Tom & Shirl's Trip Report Czech Republic 2009--a work in progress
Oct 20th, 2009, 10:59 AM
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Tom & Shirl's Trip Report Czech Republic 2009--a work in progress
The dust has finally settled at home and I can attempt to get through our notes and get a trip report out.
We left the US on September 8, 2009 from Chicago. We had a direct flight to Frankfurt and then from Frankfurt we flew to Prague. I’ll start out with just a few brief overall notes/observations.
Air India-Out of Chicago, awesome seats, nice flight.
Air India-Out of Frankfurt, hubby found his seat comfortable even though he was in the middle.
Czech Air-Okay, that ticket counter is REALLY a communism left over! They don’t want to be there, they don’t care and obviously haven’t a clue what customer service is.
Czech Republic-Beautiful country with simply lovely people.
Czech roads-In really, really good condition however (and it could have been us) we found the posting/numbering sketchy at best-our GPS was absolutely essential.
Public transportation in Prague-Excellent and very easy to navigate.
Czech Beer-The best my hubby has ever had.
Czech food-We enjoyed every single meal we had!
Personal safety in the Czech Republic-There was not one moment we felt uncomfortable or unsafe. We roamed around at night, took public transportation at night and never felt like it was dangerous. We were well prepared for pick-pockets but didn’t even notice that activity from afar.
Prague-Almost too much to take in. The city is beautiful and there is so much to see! We aren’t “breeze through town” tourists, we like to sit and savor, research and understand and see for ourselves.
Melnick Area Countryside-Wonderful drives with breathtaking country sides, whether it was farm or forest, with lovely sleepy little towns or Cesky Raj (aka Bohemian Paradise, the sandstone rocks) or the České Švýcarsko area (aka Bohemian Switzerland-the gate).
Cesky Krumlov-Wow! Wow! Wow! Did I say wow?
Pre-arranged airport transfer/Guide Services –(http://www.personalpragueguide.com/) One of the best decisions we made for Prague. We were met at the airport by a terrific and animated young man (Martin) that got us safely to our place, pointing out key things during the entire ride-terrific since we were really, really tired by the time we got to Prague. The guide (Helena) for two half days proved to be very informative and really enhanced our visit to Prague. More on the driver and guide in report. Highly recommended!
Studio Platan-Big Thumbs DOWN!
Pension V Raji-Big Thumbs UP!
Pension Pod Skalkou-Big Thumbs UP!
Okay, first I have to start with the negative of our vacation: Studio Platan http://www.platantour.cz/character.htm
They do not really put it right up front that the Studio we were renting was 127 steps up (no lift for this one), but we did know that from notes posted by others. We decided that would be ok. (Subsequently we have decided it does hamper our coming and goings and moving forward our limit without a lift is going to be 3 floors.) The pictures on their web site show a bright, clean and airy room and it was one of the very few rooms we found in the city that had the outdoor space we wanted. Well the picture must have been taken the last time they actually cleaned the room because the room was nasty. (We simply fell in to bed our first evening-it was late and dark-luckily I didn’t notice how bad the room was.) Moving forward the only reason I slept in the bed was because I saw the fresh bedding being delivered so I knew they sent it out to be cleaned. To begin with when we sent our “leaving USA” email and I told them we would probably be late that was when they gave us the key info. Seemed weird, why wouldn’t you reconfirm arrival before 1pm and/or give specific info out? Oh well, that part of the process actually went very well. Motion lights that stay on for 5 seconds made the trek through the hall, courtyard and up several flights of stairs a pain, but oh well. The next morning is when we saw the condition of the place. The bed did have fresh bedding-Thank goodness! The floors were dirty and under the bed had not been touched with a dust mop in a very, very long time. The wardrobe had papers in from other travelers (their directions to get in to the key box, etc.). That was from 2 months ago. The bathroom was just ICK. Small pieces of soap on the very top of the shower stall, icky floor, even the darn mirror was dirty! The hair dryer was there however and did work. The real kicker though was the bag on the counter that had been jammed with small jelly packets, cheese packets, yogurt, etc., two loaves of bread (that were already opened and dried out) as well as several small bags of cereal. Sincerely, this bag looked like someone went in to a late night restaurant and simply swiped all the condiments off the table and jumbled in to this bag. No juice, no coffee and no milk. There were food items though that should have been refrigerated. Tom went over the next morning to the reception and asked about the breakfast. She said it was in the fridge (our fridge was empty-zip, nadda, nothing inside that puppy). He told her there was nothing there, just the bag on the counter. She seemed quite surprised (suggested he look deeper in the half fridge) but said she would check on it. She didn't seem to understand or speak English very well so I think that made communication a little difficult (since we in turn do not speak and totally do not understand ANY Czech). {We had our tour that morning so went with Helena (more on that later) to the Imperial Hotel down the way and finally got our morning coffee, surrounded by some stunningly beautiful and fully preserved art deco tile work.} The outdoor space was compact but served us well. This too was another area that most assuredly had not been hit with a broom in months-pigeon feathers and dust all over. There was a table and 3 chairs. The door didn’t work as it should but we were okay with sort of propping it-we were on the darn roof, no one was busting in. So from my perspective I would not recommend this place to anyone. There wasn’t a bath mat and there were only two towels (we stayed here 6 nights) and one half hand towel. Breakfast was a joke. We did pick up our own instant coffee and the water warmer worked just fine. When we returned after our first day out, all that had been in the bag on the counter, was now in the fridge-the jumble of condiments simply dumped into the bottom drawer, along with several cartons of milk, a fresh jar of instant coffee and a carton of juice. I guess that was the breakfast. Yuk. My hubby drank the juice but I didn’t want anything from this place. God only knows where the heck what finally ended up there was sitting all night long. Unacceptable. Now we are not perfectionists at all. We live in a house that is a hundred years old and I will share with you, dust bunnies reside with us as well. But they are our dust bunnies and we do shush them away when company is coming! In fairness, the microwave, water warmer and refrigerator did work. The hot water heater was sort of noisy but did really pump out the hot water on demand. The location was perfect. The bus stop was right in front of the place, walking distance to Charles Bridge and the underground transport just a few blocks away. Grocery store, with liquor & beer, right across the street as well. And it was quiet-no street noise, no neighbor noise at all. Okay, enough of this negativism, I think it is all out of my system
The next entry will be about the utterly stunning cities, towns, villages, other B&B’s we stayed at and people of the Czech Republic and our wonderful, wonderful vacation there. Please feel free to contact me if you need any info (before I get to it). We have stacks of reference materials.
We left the US on September 8, 2009 from Chicago. We had a direct flight to Frankfurt and then from Frankfurt we flew to Prague. I’ll start out with just a few brief overall notes/observations.
Air India-Out of Chicago, awesome seats, nice flight.
Air India-Out of Frankfurt, hubby found his seat comfortable even though he was in the middle.
Czech Air-Okay, that ticket counter is REALLY a communism left over! They don’t want to be there, they don’t care and obviously haven’t a clue what customer service is.
Czech Republic-Beautiful country with simply lovely people.
Czech roads-In really, really good condition however (and it could have been us) we found the posting/numbering sketchy at best-our GPS was absolutely essential.
Public transportation in Prague-Excellent and very easy to navigate.
Czech Beer-The best my hubby has ever had.
Czech food-We enjoyed every single meal we had!
Personal safety in the Czech Republic-There was not one moment we felt uncomfortable or unsafe. We roamed around at night, took public transportation at night and never felt like it was dangerous. We were well prepared for pick-pockets but didn’t even notice that activity from afar.
Prague-Almost too much to take in. The city is beautiful and there is so much to see! We aren’t “breeze through town” tourists, we like to sit and savor, research and understand and see for ourselves.
Melnick Area Countryside-Wonderful drives with breathtaking country sides, whether it was farm or forest, with lovely sleepy little towns or Cesky Raj (aka Bohemian Paradise, the sandstone rocks) or the České Švýcarsko area (aka Bohemian Switzerland-the gate).
Cesky Krumlov-Wow! Wow! Wow! Did I say wow?
Pre-arranged airport transfer/Guide Services –(http://www.personalpragueguide.com/) One of the best decisions we made for Prague. We were met at the airport by a terrific and animated young man (Martin) that got us safely to our place, pointing out key things during the entire ride-terrific since we were really, really tired by the time we got to Prague. The guide (Helena) for two half days proved to be very informative and really enhanced our visit to Prague. More on the driver and guide in report. Highly recommended!
Studio Platan-Big Thumbs DOWN!
Pension V Raji-Big Thumbs UP!
Pension Pod Skalkou-Big Thumbs UP!
Okay, first I have to start with the negative of our vacation: Studio Platan http://www.platantour.cz/character.htm
They do not really put it right up front that the Studio we were renting was 127 steps up (no lift for this one), but we did know that from notes posted by others. We decided that would be ok. (Subsequently we have decided it does hamper our coming and goings and moving forward our limit without a lift is going to be 3 floors.) The pictures on their web site show a bright, clean and airy room and it was one of the very few rooms we found in the city that had the outdoor space we wanted. Well the picture must have been taken the last time they actually cleaned the room because the room was nasty. (We simply fell in to bed our first evening-it was late and dark-luckily I didn’t notice how bad the room was.) Moving forward the only reason I slept in the bed was because I saw the fresh bedding being delivered so I knew they sent it out to be cleaned. To begin with when we sent our “leaving USA” email and I told them we would probably be late that was when they gave us the key info. Seemed weird, why wouldn’t you reconfirm arrival before 1pm and/or give specific info out? Oh well, that part of the process actually went very well. Motion lights that stay on for 5 seconds made the trek through the hall, courtyard and up several flights of stairs a pain, but oh well. The next morning is when we saw the condition of the place. The bed did have fresh bedding-Thank goodness! The floors were dirty and under the bed had not been touched with a dust mop in a very, very long time. The wardrobe had papers in from other travelers (their directions to get in to the key box, etc.). That was from 2 months ago. The bathroom was just ICK. Small pieces of soap on the very top of the shower stall, icky floor, even the darn mirror was dirty! The hair dryer was there however and did work. The real kicker though was the bag on the counter that had been jammed with small jelly packets, cheese packets, yogurt, etc., two loaves of bread (that were already opened and dried out) as well as several small bags of cereal. Sincerely, this bag looked like someone went in to a late night restaurant and simply swiped all the condiments off the table and jumbled in to this bag. No juice, no coffee and no milk. There were food items though that should have been refrigerated. Tom went over the next morning to the reception and asked about the breakfast. She said it was in the fridge (our fridge was empty-zip, nadda, nothing inside that puppy). He told her there was nothing there, just the bag on the counter. She seemed quite surprised (suggested he look deeper in the half fridge) but said she would check on it. She didn't seem to understand or speak English very well so I think that made communication a little difficult (since we in turn do not speak and totally do not understand ANY Czech). {We had our tour that morning so went with Helena (more on that later) to the Imperial Hotel down the way and finally got our morning coffee, surrounded by some stunningly beautiful and fully preserved art deco tile work.} The outdoor space was compact but served us well. This too was another area that most assuredly had not been hit with a broom in months-pigeon feathers and dust all over. There was a table and 3 chairs. The door didn’t work as it should but we were okay with sort of propping it-we were on the darn roof, no one was busting in. So from my perspective I would not recommend this place to anyone. There wasn’t a bath mat and there were only two towels (we stayed here 6 nights) and one half hand towel. Breakfast was a joke. We did pick up our own instant coffee and the water warmer worked just fine. When we returned after our first day out, all that had been in the bag on the counter, was now in the fridge-the jumble of condiments simply dumped into the bottom drawer, along with several cartons of milk, a fresh jar of instant coffee and a carton of juice. I guess that was the breakfast. Yuk. My hubby drank the juice but I didn’t want anything from this place. God only knows where the heck what finally ended up there was sitting all night long. Unacceptable. Now we are not perfectionists at all. We live in a house that is a hundred years old and I will share with you, dust bunnies reside with us as well. But they are our dust bunnies and we do shush them away when company is coming! In fairness, the microwave, water warmer and refrigerator did work. The hot water heater was sort of noisy but did really pump out the hot water on demand. The location was perfect. The bus stop was right in front of the place, walking distance to Charles Bridge and the underground transport just a few blocks away. Grocery store, with liquor & beer, right across the street as well. And it was quiet-no street noise, no neighbor noise at all. Okay, enough of this negativism, I think it is all out of my system
The next entry will be about the utterly stunning cities, towns, villages, other B&B’s we stayed at and people of the Czech Republic and our wonderful, wonderful vacation there. Please feel free to contact me if you need any info (before I get to it). We have stacks of reference materials.
Oct 20th, 2009, 01:53 PM
#2
"Cesky Krumlov-Wow! Wow! Wow! Did I say wow?"
I concur. Loved CK. Looking forward to more. It helps to put the trip report into shorter paragraphs so we don't go blind reading about your adventure. Thanks.
I concur. Loved CK. Looking forward to more. It helps to put the trip report into shorter paragraphs so we don't go blind reading about your adventure. Thanks.
Oct 20th, 2009, 05:25 PM
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We had set up 2 half-day tours with Sarka several months earlier when we were in the planning stages. We also had her arrange the driver to meet us at the airport. He was from transfers Prague. These were good decisions! Unfortunately Sarka was ill when we arrived so we never did get to meet her. She called us while we were being taken to our place by Martin and to let us know she had arranged for Helena, another tour guide, to take her place. We were not disappointed in Helena.
The first day Helena did trek up all the stairs to our place and we sort of talked about what we really wanted to see. We then headed out, strolled down Revolucni and over to the Imperial Hotel, where we enjoyed the décor and some coffee and juice. We then headed back towards the Municipal House, Powder Tower and then in to Old Town.
Naturally we did the Old Town Square, caught the Astronomical Clock doing it’s thing (Helene made sure to point out I needed to bring my bag closer to me, in front and reminded Tom to keep aware of where his wallet was.) We didn’t notice any jostling of any of the visitors, just noticed the hoards that piled in for the “ringing” and then were directed out for the next big site. Helene was quite informative about what life in Prague was like. We strolled through the Jewish town today as well. Our full tour of the Jewish town will be on Sunday. We also went over to Wenceslas Square and she talked about the history made there. She also talked about where religion is at in this country after all the years of communism. It was interesting to get a young persons perspective on all of it.
We decided to get a five-day transfer ticket for each of us and while we thought it might be a waste of money it turned out to be a great move. The sheer convenience of having the pass was worth it. Helena got us through that purchase and helped us get time on our cell phone as well. She also pointed out where we would purchase tickets to a concert and for the opera.
When our tour was complete we made a plan to meet in front of our place around 9:30 in the morning and we then parted ways. We hung around the Old Town area, right near the Charles Bridge. We stopped at Hospoda Bila Kuzelka, at the little outdoor offshoot of the hotel there, almost on an inside square. Great spot to people watch and enjoy a few beers and a few wines. Tom had to have 2 baboomba beers to my 1 baboomba glass of wine! Lord there are big pours in CZ!
That night we took the advice of many Fodor posters and headed to Kampa Island in search of Cervena Sedma. Great directions and good pick, thanks Kwoo
Of course Charles Bridge was under construction so much of its charm was not on display. We really lollygagged with our drinks, appetizer, soup in the bread and then a huge showpiece pork! A walk around the area, a gelato and then a leisurely stroll home. We were quite satisfied with our first full day in Prague. The rain began just as we reached our front door and so we fell asleep to the peaceful pitter-patter of a nighttime rain.
The first day Helena did trek up all the stairs to our place and we sort of talked about what we really wanted to see. We then headed out, strolled down Revolucni and over to the Imperial Hotel, where we enjoyed the décor and some coffee and juice. We then headed back towards the Municipal House, Powder Tower and then in to Old Town.
Naturally we did the Old Town Square, caught the Astronomical Clock doing it’s thing (Helene made sure to point out I needed to bring my bag closer to me, in front and reminded Tom to keep aware of where his wallet was.) We didn’t notice any jostling of any of the visitors, just noticed the hoards that piled in for the “ringing” and then were directed out for the next big site. Helene was quite informative about what life in Prague was like. We strolled through the Jewish town today as well. Our full tour of the Jewish town will be on Sunday. We also went over to Wenceslas Square and she talked about the history made there. She also talked about where religion is at in this country after all the years of communism. It was interesting to get a young persons perspective on all of it.
We decided to get a five-day transfer ticket for each of us and while we thought it might be a waste of money it turned out to be a great move. The sheer convenience of having the pass was worth it. Helena got us through that purchase and helped us get time on our cell phone as well. She also pointed out where we would purchase tickets to a concert and for the opera.
When our tour was complete we made a plan to meet in front of our place around 9:30 in the morning and we then parted ways. We hung around the Old Town area, right near the Charles Bridge. We stopped at Hospoda Bila Kuzelka, at the little outdoor offshoot of the hotel there, almost on an inside square. Great spot to people watch and enjoy a few beers and a few wines. Tom had to have 2 baboomba beers to my 1 baboomba glass of wine! Lord there are big pours in CZ!
That night we took the advice of many Fodor posters and headed to Kampa Island in search of Cervena Sedma. Great directions and good pick, thanks Kwoo
Of course Charles Bridge was under construction so much of its charm was not on display. We really lollygagged with our drinks, appetizer, soup in the bread and then a huge showpiece pork! A walk around the area, a gelato and then a leisurely stroll home. We were quite satisfied with our first full day in Prague. The rain began just as we reached our front door and so we fell asleep to the peaceful pitter-patter of a nighttime rain.
Oct 21st, 2009, 05:00 PM
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Thanks for the kind words!
Our second full day in Prague:
Our lovely guide Helena meet us outside our place as arranged at about 9:30 on Friday, September 11. Our plan today was to go to Castle Town. We caught the tram right in front of our place and headed for Royalty!
We had already decided that we were not going to actually tour the castle in Prague, just more or less do the surrounding areas. We had a few other castles on our radar screen and have discovered that two to three castles are pretty much our limit. There were many other beautiful buildings to explore.
We walked through the historic square and we witnessed yet another wedding on the grounds. All of these weddings were “civil weddings”; religion is having a difficult time gaining a foothold here after all the years of communism. We went to the Prague Castle gates where President Obama addressed the masses. No politics here so I will take a pass… (See Shirl just zipping her lips…). I will say this was a very big deal for the Czech Republic. We toured the Strahov Library and then walked through Loreta Praha. The gardens here were beautiful as were the grounds in this area. The weather today couldn’t really decide what it wanted to do. It was sunny but quite windy and sometimes cool. I felt bad for Helena because I think she was freezing half of the day (a state of which I am normally in), she had dressed for warmer weather.
We ended our time with Helena at Pivnice U Glaubice. We started out indoors because we were all a little chilly. Personal conversations over beer rather connected us. We cannot say enough about how we enjoyed our tours with her (Helena Martinkova). In addition to the absolute knowledge she had about all of the buildings, sites and areas we were at, personally she was simply a lovely young woman. We surly do highly recommend her as a tour guide. Our time in Prague was utterly enhanced because of the time we spent with her. When she left we did move to the outdoor area and there we enjoyed a lovely lunch while we people watched.
We milled around the Little Quarter area, crossed over the wonderful Charles Bridge and headed back to our place, stopping to purchase our tickets for Don Giovanni on the way home. There we relaxed, had wine on “our terrace” and chilled for a while. Once refreshed (and me changed in to warmer clothing) we headed out to see the Bridge at night and find Einstein Pizza.
It was fun to just mill around the old town at night. We had located an Internet café that was in a bar that was in a hallway…. I still wanted to get to Bohemian Bagel for the Internet, but it was nice to have a back up. We found our Pizza place and enjoyed the pizza there. We walked over to the underground and checked out the various destinations. We had big plans for tomorrow-the market and possibly the Zoo and of course, Don Giovanni at Estates Theater!
As we trekked home we were already beginning to feel overwhelmed by this terrific city-too much to see and to take in! I don’t mean that in a negative way, it was simply that we knew we would have a difficult time recounting to anyone what we had done, where we had been, etc. Hard to describe I guess. It didn’t hamper our experience just made us feel like we should have known more!
The long walk up all those stairs warmed us. It was good and chilly outside now. The starry sky was a pleasant view before falling asleep. Tomorrow it would be Bohemian Bagel to email, the market, the zoo and then Don Giovanni for the evening. Ha! We were feeling pretty confident about our ability to master this public transportation.
Our night could not end without a thought and a prayer and a remembrance of 9/11. We silently said a prayer for those that simply were going about their normal lives that day in 2001 and never returned to their families and of course for the families that have had to go on without their loved ones. Freedom isn't free. The debates about that can go on forever but those that died on 9/11 were innocents. Our prayers and our sorrow for the anniversary was a somber end to a wonderful day. We try very hard to not take anything for granted, this night we feel asleep with our arms entwined, grateful for each other and all we have.
Our second full day in Prague:
Our lovely guide Helena meet us outside our place as arranged at about 9:30 on Friday, September 11. Our plan today was to go to Castle Town. We caught the tram right in front of our place and headed for Royalty!
We had already decided that we were not going to actually tour the castle in Prague, just more or less do the surrounding areas. We had a few other castles on our radar screen and have discovered that two to three castles are pretty much our limit. There were many other beautiful buildings to explore.
We walked through the historic square and we witnessed yet another wedding on the grounds. All of these weddings were “civil weddings”; religion is having a difficult time gaining a foothold here after all the years of communism. We went to the Prague Castle gates where President Obama addressed the masses. No politics here so I will take a pass… (See Shirl just zipping her lips…). I will say this was a very big deal for the Czech Republic. We toured the Strahov Library and then walked through Loreta Praha. The gardens here were beautiful as were the grounds in this area. The weather today couldn’t really decide what it wanted to do. It was sunny but quite windy and sometimes cool. I felt bad for Helena because I think she was freezing half of the day (a state of which I am normally in), she had dressed for warmer weather.
We ended our time with Helena at Pivnice U Glaubice. We started out indoors because we were all a little chilly. Personal conversations over beer rather connected us. We cannot say enough about how we enjoyed our tours with her (Helena Martinkova). In addition to the absolute knowledge she had about all of the buildings, sites and areas we were at, personally she was simply a lovely young woman. We surly do highly recommend her as a tour guide. Our time in Prague was utterly enhanced because of the time we spent with her. When she left we did move to the outdoor area and there we enjoyed a lovely lunch while we people watched.
We milled around the Little Quarter area, crossed over the wonderful Charles Bridge and headed back to our place, stopping to purchase our tickets for Don Giovanni on the way home. There we relaxed, had wine on “our terrace” and chilled for a while. Once refreshed (and me changed in to warmer clothing) we headed out to see the Bridge at night and find Einstein Pizza.
It was fun to just mill around the old town at night. We had located an Internet café that was in a bar that was in a hallway…. I still wanted to get to Bohemian Bagel for the Internet, but it was nice to have a back up. We found our Pizza place and enjoyed the pizza there. We walked over to the underground and checked out the various destinations. We had big plans for tomorrow-the market and possibly the Zoo and of course, Don Giovanni at Estates Theater!
As we trekked home we were already beginning to feel overwhelmed by this terrific city-too much to see and to take in! I don’t mean that in a negative way, it was simply that we knew we would have a difficult time recounting to anyone what we had done, where we had been, etc. Hard to describe I guess. It didn’t hamper our experience just made us feel like we should have known more!
The long walk up all those stairs warmed us. It was good and chilly outside now. The starry sky was a pleasant view before falling asleep. Tomorrow it would be Bohemian Bagel to email, the market, the zoo and then Don Giovanni for the evening. Ha! We were feeling pretty confident about our ability to master this public transportation.
Our night could not end without a thought and a prayer and a remembrance of 9/11. We silently said a prayer for those that simply were going about their normal lives that day in 2001 and never returned to their families and of course for the families that have had to go on without their loved ones. Freedom isn't free. The debates about that can go on forever but those that died on 9/11 were innocents. Our prayers and our sorrow for the anniversary was a somber end to a wonderful day. We try very hard to not take anything for granted, this night we feel asleep with our arms entwined, grateful for each other and all we have.
Oct 24th, 2009, 04:58 AM
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Hi LuvtoRoamn,
I love reading your trip report. It brings back so many wonderful memories of our trip last August. I'm happy to hear that my trip report has been useful to other fellow travelers and that you enjoyed Cervena Sedma as much as we did.
I also concur about Cesky Krumlov!!! WOW, WOW, WOW!!!
We didn't have time to go to Cesky Raj. I'm looking forward to hearing about that part of your trip.
How long was your total vacation?
Karen
I love reading your trip report. It brings back so many wonderful memories of our trip last August. I'm happy to hear that my trip report has been useful to other fellow travelers and that you enjoyed Cervena Sedma as much as we did.
I also concur about Cesky Krumlov!!! WOW, WOW, WOW!!!
We didn't have time to go to Cesky Raj. I'm looking forward to hearing about that part of your trip.
How long was your total vacation?
Karen
Oct 28th, 2009, 03:49 PM
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Thanks for the boost! Unfortunately these pesky jobs we have to attend to have us quite busy…. Ahh, gotta work in order to be able to go… Here we go,
Saturday, September 12:
We have just been lazy birds on this trip. Amazing how ambitious we were when planning-grab the tripod, get to the bridge, yada, yada, yada. We slept in (again) and then just meandered over to the Bohemian Bagel, which was really not that far from where we were staying. Weather was shaping up today to be pretty good. We had a great little breakfast and then I did my email duties. After that we hopped on the tram and went to the Prague Market. We were not that impressed, but walked around, took a few pictures (and those were simply awesome) and had a beer. Taking the tram there was simple as pie. We then decided we would head over to the Zoo. Since we are a little sign challenged we got off in the wrong spot, realized our error after walking a block or two and then got back on the bus and exited at the correct stop.
We enjoyed the zoo. The weather was simply perfect. We found the zoo to be in pretty good shape considering the damage wrought by the terrible 2002 floods. We are always heartened, whether at home or away, to see families with their children, out enjoying their communities. And there were many families enjoying the zoo this day. We did the little train as well as the walks, ending with a nice ice cream and a little more people watching at the concession stand. A very enjoyable afternoon! We caught our bus and headed back home. We would relax with a few drinks and then head to the Opera.
We had wonderful seats for the performance of Don Giovanni. It was probably an hour too long for my hubby, but he is the perfect date and no complaining was heard. The National Theater is a wonderful building and the opera was lovely. We did have a really loud Italian couple next to us though (we were glad it was “Ugly Italians” and not “Ugly Americans” as is often the case…).
After the opera we went looking for a place to grab a bite to eat. Surprisingly we ended up at a Chinese restaurant, Shanghai Duo Wei, at Hotel Esprit. Go figure, at home if you aren’t at your Chinese restaurant by 7:30 you are not having Chinese! It was late and there was only one other table there and they were way ahead of us. No matter, a lovely young woman brought us menus and the staff had no problem serving us with absolutely no rushing us out of there. In addition to a really good meal (by our standards for Chinese food) we were given a nice little shot of plum wine to complete our meal. Okay, it all goes back to my years in food service…. I just love good service when dining and when we get it, for me, the entire experience is enhanced.
Stuffed to the gills we waddled on back, winding through this beautiful old town, to our place. Up the stairs and out to our nice little balcony. This is the way to live!
Tomorrow we are off to Vysehrad and an evening concert at the Municipal House.
Saturday, September 12:
We have just been lazy birds on this trip. Amazing how ambitious we were when planning-grab the tripod, get to the bridge, yada, yada, yada. We slept in (again) and then just meandered over to the Bohemian Bagel, which was really not that far from where we were staying. Weather was shaping up today to be pretty good. We had a great little breakfast and then I did my email duties. After that we hopped on the tram and went to the Prague Market. We were not that impressed, but walked around, took a few pictures (and those were simply awesome) and had a beer. Taking the tram there was simple as pie. We then decided we would head over to the Zoo. Since we are a little sign challenged we got off in the wrong spot, realized our error after walking a block or two and then got back on the bus and exited at the correct stop.
We enjoyed the zoo. The weather was simply perfect. We found the zoo to be in pretty good shape considering the damage wrought by the terrible 2002 floods. We are always heartened, whether at home or away, to see families with their children, out enjoying their communities. And there were many families enjoying the zoo this day. We did the little train as well as the walks, ending with a nice ice cream and a little more people watching at the concession stand. A very enjoyable afternoon! We caught our bus and headed back home. We would relax with a few drinks and then head to the Opera.
We had wonderful seats for the performance of Don Giovanni. It was probably an hour too long for my hubby, but he is the perfect date and no complaining was heard
. The National Theater is a wonderful building and the opera was lovely. We did have a really loud Italian couple next to us though (we were glad it was “Ugly Italians” and not “Ugly Americans” as is often the case…).After the opera we went looking for a place to grab a bite to eat. Surprisingly we ended up at a Chinese restaurant, Shanghai Duo Wei, at Hotel Esprit. Go figure, at home if you aren’t at your Chinese restaurant by 7:30 you are not having Chinese! It was late and there was only one other table there and they were way ahead of us. No matter, a lovely young woman brought us menus and the staff had no problem serving us with absolutely no rushing us out of there. In addition to a really good meal (by our standards for Chinese food) we were given a nice little shot of plum wine to complete our meal. Okay, it all goes back to my years in food service…. I just love good service when dining and when we get it, for me, the entire experience is enhanced.
Stuffed to the gills we waddled on back, winding through this beautiful old town, to our place. Up the stairs and out to our nice little balcony. This is the way to live!
Tomorrow we are off to Vysehrad and an evening concert at the Municipal House.
Oct 28th, 2009, 03:59 PM
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Kwoo, we had 16 full days in the Czech Republic. We took off on Tuesday morning from the US and on Wednesday spent a whole day in Frankfurt (which was very enjoyable) before we caught our flight to Prague. Our way home was even more convoluted! On Thursday 9/24 we left Cesky Krumlov, drove to Prague and stayed at a little place not far from the Prague airport. The next morning we left Prague and flew to Frankfurt. There we grabbed a train to Wiesbaden, spent a wonderful day there, stayed overnight at Hotel Klemm and then took the train back to Frankfurt and caught our flight home. Cancellations and changes by Air India was one of the reasons but in the end it wasn't really that bad. I will probably post on the Germany board as we enjoyed both Frankfurt for about 7 hours and Wiesbaden for a full day.
Oct 28th, 2009, 05:43 PM
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September 13, 2009
Today we wake to a pretty overcast day. Warm in the sun and a little chilly if the sun goes behind the clouds. No matter, we have decided that today we will head to Vysehrad. We have so mastered this public transportation….
Vysehrad did not disappoint! The views on the walks were wonderful. We strolled along the river through the grounds and enjoyed the musicians along the way. It was very peaceful and a nice break from the inner city. The pictures I have of the doors of the Neo Gothic Church of St Peter and St Paul from Vysehrad will be a great addition to our collection of pictures of doors and windows (it’s what attracts us). We walked through the small little museum as well and found it worthwhile.
We took a slow walk down and out of the area, stopping at U’Semika, a little café outside the grounds, and had a nice beer (well Tom was drinking 2 to my 1 glass of wine-the wines were simply huge pours), wine and caprese’ break. It was starting to get a little chilly, but our mini-break for a small lunch was very nice. We decided we would head to the Petrin Observation Tower.
Once again, we cannot say enough about the public transportation here in Prague and how easy it was for people like us (not normally public transport utilizers and non-Czech speaking or reading…).
By the time we got to Petrin Hill the weather had clearly taken a turn and was on hold-gloomy and quite chilly. We walked up, caught the funicular and enjoyed the view at the top, well, not all the way to the top. We did not climb the tower, just sort of looked up at it and decided we were not dressed warmly enough and simply didn’t feel like climbing it. Hey, we are on vacation here! So we took the funicular half way down and stopped at the little café and enjoyed a nice hot chocolate. And of course, while sitting there under the canopy we listened to Willy & Julio singing “All the girls I’ve Loved Before”. Music is universal.
We found our way home, rested, freshened and then headed out to the Municipal House for the concert-selections by Hanel, Vivaldi, Bach, Mozart, Dvorak & Tchaikovsky-Hey, we have CD’s with all of these guys! Our seats were wonderful, third row-we were all by ourselves in that row-with only two other couples in this front section. The back half of this terrific venue was pretty much filled and they, as did we, thoroughly enjoyed the concert.
After the concert we went to U Provaznice for dinner. A loud, boisterous and sort of smoky place, we had a great little server and good food for a reasonable price. I just love, love, love their cranberries! I should research just exactly how they harvest them or where they come from but they were such an addition to several of the meals I had. At home (and Wisconsin is a big cranberry state) I eat a lot of cranberries, canned and fresh, but they are huge compared to those we had in the Czech. One of the perfect fruits-filled to the brim with all good stuff (okay, forget they have to add sugar..). Here is where I had the best dessert too. It was hailed as Plum Pie but was really more like a plum kuchen and it was to die for! We lingered with coffee and once again went over the great day we had.
A slow walk home and of course the long walk up. We settled in enjoying the nice little bed lights that allowed us to read in bed. Tomorrow we were going to go looking for the “Strudel Man”.
Today we wake to a pretty overcast day. Warm in the sun and a little chilly if the sun goes behind the clouds. No matter, we have decided that today we will head to Vysehrad. We have so mastered this public transportation….
Vysehrad did not disappoint! The views on the walks were wonderful. We strolled along the river through the grounds and enjoyed the musicians along the way. It was very peaceful and a nice break from the inner city. The pictures I have of the doors of the Neo Gothic Church of St Peter and St Paul from Vysehrad will be a great addition to our collection of pictures of doors and windows (it’s what attracts us). We walked through the small little museum as well and found it worthwhile.
We took a slow walk down and out of the area, stopping at U’Semika, a little café outside the grounds, and had a nice beer (well Tom was drinking 2 to my 1 glass of wine-the wines were simply huge pours), wine and caprese’ break. It was starting to get a little chilly, but our mini-break for a small lunch was very nice. We decided we would head to the Petrin Observation Tower.
Once again, we cannot say enough about the public transportation here in Prague and how easy it was for people like us (not normally public transport utilizers and non-Czech speaking or reading…).
By the time we got to Petrin Hill the weather had clearly taken a turn and was on hold-gloomy and quite chilly. We walked up, caught the funicular and enjoyed the view at the top, well, not all the way to the top. We did not climb the tower, just sort of looked up at it and decided we were not dressed warmly enough and simply didn’t feel like climbing it. Hey, we are on vacation here! So we took the funicular half way down and stopped at the little café and enjoyed a nice hot chocolate. And of course, while sitting there under the canopy we listened to Willy & Julio singing “All the girls I’ve Loved Before”. Music is universal.
We found our way home, rested, freshened and then headed out to the Municipal House for the concert-selections by Hanel, Vivaldi, Bach, Mozart, Dvorak & Tchaikovsky-Hey, we have CD’s with all of these guys! Our seats were wonderful, third row-we were all by ourselves in that row-with only two other couples in this front section. The back half of this terrific venue was pretty much filled and they, as did we, thoroughly enjoyed the concert.
After the concert we went to U Provaznice for dinner. A loud, boisterous and sort of smoky place, we had a great little server and good food for a reasonable price. I just love, love, love their cranberries! I should research just exactly how they harvest them or where they come from but they were such an addition to several of the meals I had. At home (and Wisconsin is a big cranberry state) I eat a lot of cranberries, canned and fresh, but they are huge compared to those we had in the Czech. One of the perfect fruits-filled to the brim with all good stuff (okay, forget they have to add sugar..). Here is where I had the best dessert too. It was hailed as Plum Pie but was really more like a plum kuchen and it was to die for! We lingered with coffee and once again went over the great day we had.
A slow walk home and of course the long walk up. We settled in enjoying the nice little bed lights that allowed us to read in bed. Tomorrow we were going to go looking for the “Strudel Man”.
Oct 28th, 2009, 07:23 PM
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September 14, 2009
How did this happen, today is our last full day in Prague? Once again we slept in and once again the weather started out sort of drizzly and not especially warm.
We bundled up, grabbed our umbrella’s, the trusty hand-held GPS and headed out in search of the “strudel man” in Prague’s Zizkov neighborhood, a character we discovered in our research of Prague. You can google strudel man and it will come up if you wish to read the article. We took the underground and got to the area with little problem although we did rely on the GPS as we walked. The written directions Tom had were almost backward for the direction we were actually going in but we persevered and along with the GPS, trudged past some really butt-ugly apartment buildings and did find the strudel man!
They talked about apple strudel in the article but when we got there I discovered he had poppy seed strudel as well (really, my people must have been Poles or Germans or Czechs, how else does one account for the taste I have in schnecks and meat???). So we had to get an apple strudel and a poppy seed strudel. Clearly he spoke no English and I surmise he figured it out that we spoke no Czech. Food and the sale of food is universal though and we got through that transaction with little trouble. Off we trotted with our neat little packages of nice fresh strudel. Sincerely, this area he works in is about a big as a large bathroom. Obviously since we sought him out whatever he is doing is working. And now this may inspire others to go looking for him. We sort of headed back the way we came and that worked out okay for us. Tom did finally get his street-dog though, just outside the entrance to the underground.
We went back to our place, dropped off our goodies and then headed to the Jewish Quarter. On the way we stopped at the Old Town Square and relaxed with a few drinks. Once we got to the Jewish Museum we bought tickets and a hand-held English guide and began the tour. We found this guide very useful. We went through the museum, the cemetery and several synagogues. It is quite a somber experience. There are silly, kitschy stands selling items outside the entrance, seems sort of weird, but since I am a capitalist at heart, okay I guess. We just didn’t see anything here we had to have.
After the visit to the Jewish Quarter we wondered back through the side and back streets and stopped at a little outdoor café (I think it may have been called Blatnice). We needed to call our daughter, as today was her birthday. As always we made a spectacle of ourselves singing happy birthday to our Kimmy into the telephone (it’s what parents do). After a few drinks we decided to have a few appetizer type dishes here and just people watch. It was perfect. While it was chilly there was no wind and all of the rain had subsided.
We strolled towards the Charles Bridge for one last time, lamenting never getting up early and getting over here. We attempted some photos of the castle, but since we didn’t have our little mini tripod the nighttime shots just didn’t come out. We passed by the Klementinum and snapped a few shots and then just sort of wandered. We hit the little hidden internet café we had discovered earlier and dropped a few lines to everyone letting them know we would be leaving town tomorrow and not to worry if they didn’t hear anything. Reluctantly we said a nighttime good bye to this city knowing there was much we never really got to see.
One last trudge up (not) and reflections in the chilly air out on our balcony. Prague was good, we were glad we had visited here. Tomorrow would have us leaving the city-picking up a car on the way out and heading for wine country. The task of packing we left for the morning. Tonight we needed to just savor the sounds around our place and gaze at the night sky that amazingly seemed to have a million stars in it.
How did this happen, today is our last full day in Prague? Once again we slept in and once again the weather started out sort of drizzly and not especially warm.
We bundled up, grabbed our umbrella’s, the trusty hand-held GPS and headed out in search of the “strudel man” in Prague’s Zizkov neighborhood, a character we discovered in our research of Prague. You can google strudel man and it will come up if you wish to read the article. We took the underground and got to the area with little problem although we did rely on the GPS as we walked. The written directions Tom had were almost backward for the direction we were actually going in but we persevered and along with the GPS, trudged past some really butt-ugly apartment buildings and did find the strudel man!
They talked about apple strudel in the article but when we got there I discovered he had poppy seed strudel as well (really, my people must have been Poles or Germans or Czechs, how else does one account for the taste I have in schnecks and meat???). So we had to get an apple strudel and a poppy seed strudel. Clearly he spoke no English and I surmise he figured it out that we spoke no Czech. Food and the sale of food is universal though and we got through that transaction with little trouble. Off we trotted with our neat little packages of nice fresh strudel. Sincerely, this area he works in is about a big as a large bathroom. Obviously since we sought him out whatever he is doing is working. And now this may inspire others to go looking for him. We sort of headed back the way we came and that worked out okay for us. Tom did finally get his street-dog though, just outside the entrance to the underground.
We went back to our place, dropped off our goodies and then headed to the Jewish Quarter. On the way we stopped at the Old Town Square and relaxed with a few drinks. Once we got to the Jewish Museum we bought tickets and a hand-held English guide and began the tour. We found this guide very useful. We went through the museum, the cemetery and several synagogues. It is quite a somber experience. There are silly, kitschy stands selling items outside the entrance, seems sort of weird, but since I am a capitalist at heart, okay I guess. We just didn’t see anything here we had to have.
After the visit to the Jewish Quarter we wondered back through the side and back streets and stopped at a little outdoor café (I think it may have been called Blatnice). We needed to call our daughter, as today was her birthday. As always we made a spectacle of ourselves singing happy birthday to our Kimmy into the telephone (it’s what parents do). After a few drinks we decided to have a few appetizer type dishes here and just people watch. It was perfect. While it was chilly there was no wind and all of the rain had subsided.
We strolled towards the Charles Bridge for one last time, lamenting never getting up early and getting over here. We attempted some photos of the castle, but since we didn’t have our little mini tripod the nighttime shots just didn’t come out. We passed by the Klementinum and snapped a few shots and then just sort of wandered. We hit the little hidden internet café we had discovered earlier and dropped a few lines to everyone letting them know we would be leaving town tomorrow and not to worry if they didn’t hear anything. Reluctantly we said a nighttime good bye to this city knowing there was much we never really got to see.
One last trudge up (not) and reflections in the chilly air out on our balcony. Prague was good, we were glad we had visited here. Tomorrow would have us leaving the city-picking up a car on the way out and heading for wine country. The task of packing we left for the morning. Tonight we needed to just savor the sounds around our place and gaze at the night sky that amazingly seemed to have a million stars in it.
Oct 31st, 2009, 02:36 PM
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September 15, 2009
Well another morning we simply lollygagged, we will have to return to Prague to get to the Charles Bridge at daybreak as that never happened this trip-good to have a reason to return
. We had naturally prearranged our car rental with Avis and the office we needed to get to wasn't that far away. Originally we thought we could just walk to it, never seems like a good idea once there with bags, etc. So Tom went down (and then back up) to have the gal at Platan get a taxi for us. We trudged down with our luggage and waited for the cab. He got us safely to the city-center Avis and there we picked up our car. Actually he charged us less than quoted once we arrived. It was a cute little Peugeot, fine for the two of us but would have been too small if there had been four travelers. Tom had preprogrammed our little Missy (the GPS) so after driving in a few circles to calibrate her, we were on our way. We got out of Prague with no trouble at all.
Our plan was to hit Terezin on the way to our place (Pension V Raj, in Mseno). While it wasn't "on the way" it was in the area. And that is what we did.
Naturally Terezin was another somber stop. We had done a good deal of reading about this place and really felt we needed to include it on our trip. There were not really hoards of tourists this day so the visit here was one that offered the peace needed for much reflection. Always hard to believe that human beings treat other human beings in this manner. We did drive over to the Ghetto Museum as well and spent some time there.
After leaving Terezin we were looking forward to a nice little place in the country and that is exactly what we found! Our Missy got us there (despite us) and once there we were not disappointed. We were greeted by Lucas (this is who all the emailing had been with) when we arrived. This was in farm country with forests surrounding it!
Our room was perfect (read that nice and clean). There was a little fridge in the entryway, a good-sized bathroom, a nice sitting room, with a TV and a large upper bedroom with a large bed and single bed. No TV up here and that was nice, did do lots of reading on this trip. 4 windows made for a nice cross of fresh air and light. Strangely, not a closet nor a hanger. Not to worry, I bring hangers (the cheapo's from the cleaners) and can always figure something out.
This place was great! First off Lucas gave Tom two huge bottles of beer when we inquired about where to buy some. I had bought wine in Prague so had a few bottles along (I was willing to share my wine buy my man simply wanted Czech beer!). There was a very nice covered area outside, in addition to the balcony right outside our room. A fire pit for all to use and a few other couples were grilling their own supper! It even had a foosball table under another canopy, which I imagine many families enjoyed.
After relaxing a bit we freshened and then headed out to find some supper. We ended up at restaurant U Zlateho Lva, in Mseno. No English on the menu here-just CZ and German. Our limited German helped us navigate. Good food, good service, good price, really, what more can one ask for? We were too full for dessert….
We wound our way home safely and settled in for the night. Now go figure, we are in the middle of nowhere here but our neighbors came home just a little bit tipsy and quite loud. I think they must have been at the restaurant that is more or less in conjunction (ownership wise) with this place, which is simply down and across the road a step. This was not an owner occupied place so no one came out and said, hey be quiet! It pretty much seemed that it was simply guests at night. They eventually quieted down and boy, in the morning didn’t even come in to the breakfast room.
We had no trouble falling asleep. Here there were thousands of stars in the sky and in the morning we would hear our neighbors in the field. Tomorrow we would head out to Cesky Raj for a nice walk.
Well another morning we simply lollygagged, we will have to return to Prague to get to the Charles Bridge at daybreak as that never happened this trip-good to have a reason to return
. We had naturally prearranged our car rental with Avis and the office we needed to get to wasn't that far away. Originally we thought we could just walk to it, never seems like a good idea once there with bags, etc. So Tom went down (and then back up) to have the gal at Platan get a taxi for us. We trudged down with our luggage and waited for the cab. He got us safely to the city-center Avis and there we picked up our car. Actually he charged us less than quoted once we arrived. It was a cute little Peugeot, fine for the two of us but would have been too small if there had been four travelers. Tom had preprogrammed our little Missy (the GPS) so after driving in a few circles to calibrate her, we were on our way. We got out of Prague with no trouble at all.Our plan was to hit Terezin on the way to our place (Pension V Raj, in Mseno). While it wasn't "on the way" it was in the area. And that is what we did.
Naturally Terezin was another somber stop. We had done a good deal of reading about this place and really felt we needed to include it on our trip. There were not really hoards of tourists this day so the visit here was one that offered the peace needed for much reflection. Always hard to believe that human beings treat other human beings in this manner. We did drive over to the Ghetto Museum as well and spent some time there.
After leaving Terezin we were looking forward to a nice little place in the country and that is exactly what we found! Our Missy got us there (despite us) and once there we were not disappointed. We were greeted by Lucas (this is who all the emailing had been with) when we arrived. This was in farm country with forests surrounding it!
Our room was perfect (read that nice and clean). There was a little fridge in the entryway, a good-sized bathroom, a nice sitting room, with a TV and a large upper bedroom with a large bed and single bed. No TV up here and that was nice, did do lots of reading on this trip. 4 windows made for a nice cross of fresh air and light. Strangely, not a closet nor a hanger. Not to worry, I bring hangers (the cheapo's from the cleaners) and can always figure something out.
This place was great! First off Lucas gave Tom two huge bottles of beer when we inquired about where to buy some. I had bought wine in Prague so had a few bottles along (I was willing to share my wine buy my man simply wanted Czech beer!). There was a very nice covered area outside, in addition to the balcony right outside our room. A fire pit for all to use and a few other couples were grilling their own supper! It even had a foosball table under another canopy, which I imagine many families enjoyed.
After relaxing a bit we freshened and then headed out to find some supper. We ended up at restaurant U Zlateho Lva, in Mseno. No English on the menu here-just CZ and German. Our limited German helped us navigate. Good food, good service, good price, really, what more can one ask for? We were too full for dessert….
We wound our way home safely and settled in for the night. Now go figure, we are in the middle of nowhere here but our neighbors came home just a little bit tipsy and quite loud. I think they must have been at the restaurant that is more or less in conjunction (ownership wise) with this place, which is simply down and across the road a step. This was not an owner occupied place so no one came out and said, hey be quiet! It pretty much seemed that it was simply guests at night. They eventually quieted down and boy, in the morning didn’t even come in to the breakfast room.
We had no trouble falling asleep. Here there were thousands of stars in the sky and in the morning we would hear our neighbors in the field. Tomorrow we would head out to Cesky Raj for a nice walk.
Oct 31st, 2009, 04:13 PM
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September 16, 2009
When we woke up we heard the sheep in the field baaing.. They were just about 20 yards outside our window. A donkey in the mix and he liked to make a little noise every now and then. What a pleasant way to wake up.
As will be the case for our time here, mornings are gray until the sun burns off the moisture. Today we will go to the TI in Jicin, get some cash and then head to Cesky Raj, also known as the Bohemian Paradise. First we will have breakfast here at our B&B.
The breakfast nook was adorable and the gal that did breakfast was just as cute. Coffee, yummy rolls, cheese, a sweet and sometimes eggs, sometimes meat as well as yogurt, cereal, etc. we enjoyed the mornings here. She arrived about 8-8:15 and at 8:30 breakfast was ready.
We had no trouble finding Jicin. We parked and walked through the small square. I'm quite certain we checked email here but for the life of us we cannot remember the TI! (Don't be laughing, this too will happen to you.) We did stop at a little place and had a few drinks. After that we headed to Cesky Raj.
The weather was perfect and thankfully we were appropriately dressed. This is a beautiful area that we highly recommend. We even saw climbers while here, hanging on the side of these huge rock formations! The ground itself in many areas was quite sandy. We started out on the red marked trail but being as sign challenged as we seem to be we ended up on the green.... In our defense we are always in conversation or simply drenched in the beauty of our surroundings and I swear, that has to be how we miss signs, markings, etc. Since it was so lovely out it wasn't that big of a deal. We eventually reached a junction of red yellow green and picked up the red back to the starting point. We did snap many pictures here and surprisingly they came out quite nice. A little bit of everything; walking through the woods, tall pines, rock formations, high look-out points, rock steps sandwiched in-between two huge rocks. Terrific, simply terrific! This is how we justify all the eating and drinking....
After our walk we took a nice scenic drive to Rovensko pod Troskami. It was a very small, pleasant little town. We passed Restaurant Melodia just as he was putting his little plastic table in front. We sat and had a drink and decided to eat here. We moved inside because the bees were quite annoying outdoors. The owner was a very gregarious man and we enjoyed interacting with him as well as watching the interaction between he and his staff and the locals that came in. One old guy came in with a huge empty bottle, looked like one of the water bottles that you tip upside down on the water dispensers, and it was promptly filled with beer! Okay, that doesn't happen in the US! Our meals here were also very good. Again, we managed the menu because we caught the German (in our own limited way).
We enjoyed the winding ride home. Fruit trees line the sides of many of the roads and there were folks out picking up what had dropped. We did find that Missy had us “recalculating” a few times…Some of the roads don’t have clear definition, like should you stay the curve or go straight. As I said, probably just us. Tonight we would sleep well again.
When we woke up we heard the sheep in the field baaing.. They were just about 20 yards outside our window. A donkey in the mix and he liked to make a little noise every now and then. What a pleasant way to wake up.
As will be the case for our time here, mornings are gray until the sun burns off the moisture. Today we will go to the TI in Jicin, get some cash and then head to Cesky Raj, also known as the Bohemian Paradise. First we will have breakfast here at our B&B.
The breakfast nook was adorable and the gal that did breakfast was just as cute. Coffee, yummy rolls, cheese, a sweet and sometimes eggs, sometimes meat as well as yogurt, cereal, etc. we enjoyed the mornings here. She arrived about 8-8:15 and at 8:30 breakfast was ready.
We had no trouble finding Jicin. We parked and walked through the small square. I'm quite certain we checked email here but for the life of us we cannot remember the TI! (Don't be laughing, this too will happen to you.) We did stop at a little place and had a few drinks. After that we headed to Cesky Raj.
The weather was perfect and thankfully we were appropriately dressed. This is a beautiful area that we highly recommend. We even saw climbers while here, hanging on the side of these huge rock formations! The ground itself in many areas was quite sandy. We started out on the red marked trail but being as sign challenged as we seem to be we ended up on the green.... In our defense we are always in conversation or simply drenched in the beauty of our surroundings and I swear, that has to be how we miss signs, markings, etc.
Since it was so lovely out it wasn't that big of a deal. We eventually reached a junction of red yellow green and picked up the red back to the starting point. We did snap many pictures here and surprisingly they came out quite nice. A little bit of everything; walking through the woods, tall pines, rock formations, high look-out points, rock steps sandwiched in-between two huge rocks. Terrific, simply terrific! This is how we justify all the eating and drinking....After our walk we took a nice scenic drive to Rovensko pod Troskami. It was a very small, pleasant little town. We passed Restaurant Melodia just as he was putting his little plastic table in front. We sat and had a drink and decided to eat here. We moved inside because the bees were quite annoying outdoors. The owner was a very gregarious man and we enjoyed interacting with him as well as watching the interaction between he and his staff and the locals that came in. One old guy came in with a huge empty bottle, looked like one of the water bottles that you tip upside down on the water dispensers, and it was promptly filled with beer! Okay, that doesn't happen in the US! Our meals here were also very good. Again, we managed the menu because we caught the German (in our own limited way).
We enjoyed the winding ride home. Fruit trees line the sides of many of the roads and there were folks out picking up what had dropped. We did find that Missy had us “recalculating” a few times…Some of the roads don’t have clear definition, like should you stay the curve or go straight. As I said, probably just us. Tonight we would sleep well again.
