Saturday July 25, 2015

A busy day today after a stormy night. We had a serious thunderstorm come through at five in the morning and it was cool and gray for most of the day (after the hot, hot weather we have been having, I am not complaining -- not one bit). We were up and out of the apartment before 10:00 am and we proceeded to meet our tour guide, Tereza, outside our building.  Then the three of us walked to the Castle District which is only ten minutes from our apartment. We spent the day touring the Prague Castle and surrounding area. 

Early part of Prague castle 

St. Vitus' Cathedral 

Fortunately for us, Tereza is very nice and patient and not at all discomfited by our weird comments or odd behavior. She says she has seen it all and I believe her. She will be our tour guide for several of the trips and tours we will be taking during the next week.

Entrance to St. Vitus' Cathedral 

Stained glass (actually painted glass) by Alfons Mucha

Our first stop was the Royal Garden and Belvedere. The well-kept Royal Garden includes a gymnasium building whose exterior is decorated with incised plaster with contrasting color plaster underneath. After admiring the cathedral and its flying buttresses from ever closer vantage points it was time to go inside St. Vitus' Cathedral where we admired the stained glass (including one designed by Alfons Mucha) and the chapel of St. Wenceslas with its huge gemstones mounted on the lower walls. Back outside, we next visited the Royal Palace with its unusual vaulted ceiling in the main hall and the famous "defenestration" window (long story but don't worry the people who were thrown out of the window survived. Note to self: 16 meters may not be high enough!) We also visited the Romanesque-style St. George's Basilica which predates St. Vitus' Cathedral and sits upon many tombs of early Czech royals.

Your intrepid reporters

Unusual vaulting on main hall, Royal Palace 

St. George's Basilica 

We then walked to a viewing point and along the way unexpectedly happened upon a military band playing Strauss. That was fun but our energy was beginning to lag a little so Tereza wisely suggested a coffee break, an idea that was quickly embraced by both Russell and I. We walked around the neighborhood surrounding the castle complex (the Prague Castle really is more of a village behind walls than a typical palace type building). This area of Prague has not changed much and is still relatively undiscovered. We saw the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building, another outstanding viewpoint over the city and two libraries located within the Strahov Monastery. These libraries were quite striking, complete with gorgeous wood bookcases, frescoed ceilings and a collection of antique globes (just one of which I would love to own). 

Vltava River 

Strahov Monastery library 

Now it was time for us to part ways with Tereza. Russell and I had a tasty lunch of ribs (for Russell) and goulash with bread dumplings (for me). When we got home -- after negotiating an afternoon shower and the tram/subway systems -- I was kaput. I am glad that we had nothing further scheduled for the day because I was able to take it easy and even do some laundry.

Couldn't resist-- the other Strahov monastery library 

Heading back to the apartment (Note: the pregnant look is because I am holding my backpack under my coat to keep it dry. Obviously, I haven't yet realized that I am inside and therefore no longer need to shelter my leather Tumi backpack from the dangerous rain!)

Friday July 24, 2015

Still recovering from our traumatic arrival here in Prague but we managed to get out of the apartment today to take a food tour of Prague. I was excited to do this because I did not really know very much about Czech food. As it turns out Czech food is an amalgam of Austrian, German and Hungarian cuisine with a few tricks of their own thrown into the mix.

Gingerbread cookies 

Traditional gingerbread cookies

First stop was a gingerbread bakery -- no joke. It was pretty cool. The gingerbread creations were beautifully iced and some of the traditional variations that we tasted were yummy. One was gingerbread rolled with plum preserve and nuts. Another was with poppy seed paste. Second stop was open faced sandwiches, something I thought was more Danish than Czech but that just goes to show you what I know (or don't know). We had a delicious canapé-type sandwich with puréed beets and goat cheese, another with celeriac and a third with pickled herring (which I tried and didn't mind so much because it wasn't as aggressively pickled as I feared that it would be).

Stop two

Our knowledgeable and friendly guide, Jan

Next up -- pastrami and sausages (both pork and beef) with mild mustard and country bread. Then we had Russell and my favorite dish of the day -- sauerkraut soup! Sounds gross I know but it was really interesting and subtle with smokey bacon and woodsy mushrooms, silky creme fraiche and a flavorful basil oil. Jan, our guide, choose not to tell us about what was in the soup before we ate it and I am glad that he did not because I am afraid I wouldn't have been quite so open to it if I had known it was sauerkraut soup. 

Delicious sauerkraut soup

Pork pate 

After our soup we enjoyed some pate in a garden-type restaurant that you would never have found had someone not brought you there. And finally we had roast beef marinated in vegetables with bread dumpings. And for dessert -- apple strudel with custard sauce (and whipped cream). This last stop was an atmospheric second floor cafe where Kafka and Einstein ate. 

Svickova w/ bread dumplings 

Apple Strudel with custard sauce

It was certainly a day for professional eating. Fortunately Russell and I brought our "A" game so you needn't worry! We represented!

Kafka's cafe

Today's special apartment feature: access to the roof -- requires that you go on all fours! Be sure to watch your head ... and your back ... and your step!

Thursday July 23, 2015

Bright eyed and bushy tailed!

Well, I am almost recovered from yesterday's odyssey. We travelled on four different trains with eleven (count 'em) pieces of luggage (only four of which were large). We got off to a strong start, catching the early express train to Salzburg after having gotten up before the alarm clock. But then our second train was late. Very late. Which meant that we would miss the connection in Linz. So, what to do? Well, after waiting forty five minutes for the train, we decided to take a different train to Linz. In Linz, we had a decision to make. Stay and wait three hours for the next direct train or take a different train that necessitated making a connection. This second option did not allow us much time to make the necessary connection (five minutes) but we decided to "risk" it because we preferred not to wait in Linz for three plus hours.

Getting a little warm!

Russell looking annoyed as he rolls his luggage down a flight of stairs because the elevator is not working.

You needn't guess what happened next. The train we took was one half hour late. But not to worry because the connecting train we were meant to take was also late. An hour and fifteen minutes late departing! In ninety five degree heat. With no air conditioning. Or water to drink. Russell was going around offering people money to buy their bottled water (and creating quite a stir as you can imagine. So much so that the conductor went and bought him a bottle of water! Russell would have gone to get it himself but was worried that the train would have taken off the minute he stepped off).

Once we got to Prague -- after thirteen hours traveling -- the apartment owner wasn't there. So we waited for him. He showed up fifteen minutes later and then proceeded to give us an endless (and pointless) "orientation" to the apartment ("This is where the silverware is" and "This is how you turn the TV on"). And the apartment? Well it is God-awful ugly and furnished as if Grandma and Pop-Pop went out the back door the minute we came through the front door. And there is no air conditioning (of course) and only three windows through which one can get any air at all. Oh and there are several "rooms" that are locked and off limits to us (creepy) and the toilet is in one part of the apartment whilst the sink and shower are located down the hall and around the bend. You've heard of open plan living? Well this apartment is the exact opposite. It's lots of little rooms off a central hallway that is dark as all get out. Fortunately for us the place does not lack in wood paneling!! Can you imagine? In the middle of the city. And oak furniture. And black leather. Triple ugh. 

Our lovely living area -- please note tiger skin throws at left!

The spare bedroom which has ... no windows! (There is however a small skylight that you can open).

The delightful hallway looking toward shower/sink room

Same spot different direction

So, now it's nine o'clock and we haven't had any dinner and it's hot (still) and the grocery stores are all closed and the apartment sucks and Russell wants KFC for dinner but I don't want any more junk food because I haven't had a decent meal all day and well needless to say we are not being very nice to one another. There may even have been some shouting in the street -- something we haven't done since Bermuda '92. The final result? You guessed it -- no dinner at all. It was just one of those days when you ask yourself, "Why am I doing this?" and "Why didn't I just stay home?"

Orientation this morning 

So this morning when we woke up we both felt hungover. We had already rescheduled a planned e-bike ride for  next week in order to attend another Untours' orientation (why I don't know). We had breakfast at Starbucks which is located down the street from the apartment and then we took a cab to the appointed meeting spot (I was not feeling up to conquering the public transit system). The orientation was with a lovely woman named Alena and she put so much effort into the materials and the presentation that it was impossible not to get excited about being here in Prague and seeing all that there is to see. The orientation turned out to be exactly what I needed and so now -- after a visit to an English language bookstore where I may have purchased a couple of items and a nap in the afternoon and a Russell dinner -- things are definitely starting to look up. Oh and the temperature today was a good fifteen degrees lower than yesterday so that helped too!

Sunday July 19, 2015

Went for a delightful walk by an alpine lake this afternoon. Would never have found the place were it not for Vera, our Untours local contact. She drove us and even gave us a brief tour of our "home town" -- Kuchl, Austria when the hike was over.

The site of our hike this afternoon

Yesterday and the day before we toured Salzburg. Took a local train from Kuchl to the main train station and walked to the older part of town. We visited the Salzburg Cathedral, St. Peter's Church (and cemetery), the catacombs, Mozart's birthplace and Mozart's residence. On Friday the town was not nearly as crowded as it was on Saturday which was apparently the first day of the Salzburg Festival.

I am pretty sure Mozart was not this big

View from the catacombs 

Russell and I have been taking it relatively easy here in Austria. We've gotten up at around 8:00 am, had breakfast and done a little needlepoint before leaving the apartment at 10:00 or so. Then we've spent six hours sightseeing before returning to the apartment at four or so. Mostly we've eaten here at the apartment (though we have enjoyed Wiener schnitzel and apple strudel too) and spent our evenings watching TV, needle pointing and reading. This combination of "normal" life with some sightseeing seems to be working well for us. Staying at apartments has allowed us to do this and for the most part having the rail passes has provided us with sufficient mobility though Russell does miss driving. So far so good though. 

I love these bonnet-topped church towers they have here

Salzburg cathedral 

Note castle at top of hill 

Tomorrow we are thinking we will head to the town of Linz or perhaps we will make another visit to Salzburg and then later in the week we are off to Prague where we will have some more serious sightseeing to do.

Thursday July 16, 2015

Enough luggage?

Arrived safely in Austria yesterday. No mishaps to speak of so that's good. Unfortunately we are back to hot weather. "Very unusual" -- boy am I getting tired of hearing that one.

220 Km/hr = 120 mph

New apartment is not at all what I envisioned. Its fine but on the third floor, under the eaves so it's hot. Fortunately we have fans -- both of which I have got blowing on me right now. The location of the apartment is more suburban than rural. The town of Kuchl is nice -- small but nice (a few shops, a couple of restaurants). Our hosts are also nice -- very friendly and eager to help.

The new apartment 

Just found out this evening we can open the skylight in bathroom-- that will make a big difference

Living room -- nice but you can see why it would be HOT

We took it easy today. Walked to the grocery store and also around the town after lunch at a local restaurant. Dinner was sandwiches in the apartment. Kind of depressing. I think I am really just tired and the idea of more sight seeing -- crowds, lines, etc. is not very appealing to me right now. Five months is a long time to stay enthusiastic.

View from balcony

Kuchl

Kuchl

We plan on going into Salzburg tomorrow so that will likely help with my mood. I'll let you know how it goes. Probably shouldn't have written tonight given my poor attitude but wanted to let you know we are okay. How about I let the pictures do the talking? Russell does such a good job with them and you never know what kind of mood he was in when they were taken.

End on a positive note (also view from balcony)

Monday July 13, 2015

It's been a busy three days. The highlight of which was on Sunday when we took the five hour post bus tour. Five hours is a long time to be on a bus, that's for sure, but with scenery as spectacular as what we saw, well the time went more quickly than you would think. Still in all I am glad we did not take the seven hour tour! 

Happy cows

The bus took us over three distinct mountain passes: the Susten, Grimsel and Furka passes. Each one was a little bit different than the others so, although it was all alpine scenery, there was enough variety to keep it interesting. Switzerland (at least this part of it) is certainly picturesque -- like something straight out of a tourist brochure.

Lots of motorcycles

Look at that crazy road

On Saturday we were in Luzern to see the Swiss Transport Museum. This museum had been described to us as not to be missed. I probably wouldn't describe it that way which is not to say that it isn't a good museum. It is good; very good, if you have children. But therein lies the rub as far as I am concerned. This museum has done so much to appeal (over-appeal if you ask me) to children and families that it has become a de facto children's museum. This over-emphasis on children at aquariums, natural history museums, science museums, et al drives me crazy. I suppose these places are just doing what they feel they must do in order to stay in business and they undoubtedly know better than I but it seems to me that there is room for an intelligent, adult-oriented museum that is not an art museum. 

Swiss Museum of Transportation 

Lake Luzern

Today we were supposed to go see Eiger, Jungfrau and Monch, the three tallest of the Alps but unfortunately the cloud layer is low today and I am afraid we would not have seen much. Probably shouldn't have left this to our last day of site seeing. Oh well.

Note the prices: eleven Swiss francs for a Big Mac -- yikes!

So, we went with plan B -- needlepointing followed by a train trip to Interlaken where we indulged in lunch at McDonald's (for the most part not worth it but it did have the fried version of apple pie and man was that good). Also visited my "too expensive" nativity -- looks like the bloom is off that rose! Who knows, maybe we will find something even better down the road.