MONDAY 28 SEPTEMBER 2009 - PRAGUE After a late arrival I took my time getting up this morning. After a quick shower (and realising I have no voice at all) I headed out to change some money before coming back and paying for the hostel and having breakfast. They were good enough to let me stay in the room they put me in the previous night - which is great because it is only an eight bed dorm with a shower, which is a lot dearer than the 10 bed dorm without a shower that I actually booked!! Maybe they felt [View Full Entry]

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It was off to Prague bright and early on the bus with Dax. We stopped off on the way at Terrizen Concentration camp for a tour and a look at what really went down in these Nazi run playgrounds. Its hard to believe that humans could actually treat other human beings this way...The cells were tiny and dark and the conditions were undescribable. We even got to see the execution grounds were their was a deadly feeling in the air...All together it was a really confronting experience and tis so hard to believe all this went down only 50 odd years [View Full Entry]

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Arriving in Prague (or as the locals call it Praha) made me realise two very important things. Firstly I haven’t really seen a real winter now for about 18 months (for which I am very grateful for..) and secondly, purchasing my new black jacket in Berlin a couple of weeks ago was possibly the cleverest thing I’ve done in a very long while… because it was wet, cold and windy! grrrrrrr As I mentioned in my last blog we ended up catching a later train from Austria to Prague which meant we didn’t get into Prague until late at night. Luckily [View Full Entry]

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Had a nice, relaxing morning with coffee in the breakfast room. I had packed before going down, so was able to store my luggage and head off exploring some more. Went down to the Old Town Square to see a few things I had missed. One thing that I did want to do was a Tower Climb behind the Astronomical Clock. I popped for the 70 KC so I could take the elevator. So far I have done more walking than one person should do in a month let alone 4 days. The views were nice up there, but the weather [View Full Entry]

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I had planned on taking a bus to Terezin and touring it by myself, but thankfully I decided to find a guided tour. The hotel was able to book me on a Grey Line Tour at 1, which gave me a few hours to see a few things I had not yet seen. What I really wanted to see was the Museum of Communism. I took the Metro, thinking that I would be able to just run into the things I wanted to see. Although I didn't find a couple things, I did run across the train station I had been [View Full Entry]

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Today was a day trip to Kutna Hora, a small town featured on Rick Steves' show. I know, I really planned this whole trip around his guidebooks and videos. I took the Metro, changing trains once, and was at the Main Train Station without a problem. Through some trial and error I was able to find where tickets were sold and easily bought a round trip to Kutna Hora. I have to say that it is so different for me to not know what is going on, and really not be able to ask. The train stops weren't called out and [View Full Entry]

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10/8 Arrive in Prague in the afternoon, hung around hostel, saw prague next day. It´s a beauty of a city with a rich history. We mostly enjoyed it via a free walking tour that my friend Megan suggested. Megan is a friend from HS who now works in Prague and it was very interesting catching up over drinks later that night. I came down with the swine flu (unconfirmed but pretty sure) and so we ended up staying a few days. Claire became sick a couple days later. It was a nasty little bug, lasting about 4 days for me and [View Full Entry]

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Ok, so what I meant by the title is that I did just about everything today in Prague. I was in it (metro), on it (jazz boat on the river), over it (oh so many stairs to climb), and well, you get the picture. I slept a good 11 hours last night, so feel pretty good today. Went over to the other side of the river on the tram, thinking that I would take the funicular up to the top of a hill. Unfortunately it was down for maintenance it seemed, so I hiked up. Did see an incredible set of [View Full Entry]

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Well, I am finally at the computer. It seems so long ago that I left the house, although it was really only about 20 hours of traveling. I have to admit that flying Economy Plus wasn't bad. The food was pretty darn good, which coming from me is something. I had great connections and was met at the Prague Airport by the driver who gave me some good pointers as we drove. After checking in, showering and just plopping on the bed for a half hour, I went out exploring. My hotel is quite nice, quaint and located in a neighborhood [View Full Entry]

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After yesterday’s ambitious day of touring, I toned it down a bit today. This morning, I started over the Charles Bridge towards the New Town area, where I would do most of my touring. My first stop was at the Old Town Square. This area has a few different tourist sights as well as the customary food, jewelry and souvenir stands, restaurants, cafes and tourist shops. When I arrived, it was about a quarter to ten, which meant the bells would be chiming and the turn of the hour spectacle would be taking place at Old Town Hall. Over the coming [View Full Entry]

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