Blogs from Czech Republic, Europe
May 14th 2012
...at Arktic Fresh Food, home of the best hamburgers in Olomouc but more on that later. The rest of the Czech Republic after Prague was a mad dash through another popular tourist destination, the castle at Český Krumlov, followed by 2 subdued places in Moravia, Brno and Olomouc, which were practically devoid of tourists compared to Bohemia. Arrived in Kraków this morning on the overnight train from Olomouc. Very nice and comfortable ride in a 6 person couchette. Took a 2½ hour walking tour at 11 am after settling in at the hostel located at the edge of the Old Town. Tomorrow Auschwitz, Wednesday tour the salt mines and Kraków's Jewish Quarter, and Thursday down to Slovakia and the High Tatra Mountains. That's the plan anyway although I'm not sure how much longer I can keep ... read more
May 12th 2012
Well we are finally off the river ship. We spent two days in Vienna which was pretty good. Apart from other things I went to where all the Hapsburgs are held in a crypt (read your European history on who the hell the Hapsburghs are!). 160 of them are right there, not buried or in coffins all bricked up, but right infront of you in brass sarcophagi that you can touch. 2nd last night on the boat was the Captains Farewell Dinner. I was wondering why not the last night, but found out when I couldn't get out of bed the next day! We went to Budapest for the last two days on the boat. Pretty cool city and amazing to actually be in Hungary and Eastern Europe. Travelling from there to Prague was also interesting ... read more
May 8th 2012
Beautiful Prague was a great place to kick off my world tour. It was waaay more crowded than I though it would be seeing as it was the first week of May but after 4 days here it is easy to see why Prague is a major tourist attraction. As a bonus, the weather was fantastic except for my last day which I spent exploring the Prague Jewish Museum. An additional bonus is that my poorly spoken Russian is generally understood as poorly spoken Czech as many words are similar especially the numbers which is always helpful. Travel Related Details $1 ≈ 19 Czech koruna (Kč) Accommodation and Food I reserved my accommodation before I left the USA since I wanted my own room as opposed to a cost cutting dorm bed. But I was stymied ... read more
Off the Beaten Track in the Czech Republic
Published: May 7th 2012Europe » Czech Republic » Central Bohemian Region
May 7th 2012
After doing most of the prescribed tourist sights of the Czech Republic - Kutna Hora, Plzen, Česky Krumlov, Karlstejn - during my first year here it's time to start looking away from the beaten track and finding more obscure places to visit. In this respect, the students that I teach are a goldmine. They can tell me if somewhere I find on google is an area of outstanding natural beauty or actually an industrial complex with low levels of gamma radiation and a cleverly-worded website. The last two weeks has seen two pretty warm weekends and two Bank Holidays so there's been plenty of time to get out and about. The first weekend, from a tip-off, we decided on the horrendously-named Telč (Telch - a place that sounds like you've just stood in something). Telč (I ... read more
May 1st 2012
Many of you already know that I'm headed around the world starting tonight. All the methodical accumulation of frequent flier miles and concomitant shattering of my credit rating by procuring too many airline sponsored credit cards is finally paying off. The first leg is across Eastern Europe to Austria and Munich from where I'll fly to Russia armed wth my somewhat sketchily obtained 3 month business visa. After a week St. Petersburg and Moscow I'm planning another 5 weeks in Russia with the bulk in Siberia starting in Lake Baikal and heading back towards Moscow but veering off to the Black Sea again. I'll be sure to keep inquiring minds posted through this blog. Всего Хорошего. Jon... read more
May 1st 2012
That was a short but nice trip. Prague is astonishing in what they do, how they live and how beautiful for tourists a capital city can be. A few tips for those ho you travel there: 1. From the Airport to downtown Prague it costs 60,00 CZK one-way fare 2. While staying at the hotel in downtown you will not need any thing but your good foot to walk. Everything is in walking distance. 3. Avoid overcrowded places, such as Karlov Bridge, Old Market Square at rush hours (11:00 - 14:00). A must to see: Old Market Square Karluv Bridge The Tower (with fenicular) Hradcany as a whole and specyfillacy Prazsku hrad (a castle), Cathedral, Kafka Muzeum, take a boat cruise. Likes: - wonderful atmosphere - friendly Czech guys speaking English/Polish - cheap food and beer ... read more
In the Footsteps of Charles IV
Published: April 28th 2012Europe » Czech Republic » Central Bohemian Region » Karlstejn
April 27th 2012
At the weekend I went walking In the Footsteps of Charles IV. Yes, the Charles IV of Holy Roman Emperor fame, Charlie-Boy. C-Bomb Number 4. No? Basically, I was apparently walking in the footsteps of a 14thcentury Czech king. In the Footsteps of Charles IV is an organised public walk outside of Prague to Karlstejn that’s put on every year for anyone who wants to do it. The full route is 50 kilometres but it’s possible to do 10, 15, 20 kilometres or whatever you can be bothered to do. As a group of occasional walkers and hardcore gulash eaters, we did 15 kilometres. By some miracle of human perseverance I pulled myself out of my comfortable, under-used bed at 8am and with my flatmate met a gaggle of similarly hungover looking people at ... read more
April 26th 2012
We had a great day wondering around Prague. This morning we had a 2hour walking tour with a lovely Czech lady called Martina. She showed us some great things and told us a lot about the history of the great buildings. Some of the cathedrals she showed us were magnificent. We then walked up to Prague castle, it is huge and so much history. We ended up walking for 6hours. Most of the streets are cobble stone so it is quite hard to walk on. Some of these buildings we built in the 7th century or earlier. A lot of the buildings have statues and ornate decorations all over them. We are off to Salzburg tomorrow,6 hrs by bus and train. We are looking forward to giving our feet a bit of a rest!... read more
April 25th 2012
We arrived in Prague early afternoon. The ice train from Frankfurt to Nurnberg was so fast and so smooth going 200kms hr. We then had a bus trip for just over 3hrs to Prague. It was very comfortable sitting in the upper deck looking at the ever changing countryside. Our hotel is a quite different and very quirky. We have just got back from a great meal at the hotel restaurant, quite a south American influence. Had a great dinner and then listened to some live jazz in the underground bar. Off on a 2hr walking tour tomorrow morning, I think it will be only us two. Looking forward to learning about the history of Prague.... read more
April 16th 2012
Seriously hard to leave our hotel to venture out for our last day in Prague. We've never had so many people paying attention to us and catering to our every whim. And you know how Jeanne and I love our attention! Subway to Old Town and then food immediately - of course. Walked and walked to try and find a recommended restaurant, but every establishment has at least ten letters that don't belong next to each other. Settled on one with some English words "free masons". Had to convince Jeanne they would let us in because it would be tough to survive if limited to masons. Prague has to be the cheapest city in Europe. Four beers, two appetizers, and two entrees for the equivalent of twenty five dollars. Raining again of course but now have ... read more
