Day to 103 to 106
From 7th To 10th August
If the beer is more expensive than the water, the place is a tourist trap!
Prague starts with P and P stands for people. Waves upon waves of people walking down the streets. It was uncomfortably crowded with tourists and tour guides holding up umbrellas with the hordes following like sheep. Russian, German, Americans students and so many Japanese.
Huge groups standing in front of all the beautiful buildings and each one having a photo shoot. So, althought the historic buildings were in abundance, it was so difficult to see much which is a real shame. The lack of great photos reflects the density of the crowd. The architecture is stunning with its many styles and the river flows calmly beside the chaos of the streets.
Took the Funicular Railway to Petrin hill, a lovely green area of parks, walkways and ponds and …away from the madding crowd!
However, Praha is lovely. It is emerging out of its communism cacoon and reinventing itself.
Tourism would have to be 90 percent of its income as the city is filled with restaurants and bars in every nook and cranny.
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The Astronomical clock in the old square was voted the 2nd most disappointing tourist attraction in Europe, the Mona Lisa being the winner. Hundreds of people gather in front of the clock to watch the magic happen but the best view is to watch their faces as disappointment starts to show. That said, it is a very clever clock and does some nifty things. Apparently, the clock maker was blinded and his tongue was cut out so he couldn’t build one for anyone else. So, he threw himself into the mechanism from the tower and buggered it up. It took over 100 years to repair as no one knew how to fix it.
The Prague Concert Hall has the greatest composers in the world standing on the roof, around 30 of them. When the Nazis took Prague, Reinhard Heydrich who fancied himself as a violinist, chose this building for his headquarters so he could have his own stage. He sent word to his underlings to get rid of Mendelsohn from the roof as he was a Jew. The soldiers, not knowing which statue was Mendelsohn, chose the statue with the biggest nose. It was Mozart! Hitler’s favourite composer. They took to Mozart with hammers and chucked him off the roof. Who knows what happened to the soldiers.
All the streets in Prague are cobblestones, so high heels don’t work that well but people still insist as the fashion here is to walk on stilts.
The food is delicious but very heavy. Syr smazeny is a dish of fried edam served with tartare sauce often with chips as well. It is not just one massive wedge of Edam, it is two! A meal of pure calories with a bit of cholesterol and heart disease thrown in. Another favourite is Trdelník a chimney shaped cake filled with chocolate, custard, caramel, ice-cream and cream. These stalls are everywhere. Our first meal? Shared pork knuckle with grated horseradish and mustard.
Accommodation in Prague was in the University, a tram trip away from the city centre. The trams are excellent. The building looked a bit like a Sanatorium being very stark but it was great. Inside each dorm was a kitchenette, a bathroom and three lockable bedrooms. The rooms were very large, light and airy as they house the students in term. Not bad accommodation at all for $20 each a night.
Found a little place called Rebels across the road that served kransky and beer for around $5. Not wanting to say goodbye to a good Kransky we ordered two to takeaway for our 8-hour bus trip to Krakow. The young bloke packaged them up in boxes complete with bread, horseradish and mustard. All we need now is another beer and we are all set for Poland.
Two Travelling Bags 