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Published: December 31st 2006
First night in Prague
In the old town square Christmas market. Tyn Church in the backgroundDay 1
Suzy and I headed out for Prague the morning of the 15th. We decided to take the OBB, the Austria train, across the border on the 5.5 hour trek to the Czech Capitol. About an hour into our trip we had our first Behind the Iron Curtain experience. Although it has been over fifteen years since the borders were opened to outsiders we still felt a bit intimidated by the heavily armed customs rep who was wearing and full on swat suit, beret, and carrying multiple firearms who was just there to check our passports. It should be noted that Suzy didn't think we needed to bring our passports. This would have been a hell of a situation to talk our way out of with commando-passport checker guy. Never the less we were cool and better yet valid.
The scene outside changed dramatically as we passed through rural Czech Republic, the poverty level on our route was strikingly high. Shanty towns littered the countryside along with the ever present colorful graf art. It was obvious when we were nearing Prague, the buildings got higher, and the architecture in the distance grew both gothic and baroque. Upon
Bright blue Christmas tree
The crowds at the Christmas market arrival we realized we were at the northern train station (Praha-Holesovice) the wrong one considering we booked a hotel outside the Main train station(Praha-halvini nadrazi). This wasn't too big of a deal just a couple of subway stops away, but was a bit disorientating.
We booked our hotel ahead of time at the Holiday Inn Express; which is highly recommended if you ever plan to visit here (its right outside Halvini-Nadrazi). By booking in advance we ended up saving a ton of money. The hotel list price 185 euros a night, and we had booked online for 72 euros a night. Prague is still a cheap city to visit since they are not converting from the crown to the euro until 2010, this is except for hotels which are extremely expensive even using the crown.
Once we settled in we decided to go check out the town. Just a 5 minute walk from Wenceslas SQR which was huge shopping street with loads of tourists doing all of there holiday shopping and sipping guilwein and eating brots. As it got later and later we started to notice the groups of guys, who Suzy and, I believed were
Nigerian, from there accents, hanging around the corners. I basically derived from their interaction with other people that they were some type of spotters for people who might be keen to like drugs or women. Whatever they were doing, it was shady, and it was obvious as hell something weird was going on. It could be due to the high number of casino's and cabaret clubs in the area, but who knows.
For dinner we discovered the Czech tradition of charging you a cover charge to eat dinner.... in a restaurant.... which is nothing more than a family restaurant (albeit it was a tourist trap). Upon receiving the check we questioned the charge and found that this was to cover ketchup, mayonnaise, butter and bread. We had ordered none of this and I felt obligated to let the man know that the charge was bullshit. Sir everyone must pay it. Whatever Jack (Please note I had only had 2 $1 beers at this time) The bill came to 1100 crowns, a little over the amount of euros I had on me, but I did have enough crowns to cover the rest of it, paying with both denominations. My
The Dumbfounded Crowd
Totally unmarveled by the hourly show of the Astronomical Clock buddy Jack came back over and recalculated the bill with his calculator and sat it down in front of me. I payed the bill and decided to tax Jack's ass a calculator for his bullshit cover charge. Thanks buddy That calculator came in sooooo handy.
After dinner we wandered around a bit more enjoyed some more $1 beers at a local dart bar. It was here where I noticed all the local trouble-makers taking green shots. ABSINTHE The green fairy is legal in the Czech Republic. You should know that the bar we were in was a local hang-out and a lot of the tourist catering spots don’t serve real Absinthe. Just to make sure we were ok to walk home, we decided to get two absinthe shots before we left, instead of earlier. Upon arrival we smelled, cheered and literally almost had our socks knocked off. Suzy's face went completely white, while she panted, waving her hand in front of her mouth, repeating OH MY GOD DAVID IT BURNS.... over and over. Honestly I was no better after having drank like 8 .5 liter local brews and it did burn like hell. It was 70% alcohol, 140
It's Showtime!!
...and the windows of the clock open.. proof. Heavily buzzed and throat burning we paid our $10 tab and skipped back to the room for a good night sleep.
Day 2
The plan for the second day was to hit the main tourist attractions in the old town square. After the traditional cold breakfast that was included in our hotel- basically cold cuts, cheese, yogurt, and bread.. We walked towards the old town square. 10 mins later we were greeted by the swarm of tourists gathered around the various Christmas markets..not a big shocker here.. Gulwein and fried dough were being consumed in mass quantities.. We were passing by the Astronomical clock when we noticed a crowd of people gathered below it and anxiously waiting for something.. It actually was quiet a site, David took a pretty amazing picture of the amazed crowd.. We realized that it was few minutes before noon.. And when the clock strikes 12:00 the skeleton figure starts chiming the bell and the two small windows open and what we are guessing are Archbishop figurines come out and greet the people.. It was pretty funny.. Definitely not worth waiting for more than a few minutes.. We decided to pay
Tyn Church and the red roofs of Pragie
The spectactular view from top of the Astronomical Clock the 30 crowns per person to walk up the clock.. Thought we would have some great views of the city and we were right.
After the tower we then walked towards the Charles Bridge which was pretty easy to find.. Just follow the flock of tourists.. The Bridge itself was pretty spectacular..lots of great stone figures of Saints, it is local lore that if you rub St Dominic you will have good luck.. BUT you have to rub it with your left hand..the bridge was built in 1357 and up until 1841 it was the only bridge connecting the two sides of Prague. The bridge is for pedestrians only (and there are no shortage of them), and there are plenty of artists and musicians (and pickpockets) willing to entertain you on your walk towards the Prague Castle.
The Prague Castle is the biggest castle complex in the world and it really feels like a self contained little town. There are lots of little tours to take and they all have a price tag attached to them.. We were hoping to watch the changing of the guards which happens every hour on the hour.. But we had
The Valtava River
On the way to the Charles Bridge just missed it..We decided to walk around the castle instead and ended up buying the ticket to take a tour of the Golden Lane. It is a 16th Century tradesmen’s quarter of tiny houses built into the castle’s walls. Apparently Franz Kafka wrote in his sisters house for a year in 1916. There were lots of weapons, armors, and even a area for you to try out your crossbow skills for a small fee.
After the castle tour we walked back towards the main city grabbed a bite and decided to chill at the hotel bar..This is where we met Red and Judy..they were an interesting couple from Texas.. (Judy was originally from England, now living in Texas with Red). We closed the hotel bar with them.. And decided to walk to a local bar with them. Red and Judy had worked in Kuwait during Desert Storm (Food service for the soldiers) and they had interesting stories. They also gave us some great tips on things to see/miss in Prague. It was a fun night.. But we were exhausted and decided to call it a night around 3am.. On our walk home we were propositioned by the Nigerian
guys to be taken to a “very nice club”..shady.......
Day 3
We didn’t have any solid plans, but wanted to avoid the old town square and the crowds.. So we headed in the opposite direction .. David also had pretty bad heartburn and we needed to find a pharmacy.. We finally were able to spot one.. But by this time it was already lunch time and the place was closed for an hour.. We saw a Casino across the street and decided to check it out while waiting for the Pharmacy... It was a tiny tiny place with a handful of slot machines (apparently the tables open after 9p).. David decided to try his luck and put in 10cents.. And what do you know.. The machine started ringing and all sorts of lights were shining.. 10cents had magically multiplied to 1000 crowns I was pretty skeptical.. And thought it was some kind of a spam.. But sure enough security guard came.. And the cashier gave us the cold hard cash.. (about $50 US dollars, the max you can win..) Waiting for the pharmacy paid off
Our walk led us to the Church of Saints
The good luck rub
Rubbing St. Dominic for good luck Cyril and Methodius.. It was one of the places Red and Judy had recommended the night before.. The Church had a crypt and it is where the Czech assassins of Hitler’s second hand man Reinhard Heydrich hid after the assassination. The two Czech soldiers had been trained by the British military for the high level assassination and planed for months to take Heydrich out in a tight bend in the street on his way to work. During the attempt the gun that was supposed to take Heydrich’s life jammed and a grenade was thrown that eventually ended his life. Afterwards the two assassins joined with the other five soldiers who helped in the plan at the crypt. This is where the men held out for weeks as the Nazi’s killed thousands of innocent people to get information on the assassins. In the end the men were given up by one of there own... who turned Nazi (F-ing trader) The seven men where they were caught in a gun battle with the Germans and committed suicide to avoid being captured (after being attempts to flood them out as well as smoke then out). The crypt was extremely eerie.. And you can
St. Vitus Cathedral
Inside the Prague Castle still see the bullet holes in the walls... as well as the hundreds of flowers people still bring to this day to honor the men and their courage.
We also ran into the Frank Gehry towers... It’s a very impressive glass structure.. And it looks like it’s pinched at the waist.. giving the impression of two people dancing..Apparently the towers are nicknamed Fred and Ginger (after Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers).
We walked across the Charles bridge and to Petrin Hill.. We climbed the 299 stairs up the iron framed Pertin tower.. It was built in the late 1800's and it’s an imitation of the Eiffel tower.. The views from the tower were breathtaking.. It really makes you appreciate the beauty of Prague... David was quick to note that the tower was swaying bad and “damn did you feel that?”
On the walk back home we stopped at the local bar by our hotel had a view drinks and watched the Czech dart tournament.. The winning team celebrated by singing, dancing and taking shots in the middle of the bar..
Day 4
We took a day trip to Kutna Hora.
It’s an hour train ride from Prague’s main station. Once you get to the Kutna Hora station it’s a short walk to the Sedlec Ossuary. The Ossuary is basically an old crypt turned into a mesmerizing world of art. When the Schwarzenberg family purchased this monastery in l870 the crypt below the church was piled up with human bones.. They hired a local woodcarver and asked him to get creative with it The woodcarver took the liberty of creating a massive chandelier (which includes one of each of every human bone), chalices, crosses garlands of skulls and bones with over 40,000 human bodies.. The place was spectacular.. and it really puts you in awe of what you are looking at.. Especially when you lie and sneak in to the church with a tour group for free. (We’re going to hell) Once outside the Ossuary.. David admitted that he was hoping to see more skulls and bones... he was a little disappointed (not to be a sic bastard but it is nicknamed the “Bone Church” and I thought it was made out of bones, note 40k people not enough to make a bone church)
We walked another 30mins to
The crypt in Saints Cyril and Methodius..
This is the window into the Crypt that the Nazi's stuck hoses and atempted to drown and smoke out the Czech assasins. In the bottom right is the assasins last effort to escape the Nazi's, digging out into the sewage system, which eventually failed. get into the main part of town.. Gotta admit the rest of the town was pretty unimpressive.. There were several places on our list but it was a Monday and most places are closed on Mondays.. We walked to the Italian Court where master craftsmen began stamping coins in the 1300's.. we saw the magificent St James Church and walked to the St. Barbara Cathedral. The Cathedral was magnificent with its gothic architecture, we weren’t able to go in since it was closed, but I can only imagine how beautiful the chapel is.
We got back to Prague around dinner time, and headed over to our neighborhood restaurant for a traditional Czech dinner.. (traditional for David.. Veggie for me😊) Dave had the goulash with dumplings.. And I had the potato pizza.. Potato pizza not so good.. We did share a garlic soup..it was finger licking good. It was our last night in Prague, and because of this we stay for a few more beers.... a couple beers deep the waitress cleared out the table in front of us and a group of guys (older men) came and sat eight at the five person table. Obviously they were celebrating
something. More and more guys showed up and they ended up asking us if it was cool if two of them sat at our table, or at least that is what we thought they asked in Czech. The men got louder and louder and began to all turn around and stare at Suzy, and say things to us in Czech, after they knew we didn’t understand. Suzy was starting to feel weird when I explained to her that these gentlemen had just arrived home from a local livestock festival and they were contemplating how many prize goats they would offer in exchange for Suzy. We came to an agreement that 10 prize goats was fair. Upon inspection of the goats we two were lame and the deal was off. No amount of goats are equal to my dear Suzy (cough, cough) HAHAHAHA, so we headed home..
Day 5
The next day we got to go find some Czech crystals for Hashim and Samar and pick up a few souvenirs to take home and back to Vienna we went. Next trip... the Alps, Snowboarding!
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Dad
non-member comment
Sure sounds like fun
Thanks for the pics and the tour-- and your comments!! We have been very busy w/ christmas, courtney, elizabeth, kevin, rebecca, and amos. Erin had to get another dog--daisy- she is even uglier than amos! But had a nice personality. Deb and I are at home now everyone is gone and it is quite again. We miss everyone, but we are resting for tonight. Nothing big-- going to a neighbors house. We hope you guys have a Happy New year-- be careful ---stay away from the green stuff and the goats. Love ya Dad