Blogs from Old Town, Prague, Czech Republic, Europe - page 9

I would like to start today's blog with a big shout out to our friend Tayler McCann (is he a friend or has he logged enough time to be considered part of the family? ... well he is at least an honorary member of the Nikolai Family). Tayler joined the US Marine Corp and he leaves for basic training on Monday. God Speed Tayler! Semper Fi! Its another hot day in Prague, and I witnessed yet one more example of how we are all the same. A Japanese mother attempting to get a photo of her three rambunkcious (I believe I spelled that wrong) teens in front of the Charles Bridge. One does not need to speak Japanese to understand a mother telling her children to "stop fooling around!" As an aside ... and this really ... read more

Today I rode from Berlin to Prague; it was a nice ride pretty scenic and all that. I hit reserve for the second time on this leg of my travels but in 29 days and 12 countries I only hit reserve twice so I will stick with those numbers. I had heard that gas was cheaper in CZ so I was waiting until I crossed the border to buy gas. Then after I crossed the border I remembered they don’t use the Euro and I had no cash for gas and I hate using my card because of the stupid international fees crap. So I rode along and tried to find a cash machine and nothing finally I was like whatever ill just suck it up and use my card and gas was like 39Kč and ... read more

Prague Czech Republic 27 to 28 May 2013 Wow! Prague, the capital of the ‘new’ Czech Republic is spectacular, full of contrasts, history, food, wine/beer, cheap shopping (but those who know me, I tried hard to be interested), with the Elbe River (which also flowed through Dresden) winding through the city, with many bridges. We did 11 hours of walking, with coffee, lunch and dinner stops sprinkled through the time. After a rocky history, the country is in good shape, great roads, great transport system In 1993, Czechoslovakia ceased to exist creating the new Czech Republic. In 2004 the country joined the EU but has retained its Czech Crown (about 22 Kc to $1 AUD). It is divided into 2 states, Bohemia & Moravia. The country is known for its silver (although after supplying ... read more

First full day in Prague. We had to sleep a bit extra today until 7:30 PM. Breakfast here is not included in the daily rate. We will have to pay 12 Euros in addition per person here. After morning shower etc, we headed to the breakfast. If you compare this to the hotels we have been to in India, this spread is very average. THere is no hot item other than bioled eggs. There were varieties of pastries, bread, fruit and Yogurt. It would be difficult to skip lunch with this intake. We loaded up as much as we could. Person at the reception was able to give us a map and point us to the subway station where we could buy a tram ticket to the Prague Castle. This was our first attraction. THe castle ... read more

We left Amsterdam bright and early in the morning and had a long 8 hour ride to Berlin. Germany is absolutely beautiful though and it made for quite the scenic drive. The language barrier was ever so present in Germany. We stopped in a little suburban town for some lunch and trying to order food was probably the most difficult experience on the trip thus far. My prior German speaking knowledge only includes no and thank you. We eventually established what we wanted to order though. we made it to our hostel and it was my favorite place so far. The interior design was such my taste. It was very eclectic and artsy feeling with unique typography on all the signs. Like my first hostel in London this one was crawling with young backpackers and tourist ... read more