling and itching) in it, they look at me kind of strange and say no. I'm relieved and order the meal happily! The decor is retro-like, with some heavy red cloth material on the light cords hanging from the ceilings. The menus are all handwritten (copies of course - do you really think they would hand-write all the menus!) and they have eclectic holders for the silverware and napkins. Definitely a notable hole-in-the-wall for bargain priced foods and atmosphere.
The Jewish District: pictures here
It was very interesting and extremely sad. I think I teared up a couple times - especially in the synagogue where the walls listed all the names of those who perished in concentration camps during World War II. The names were all hand-written on the walls, by where they were from and then alphabetical. This building led to a huge graveyard with more than 12000 tombstones, but probably 7-10 times that number in bodies (since there wasn't a lot of room, multiple bodies were buried at each location). Each building that we visited was actually a synagogue, some still used for religious services. Each site had a different part of the history of Jews in Czech/Slovakia region from the beginning of their arrival to current times. And one site had information about Jewish culture.
Late Lunch:
We ate at Kolkovna, which was down near the Jewish District. The big draw: they serve unpasteurized Pilsner Urquell. Great drinks! Maciej ordered the potato soup and a pork dish and I ordered the beef goulash with potato pancakes and bread dumplings. The potato soup came out served on a wooden board - a bread bowl with the soup in it. What a fabulous dish - Maciej and I agreed we would go back to get this. It was a little creamy, but not in a dense way (it was a broth based soup) and the bread had a crunchy exterior (toasted - not stale). My meal reminded me of a pot roast type of meat, though they were in chunks, and had a super thick and somewhat oily gravy to go with it. The bread dumplings remind me of an undercooked loaf of bread that has been cut into slices. The potato pancakes, which the book says is a must try, did not resemble any potato pancakes I have had. They were fried (i mean really fried and saturated) and no longer really tasted like potatoes. That must be why there is so much of the gravy - the gravy softened them up enough to be consumed.
We took the long way home (walked mostly along the river) - after a heavy meal, a long walk was definitely needed and appreciated. And, what better way to see a town then to keep taking different routes to and from home!
We (well, only Karen) donned our sneakers and went off for a day of sightseeing in the Jewish district armed with our camera. First we stopped for a little fuel at Radost cafe. Their brunch starts at 10:30 a.m. on Sundays and 11 a.m. all other days. It is a American style food place. They have massive portions, food items like omlets, pancakes, waffles, coffee(but only 2 free refills). Maciej had an omelet (looked like a 3 egg omelet that was made from real eggs, not the liquid ones) with cheese, spinach and mushrooms, home fries and toast (1 slice). I ordered the waffles with fresh fruit (the guide book said the pancakes and waffles were good). It came with 3 large waffles, mounds of fresh fruit (grapes, pineapple, banana, nectarine and apple) and 2 super large peaks of whipped cream - the whole thing was in a blueberry sauce. Somewhat overwhelming, but we were up for the task. No, I didn't finish it - but Maciej did. I've noticed that the fresh fruit (I've had fresh fruit with my meal multiple times) here is very different then in the US. In the US, typically the fruit is a combination of melons, grapes, maybe bananas and berries. On foods like waffles or pancakes it's usually berries in the US. Here they use whatever is in season. And, whenever I ask if there are melons (i hate swelling and itching) in it, they look at me kind of strange and say no. I'm relieved and order the meal happily! The decor is retro-like, with some heavy red cloth material on the light cords hanging from the ceilings. The menus are all handwritten (copies of course - do you really think they would hand-write all the menus!) and they have eclectic holders for the silverware and napkins. Definitely a notable hole-in-the-wall for bargain priced foods and atmosphere.
The Jewish District: pictures here
It was very interesting and extremely sad. I think I teared up a couple times - especially in the synagogue where the walls listed all the names of those who perished in concentration camps during World War II. The names were all hand-written on the walls, by where they were from and then alphabetical. This building led to a huge graveyard with more than 12000 tombstones, but probably 7-10 times that number in bodies (since there wasn't a lot of room, multiple bodies were buried at each location). Each building that we visited was actually a synagogue, some still used for religious services. Each site had a different part of the history of Jews in Czech/Slovakia region from the beginning of their arrival to current times. And one site had information about Jewish culture.
Late Lunch:
We ate at Kolkovna, which was down near the Jewish District. The big draw: they serve unpasteurized Pilsner Urquell. Great drinks! Maciej ordered the potato soup and a pork dish and I ordered the beef goulash with potato pancakes and bread dumplings. The potato soup came out served on a wooden board - a bread bowl with the soup in it. What a fabulous dish - Maciej and I agreed we would go back to get this. It was a little creamy, but not in a dense way (it was a broth based soup) and the bread had a crunchy exterior (toasted - not stale). My meal reminded me of a pot roast type of meat, though they were in chunks, and had a super thick and somewhat oily gravy to go with it. The bread dumplings remind me of an undercooked loaf of bread that has been cut into slices. The potato pancakes, which the book says is a must try, did not resemble any potato pancakes I have had. They were fried (i mean really fried and saturated) and no longer really tasted like potatoes. That must be why there is so much of the gravy - the gravy softened them up enough to be consumed.
We took the long way home (walked mostly along the river) - after a heavy meal, a long walk was definitely needed and appreciated. And, what better way to see a town then to keep taking different routes to and from home!
Day 1 and Day 2 - September 5 and 6
Day 1:
Maciej wrote about our adventures to Chodov. Now, Maciej was in no mood for shopping. I, on the other hand, thought - there is an upside to not having the luggage - we get to buy new clothes! And, even though we have an H&M in the US (yeah - downtown crossing!) they have different clothes in the H&M in Europe. Even funnier is that they have the labels "Euro" then the size.
Dinner: after much discussion, we decided to go to one of two places that were a few blocks from each other. I must say, we (especially Maciej) take our food outings seriously. Alas, he has done even more research on places to eat in the area than I have. Along our journey, we find out that one of the places is no longer in business (or if it is, it's not where it used to be). We ended up at a place called Ambiente. Interestingly, it was the first restaurant to become a "chain" - it has 2 locations, and this was a new concept in the area (started in the 1990's). I have one word for this restaurant - phenomenal! Supposedly it is known for 2 things: Mexican and Steak. Their steak menu was detailed and they have beef from multiple places and some that are grass fed for at least 20-23 months, etc. (one page of the menu was dedicated to the descriptions of where the meat is from, and another on preparations of the meat). Of course we chose non-American beef - who in their right mind would get the "North American" aged to like 10 months, good thing they didn't mention the cows are corn-fed in the US. Yuck! Maciej had a steak from an Irish cow with the signature Ambiente sauce (although it seemed like it was more of a rub). I had a steak from a cow from South Bohemia aka southern Czech Republic (a grass fed one of course) with a mushroom sauce.
The steak was perfectly done. I had grilled vegetables and mashed potatoes to go with it - not like American mashed potatoes, but they were still tasty.
We had a Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon. Nice and dry, lots of tannins - it accented the meat extremely well. For dessert: the dark chocolate fondue with fresh fruit! yum-o.
Day 2: September 6
It's damn hot! The sun was beating down and no wind to help cool us down.
Still no luggage and we didn't know when and if at all we would get it. So, off to Prague-land for some exploring and shopping.
Since I can go shopping during the week (woohoo for vacation!) we focused on Maciej getting clothes.
Maciej tried one of the red sausages that are said to be one of the only food items that aren't a rip off in the touristy Prague Land area (and won't get you really sick). From the descriptions I read, they have a "crunch" to them. Maciej got his sausage that was smothered (practically drowned) in mustard. He also got a pickle, but after looking at it, even Maciej decided to throw it out (this is a big deal - he doesn't throw food out, so it was really bad). The sausage did have a "crunch" to it (yes, of course I tried it, but I went the safer route and got a baguette sandwich from a cafe for lunch). Not only was there crunch, but lots of fatty pieces and it also had some "bite" to it - definitely pepper chunks and I'm not sure what else. Of interest, Maciej didn't finish it. (he finished about 3/4 of the foot long sausage) Even for him it was too much. The crunch came from the well cooked skin but it was tough to chew and he had to spit out most of it.
Maciej wrote about our adventures to Chodov. Now, Maciej was in no mood for shopping. I, on the other hand, thought - there is an upside to not having the luggage - we get to buy new clothes! And, even though we have an H&M in the US (yeah - downtown crossing!) they have different clothes in the H&M in Europe. Even funnier is that they have the labels "Euro" then the size.
Dinner: after much discussion, we decided to go to one of two places that were a few blocks from each other. I must say, we (especially Maciej) take our food outings seriously. Alas, he has done even more research on places to eat in the area than I have. Along our journey, we find out that one of the places is no longer in business (or if it is, it's not where it used to be). We ended up at a place called Ambiente. Interestingly, it was the first restaurant to become a "chain" - it has 2 locations, and this was a new concept in the area (started in the 1990's). I have one word for this restaurant - phenomenal! Supposedly it is known for 2 things: Mexican and Steak. Their steak menu was detailed and they have beef from multiple places and some that are grass fed for at least 20-23 months, etc. (one page of the menu was dedicated to the descriptions of where the meat is from, and another on preparations of the meat). Of course we chose non-American beef - who in their right mind would get the "North American" aged to like 10 months, good thing they didn't mention the cows are corn-fed in the US. Yuck! Maciej had a steak from an Irish cow with the signature Ambiente sauce (although it seemed like it was more of a rub). I had a steak from a cow from South Bohemia aka southern Czech Republic (a grass fed one of course) with a mushroom sauce.
The steak was perfectly done. I had grilled vegetables and mashed potatoes to go with it - not like American mashed potatoes, but they were still tasty.
We had a Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon. Nice and dry, lots of tannins - it accented the meat extremely well. For dessert: the dark chocolate fondue with fresh fruit! yum-o.
Day 2: September 6
It's damn hot! The sun was beating down and no wind to help cool us down.
Still no luggage and we didn't know when and if at all we would get it. So, off to Prague-land for some exploring and shopping.
Since I can go shopping during the week (woohoo for vacation!) we focused on Maciej getting clothes.
Maciej tried one of the red sausages that are said to be one of the only food items that aren't a rip off in the touristy Prague Land area (and won't get you really sick). From the descriptions I read, they have a "crunch" to them. Maciej got his sausage that was smothered (practically drowned) in mustard. He also got a pickle, but after looking at it, even Maciej decided to throw it out (this is a big deal - he doesn't throw food out, so it was really bad). The sausage did have a "crunch" to it (yes, of course I tried it, but I went the safer route and got a baguette sandwich from a cafe for lunch). Not only was there crunch, but lots of fatty pieces and it also had some "bite" to it - definitely pepper chunks and I'm not sure what else. Of interest, Maciej didn't finish it. (he finished about 3/4 of the foot long sausage) Even for him it was too much. The crunch came from the well cooked skin but it was tough to chew and he had to spit out most of it.
you've got bags
Our bags finally arrived. Yay. They were delivered On Saturday evening around 8pm. Good thing we were home. When I was filling out the CZA baggage form, the person working at the desk said I would get a call first to make sure I was home. I did get a call, but the guy was telling me in broken English to go outside in 10 minutes to get the bags. Karen and I were out earlier in the day walking around the touristy area that Karen likes to call "Prague Land". We got tired of walking and it was hot so we came home and were watching a movie.
Pictures of stuff coming soon...
Pictures of stuff coming soon...
Saturday, 6 September 2008
Emperor's New Clothes Part II
In a previous posting, I talked about getting new clothes. Before wearing some of them, I wanted to run them through the wash.
Let me explain washing machines in Europe a bit. The machines are front loading type. They spin very fast to get as much water out as possible. That's probably because there are no dryers. At least not that I've seen in any house I've been in. People hang their clothes to air dry inside, on balconies, or somewhere outside.
The labels next to buttons/dial on the front of the machine in our apartment don't have words, just pictures. That way they can be sold in any country in Europe I think. The funny thing is we haven't figured out how to use the washing machine in our apartment yet. I guess the pictures aren't enough for Karen and I. I talked to my uncle in Poland today and he tried to help me. I think the biggest problem I had was that the machine doesn't go through cycles automatically. You have to change between them yourself. Now I need to figure out when the right time is... wait for it... wait for it...
We did get laundry soap. There is a little drawer you pull out to fill with soap/fabric softener. The first time I used soap I put it in the wrong slot. I think I put it in the fabric softener slot. Oops... Second time I got it right. The clothes smelled like soap when they were done. I'm not sure if the soap was rinsed off or not though. Eh, they smell clean. Good enough. Next step spin cycle. The machine sounds like an airplane engine when it goes to high speed, neat! That video at spin cycle link shows the same machine we have but luckily that kind of spinning incident hasn't happened to us yet.
While hanging stuff to dry, Karen noticed some pinky-ness on a piece of clothing. Uh oh... another shirt had red splotches. Sigh... red clothes stain/bleed when you wash them. I kinda knew that but didn't think when I loaded the clothes. Luckily I didn't wash Karen's clothes, just mine. I think two shirts are ruined, two others have splotches in areas you can't see too well. Talk about frustrating.
I read something in a book recently that made me feel a little better about this(only slightly better mind you). It went something like this: "If life was void of imperfections you would have a perfect life. It would be a pretty boring life then wouldn't it?" Meh... Maybe I can use the clothes when I get cast as an extra in a movie and need to look like I have blood on me.
I think blowing up the death star was easier than figuring out this machine. Luke had the force at least. The only force I have is my foot hitting the machine... (and the internet to look for instructions)
Let me explain washing machines in Europe a bit. The machines are front loading type. They spin very fast to get as much water out as possible. That's probably because there are no dryers. At least not that I've seen in any house I've been in. People hang their clothes to air dry inside, on balconies, or somewhere outside.
The labels next to buttons/dial on the front of the machine in our apartment don't have words, just pictures. That way they can be sold in any country in Europe I think. The funny thing is we haven't figured out how to use the washing machine in our apartment yet. I guess the pictures aren't enough for Karen and I. I talked to my uncle in Poland today and he tried to help me. I think the biggest problem I had was that the machine doesn't go through cycles automatically. You have to change between them yourself. Now I need to figure out when the right time is... wait for it... wait for it...
We did get laundry soap. There is a little drawer you pull out to fill with soap/fabric softener. The first time I used soap I put it in the wrong slot. I think I put it in the fabric softener slot. Oops... Second time I got it right. The clothes smelled like soap when they were done. I'm not sure if the soap was rinsed off or not though. Eh, they smell clean. Good enough. Next step spin cycle. The machine sounds like an airplane engine when it goes to high speed, neat! That video at spin cycle link shows the same machine we have but luckily that kind of spinning incident hasn't happened to us yet.
While hanging stuff to dry, Karen noticed some pinky-ness on a piece of clothing. Uh oh... another shirt had red splotches. Sigh... red clothes stain/bleed when you wash them. I kinda knew that but didn't think when I loaded the clothes. Luckily I didn't wash Karen's clothes, just mine. I think two shirts are ruined, two others have splotches in areas you can't see too well. Talk about frustrating.
I read something in a book recently that made me feel a little better about this(only slightly better mind you). It went something like this: "If life was void of imperfections you would have a perfect life. It would be a pretty boring life then wouldn't it?" Meh... Maybe I can use the clothes when I get cast as an extra in a movie and need to look like I have blood on me.
I think blowing up the death star was easier than figuring out this machine. Luke had the force at least. The only force I have is my foot hitting the machine... (and the internet to look for instructions)
Emperor's New Clothes
Karen and I started our first full day in Prague with us still not having our luggage. Our clothes were sort of clean because we ran them through the washing machine but without soap. I'm just glad they were dry by morning so we could go out.
We needed to go out and get some clothes and toiletries because we had nothing. We went to Chodov where there is an American style mall. The subway station is right underneath the mall. We shopped around for stuff for an hour or three. Our first stop was H&M and after seeing the clothes/prices there I was very distraught. It's a good thing Karen was familiar with the store chains and was able to find a good place to buy clothes. We took a lunch break to get some pizza while there too. It was pretty good pizza, thin crust. We ordered 2 because the waitress seemed to indicate they weren't too big. Well.. after they arrived we thought one would of been enough. No worries though, I finished whatever Karen couldn't. I can't let food go to waste, can I?
We also bought some laundry soap and deodorant cuz we was stiiin-keeeee... woo! Shopping done we headed home. Not exactly the way I pictured spending my first day in Prague. oh well...
We needed to go out and get some clothes and toiletries because we had nothing. We went to Chodov where there is an American style mall. The subway station is right underneath the mall. We shopped around for stuff for an hour or three. Our first stop was H&M and after seeing the clothes/prices there I was very distraught. It's a good thing Karen was familiar with the store chains and was able to find a good place to buy clothes. We took a lunch break to get some pizza while there too. It was pretty good pizza, thin crust. We ordered 2 because the waitress seemed to indicate they weren't too big. Well.. after they arrived we thought one would of been enough. No worries though, I finished whatever Karen couldn't. I can't let food go to waste, can I?
We also bought some laundry soap and deodorant cuz we was stiiin-keeeee... woo! Shopping done we headed home. Not exactly the way I pictured spending my first day in Prague. oh well...
Friday, 5 September 2008
Day 0 - September 4, 2008
From the apartment:
We took a walk to go get a SIM card for the cell phone Maciej so smartly bought prior to our trip (and, this one was unlocked! we learn well from previous mistakes...um, Greece).
Down the street was a Vodaphone shop. There was a super nice young lad there named Robin, who completely helped us out (perhaps it has something to do with the name). He spoke English, gave us an option for our phone number (which we just told him to choose one) and set us up with the SIM card, made sure it worked and sent us on our merry way. What a relief it was to have a good experience after a bunch of crazy ones. This made it so if our luggage shows up, we can get a call.
We trot along down the road and find a Tesco Express (apparently the big Tesco is farther down the road, but all we really needed were a few basics: toilet paper, milk, cheese, tea, pb and nutella. (bread will absolutely be bought at the bakery down the road). Ahhh...European Nutella far exceeds the taste and pleasure of the American formulated Nutella. So, we head back home to drop off the goods. We at least have the basics!
It's the ripe ol' time of 17:30 when we decide to go back out and find the micro brew pub - we found that it was only a 5-10 minute stumble or walk (whichever you prefer) from our apt.
Pivovarský dům: highly recommended. They brew light and dark pilsner (Czech style) as well as having a monthly brew type and some others. We decided to start with the Czech-style beers. They were great! The dark was hoppy, slightly roasted and rather full-bodied. The light one was crisp, refreshing (Karen thought it had some fruit flavors to it). Our meals were tasty too. The food there is typical Czech style (which from what we've read is served with lots of gravy/sauce). To start, Maciej got a garlic soup (which is said to be a traditional starter for meals). And, it was mighty garlicky, but not pungent. Oddly enough, the croutons were still crisp even by the last spoon-fulls of soup. Karen chose a Venison with bread dumplings and a cranberry sauce. Actually it was not cranberry, it was red currant, but it was awesome. Great flavor, added just the right sweetness to the gamy Venison. The bread dumplings were the perfect accessory to soak up the sauce! (no veggies though). Maciej chose a rabbit with potato dumplings and spinach (spinach was a puree with tons of garlic). Maciej was smart to get the light pilsner, as it was a good accent to light taste of the rabbit. Maciej thought the rabbit tasted like chicken. From Karen's experience rabbit can be overcooked and somewhat tough or cooked well and be easily cut with a fork (good thing it was the latter of the two). Karen and Maciej left happily full and satisfied from their first meal in Prague!
Back at home, since we still didn't have our luggage, we tossed our clothes in the washer (from almost 24 hours of travel, I'm sure we stunk - in fact, I know we did) and waited so we could hang them on the drying rack (so they would be clean and dry the next day) before finally going to bed. Ahh! Sleep is good!
One more quick note: just in case we're dying for fatty American food, there is a McD's and KFC a few blocks away!
We took a walk to go get a SIM card for the cell phone Maciej so smartly bought prior to our trip (and, this one was unlocked! we learn well from previous mistakes...um, Greece).
Down the street was a Vodaphone shop. There was a super nice young lad there named Robin, who completely helped us out (perhaps it has something to do with the name). He spoke English, gave us an option for our phone number (which we just told him to choose one) and set us up with the SIM card, made sure it worked and sent us on our merry way. What a relief it was to have a good experience after a bunch of crazy ones. This made it so if our luggage shows up, we can get a call.
We trot along down the road and find a Tesco Express (apparently the big Tesco is farther down the road, but all we really needed were a few basics: toilet paper, milk, cheese, tea, pb and nutella. (bread will absolutely be bought at the bakery down the road). Ahhh...European Nutella far exceeds the taste and pleasure of the American formulated Nutella. So, we head back home to drop off the goods. We at least have the basics!
It's the ripe ol' time of 17:30 when we decide to go back out and find the micro brew pub - we found that it was only a 5-10 minute stumble or walk (whichever you prefer) from our apt.
Pivovarský dům: highly recommended. They brew light and dark pilsner (Czech style) as well as having a monthly brew type and some others. We decided to start with the Czech-style beers. They were great! The dark was hoppy, slightly roasted and rather full-bodied. The light one was crisp, refreshing (Karen thought it had some fruit flavors to it). Our meals were tasty too. The food there is typical Czech style (which from what we've read is served with lots of gravy/sauce). To start, Maciej got a garlic soup (which is said to be a traditional starter for meals). And, it was mighty garlicky, but not pungent. Oddly enough, the croutons were still crisp even by the last spoon-fulls of soup. Karen chose a Venison with bread dumplings and a cranberry sauce. Actually it was not cranberry, it was red currant, but it was awesome. Great flavor, added just the right sweetness to the gamy Venison. The bread dumplings were the perfect accessory to soak up the sauce! (no veggies though). Maciej chose a rabbit with potato dumplings and spinach (spinach was a puree with tons of garlic). Maciej was smart to get the light pilsner, as it was a good accent to light taste of the rabbit. Maciej thought the rabbit tasted like chicken. From Karen's experience rabbit can be overcooked and somewhat tough or cooked well and be easily cut with a fork (good thing it was the latter of the two). Karen and Maciej left happily full and satisfied from their first meal in Prague!
Back at home, since we still didn't have our luggage, we tossed our clothes in the washer (from almost 24 hours of travel, I'm sure we stunk - in fact, I know we did) and waited so we could hang them on the drying rack (so they would be clean and dry the next day) before finally going to bed. Ahh! Sleep is good!
One more quick note: just in case we're dying for fatty American food, there is a McD's and KFC a few blocks away!
The apartment
The trip to the apartment was not a problem: we saw a bunch of the outskirts of Prague (and some areas that I was glad we weren't living in because they had a ton of graffiti and who knows what it is like at night - every town has to have those areas).
We get to our place, meet the real estate dude (David), who speaks English pretty well! The posting we saw about the apartment was that it was a third floor walk-up and the pictures showed it had a futon in the kitchen/living room. Alas, we entered a double wooden doors to get into the apartment (it's on a semi-busy street) then walked up one flight of stairs, to where David opened the door. The apartment has a toilet and sink on the left (in a room) when you first walk in. Then you walk into the kitchen (2 stove-tops, a microwave, small fridge, washing machine and cabinets (4 place settings - all from Ikea). There is also a table with 4 chairs, a book-shelf type item and a desk. Then, across from the washing machine, there is a door, which you open to find a shower and sink. The bedroom has a European style double bed (one frame with 2 mattresses), a leather love-seat, tv, dresser, table and 2 night stands. Interestingly, there is a button on the wall for the door (inside the wall, between the bedroom and the other living area) to open and close. Very cool - gotta love technology!!
Nevertheless, Maciej and I did not feel the need to say anything about how this apartment was not the one that was shown to us online. Couldn't deal with any more issues. The only issue we foresee is if someone/ones come to visit, there isn't an extra bed/futon. I must say though, the couch is mighty comfy.
We turned on the television, which half the channels are in German (good thing Karen can still understand a decent amount - and with pictures it makes it even better), a few are in Czech (that makes sense, right?), 2-3 are in English, and the rest are channels are like pay-per-view (and are all porn stations).
Overall, the apartment is in a good location. It's located near multiple metro and tram stations. There are 2-3 bakeries within a few blocks! A convenient-type store (run by Czech speaking Asians) is on the block, where we can buy any essentials and they have some great looking produce! Walking to restaurants and stores is close as well. There is also a highly recommended micro-brewery a 5-10 minute walk away! woohoo!
We get to our place, meet the real estate dude (David), who speaks English pretty well! The posting we saw about the apartment was that it was a third floor walk-up and the pictures showed it had a futon in the kitchen/living room. Alas, we entered a double wooden doors to get into the apartment (it's on a semi-busy street) then walked up one flight of stairs, to where David opened the door. The apartment has a toilet and sink on the left (in a room) when you first walk in. Then you walk into the kitchen (2 stove-tops, a microwave, small fridge, washing machine and cabinets (4 place settings - all from Ikea). There is also a table with 4 chairs, a book-shelf type item and a desk. Then, across from the washing machine, there is a door, which you open to find a shower and sink. The bedroom has a European style double bed (one frame with 2 mattresses), a leather love-seat, tv, dresser, table and 2 night stands. Interestingly, there is a button on the wall for the door (inside the wall, between the bedroom and the other living area) to open and close. Very cool - gotta love technology!!
Nevertheless, Maciej and I did not feel the need to say anything about how this apartment was not the one that was shown to us online. Couldn't deal with any more issues. The only issue we foresee is if someone/ones come to visit, there isn't an extra bed/futon. I must say though, the couch is mighty comfy.
We turned on the television, which half the channels are in German (good thing Karen can still understand a decent amount - and with pictures it makes it even better), a few are in Czech (that makes sense, right?), 2-3 are in English, and the rest are channels are like pay-per-view (and are all porn stations).
Overall, the apartment is in a good location. It's located near multiple metro and tram stations. There are 2-3 bakeries within a few blocks! A convenient-type store (run by Czech speaking Asians) is on the block, where we can buy any essentials and they have some great looking produce! Walking to restaurants and stores is close as well. There is also a highly recommended micro-brewery a 5-10 minute walk away! woohoo!
Karen's LONG commentary about the travel to Prague
THE LONG VERSION - oh the drama!
The flight from JFK -> Venice: Let me just say that on it started out on a bad note - before the plane even took off - because there was an Italian woman (the one with the annoying kid), who was assigned the 3 middle seats (it was a 2 seat - 3 seat - 2 seat plane) with her boyfriend and 3-5ish age son. Now, from the get-go she was making this huge stink about where she was sitting (everyone gets to pick there seats), it was creating such a ruckus. Then, when a man sat in the seat in front of us (Karen had the window, Maciej the Isle), this woman said "I want to see your ticket. I don't believe that is your seat." One flight attendant came by and said that she (the crazy Italian woman) needed to calm down and she could not ask people to change their seats. So, this child started to throw a temper tantrum that he couldn't have that seat and the mother was doing nothing about it. Then an Italian flight attendant was standing in the back and so the crazy Italian woman hunted him down and began pleaing her case. Unbelievable. So, the Italian flight attendant asked the man to move his seat and gave some stupid excuse the woman told him. Yikes, so to stop the madness the man gave up his seat so the woman and her child could sit in the seats in front of us. Of note: there were multiple young children on the plane, none of which created any peep during the flight, including the small baby. The boy in front of us would start schreeching any time he didn't get what he wanted. And, shouldn't a child be weaned off a bottle by the time he is 3 or so?? One more thing regarding the crazy Italian woman. Her boyfriend kept getting up and walking to the back of the plan (sans flight attendants) and bringing back wine/liquor to the woman. by the way: alcohol costs money on the international flights now - thank goodness regular beverages don't (yet)!
A piece of information that is important for the next info: we were sitting in row 40 of 41 rows on the plane.
Now the food: so there were 2 options: A chicken with corn medley or tortellini. So, most of you know Karen does not have a good relationship with corn...or rather, it does not like her intestinal system at all. So, when the dinner meal got to our row, the Italian woman got the last pasta and everyone else (about 8 of us) had to deal with the chicken meal. Arg! No, Karen did not touch it - it looked horrible. At least the bread and butter were okay and Maciej was nice enough to give Karen his brownie dessert. The crackers didn't go so well either (sesame seeds).
The Venice, Italy airport:
The only good thing about this airport was that they had good chocolate ice cream. For an international airport, they did have signs that were in other languages, including English; however, the signs were misleading and a good number of the people who worked there had absolutely no idea about where to go or how to do it at their own airport!
The Prague airport:
It was such a relief to finally land and know we did not have to deal with another airport for a while. I must say, the Prague airport is much cleaner, the people friendlier and the bathrooms well maintained (especially compared to the Venice airport latrine-smelling bathrooms). Much to our dismay, we found our luggage did not make the trip with us. So, the adventure lives on...
The flight from JFK -> Venice: Let me just say that on it started out on a bad note - before the plane even took off - because there was an Italian woman (the one with the annoying kid), who was assigned the 3 middle seats (it was a 2 seat - 3 seat - 2 seat plane) with her boyfriend and 3-5ish age son. Now, from the get-go she was making this huge stink about where she was sitting (everyone gets to pick there seats), it was creating such a ruckus. Then, when a man sat in the seat in front of us (Karen had the window, Maciej the Isle), this woman said "I want to see your ticket. I don't believe that is your seat." One flight attendant came by and said that she (the crazy Italian woman) needed to calm down and she could not ask people to change their seats. So, this child started to throw a temper tantrum that he couldn't have that seat and the mother was doing nothing about it. Then an Italian flight attendant was standing in the back and so the crazy Italian woman hunted him down and began pleaing her case. Unbelievable. So, the Italian flight attendant asked the man to move his seat and gave some stupid excuse the woman told him. Yikes, so to stop the madness the man gave up his seat so the woman and her child could sit in the seats in front of us. Of note: there were multiple young children on the plane, none of which created any peep during the flight, including the small baby. The boy in front of us would start schreeching any time he didn't get what he wanted. And, shouldn't a child be weaned off a bottle by the time he is 3 or so?? One more thing regarding the crazy Italian woman. Her boyfriend kept getting up and walking to the back of the plan (sans flight attendants) and bringing back wine/liquor to the woman. by the way: alcohol costs money on the international flights now - thank goodness regular beverages don't (yet)!
A piece of information that is important for the next info: we were sitting in row 40 of 41 rows on the plane.
Now the food: so there were 2 options: A chicken with corn medley or tortellini. So, most of you know Karen does not have a good relationship with corn...or rather, it does not like her intestinal system at all. So, when the dinner meal got to our row, the Italian woman got the last pasta and everyone else (about 8 of us) had to deal with the chicken meal. Arg! No, Karen did not touch it - it looked horrible. At least the bread and butter were okay and Maciej was nice enough to give Karen his brownie dessert. The crackers didn't go so well either (sesame seeds).
The Venice, Italy airport:
The only good thing about this airport was that they had good chocolate ice cream. For an international airport, they did have signs that were in other languages, including English; however, the signs were misleading and a good number of the people who worked there had absolutely no idea about where to go or how to do it at their own airport!
The Prague airport:
It was such a relief to finally land and know we did not have to deal with another airport for a while. I must say, the Prague airport is much cleaner, the people friendlier and the bathrooms well maintained (especially compared to the Venice airport latrine-smelling bathrooms). Much to our dismay, we found our luggage did not make the trip with us. So, the adventure lives on...
Travelling to Prague
Karen and Maciej(I'm writing) made it to Prague safely.
Our journey started out by driving from Arlington to Deer Park on Wednesday morning. The drive was good and quick. No traffic or cops. We ate some yummy eggplant parm Maciej's Mom made for dinner and then left for JFK.
Our first flight from JFK to Venice was ok. The bad things: annoying out of control kid in front of us and they ran out of pasta meal. The flight was on Delta. This isn't the first time I've flown them. All I can say after this flight is that they still stink. No wonder American airlines are having problems. But it was the cheapest flight at the time we booked.
From Venice to Prague our flight was on Czech Airlines(CZA). Getting to the connection gate was a huge pain. When we got off the plane we followed signs for transfers. But by the door that said transfers, there was no one there. There was a huge long line to go through passport control. So we sat by the door waiting for someone to show up and watched the passport line move along. Eventually we got on the passport line when it was short and asked where to go to transfers. On the other side of the airport was the same kind of door but with a security dude. We tried explaining we had no boarding pass and asked where to get one. He scanned our bags and waved us through. Now we were in gates area without a pass. So we asked at a gate that had a person working what to do. The lady said we need to go out of gates area and get our pass. The lady working the check in desk also checked our luggage was being transferred ok. So we did and got our boarding passes and went through security again. We got some gelatto, walked around the shops and then sat by the gate trying to stay awake. The plane was delayed a little bit. The flight was in a prop plane. It was fine.
We landed and went to get our bags. We stood by the baggage conveyor belt for awhile. No bags. Maciej went over to the CZA baggage area and asked about the bags. The CZA person couldn't say where the bags were, probably still in Venice. She said they would be delivered to the apartment when they arrived. Great. No clean underwear. No toothbrush.... But Karen did pack the plug converter in her carry-on so we can use our laptop from the apartment! Yeah!
We were picked up from the airport by a hired taxi. The ride was great. The area and other cars remind Maciej of Poland. The driver took a route through all kinds of streets in Prague so we got to see some parts of the city. He dropped us off in front of our apartment.
Our total trip time from Arlington to Prague was 23 hours!
Our journey started out by driving from Arlington to Deer Park on Wednesday morning. The drive was good and quick. No traffic or cops. We ate some yummy eggplant parm Maciej's Mom made for dinner and then left for JFK.
Our first flight from JFK to Venice was ok. The bad things: annoying out of control kid in front of us and they ran out of pasta meal. The flight was on Delta. This isn't the first time I've flown them. All I can say after this flight is that they still stink. No wonder American airlines are having problems. But it was the cheapest flight at the time we booked.
From Venice to Prague our flight was on Czech Airlines(CZA). Getting to the connection gate was a huge pain. When we got off the plane we followed signs for transfers. But by the door that said transfers, there was no one there. There was a huge long line to go through passport control. So we sat by the door waiting for someone to show up and watched the passport line move along. Eventually we got on the passport line when it was short and asked where to go to transfers. On the other side of the airport was the same kind of door but with a security dude. We tried explaining we had no boarding pass and asked where to get one. He scanned our bags and waved us through. Now we were in gates area without a pass. So we asked at a gate that had a person working what to do. The lady said we need to go out of gates area and get our pass. The lady working the check in desk also checked our luggage was being transferred ok. So we did and got our boarding passes and went through security again. We got some gelatto, walked around the shops and then sat by the gate trying to stay awake. The plane was delayed a little bit. The flight was in a prop plane. It was fine.
We landed and went to get our bags. We stood by the baggage conveyor belt for awhile. No bags. Maciej went over to the CZA baggage area and asked about the bags. The CZA person couldn't say where the bags were, probably still in Venice. She said they would be delivered to the apartment when they arrived. Great. No clean underwear. No toothbrush.... But Karen did pack the plug converter in her carry-on so we can use our laptop from the apartment! Yeah!
We were picked up from the airport by a hired taxi. The ride was great. The area and other cars remind Maciej of Poland. The driver took a route through all kinds of streets in Prague so we got to see some parts of the city. He dropped us off in front of our apartment.
Our total trip time from Arlington to Prague was 23 hours!
Prague
This blog is going to cover Karen and Maciej's adventures in Prague. We are in Prague from September 4 to October 1 2008. Maciej's company has an office here where he will work from when not taking vacation days. Karen is lucky and gets a month of vacation time.
Na shledanou!
Na shledanou!
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