Czech it out...how many people have made that joke?

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Roho: OK I guess it's a bit confusing when we say we're in Vienna and we're going to be talking about the Czech Republic! But we blog in arrears.

Rich: Let's start with Prague. After lots of build up, I was expecting a beautiful old city that people are proud to live in. But the feeling I got is that people are living there just for the sake of living there. If it wasn't for Prague Castle, the place wouldn't even be on the map.

Roho: Well not necessarily, but I agree, it wasn't quite what we had been led to believe. They all tell you about the pretty cobbled streets but nobody tells you those same pretty cobbled streets are covered in dog shit, rubbish and graffiti and populated by rude, tourist hating, grumpy Czechs.

Rich: To make it easier for you to understand, parts of Prague made the back streets of South Auckland look like Queen Street.

Roho: We did go back to see the castle and Charles Bridge at night. They were lovely but in the middle of town making your way back to the hostel after a Euro 2008 game didn't exactly leave me reassured of my safety. The dirtiness and smells made the noisy drunk yobs that much scarier.

Rich: The castle at night is really the only thing I recommend.

Roho: I wouldn't even bother during the day.

Rich: One night in Prague would be enough. We went back up to the castle on a Monday night and there were only a couple of dozen people. A couple of hours before sunset the place really is something else.

Roho: And the only thing you miss on the Charles Bridge at night is the hordes of touts selling tacky tourist crap. And the man with the 'Syncopator Factory' which I have to admit is worth it. So if you're going to go during the day just go for him.

Rich: We stopped at Terezin on the way to Prague. I didn't realise it's a little town. I thought it was just an old concentration camp. We'd been warned the pictures of the food at the place we stopped were far nicer than reality, which of course we had to test. Turns out they were absolutely right. Burger the size of a big apple. Not good.

Roho: I thought it was a fair representation. Travel tip - arrive in the Czech Republic by aeroplane and change your money to Crowns at the airport. What a nightmare that was. We were promised the hostel changed money but they didn't even have enough to change 50 Euros. But they would only take payment in Crowns.

Rich: The pizza at Plus Prague, our hostel, you did say was the best you'd ever had.

Roho: It was! Shock! Horror! Gasp! Yes, we ate in the hostel restaurant every night we were in Prague. They did have goulash, which tasted like beef and potatoes dropped in a jug of beer.

Rich: One of the good things about the Czech Republic is that it's one of the cheapest places in Europe.

Roho: This became really obvious when we went from Prague to Cesky Krumlov.

Rich: Ah, yes, Cesky Krumlov. It's in the south of the Czech Republic and is a beautiful place to go and relax. If you do happen to go there, I can recommend Hostel 99. That place feels more like a bach on a river somewhere than a hostel with 40 - 50 people in it.

Roho: It was only half full, but it was fabulous. Our hosts were two Brazilians and a Norwegian and they were just like your mates. Well, maybe not YOUR mates, but they were awesome. Alvaro the Brazilian sent us to a restaurant for dinner on our first night featuring Czech food using recipes from the 13th century.

Rich: In particular, he recommended the 'Bohemian Feast'. To me, anything with the word 'feast' in it....I am SOOO there!

Roho: So after an afternoon spent exploring the castle and town centre with a group of like minded Busabouters (oh yes, a tiny stop like Cesky Krumlov is a great place to finally get to know some fellow travellers) we and another couple and some others headed to this famous riverside restaurant.

Rich: All there was left to decide was which beer to drink and whether to have the Bohemian Feast with rabbit, chicken or pheasant. So, chicken it was.

Roho: Pheasant for me! And an exchange of drinks - I swapped my red wine with an Aussie girl's hot mead which she didn't like.

Rich: This Bohemian Feast was only Bohemian. A feast it was definitely not. Note to self - when going back to the 'Two Marys', order the Bohemian Feast for two!

Roho: As it was, the feast for 6 arrived on a fairly big plate, with a piece of the relevant meat and one of everything else for each person. Everything else being half a boiled potato, a square of potato cake, a square of millet cake (way, WAY better than it sounds), some salad, sauerkraut and other random vegetables and a piece of dumpling.

Rich: Because this meal had the word 'feast' in it, I was expecting a whole chicken...each, tons of potatoes, a bloody feast for god's sake! Not something that makes you ask where the main is!

Roho: To avoid misunderstandings though, it was bloody delicious.

Rich: Agreed. And two nights in Cesky Krumlov were far better than three in Prague.

Roho: Except for that bit where the Bohemian Feast waitress tipped a whole goblet of wine in my lap.

Rich: I'm sure that only happens to the very important people the staff like. She did, however, offer you a knife so that you could kill her for her mistake, which I thought was kind of funny.

Roho: I couldn't take her up on the offer because I was too busy laughing.

Rich: And where else could you wash your feet in the river?

Roho: Thanks, Vltava River. So we were still hungry after our feast.

Rich: So we decided to head back to the hostel restaurant for a spot of mains/pudding.

Roho: I had crepes with hot berries and ice cream. Num num.

Rich: I had pancakes with ice cream. Double num num.

Roho: The next morning we woke with excitement in the air. Free keg night!!!

Rich: Oh. Nothing to do with the fact we were sleeping in the Kama Sutra room - which reminds me, we forgot to take a photo of the Kama Sutra sign on our door.

Roho: The Kama Sutra room with twin beds. No Kama or Sutra happening there!

Rich: The keg was half an hour late and upon its arrival we were told nobody had ever finished it.

Roho: They said it was a 50 litre keg but the boys say it looked more like a 30 litre keg. Whatever, free beer! Well, free beer foam!

Rich: The pourer they supplied us with was not the best, although I did manage to master it so you didn't end up with 90% foam and 10% beer. So we decided we'd better get cracking if we were to be the first to finish this keg.

Roho: Unbeknownst to us, there was a time limit. At 10 past 8 we were told the keg and its owner were going home at 9. Shit!

Rich: After a few drinking games and with 10 minutes to spare, the keg was empty, but the owner said, 'I say that every week, it's all shit.'

Roho: We were so ready to go down in Hostel 99 history.

Rich: So much so, we were looking for places to put our names so they'd be forever remembered.

Roho: I can't believe I played drinking games. I can't believe I played drinking games with BEER. Who AM I?

Rich: Not once in the four years we've been together, have you ever played cards with me. Not once in the four years we've been together, have you drunk beer with me. One night in Cesky Krumlov, you play a drinking game with cards with me. There's something about that place....

Roho: Yesterday morning as we waited for the bus to arrive (we're getting SO sick of hearing 'Hiiii, SORRY we're late!!') the other Brazilian hostel guy told us how many cameras he's had stolen or lost in his extensive travels. He also told us he plans to rob a bank in Brazil on his 80th birthday because apparently if you're 80 and over in Brazil you can't go to prison.

Rich: He said he's going to rob the bank and then go to the roof and throw the money to the people below. Man I can't wait to see that movie in 60 odd years time and tell my grandchildren about how I met that crazy Brazilian in Cesky Krumlov.

Roho: Better not book any more Kama Sutra rooms if you want grandchildren though. And now we're in Vienna. You'll notice no photos again...again no USB port here at the big fancy pants hostel. We'll do an Austria post later. Haven't had a dose of Mozart or coffee yet and beginning to get very excited about hitting Sound of Music country in Salzburg in a few days.

Rich: Oh yes. Joy to the frickin world. Despite the ups and downs that have happened, we are having a great time, meeting some wonderful people, including the National Promotions Manager for the Rock! I'm not sick of living out of a backpack yet, but there's still a month and a half to go. Hope you're well back home.

Roho: I've got a wee cold so I'm a bit sick of tissues and going through quite a few. Keep the messages coming! And in the words of the Von Trapp children...so long, farewell, auf wiedersehn, adieu (or in our parody version - you pong, you smell, you need to do a poo)!

Rich: Like I said, joy to the frickin world.

Rich and Roho

xxxxx

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Comments

[Liz]

and by this friday's birthday, i mean like, in a few weeks...