My alarm never went off (well, it would have, had it been Saturday.. Oops!) I bolted awake with Kim's alarm and raced to get ready. Thankfully I had packed last night.
One hotel car picked us up promptly at 6:15 am and we checked out and were on our way to the student agency bus to Ceske Krumlov. The bus is huge and bright yellowing was surprisingly full for leaving at 7 am! We made two stops ans got into town just under three hours.
We dragged our suitcases over the cobblestone street, thankful it was after ten am. We weren't sure where to go:there was a sign that said Centro which we figured would take us in the right direction, but we asked once we got in to be sure we were headed in the right direction. It was only a couple hundred meters ahead. We checked in and surprisingly our room was ready at Hotel Konvice, a very cute place in the center of the tiny town. The lays spoke a little English and some German, so we got settled in up a narrow flight of stairs.
The room is adorable and feels almost like you are visiting your old grandparents' place. It has parquet wood floors and a large wood armoire. Nothing really fancy, but all cozy.
We headed out to explore. This town is breath-takingly beautiful and so quaint, with mostly white, but some colored homes all lining cobblestone streets and orange terra cotta roves. The streets all wind around each other. Most bottom floors are storefronts of some kind, with coffee shops, souvenirs, restaurants and other stores. Just like in prague, dogs seem to go with their owners everywhere.
We crossed the river and went directly to the castle,which dominates the landscape of the town. We got tickets for a tour, the only way to visit the castle, and stopped for a cup of coffee with a piece of cake. It was kind of a cherry coffee cake of sorts and surprisingly good. We met up with the tour,which was well worth it.
The castle interestingly is painted on almost the entire external surface to look of stone and pillars. It's quite a sight. It started to drizzle when we got to the castle and began to pour right before our tour started, thankfully it just drizzled after. This castle is the second largest in the Czech Republic. It was only owned by four families before it became public. In 1753, the formerly gothic-style castle was updated during the Renaissance in the Baroque architecture and made into a residence. The Rosenbergs owned it, and were the richest family in Bohemia and head of the Catholic party during the Hussite War.
In 1602 it was sold to the Viennese Emperor Ferdinand II, and was then given to an Austrian Family. The Schwartzenbergs were the last owners. We toured the Chapel of St. George, used for residents for religious services from 1334 on. There is a believed tie to the Orsini family in Italy, and the RosenberGs decided to bring in bears to live in the moat area of the castle (Orsa means female bear in Italian.) When we walked to the castle and crossed the moat, we saw a pile of fruit and bread, which is to feed the bears. Many of the rooms had bear pelt rugs, as a reminder of the former furry residences of the castle.
We decided to go on search of a nice warm boul of soup and found a really cute place with an even more adorable waiter. I think Kim wanted to wrap him up and take him home. We both got goulash, Kim in a bread bowl with a side of sauerkraut, and I got it with bohemian dumplings and a salad. Yum! Very different than the goulash I has at the base of the Charles bridge, this was thicker and richer with chunks of meat. Yum!
We walked around for a while, toured a church, and made our way through the beautifully picturesque streets. We went to the eggenberg brewery, which was unfortunately closed. We peeked through the large wooden doors to see large tents set up with a lot of seating, assumedly for Oktoberfest festivities.
This city is incredibly beautiful and I can see why it's a unesco world heritage sight. People were riding boats down the river, laughing, talking, eating. Garnets and amber shops are everywhere and coffee shops too. We stopped to get a snack of a pastry we've been seeing everywhere. It's a thin dough woven around a wide round metal, pushed off and rolled in cinnamon sugar. It's maybe six inches wide, less than half an inch thick. It was warm and tasty.
We were both quite tired from going to bed late and our early wake up call, so we took a nap, then decided to head out. We went downstairs first to have a gluwein (warm mulled wine) and ponder our dining options. A couple we met in the castle raved about an italian place, though we couldn't remember the name. After a quick tour of the tiny town we learned that very little was still open and few people milled around, so we headed back to Hotel Konvice to eat and were glad we did.
We got glasses of wine, salad, and Kim got pesto pasta, while I got pork schnitzen and potato salad. We split a dessert recommended by our adorable and flirty waiter called livanze, which is pancakes, blueberry sauce, and curd. It was an interesting dish with two doughy small circles with blueberries surrounding, and a bland cheese sprinkled on top. We have been seeing honey cake around and it looked really good, but Alex said this was better. I got some apricot schnapps that they home make in some beakers that were as you entered the restaurant. Alex recommended the apricot, and the decanter said "42%" on it and wow, it was strong! Interesting, and I'm glad he gave me a small drink in a cordial glass. It was fun to try but man, I wouldn't be having more than one!
We met two women who were great: one was from Virginia and the other, her cousin, from Austria. They rotated between German and English and we got to talking with them. It is always so wonderful to connect with people on adventures like this as you meet so many really lovely people that you might not otherwise meet.
We walked for a little bit, took some night pictures in the cute little town square, then headed back. Another fairly early morning headed to Vienna and we wanted to catch up on our reading and connecting with people.
This city is incredibly picturesque and well worth the trip. Prague was SO crowded yesterday, on Saturday, that the change of pace was really nice too. It was well worth coming and we were both really glad to be here.
Tomorrow in Vienna...:)
s
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Prague day 3
Hello and good afternoon! We stopped at the hotel a bit to unwind so I figured I'd write a bit.
We took the metro to vhyserad [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vyšehrad], and has a much better time of it than the tram yesterday! We had to switch lines but it was incredibly easy to do. We got off into a business center and walked maybe fifteen minutes to the old castle. We knew we were on the right path when we walked under an old stone gate.
First we stopped in the basilica of St George and explored. It was a stunning traditional Catholic Church, and worth viewing. There were three gorgeous and ornate sets of doors on the way in. We walked through an old cemetary which also had some very current stones. The grounds of the old ruined castle were gorgeous. Only a few small parts of the castle remain, though the fort walls do core much of the grounds overlooking the river. We walked around quite a lot.
We then took the metro back and crossed the river over the Charles bridge, enjoying the view. The crowds were much heavier, being Saturday. I can't even imagine what the summers here are like as it's October and packed on a Saturday. We walked through the quaint part of town by the bridge and off to Pemtrin hill, a monument to those killed in the. Communist years here. We too the vehicular train up the large hill. At the top is a small tower similar to the Eiffel Tower. We climbed up the first stairs to the viewing balcony and enjoyed the views of Prague castle, the city and the river.
We went to walk up to the top viewing balcony, and when we passed a lot of people coming the other way, realized we went up the down stairs, oops! The view was nice but it was closed in and. Really crowded, so we didn't stay too long.
We walked in the rose garden for a bit then went halfway down to the restaurant to grab lunch. We got sandwiches and some wine, and enjoyed the glorious views of the city and the castle. Wow.. it's really so incredibly breathtakingly beautiful here. Truly amazing.
We made our way back and decided to take a "short cut" through the metro. I think we just got cocky after having so much trouble with the tram yesterday! We ended up going to a spot which was as much walking to our hotel as the spot where we picked up the metro, and then we exited in a different spot then we expected and got a bit turned about. I did forget to mention that on the way down the escalator ran really quickly and it was the steepest descent I've ever seen. I was a bit freaked out honestly (yes, my paranoia of heights) and to boot, the arm piece ran faster than the steps under us so I had to keep letting go to adjust my hand on the rest. :) Oh joy. I lived and only embarrassed myself a little bit. Heh.
We made it to our hotel and took a power nap to freshen up, then hit a restaurant right behind the hotel called the Red Wheel in Czech. Great place! Unfortunately my phone was dead so I couldn't take a picture of our dinner. Kim but a chicken dish and I got a 'traditional Czech meal' with duck, pork, ham, two kinds of sauerkraut (red and white) and two types of dumplings. One was like steamed bread interestingly. We got a local Czech pinot that was really good. the place was really nice and service very good. The meal was $80 with tip and so large we only ate around half of it. Very good.
We leave early tomorrow morning for Cesky Krumlov, a Unesco World Heritage site and the location where Cinderella was believed to have been from. We heard it was beautiful and worth the trip on a bus there.
We took the metro to vhyserad [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vyšehrad], and has a much better time of it than the tram yesterday! We had to switch lines but it was incredibly easy to do. We got off into a business center and walked maybe fifteen minutes to the old castle. We knew we were on the right path when we walked under an old stone gate.
First we stopped in the basilica of St George and explored. It was a stunning traditional Catholic Church, and worth viewing. There were three gorgeous and ornate sets of doors on the way in. We walked through an old cemetary which also had some very current stones. The grounds of the old ruined castle were gorgeous. Only a few small parts of the castle remain, though the fort walls do core much of the grounds overlooking the river. We walked around quite a lot.
We then took the metro back and crossed the river over the Charles bridge, enjoying the view. The crowds were much heavier, being Saturday. I can't even imagine what the summers here are like as it's October and packed on a Saturday. We walked through the quaint part of town by the bridge and off to Pemtrin hill, a monument to those killed in the. Communist years here. We too the vehicular train up the large hill. At the top is a small tower similar to the Eiffel Tower. We climbed up the first stairs to the viewing balcony and enjoyed the views of Prague castle, the city and the river.
We went to walk up to the top viewing balcony, and when we passed a lot of people coming the other way, realized we went up the down stairs, oops! The view was nice but it was closed in and. Really crowded, so we didn't stay too long.
We walked in the rose garden for a bit then went halfway down to the restaurant to grab lunch. We got sandwiches and some wine, and enjoyed the glorious views of the city and the castle. Wow.. it's really so incredibly breathtakingly beautiful here. Truly amazing.
We made our way back and decided to take a "short cut" through the metro. I think we just got cocky after having so much trouble with the tram yesterday! We ended up going to a spot which was as much walking to our hotel as the spot where we picked up the metro, and then we exited in a different spot then we expected and got a bit turned about. I did forget to mention that on the way down the escalator ran really quickly and it was the steepest descent I've ever seen. I was a bit freaked out honestly (yes, my paranoia of heights) and to boot, the arm piece ran faster than the steps under us so I had to keep letting go to adjust my hand on the rest. :) Oh joy. I lived and only embarrassed myself a little bit. Heh.
We made it to our hotel and took a power nap to freshen up, then hit a restaurant right behind the hotel called the Red Wheel in Czech. Great place! Unfortunately my phone was dead so I couldn't take a picture of our dinner. Kim but a chicken dish and I got a 'traditional Czech meal' with duck, pork, ham, two kinds of sauerkraut (red and white) and two types of dumplings. One was like steamed bread interestingly. We got a local Czech pinot that was really good. the place was really nice and service very good. The meal was $80 with tip and so large we only ate around half of it. Very good.
We leave early tomorrow morning for Cesky Krumlov, a Unesco World Heritage site and the location where Cinderella was believed to have been from. We heard it was beautiful and worth the trip on a bus there.
Friday, October 4, 2013
Prague day 2
Hi! I tried to post from the first evening in Prague but lost it apparently. Oh well! Nothing much! We went to a neighborhood pub with really good local Czech food. Got what was described as pork, cabbage and potatoes, and it turned out to be a potato pancake with saurkraut, port and potatoes. Yum! Got salads and some Czech wine and beer.
Ended up sitting next to a girl who is here for a semester from college, and her folks are funding her escapades through europe. Nice! She was dining with her uncle who was visiting, and her parents were coming the next day. I guess that's what you get for having your folks fund your adventures!
I ended up with wicked insomnia and only slept around 3 hours of completely disjointed sleep. Not a good start. We decided to go to Prague Castle, and after fueling up at the hotel, we headed out. It was supposed to be easy- take the 8 tram to the 22 and voila! Well, I have a good excuse anyways, but not sure what happened. We somehow got the 8 going the wrong way (we think) and though we crossed the river as we were supposed to, we ended up off course. Couldn't find the 22, or anyone who admitted that they spoke English. Even pointing to a map and the number tram was useless here.
We finally found a younger woman who was willing to help, though she was a bit confused. Take the 25, she said. Ok. So we did. We got off after seeing the castle tower in the distance and when I recognized the word for castle in Czech.
After we got off, we crossed the street where a lovely local man was waiting for us. He only spoke Czech, but recognized two damsels in distress and jumped into action, offering us each an arm and talking away in a language we didn't understand. Kim knows italian, and I know some German and Spanish, but yet they all did nothing for us here. He walked us up a hill onto the castle grounds and pointed to where we needed to go. A small tip and we were back in business!
The Castle is dominated by the spires of St. Vitus Cathedral. I actually didn't read much about the castle, and we need to head out shortly so I won't investigate now. It dominates the landscape up on a hill overlooking Prague from the west of the river, and can be seen throughout the city. it's really beautiful.
We walked back after touring the castle, St. Vitus Cathedral and Golden Lane, a row of tiny and adorable homes flocking a side of the castle. The famous Franz Kafka resided there for a time. We headed back through a cute little part of town and decided to enjoy the views with some lunch. We both had smoked salmon with potato pancakes, and I enjoyed some hot spiced wine, or Gluwein. I've been really loving that here as it takes off the chill!
We walked over the famous Charles Bridge, flocked by statues high on the bridge depicting various religious scenes. Several little music bands were playing, and we observed quite a few instruments again that seem very local. We wandered around some of the neighborhoods we saw yesterday by the Astronomical Clock and Old town square, and wandered to Weneclas Square, flocked by the National Museum at the top of the street on a hill. We saw other bands playing here too, including a lady and a horse playing a guitar.
We went to the Old Market again, which we saw yesterday and enjoyed more gluwein, chatted with some wonderful people from russia and connecticut, and ate a dish of potatoes, sauerkraut, sausage and a tasty red sauce. Yum! Kim got a nutelle crepe (why not?) and we started the wander back to our hotel, passing through the town square again. We enjoyed the sun setting over the Tyne Church and the views as the daylight faded. We again saw the poor sweet dog of yesterday that I gave water to, with only one eye. We got to pet her this time as her daddy said she was very friendly. Yes, I miss my pack o'pups.
It was only 7:30 or 8 but I called it a day. I was wiped from not sleeping and shocked I made it so long without a nap! I woke today groggy but feeling much better after sleeping for over 11 hours last night! I sure needed it.
Today we're going to go visit a castle beginning with a V, :) And maybe Petrin Hill. We got out tickets for the Student Agency bus tomorrow, and will somehow have to get up by 5 to make the 7 am bus across town. Heh. Should be a fun time.
Have a great day!!
s
Ended up sitting next to a girl who is here for a semester from college, and her folks are funding her escapades through europe. Nice! She was dining with her uncle who was visiting, and her parents were coming the next day. I guess that's what you get for having your folks fund your adventures!
I ended up with wicked insomnia and only slept around 3 hours of completely disjointed sleep. Not a good start. We decided to go to Prague Castle, and after fueling up at the hotel, we headed out. It was supposed to be easy- take the 8 tram to the 22 and voila! Well, I have a good excuse anyways, but not sure what happened. We somehow got the 8 going the wrong way (we think) and though we crossed the river as we were supposed to, we ended up off course. Couldn't find the 22, or anyone who admitted that they spoke English. Even pointing to a map and the number tram was useless here.
We finally found a younger woman who was willing to help, though she was a bit confused. Take the 25, she said. Ok. So we did. We got off after seeing the castle tower in the distance and when I recognized the word for castle in Czech.
After we got off, we crossed the street where a lovely local man was waiting for us. He only spoke Czech, but recognized two damsels in distress and jumped into action, offering us each an arm and talking away in a language we didn't understand. Kim knows italian, and I know some German and Spanish, but yet they all did nothing for us here. He walked us up a hill onto the castle grounds and pointed to where we needed to go. A small tip and we were back in business!
The Castle is dominated by the spires of St. Vitus Cathedral. I actually didn't read much about the castle, and we need to head out shortly so I won't investigate now. It dominates the landscape up on a hill overlooking Prague from the west of the river, and can be seen throughout the city. it's really beautiful.
We walked back after touring the castle, St. Vitus Cathedral and Golden Lane, a row of tiny and adorable homes flocking a side of the castle. The famous Franz Kafka resided there for a time. We headed back through a cute little part of town and decided to enjoy the views with some lunch. We both had smoked salmon with potato pancakes, and I enjoyed some hot spiced wine, or Gluwein. I've been really loving that here as it takes off the chill!
We walked over the famous Charles Bridge, flocked by statues high on the bridge depicting various religious scenes. Several little music bands were playing, and we observed quite a few instruments again that seem very local. We wandered around some of the neighborhoods we saw yesterday by the Astronomical Clock and Old town square, and wandered to Weneclas Square, flocked by the National Museum at the top of the street on a hill. We saw other bands playing here too, including a lady and a horse playing a guitar.
We went to the Old Market again, which we saw yesterday and enjoyed more gluwein, chatted with some wonderful people from russia and connecticut, and ate a dish of potatoes, sauerkraut, sausage and a tasty red sauce. Yum! Kim got a nutelle crepe (why not?) and we started the wander back to our hotel, passing through the town square again. We enjoyed the sun setting over the Tyne Church and the views as the daylight faded. We again saw the poor sweet dog of yesterday that I gave water to, with only one eye. We got to pet her this time as her daddy said she was very friendly. Yes, I miss my pack o'pups.
It was only 7:30 or 8 but I called it a day. I was wiped from not sleeping and shocked I made it so long without a nap! I woke today groggy but feeling much better after sleeping for over 11 hours last night! I sure needed it.
Today we're going to go visit a castle beginning with a V, :) And maybe Petrin Hill. We got out tickets for the Student Agency bus tomorrow, and will somehow have to get up by 5 to make the 7 am bus across town. Heh. Should be a fun time.
Have a great day!!
s
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Welcome to the Golden City: Prague Day 1
I got in last night at around 8:30 after a sleepless flight. The flight was uneventful, and the city looks gorgeous!! I had a driver get me as I knew how tired I'd be and was glad I did. With only a 30 minute nap in 24 hours, I was pretty zonked, but rallied when my friend Kim arrived at 10:30 pm. We were slow to wake up this morning but by 9 were ready for breakfast at the hotel.
The hotel, Maximilian, is really cute and I'd recommend it so far. It's a small boutique hotel with 71 rooms and a lot of nice touches. The staff was really friendly and helpful, and when I got to my room, I saw a little sign on the desk that says "Do you miss your pet? We will be glad to provide you with one of Maxmillian's fishy friends during your stay. Just ask Reception to provide you with a goldfish." I love it!! Driver was wonderful and gave me a history lesson of the Czech Republic (which I promptly forgot, but do recall the German and Russian occupation.) I was all excited to practice my rusty from-high-school German, but he said everyone pretty much speaks english except for older folks.
The hotel has a wonderful full breakfast with a large buffet: fruit, vegetables, breads, cereals, juices, pastries, meats and cheeses, eggs in a couple of styles, bacon and sausage, etc. They brought coffee with steamed milk, which was a nice touch. We left the hotel and made our way to the Jewish Museum, a cluster of synagogues and historical areas in the old Jewish ghetto, called Josephov, after the Emporer Joseph (Joseph II).
First we went to the Spanish Synagogue (Old School), Spanelska Synagoga. In Prague the Jewish town emerged before the 12th century. The people of Prague are Ashkenazi jews, though there is a tie-in to sephardic jews (thus Spanish Synagogue.) The building was Romanesque architecture originally, but was updated in the 15th C to include gothic touches. Unfortunately none of the buildings in the Jewish museum allow pictures. This one was incredibly beautiful with burgundy, navy and adorned with gold leaf everywhere.
This was the first temple to implement reform during the Jewish enlightenment, implementing vernacular in services in the 1800s. The Jewish Enlightenment was the second half of the 18th century in germany, and spread in Europe through the 18th and 19th centuries. German was promoted over yiddish. The Emporer oseph was responsible for reform for cultural and social development of the Jewish community, and in 1783 founded a Girls' Jewish School.
The first Jews settled in Prague in the 10th century, and by the end of the 16th century the Jewish Town emerged from the medieval ghetto with a town hall, administration building, synagogues and 300 houses. The entire area is really small, and only a few city blocks in either direction. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Jewish commmunity in Prague was one of the largest in Europe., and in 1850 the ghetto was incorporated into the city of Prague and known as Josefov.
We then went to the Pinkas Synagogue, built in 1535. In the late 1950s it was turned into a memorial to the Jews of Bohemia Moravia murdered by the Nazis. Over 80,000 names are represented on the walls and it's really striking. The last names are in red, and if there were multiple family members, the surname is only listed once followed by all of the names in the family and the date of birth, and the last known date. Most of the people represented by the names were killed from 1941 to 1945. It was sombering. There was also an exhibit of art from the children of Terezin, a concentration camp an hour outside of Prague. Only 242 of the over 8,000 children under the age of 15 deported from Terezin remained alive in 1945. The camp was used as propaganda by the Nazis to show what a work camp represented, and most people were shipped out to other camps to be killed. Githic arches adorned in paint vaulted the ceilings, and stained glass with simple colors and cuts are on the wall. The rest of the building is pure white with lists of names all around. The names were destroyed and replaced four times due to water damage in the building.
We then walked to the Jewish cemetary where over 12,000 people were buried beneath sandstone headstones. It's in a single city block and tombstones are stacked almost on top of each other. There were a few mausoleums but mostly stacks of tombstones.
We also toured the Maisel Synagogue, the Klausen Synagogue and Ceremonial Hall, which has a beatiful silver exhibit. Last was the Old-New Synagogue, which is the oldest surviving Synagogue in Europe and the oldest working synagogue outside of Israel. It was built in Gothic style in the mid 13th century.
I was surprised to see such a substantial Jewish area in a large city, though I read that Hitler decided to keep it there and planned to make it a museum of an extinguished race after he anhialated all of the Jews. What a horrid thought.
We left Josephov and walked toward the Old Town Square (Staromestske Namesti), flocked by several beautiful churches. It reminded me of several large squares that could be found in Spain or Italy, with a large open courtyard flocked with open-air restaurants. It was so beautiful that we decided to stop for a coffee and take in the sights. A traditional Czech folk band was playing, and the music was gorgeous. It sounded very celtic to me with a bagpipe and drum.
There was a museum with two exhibits that we decided to visit. The first was Alfons Mucha, who is known for his art of seduction. Most of his paintings are of women with "streaming hair, delicate colours and decorative style add up to an unashamed act of temptation." He was born in Bohemia when the country was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empore and died shortly after being interrogated by the Gestapo in July 1939. I didn't know who he was, but recognized some of his work from Moet Chandon wine bottles and ads.
Then we went to the Salvador Dali exhibit. Not really my style, though he was an incredibly talented man. The detail that he put into many of his paintings and sketches was exquisite.
Next we checked out the Astronomical Clock and then walked to the river where we saw the Charles Bridge. We'll cross it tomorrow, but decided to stop and get a drink at an outdoor place overlooking the bridge and Prague Castle. It was so beautiful! We decided to eat a late lunch and since it's chilly, got some soup and a cheese plate. I got goulash, which Kim tried for the first time. Very different from what I've had, but good. Kim got a cream of mushroom soup and we split a cheese and fruit plate. It was only around $20 with tip, and we got two drinks each (I tried a Czech wine which was very good.)
This city is so stunningly beautiful and we haven't seen anything like it. It truly is amazing and everywhere you look is a more incredible view of some of the most amazing architecture I've ever seen. I've heard that Prague is one of the few cities not partially or mostly destroyed in World War II, and the city reflects that with the intricate carvings and artwork in the architecture. It's simply amazing.
We walked back towards the Old Town Square and decided to climb the tower over the Astronomical Clock to enjoy the view of the city. Wow! We then climbed down, went into the Tyn Church, walked down through Stare Mesto (Old Town) and to the Old Town Market. The market is a street lined with a buch of outdoor booths and tons of different food: interesting chips made from fresh potatoes cut in curly shapes by a power tool, which was pretty funny! Sausages, potato pancakes, more sausages.. yum. It smelled delish but we were not hungry yet, so we decided to go back. We decided to go back to our room to unwind a bit and warm up as it's getting cold now that the sun is down! It's in the 40s already and still getting cooler. Egads.. my Phoenix blood isn't used to this. It was in the 50s during the day which was quite nice for travel weather.
It's 8 pm and we're heading out for a snack and some drinks in the neighborhood. I thought it would be an early night as I usually have a tough time with jetlag and interestly I feel pretty ok. I usually fly into europe in the morning though, and maybe since I flew in in the evening it helped. I fell asleep before Kim arrived, though woke up to catch up with her when she got in and we talked until around 12:30 when we passed out. I'm catching a second wind, so I think I need to take advantage of that.
Bye for now!
s
The hotel, Maximilian, is really cute and I'd recommend it so far. It's a small boutique hotel with 71 rooms and a lot of nice touches. The staff was really friendly and helpful, and when I got to my room, I saw a little sign on the desk that says "Do you miss your pet? We will be glad to provide you with one of Maxmillian's fishy friends during your stay. Just ask Reception to provide you with a goldfish." I love it!! Driver was wonderful and gave me a history lesson of the Czech Republic (which I promptly forgot, but do recall the German and Russian occupation.) I was all excited to practice my rusty from-high-school German, but he said everyone pretty much speaks english except for older folks.
The hotel has a wonderful full breakfast with a large buffet: fruit, vegetables, breads, cereals, juices, pastries, meats and cheeses, eggs in a couple of styles, bacon and sausage, etc. They brought coffee with steamed milk, which was a nice touch. We left the hotel and made our way to the Jewish Museum, a cluster of synagogues and historical areas in the old Jewish ghetto, called Josephov, after the Emporer Joseph (Joseph II).
First we went to the Spanish Synagogue (Old School), Spanelska Synagoga. In Prague the Jewish town emerged before the 12th century. The people of Prague are Ashkenazi jews, though there is a tie-in to sephardic jews (thus Spanish Synagogue.) The building was Romanesque architecture originally, but was updated in the 15th C to include gothic touches. Unfortunately none of the buildings in the Jewish museum allow pictures. This one was incredibly beautiful with burgundy, navy and adorned with gold leaf everywhere.
This was the first temple to implement reform during the Jewish enlightenment, implementing vernacular in services in the 1800s. The Jewish Enlightenment was the second half of the 18th century in germany, and spread in Europe through the 18th and 19th centuries. German was promoted over yiddish. The Emporer oseph was responsible for reform for cultural and social development of the Jewish community, and in 1783 founded a Girls' Jewish School.
The first Jews settled in Prague in the 10th century, and by the end of the 16th century the Jewish Town emerged from the medieval ghetto with a town hall, administration building, synagogues and 300 houses. The entire area is really small, and only a few city blocks in either direction. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Jewish commmunity in Prague was one of the largest in Europe., and in 1850 the ghetto was incorporated into the city of Prague and known as Josefov.
We then went to the Pinkas Synagogue, built in 1535. In the late 1950s it was turned into a memorial to the Jews of Bohemia Moravia murdered by the Nazis. Over 80,000 names are represented on the walls and it's really striking. The last names are in red, and if there were multiple family members, the surname is only listed once followed by all of the names in the family and the date of birth, and the last known date. Most of the people represented by the names were killed from 1941 to 1945. It was sombering. There was also an exhibit of art from the children of Terezin, a concentration camp an hour outside of Prague. Only 242 of the over 8,000 children under the age of 15 deported from Terezin remained alive in 1945. The camp was used as propaganda by the Nazis to show what a work camp represented, and most people were shipped out to other camps to be killed. Githic arches adorned in paint vaulted the ceilings, and stained glass with simple colors and cuts are on the wall. The rest of the building is pure white with lists of names all around. The names were destroyed and replaced four times due to water damage in the building.
We then walked to the Jewish cemetary where over 12,000 people were buried beneath sandstone headstones. It's in a single city block and tombstones are stacked almost on top of each other. There were a few mausoleums but mostly stacks of tombstones.
We also toured the Maisel Synagogue, the Klausen Synagogue and Ceremonial Hall, which has a beatiful silver exhibit. Last was the Old-New Synagogue, which is the oldest surviving Synagogue in Europe and the oldest working synagogue outside of Israel. It was built in Gothic style in the mid 13th century.
I was surprised to see such a substantial Jewish area in a large city, though I read that Hitler decided to keep it there and planned to make it a museum of an extinguished race after he anhialated all of the Jews. What a horrid thought.
We left Josephov and walked toward the Old Town Square (Staromestske Namesti), flocked by several beautiful churches. It reminded me of several large squares that could be found in Spain or Italy, with a large open courtyard flocked with open-air restaurants. It was so beautiful that we decided to stop for a coffee and take in the sights. A traditional Czech folk band was playing, and the music was gorgeous. It sounded very celtic to me with a bagpipe and drum.
There was a museum with two exhibits that we decided to visit. The first was Alfons Mucha, who is known for his art of seduction. Most of his paintings are of women with "streaming hair, delicate colours and decorative style add up to an unashamed act of temptation." He was born in Bohemia when the country was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empore and died shortly after being interrogated by the Gestapo in July 1939. I didn't know who he was, but recognized some of his work from Moet Chandon wine bottles and ads.
Then we went to the Salvador Dali exhibit. Not really my style, though he was an incredibly talented man. The detail that he put into many of his paintings and sketches was exquisite.
Next we checked out the Astronomical Clock and then walked to the river where we saw the Charles Bridge. We'll cross it tomorrow, but decided to stop and get a drink at an outdoor place overlooking the bridge and Prague Castle. It was so beautiful! We decided to eat a late lunch and since it's chilly, got some soup and a cheese plate. I got goulash, which Kim tried for the first time. Very different from what I've had, but good. Kim got a cream of mushroom soup and we split a cheese and fruit plate. It was only around $20 with tip, and we got two drinks each (I tried a Czech wine which was very good.)
This city is so stunningly beautiful and we haven't seen anything like it. It truly is amazing and everywhere you look is a more incredible view of some of the most amazing architecture I've ever seen. I've heard that Prague is one of the few cities not partially or mostly destroyed in World War II, and the city reflects that with the intricate carvings and artwork in the architecture. It's simply amazing.
We walked back towards the Old Town Square and decided to climb the tower over the Astronomical Clock to enjoy the view of the city. Wow! We then climbed down, went into the Tyn Church, walked down through Stare Mesto (Old Town) and to the Old Town Market. The market is a street lined with a buch of outdoor booths and tons of different food: interesting chips made from fresh potatoes cut in curly shapes by a power tool, which was pretty funny! Sausages, potato pancakes, more sausages.. yum. It smelled delish but we were not hungry yet, so we decided to go back. We decided to go back to our room to unwind a bit and warm up as it's getting cold now that the sun is down! It's in the 40s already and still getting cooler. Egads.. my Phoenix blood isn't used to this. It was in the 50s during the day which was quite nice for travel weather.
It's 8 pm and we're heading out for a snack and some drinks in the neighborhood. I thought it would be an early night as I usually have a tough time with jetlag and interestly I feel pretty ok. I usually fly into europe in the morning though, and maybe since I flew in in the evening it helped. I fell asleep before Kim arrived, though woke up to catch up with her when she got in and we talked until around 12:30 when we passed out. I'm catching a second wind, so I think I need to take advantage of that.
Bye for now!
s
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Portland Day 3
The garden features an adorable little tea shop, which reminded me of the tea shop I went to in Seoul, South Korea. I got a white tea and some almond cookies for breakfast, and enjoyed the music.
I left and decided to explore a bit more. I walked past voodoo Doughnuts and an incredibly long line. it's a Portland thing, and I was told that I have to go by a Portland native. I didn't, but did snap a picture of some doughnuts.
Some of the other fun things I saw on my trip.
Fabulous moss-covered tree I forgot to post from Multnomah Falls. And the peace sign is from Washington Park.Portland day 2
The gal that I went to dinner with and I decided to head to Washington Park to visit the Japanese Garden, and the Rose Garden. Both were just stunning, and we spent several hours just walking around and taking in the gorgeous scenery.
Japanese Garden
We walked over to the food carts (like food trucks, but they are fixed) and got some Thai food and walked around the city for a bit. People here are SO nice! Several times over the weekend, people stopped to ask if we needed help when they saw us looking at a map. Wow!
Japanese Garden
Rose Garden
We walked over to the food carts (like food trucks, but they are fixed) and got some Thai food and walked around the city for a bit. People here are SO nice! Several times over the weekend, people stopped to ask if we needed help when they saw us looking at a map. Wow!
We stopped at a place called Cacao for mochas, and to charge our phones. Then we headed to the waterfront to enjoy fireworks. They shoot them over the Willamette River over a bridge, and were really impressive!!
Great day and I'm really enjoying this town. The weather has been glorious! Cool in the mornings and evenings, bright and sunny. I'm envisioning packing my bags..
s
Portland day one
Hi! I just noticed that my last post was quite a while ago, from my Yellowstone trip. I've been on several family trips since, though nothing new to post. I also went for a long weekend to Los Angeles to meet my friend Kim, whom I met in Italy on a wine-tasting tour. We had a great time and as a result, just booked a trip to Europe.
Today I flew to Portland for for my first visit. I came here to attend the World Domination Summit. I'm not going to write about that, but my couple of days exploring the city.
The conference had a mobile app, which features the Unconventional Race, a scavenger hunt of sorts. We have to do a bunch of activities including taking a pic of a flight attendant and pilot on our trip to Portland. They were enthusiastic and in fact so much so, they invited me into the cockpit.
I got back to my seat and five minutes later, I saw two girls talking with the captain. I ran up and sure enough, they were also going to the conference.
Whe we got off the plane we talked a bit. Turns out that they had rented a car and were headed to visit
Multnomah falls. I had wanted to go but didn't feel like renting a car to go on my own, so figured I'd have to try to go another time. How serendipitous! I asked if I could join them and they agreed!
It took around 45 minutes and was worth it. Wow. The falls consist of an upper and lower falls. The upper falls is around 470 feet and the lower around 65. It was nice and cool from the mist coming off the falls, and everything was so lush and green. So different from Phoenix!
We walked up the path for a while taking in the views of the falls. It's very steep in parts but so beautiful. It was really worth it.
We headed back and got in just in time for my reservation at Andina, a Peruvian restaurant in the pearl district of Portland. A friend raved about it, so I knew I had to go. I dined with a gal from the conference that I had been trading messages with. What an amazing time! She is really great and I so enjoyed her, and the restaurant was spectacular! The ambience, food and service were all really great. Yum!
Then we went to a pre-conference gathering and met a couple of really great folks. One was from England, and she flew all the way here for a few days to attend the conference. One was from Boulder, but had moved to Amsterdam after last year's conference. I got to meet the guy who created the conference, and lots of other people.
I'm staying at a hostel, which is my first time. It seemed in keeping with the overall plan for the weekend of doing something different. And many of the people staying here are attending the conference. It was fun and different, but not for me. I don't sleep well as it is, and with people coming and going all night, it was a bunch of sleepless nights.
We have lots of great ideas for tomorrow so will see what motivates us. Portland is beautiful and very walkable. There's a lot of great little neighborhoods which gives it a Boston-like feel to me. There is a blues festival going on, and lots of parks to check out.
s
Today I flew to Portland for for my first visit. I came here to attend the World Domination Summit. I'm not going to write about that, but my couple of days exploring the city.
The conference had a mobile app, which features the Unconventional Race, a scavenger hunt of sorts. We have to do a bunch of activities including taking a pic of a flight attendant and pilot on our trip to Portland. They were enthusiastic and in fact so much so, they invited me into the cockpit.
I got back to my seat and five minutes later, I saw two girls talking with the captain. I ran up and sure enough, they were also going to the conference.
Whe we got off the plane we talked a bit. Turns out that they had rented a car and were headed to visit
Multnomah falls. I had wanted to go but didn't feel like renting a car to go on my own, so figured I'd have to try to go another time. How serendipitous! I asked if I could join them and they agreed!
It took around 45 minutes and was worth it. Wow. The falls consist of an upper and lower falls. The upper falls is around 470 feet and the lower around 65. It was nice and cool from the mist coming off the falls, and everything was so lush and green. So different from Phoenix!
We walked up the path for a while taking in the views of the falls. It's very steep in parts but so beautiful. It was really worth it.
We headed back and got in just in time for my reservation at Andina, a Peruvian restaurant in the pearl district of Portland. A friend raved about it, so I knew I had to go. I dined with a gal from the conference that I had been trading messages with. What an amazing time! She is really great and I so enjoyed her, and the restaurant was spectacular! The ambience, food and service were all really great. Yum!
Then we went to a pre-conference gathering and met a couple of really great folks. One was from England, and she flew all the way here for a few days to attend the conference. One was from Boulder, but had moved to Amsterdam after last year's conference. I got to meet the guy who created the conference, and lots of other people.
I'm staying at a hostel, which is my first time. It seemed in keeping with the overall plan for the weekend of doing something different. And many of the people staying here are attending the conference. It was fun and different, but not for me. I don't sleep well as it is, and with people coming and going all night, it was a bunch of sleepless nights.
We have lots of great ideas for tomorrow so will see what motivates us. Portland is beautiful and very walkable. There's a lot of great little neighborhoods which gives it a Boston-like feel to me. There is a blues festival going on, and lots of parks to check out.
s
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