Monthly Archives: July 2024

Today was planned to be a different kind of tourist day. We had plans to visit sites that generally don’t appear in tourist guides. After sleeping a bit later than we had originally planned – nothing to do with the wine last night… really! – we enjoyed our fruit, yogurt and muesli. Yes, our typical Tuesday breakfast.

Then it was off in our Skoda hire car to venture out of town. Those who have been playing at home will know that we rarely visit a country that has some kind of automotive industry without investigating the related museum. And Czechia would be no different – to the Skoda Museum! We got to drive in our air conditioned car to an air conditioned museum. Ahhhh…

About 45 minutes north east of the city is the main production facility and museum for Skoda. Not well known in the US, it is one of four automakers that have been producing continually for more than 100 years. While Frank nerded out on the forged crankshafts and the die cast aluminum blocks, I read all about the history of the company relative to the history of the country. A very interesting perspective of the communist years from the manufacturing perspective, it was an in unexpected history lesson.

In addition, there was a display of metal sculptures by David Černý showing various events in Czech history from King Charles to Lech Walesa. More interesting history!

Then back to the city for some lunch and our next activity: the Prague National Gallery. We grabbed a table outside a local restaurant and enjoed some delocious Czech cuisine. Chicken and sweet potato froes for me (authentic? Who knows but fefinitely delicious!) and the famous pork knee/knuckle for Frank. Both were very tasty and went well with local beer and wine. Yum.

Then to the art museum for a special exhibit: Get on the ice! Depictions of skating and hockey in art. So cool! Both the exhibit and the air in the building! Not onky did we get to see the evolution of skating depictions from the 17th century on, we learned all about the history of Czech hockey and its importance to national identity. I have a vague recollection of the Nagano Olympics but the gold medal for the Czech team that year was unbelievably important to the people. Jagr and Hasek were considered saints – and depicted as such in art! More history learned.

Then it was time to finish our tradirional tourist agenda. We had two more spots to bisit at the castle that our two day ticket coveted. So we took the number 15 tram to the bottom of the hill and hiked up… again. There were fewer crowds in the late afternoon but it was still absolutely mobbed. The Golden Lane and St George’s Basilica proved to be anti climatic but the boxes were checked.

Back down the hill for stop at another common destination type for us these days: a distillery! The R. Jelenik distillery has been making kosher plum brandy for a century or so. We decided to try the tour and see how plums get distilled relative to barley. Of course we also got to learn about the company history which was very much a lesson in Jewish history in the region. More history!

I can’t say that we were fans of the spirits we got to taste at the end bit i would still recommend the tour if you gave any interest. First, it was air conditioned which was welcome after the trek from the castle. Second and more importantly was the VR plum experience. Yup, they have VR headsets that show you the entire process FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE PLUM! It was unbelievable and amazing. We got shaken down from the tree, toad in a truck, got pressed, distilled, and aged. It was a complete 360 experience and so innovative.

Then it was time for a short break at the flat – I had one work thing i had to do – and then our final Czech meal in Prague. Unfortunately, it was not as good as the others but it wasn’t bad. We took one last wander through the old town square before calling it a day.

Data for today:

Steps taken: 15,912

• Steps taken: 15,912
• Modes of transport used: 3
• Number of AC activities: 3

We managed a passible night’s sleep in the warm flat – a king size bed and lack of wriggling (but adorable) canine helped with that.  Then the first real day of our travel adventure was ready to begin.  We always start with the “how do we make breakfast in a foreign kitchen” game.  With the exception of an unresponsive toaster, we managed our typical fried egg and cheese on (un)toasted bread Monday breakfast. 

Then it was off to explore!  The forecast called for thunderstorms in around lunchtime so we thought we’d get as much walking in as possible before the heavens opened.  There are a few things on our list that are closed on a Monday so we needed to work around those. First, we did some recon for our evening activity – finding the dock where our boat trip would leave later on.  Then we started walking along the Vlata to see what we could see.  Disclaimer:  even though this adventure is the Danube Road Trip, Prague isn’t actually on the Danube so we have to just pretend the big river in the middle of the city is a good substitute.

The wandering brought us to the base of the castle hill.  Even though it was prime tourist hour, we opted for the climb to see one of the top visitor sights in the city.  The clouds were still threatening and the air was very heavy and hot (only 27 today!) but we made it to the top of the hill and the seriously massive crowds of people who were also there for the experience.  Undaunted, we got our tickets and proceeded to explore.  If there’s one thing you learn from life in the UK, it is how to queue!  First the longest line but the target of today’s excitement: St. Vitus Cathedral and the amazing stained glass windows. 

We joined several thousand strangers in the exploration of this beautiful building.  Pictures are below but I know they don’t do it justice.  Luckily the stone walls helped to keep the inner space somewhat cool in the heat so we could take some time enjoying the beauty and the peace. Then back out into the heat and on to the second stop:  the old Royal palace.  Very basic medieval structure with a large hall and several smaller chambers off the centre (which were way too crowded and hot to take the time to read all the placards so don’t ask too many questions here!)

When we emerged again into the heat, the sun was somewhat obscured by lowering clouds and the crowds had continued to increase so we decided it was time to explore the area around the castle and possibly find someplace for lunch.  We definitely wanted somewhere to duck into if the heavens opened. 

Back down the hill we went to wander around on this side of the river, stopping in various shops – most of which seems to sell some kind of cannabis products! – and checking restaurant menus.  We stumbled across Local which came recommended by our AirBnb hosts but the one near our flat was always way too busy to get a seat.  This one was not so crowded so we settled in for some hearty Czech food: mince and cheese schnitzel for Frank (with about a pound of butter on the accompanying mashed potatoes!) and pork neck steak in mustard sauce for me.  Throw in some local dark beer and ice cold cider and lunch was complete.

Food detour:  pork is a big thing here.  But not the kind of pork you might find in the US or UK.  There are places that sell ribs, for example.  But you are unlikely to find pork chops or gammon steak that may be familiar to you.  Pork knuckle is more common on menus or pork knee (which I think is the same thing).  I’ve had “pork steak” in some shape or another in various places.  But I had to work very hard not to think about my lunch being pork NECK steak which sounds weird and potentially not very appetising.  It was delicious of course but cultural differences can be a challenge to get your head around.  Now back to our regularly scheduled blog post.

After lunch we continued to explore the Lesser Town which seemed to have slightly smaller crowds.  Along the way we happened upon the St. Nicholas bell tower, a spot that had cropped up somewhere during all our reading on the city.  As Frank is convinced that I never miss an opportunity to go up, I couldn’t disappoint and so up we went.  And boy are we glad we did!  After the massive crowds at the castle, it was odd to have the entire bell tower to ourselves.  Built in 1755, it served as the fire watch tower for centuries We climbed the stairs and stopped in to the warder’s chambers, the belfry and the newer warders chambers.  But the balcony was the real treat:  completely empty with an amazing view of the entire city.  Just gorgeous.  A few more flights up to the gallery and we learned about how the tower was used by the Secret Police to spy on  western diplomats during the communist years.  Absolutely fascinating!

The rain was still threatening but hadn’t appeared so we wandered across the famous Charles Bridge which is every bit as nice as people say.  Then we were back in the old town and popping into every shop that looked like it might be air conditioned.  We found some lovely wooden trinkets to take home, adding to my tree collection and our Christmas tree decorations. We  found ourselves back near the old town square just a minute too late to catch the chiming of the famous astronomical clock.  But we are lucky that it is right around the corner from our flat so we popped in to drop off the purchases and freshen up before wandering back out to catch the clock chime at the next hour.  Given the massive crowds, I confess it was a bit anticlimactic.  Yes, it is an engineering marvel but still. 

TNow it was snack time.  We’ll be eating quite late so we need some sustenance to hold us over.  Gelato for me and the ubiquitous chimney cake for Frank. It’s like a donut cylinder that you fill with ice cream and other stuff.  He declared it delicious. Thus bolstered, we made another quick stop at Tesco for supplies for Tuesday breakfast (which does not involve eggs). On the way home, we popped into the original Pilsner Urquel restaurant for some refreshing beverages and watch the world go by.

Thus refreshed, we popped back to the flat to drop off the foodstuffs and freshened up for the evening’s entertainment:  a jazz cruise on the Vlata!  Yay!  We arrived at the boat too early to board so we waited on the brewery boat next door with more beverages (Frank is trying all the Czech beers!) and then proceeded to our boat.  A jazz trio played for most of the 2.5 hours (I prefer my jazz without a vocalist but she was fine.) while we enjoyed a 3 course meal  (suitably altered for my GF status) and a bottle of local rose while we cruised along enjoying the scenery.  It was a lovely evening. And we stayed out way past our bedtime, finally arriving back at the flat after 11pm to crash.  Excellent first full day!

Data for today:

• Steps: 24,051
• Elevation change: 29 flights (!)
• Number of foreign licence plates spotted: 7
• Number of drinks consumed: No way I’m writing that down. 🙂

This year’s holiday has been a little more challenging than usual – if for no other reason than just explaining to people what it is!  Earlier this year, we headed to Kent.  Most people in the UK know what that means; for others, saying “England” worked just fine.  Last year we did our European trip to Portugal.  Also easily described without going into details about precisely where in Portugal we were going. (Note:  we did correct those who assumed we were going for a beach holiday to the Algarve but that was our choice.)

This year we decided to take a trip I’ve been pondering for years: a wander through central Europe taking in some of the capital cities along the Danube River.  Not a river cruise mind you – I still have mixed feelings about those.  Not an organised tour – I have definite feelings about those!  But the San and Frank “hop in a hire car and do it our way” trip.  So here we are:  the Danube Road Trip (DRT). 

First thing was to get the timing and accommodation sorted.  End of July is the focus as all the rowing events are done by then but it needs to be before the 31st which is when all the leave days need to be used.  We opted for a slightly longer trip than usual: a full fortnight rather than our typical 10 days which meant we could do 4  stops if we liked.  So not just the Prague- Vienna – Budapest trip we had envisioned for so long: let’s throw in Bratislava! Four cities, four countries, fourteen days.  Yay!  Four AirBnB rentals that have parking (pricey) and a hire car that we pick up in Prague and return in Budapest (astronomically pricey! The one way return fee is more than the actual rental cost!)

Next, “cheap” fares on RyanAir.  Generally this is a low cost airline but we are particular travelers and like to have things like leg room and luggage.  Once you add on all the extras, the fares aren’t as cheap as one might like but they are direct from Edinburgh and suited us just fine. One way to Prague, one way back from Budapest. And so the adventure is set. 

The hardest part about any of this was saying farewell to the prancing princess puppy, our adorable Casey.  She’s staying with our new doggie sitter friend Sally and we know she’ll be fine but it was still sad to say goodbye on Saturday afternoon.  The second hardest thing was the alarm going off at 5am so we could make it to EDI in plenty of time for our flight.  Surprisingly, that went off without a hitch.  Well one hitch:  we had no travel coffee!!!  Nothing is open along the A90 at 6am on a Sunday so we have to brave the drive without the requisite caffeine levels.  Ugh.

But nevertheless, we endured. Our RyanAir approved cabin bag and small bags packed for the fortnight, we sped through security (fasttrack – extra fee), grabbed some breakfast (airport prices), and took our bulkhead row seats (another fee) for the 2+ hour uneventful flight. At the Prague Airport, I collected my first stamp in my new British passport.  Yay! Then we collected our hire car (Skoda naturally) and proceeded to the old town centre.

We were well prepared for real summer temperatures – not the stupid 12 or 15 degrees we get in Aberdeen – but we weren’t fully ready for the 30+ degrees that met us when we landed.  Whoo boy it was hot!  Luckily the car had AC but not much else in Prague does.  After many wrong turns down narrow, ancient streets, we finally found our home for the next three days – right smack in the middle of the old town.  A lovely little studio apartment with everything we could need – except AC! {Sigh}

Quickly changing from Scottish travel clothing to European summer clothing, it was off to discover the city.  We walked slowly in the heat, looking for a place to get a bite to eat since the timing of travel meant we hadn’t had lunch.  We found a lovely little place near our flat with outside tables and large words on the chalkboard outside “Gluten free pizza” That will do nicely thank you!  Throw in the obligatory Pilsner Urquel for Frank and a local GF beer for me to go with our four cheese pizza (yum!) and it was just what the doctor ordered.

With sustenance provided, we pounded more cobblestones taking in some of the sights with no real purpose to our wanderings.  For a late Sunday afternoon, the old town was packed with tourists.  I heard nearly every language I could identify and some that I couldn’t. Eventually, we decided that it was time to get our essential food items for our stay and a large air conditioned grocery store would be just the place to spend some time.  So what is the big shop on the main street? Tesco!  Really, have to been to Prague if you haven’t been to a Czech Tesco?  The experience was quite surreal: somewhat familiar but not really.  We took much longer than was necessary to pick out the few items we needed for breakfast but the AC was sooooooo nice.  Then back to the flat to put away the messages and test the temp in the room. Nope, still too hot to hang out here.  Time to wander a bit more.

Now that the sun was starting to drop behind buildings, the breeze was actually quite cooling and the aimless wandering was more enjoyable.  We decided a drink and a light bite was in order – the thought of eating a heavy meal was nauseating – so we headed to the  Old Town Brewery for beer and a bit.  Beer is probably the national drink so it seemed like a necessary stop to fully immerse ourselves in the local culture.  Frank got a flight of 6 beers and I had a cider along with some sausages, chips, and fried cheese.  He declared 3 of the 6 beers to be excellent and the rest weren’t his favourites.  Regardless, we enjoyed the breeze on the patio, watching the people around us, and the general atmosphere.  We decided this was a good way to close out our first day so it was time to brave the very warm flat and settle in for the evening.

Data for today:

• Steps: 17,467
• Temperature in the flat: 25
• Irish pubs near our flat: 3