The Road to Budapest - Day 9

29/03/09
It was an early departure again this morning as we headed for Teplice – it took 3 trains and nearly the whole day to get there, but it was worth it. Teplice is a small village nestled at the base of a popular rock climbing spot. It has been snowing here, so the ground is still quite well covered in snow - the snow up in the mountains is quite deep. We walked along a track through the snow and stopped to have a snowball fight and just have fun stomping around in the deep snow – I was glad to have brought my snow boots with me (some of the snow was over a foot deep). We followed the route leading us along a narrow pathway between large boulders and large rock formations – this area of the path is known as the ‘fridge’. There were ice crystals hanging off rocks and parts of the rocks were totally covered in a layer of ice. Some of the path was quite slippery as the stairs were covered in hardened snow and were quite icy. It was funny trying to negotiate the slippery stairs on the way down – Antonio just slid down on his bottom – it was hilarious!! Gail was a bit freaked out and she was scared that she would fall over the side and land in a pile of snow that she would disappear into! Eventually we all got back down – all in one piece and no bruises. We climbed 300 steps up a series of ladders to get a mountain top view over the valley – it was very pretty.

The Road to Budapest - Day 8

28/03/09
I took the time to sleep in after our big night, and ventured out a bit before lunch time. The Easter Fare opened today, so I enjoyed a walk through the markets and tried a local food – some type of sugar coated donuty thing – it was nice and crispy. They have heaps of painted eggs for sale – I would have loved to have bought a few, but they would just get broken in my bag. I ended up buying one that was pretty with the word ‘Praha’ (Czech for Prague) encased in a hard plastic – I hope I don’t break it. I stopped to watch a marathon for a little while and then headed back towards the Jewish Quarter. I passed the Spanish Synagogue, the Old and New Jewish Synagogues, the Jewish Cemetery and then headed to a part of the river I hadn’t yet seen. On my way back I stopped in to a few shops that sold Bohemian Crystal (Antonio had warned us not to shop in the stores closer to the tourist areas and to go to these genuine warehouses/outlets just out of the centre of town) and bought myself a moon shaped pendant.
At night I met up with Gail and Sean and went to the Easter Fare. We watched some of the school aged kids perform traditional songs and dances, and then went for a lovely walk around town – taking in the night time ambience. We walked along a bridge and were able to take some fantastic photos of the Palace and Old Town that looking totally incredible at night. It was nice and relaxing to walk along the river, enjoying the scenery and then walking back over the Charles Bridge before calling it a night.

The Road to Budapest - Day 7

27/03/09
This morning we met up with Antonio again who had been able to cancel his bank cards and phone, and make a few other arrangements the day before. I met Diane – my tour leader from the Umbrian Experience (the last leg of my Italy tours last year). It was so strange seeing her again in a totally different country! The Intrepid bosses and leaders are having meetings and training days at the moment in Prague, so that is why she is here – it was great to catch up with her again.
We started the orientation walk again in the main square – the square is surrounded by incredible buildings – the Tyn Church, Astronomical Clock, other beautiful buildings and then a huge statue in the centre. The Easter Fare is being set up in the square so it is a little hard to see all the buildings at once, but it still looked stunning. We then walked to the Powder Tower and then down the main shopping street/mall. At the end of the mall we came to another square with a wide road that leads up to the National Museum. This was the street in which the protests/demonstrations of Czech people asking for a new government were held in 1989. We walked down to the Jewish Quarter and then along the river to the Charles Bridge. Just before the bridge is a university, outside of that is a monument to Jan – the young man she burned himself alive in protest against communism.
We walked over the bridge, past the St Nicholaus Church and up the grounds of the Palace. The view from up on the hill is breathtaking – you can see the many spires of the city jutting up along the horizon and you can see the many colours of the buildings surrounding the city. We were at the palace just in time to see the ceremony of the Changing of the Guards. (Later in my trip I watched Barrack Obama (US President) make a speech to the people of Prague in the same square, and I was quite excited to know that I had been standing in that same spot a few days earlier!) We then went to the exquisite St Vitus’s Cathedral and then down the Golden Lane towards the river.
Gail & I stopped for lunch, yet another sausage, then went to the Communist Museum. The sign for the Museum was quite funny / ironic in so many ways: the sign said: “Museum of Communism is here! 1st Floor next to Casino”. Right next to the sign is a McDonalds bin stating – “I’m loving it”. The museum was quite interesting, a little confusing and contained a lot of information – a lot of reading. It was described the rise of communism, the power of Stalin (and others) and it also contained footage of the protests of 1989. We then went back to the apartment for a rest before hitting the town tonight – we are having a big Friday night out in Prague!
For dinner we went to a restaurant that serves potato in many ways – you chose the size (250g, 500g or 1kg of potatoes) and then how you would like them cooked! We shared a few dishes – potato with bacon and apple; and potato with mushroom, bacon, onion and cheese. After dinner we had a few cocktails at the Orange Bar (a place the locals go) before going to Electro nightclub to dance the night away into the wee hours of the morning. I am finding it difficult to handle the smoking in Europe since it has been banned in Australia. They can still smoke everywhere - including restaurants and cafes, so each time we go out for dinner and drinks I leave with my skin, hair and clothes stinking of stale smoke. I don’t know how I didn’t really notice it before the ban in Oz, but I really don’t like it now.

The Road to Budapest - Day 6

26/03/09
Well the time had come to leave this magical town and head off to the City of a Hundred Spires – Prague. We left very early in the morning and took a small two-carriage old open plan train to Linz. We then caught a modern cabin style train for the rest of the journey. Our accommodation in Prague is apartments, and they were in a great location – about a street away from the heart of the old town centre. Soon after we got to Prague, we met up for lunch at a Bagel place and then started our orientation walk of the city. Not long after starting the walk, Antonio had noticed that his wallet and phone had been stolen from his jacket! He recalled seeing his jacket on the floor of the cafe and thought that it must have just fallen off this chair, but this must have been the moment the theft occurred!! Poor bugger – all his money (including the trip money), his card, Europe traveller ID and mobile were gone. We stopped the orientation and let Antonio go and sort his stuff out and place a police report. We continued walking around the Old Town, walked over one of the bridges and along the river towards the castle and then back over the amazing Charles Bridge. The bridge is lined with large statues of saints, one of which is known for its powers of granting wishes. The buildings in Prague are truly amazing – the style of the spires pointing up the skies give the city a mystical feel. They are currently setting up the Easter Fare – the market squares are being filled with decorations, wooden cabins and a stage.
That night, Gail & I decided to do the city Ghost Tour. The meeting point was at the Astronomical Clock – we were there to see in perform its hourly ritual. On the hour, bells start to sound and the two windows at the top open to reveal the 12 disciples – they slowly pass the windows, as the skeleton figure below pulls the rope to ring the bells. It is an amazing to know that the clock has been working every hour since being built in the 1400’s. The ghost tour was great; the tour leader was in a long dark coat with hood, holding a lantern. She told some great stories of some of the people that have been haunting parts of the Old Town for hundreds of years. The buildings of which the ghosts haunt are still standing and so they keep haunting the buildings and surrounding streets throughout the night in search of their loved one or saviour. We walked to through the Jewish Quarter, where it is believed that a resident of the old cemetery walks through the gate and towards the river ever night. It tour was really interesting and put a great spin on the city, so in the following days when I walk the same streets I will also be thinking of the ghosts that walk the streets at night.

The Road to Budapest - Day 5

25/03/09
My wish was granted – it had continued to snow and I woke to a wonderful scene of snow covered roof tops. Gail & I quickly dressed and went out for a walk in the snow. The town looked even more beautiful than it had the day before – this truly is a fairytale town. We have had the best of it all – bright sunny day, twilight tour and view over the town and snow covered landscape. We walked through the cobblestone streets, catching snowflakes and just loving the scenery. We walked over the little wooden bridge looking at the snow covered banks of the river and then walked up to the castle and had a fantastic outlook over the town. The rooftops were covered in snow and the surrounding parkland was a blanket of white. The sun was starting to melt the snow by now and water was slowly dripping from the gutters of buildings, off the handrails of walkways and off the sides of the bridge – I even found that pretty.
Our scheduled bike ride through the hills and forest had to be cancelled due to thick snowfall in the hills, so I went for a walk up past the castle, into the hills and along the outskirts of town. Later in the day, I met up with Gail and we went to a local cafe and enjoyed some hot wine – my new favourite drink. It is hot spiced red wine, with cloves and cinnamon and a slice of orange – absolutely delicious!! For dinner we went to a restaurant/museum next to the river – it was filled with heavy wooden furniture, and had old pots, fire blowers, baskets etc hanging from the ceiling. This time I tried another traditional food – potato pancakes, but I had to say no to the beer.

The Road to Budapest - Day 4

24/03/09
Today we left Vienna and took a train and a taxi to my favourite place of the trip – Cesky Krumlov - it is like something out of a fairytale . The landscape along the way was a mixture of green fields, bare winter woods and snow covered villages. Cecky Krumlov is a colourful town built along the bends of the Vlatva River; there is a Castle with a brilliantly colourful tower that overlooks the town; beyond the town are rolling hills covered in dense forest – it is a magical place. The streets are cobblestoned and go in every direction, the buildings are of every colour - many have frescos painted on the outsides.
Our accommodation there was very cute - we had to climbed narrow stairways to our rooms. There were thick wooden doors to our rooms, a stone walled hall leading to the bathroom, then down some steps to another wooden door to the room. The room was decorating with a wooden robe, duchess, settee and beds. I loved it. Soon after we got there we changed over some money (one of the many currencies of this trip) and then went for a walk through the town. We stopped at the Eggenberg Brewery for lunch, and yet again I stuck with traditional food and drink – I had beef goulash with dumplings and my second beer of the trip – the local Eggenberg Beer. The atmosphere in the brewery was very welcoming and relaxing, so we spent most of the afternoon there chatting, enjoying a few drinks and just absorbing the ambience of the town and its people.
Later that afternoon it started to get very cold, so we added some more layers of clothing before heading out to take a walking tour lead by a friendly local guide. The tour guide was fun and full of interesting stories of the history of the town. She had some quirky ghost-like stories and some other fables to tell along the way which really added to the fairytale like feel of the town. Because the town hasn’t been damaged by war, fire or natural disaster, there are buildings that date back to as far as the 13th century. Most of the buildings were originally decorated in beautiful frescos, but were covered over during the communist era. They have started to restore the buildings back to their former glory and it wonderful to see the original art on the quaint buildings. Some of the buildings are from the Renaissance period and have patterns like a stencil on the outsides of the buildings, each one being a little different to the other. The tower of the castle is a breathtaking piece of architecture that has been restored to show some of the original frescos and use of colour that make it so wonderful. Underneath one of the bridges that lead out of the castle, a family of bears have lived there since the 16th century – the Bears Moat (I never saw the bears, but I am told that they are there). Another interesting story was from the times of the Rosenburg Family – a statue of Rosenburg on his horse was erected in the main alter of the church. Later, in the 1700’s, they removed it and built a new altar – as they found it strange to come to church and to pray looking at him and a horse! Because of this, the church is a mixture of architecture – the gothic exterior and main interior of the church with a baroque altar. The symbol of the rose – for Rosenburg, is prevalent throughout the town – on the town crest, and on the plumbing covers in the road. We visited some great vantage points and were able to enjoy different views of the town, which became even more magical as twilight came upon us. From the heights of the castle, we were able to look back down upon the river and the town as the sun went down and the lights of houses, paths and steeples came alive – it was an exquisite view.
For dinner that night we went to the ‘cave restaurant’, and enjoyed some open wood-fired cooking and then went to the Cocktail bar near our accommodation. The cocktail bar is on a corner and part of the building is under street level – there is a window where you can just see legs & feet as people walk past – it was quite strange. While we were there, it started to snow – I was very excited and hoped it would continue over night.

The Road to Budapest - Day 3

23/03/09
We took a day trip to Bratislavia, Slovakia today by train and tram and visited the ‘Old Town’. The town was so colourful and there was a jumble of building styles through the cobblestoned streets. We walked up the hill to see the Castle – the Castle was being heavily renovated, so we couldn’t see it, but the view from up on the hill was great. We could see the terracotta coloured, pointed roofs of the old town with a few pointy spires and beyond the old town was the square flat roofed buildings of the ‘new’ town. The bridge across the Danube River was quite cool – a weird modern UFO like design that linked the old town to the communistic buildings of parts of the newer areas.
We stopped for lunch in the Slovak Pub – a quirky bar that serves cheap beer and cheap food (but mainly aimed at tourists). I had the traditional food – pirohy, it was spinach pasta parcels filled with chicken meet, served with sour cream and leeks. I even tried a traditional Slovakian beer while I was there – a dark beer, it was okay, but I am not a beer drinker, so I couldn’t finish it.
We stumbled across a statue of Hans Christian Anderson; it was an eccentric statue with a mixture of Hans and his fictional characters – it was very cool. We then made our way back to Vienna. You may have noticed that I have been trying out many of the ‘Traditional’ things ... I want to have the real experience, but even that goes so far ... I was already getting sick of eating meat (sausages) and potatoes, so Gail and I decided to try and find a vegetarian restaurant (we found one but it was closed) and then found an Asian restaurant and enjoyed a vegetable stir fry. Detoxed ready for some more traditional stuff to come.