Blogs from Czech Republic, Europe - page 19

Brno was the first of the three zoos that I visited as I was staying in the city centre of Brno itself (which is very nice, by the way) and I had the pleasure of being shown around the zoo by a local resident and fellow zoo enthusiast. Brno is a decent sized zoo, not huge by any means, but quite a nice general zoo with a fairly diverse collection ranging from mammals to fish. It's quite easy to see that the zoo has improved in recent years and continues to improve as there are a fair few old, out of date enclosures, such as some very old primate enclosures, as well as some very nice new enclosures such as the excellent Kamchatka Bear exhibit and the African area where there is further development going on ... read more

We drove our car 3,300 km from Minsk, Belarus where we are teaching to see the cities, Christmas markets and quiet snow covered countryside of Belarus, Poland, Czech Republic and eastern Germany. The majority of our 3 week tour was spent in friendly Czech Republic. Our final stop was in Cesky Krumlov nestled in a bend of the river. There were quite a few more tourists than we thought there would be this time of year. We still enjoyed chilly walks to the castle, through old town, and to a lovely overlook of the town. We frequented Na Louzi, an authentic Czech pub serving hearty and warm lunches at shared tables. We met a really nice Austrian man with his two friends. They were celebrating a recent real estate sale and were in a good mood. ... read more

We drove our car 3,300 km from Minsk, Belarus where we are teaching to see the cities, Christmas markets and quiet snow covered countryside of Belarus, Poland, Czech Republic and eastern Germany. The majority of our 3 week tour was spent in friendly Czech Republic. We have long anticipated our eventual trip to Prague and the Czech Republic. It did not disappoint. We found beautiful Christmas markets, delicious beer, comforting food, and interesting architecture. It was cold, but we made the best of it. We recorded many 10,000 plus step days on our Fitbits. We had a fun Christmas Eve dinner near our hotel (Hostal) at the French restaurant Chez Marcel. The waiters were a lot of fun. We took an Urban Adventure tour of Prague and had a cooking class with Tereza and Pavel with ... read more

We drove our car 3,300 km from Minsk, Belarus where we are teaching to see the cities, Christmas markets and quiet snow covered countryside of Belarus, Poland, Czech Republic and eastern Germany. The majority of our 3 week tour was spent in friendly Czech Republic. Our first stop in Olomouc for three nights turned out to be our favorite city because of its lack of other tourists, awesome Christmas market, spiced wine, and beer spa. This quaint old town feels alive with locals filling the two main squares. We loved the sculptures around every corner.... read more

Don’t skimp on the basics - like hiring a taxi in a strange new land where they don’t speak your language Unfamiliar with the language and transportation system, I silently ceded and agreed to pay the more expensive shuttle ticket rather than take the risk of hopping on a local bus with a non-English speaking driver. At least the shuttle would get us to the center. Once in the Center, we would get our bearings. In the end, I admitted we should have splurged for a taxi. The weather was a good 15 F higher than had been forecast. It was muggy and hot. We waited at the stop for ½ hour, me pacing back and forth, as I watched bus after bus come and go. I was able to WhatsApp my family during the wait, ... read more