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
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