Jean's Europe trip 2006
Part 1: Czech Republic

To summarise: Eric didn't want to go on this trip, so I made arrangements to travel with a friend who lives in the UK. I flew to the UK in early September, stayed there for a few days, then we visited Prague and Kraków (one week each), and finished by touring parts of southern Germany and northern Switzerland. I had planned to visit Budapest for the third week of the trip, but when political unrest broke out, I changed plans and diverted to Germany.

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Airlie Beach to London

The trip started somewhat ominously when the plane that would be picking up passengers to go to Sydney made 4 passes at the airport near Airlie Beach before landing (2 from each direction).

Of course no one told us anything, so speculation was the order of the day. There were a couple of vehicles driving up and down the runway, so several locals made remarks about chasing off the wildlife (and/or cattle)... probably for the benefit of the overseas tourists, who began to look a bit alarmed.

I assumed it was a weather problem (probably gusty cross-winds) and was beginning to think the plane would be unable to land and would have to go to Mackay instead, and we would have to be bused to Mackay... or some variation on this theme. But all was well, we got to Sydney, and I didn't have any trouble getting a taxi to where I was staying overnight.

I flew to London Heathrow the next day on GulfAir, stopping briefly in Singapore and Bahrain. I had got quite a good price on a Business Class seat, so it was a comfortable trip. The seats are really cool. They slide down into a lying-flat position instead of reclining backward. It was quite comfortable. The seats of some people near me were having some minor technical problems (a light that wouldn't turn off, and a legrest that wouldn't stay up), but luckily mine worked fine.

In Singapore we had only an hour or so on the ground, and the option of staying on board or getting off and walking around the airport. I chose the latter, and promptly found a row of free internet machines on which I sent a 'hi I'm here'note to Eric. As it was around 4 am, all the electronic and other shops in the airport were closed. The place seemed to go on forever, so I got in a good walk in the half hour before I needed to return to the plane.

Next stop was Bahrain, where I spent a couple of hours in Gulfair's First & Business Class lounge, where they had lots of computers (both PCs and Apples) for use. The lounge had both western-style seating and Arabic-style lounging seats; the latter had draped canopies over them. The effect was kinda Hollywood, but pleasant.

The flight was an hour late leaving Bahrain, hence late into London, but otherwise there were no dramas.

  UK: London

I had some trouble finding the driver (of a pre-booked car) who was supposed to meet me, but eventually we made contact. Got to my friends' place in Croydon and managed to stay awake until a reasonable time to go to bed.

On Sunday they took me on a tour of Croydon by riding the tram that circumnavigates the area. It seems quite pleasant. They don't have wireless or broadband, although for brief periods I could tap into the unsecured wireless network belonging to one of their neighbours, if I sat in a spot near the door to the back garden. Otherwise I was restricted to using their computer. I can't remember anything else about Sunday.

On Monday I went into London, intending to do a bit of sightseeing, but I ended up doing very little. Although the weather was quite nice, I didn't really have much ambition. And even though the crowds were not bad (by city standards), I started feeling overwhelmed very quickly. Probably the ride on the underground contributed to that.

UK: Tamworth

On Tuesday I travelled from London to Tamworth (where Daniel lives). The plan was for me to take a taxi from Croydon to a nearby underground station, from which I would be able to go directly to the train station (Euston) where I would get the train to Tamworth. This was the 'minimal changes of transport'option.

The driver who picked me up pointed out that the ride to the underground station would cost £16, but he would take me all the way to Euston Station for £25. I decided to spend a bit more and cut out one change of transport, so we made a deal and I was treated to a wild ride around the perimeter of central London, culminating in being dropped off at Kings Cross Station, about 1/2 km from Euston! By the time I had worked out that I was at the wrong station, the car was long gone. So I dragged my bag to Euston, grumbling all the way. (I could have taken the tube but thought it would probably be just as much hassle, if not more, and cost extra as well.)

The train itself was comfortable. It was a limited-stop service to Glasgow, and Tamworth turned out to be the first stop, so it was only a bit over an hour's journey.

Wednesday and Thursday we spent several hours walking around part of Tamworth and sitting in its very pleasant park, which has a very ancient castle in it.

Photo right: Gardens with Tamworth Castle in background.

More photos of Tamworth park and castle

  Czech Republic: Prague

Photo left: Jean with Prague Castle in background.

The trip to Prague did not get off to a great start either. We didn't have any problem with the flight from the UK (or airport security, etc.), and we found the shuttle bus to the hotel, but when we got to the hotel (Brezina Pension) at around 10PM they didn't have our reservations, or any vacancies. I showed them a printout of an email I had from them, but it wasn't a confirmation -- and even if it had been, there isn't much a hotel can do when all their rooms are full... except try to find a spot for us in another hotel. Which the desk clerk did, although it took quite awhile. Fortunately the other hotel was just across the street, so getting there was easy.

On Saturday morning, the manager of the new hotel (Hotel Alton) said the person who had checked us in didn't notice that the room I was in was booked to someone else for Saturday, and the whole hotel was booked out, so could the two of us please share one room for one night, and then I can move back into that room on Sunday. Oh, and they would reduce the room rate because of all the hassle. We agreed to this plan.

Then on Sunday we learned that (due to continuing incompetence on someone's part), our rooms were otherwise booked for the last two days of our stay, so we had to move on Wednesday to another hotel, in a slightly different part of town. Photo right: River traffic.

When I had arrived at the Hotel Alton, I found that the ethernet connector in my room was broken out of its socket and pushed up into a hole in the wall, where I couldn't reach it with my fingers (the hole in the wall was too small). Eventually I solved the problem and fixed it enough to use it. Amazing what cunning, stubbornness, and a good set of tweezers can do.

The Hotel Alton was otherwise a very pleasant place to stay, with nice comfortable rooms (one with a large tub/shower in the bathroom, the other with a shower only), conveniently located next to a metro station. It was a bit further from the old town centre, and from the river, than I would have preferred, though still within walking distance. Aside from the minor hotel hassles, I found Prague to be a delightful city and I enjoyed my visit there very much. No doubt the excellent weather all week helped.

On Saturday we walked from our hotel to the river, up to the castle, and back to the hotel. I'm not sure of the distance, but I would guess at least 10 km. We had frequent stops to look at things and to eat snacks. The weather was perfect: sunny, mostly clear, around 20-22C I'd guess, with a light breeze. A very good day. Photo left: Jazz players on Charles Bridge, Prague.

The river was beautiful, with all the buildings along it, and the boats of all types. We saw far too much to write about here, but a highlight for me was: on the old Charles Bridge near the castle a lot of artists and craftspeople have set up stalls, and we happened upon a group of jazz players and a hammer chord zither player! (Not together.) Photo right: Hammer-chord zither player.

Sunday we walked to the river again, then over to a huge park (Malá Strana) on a large, steep hill southwest of the castle. On the way we saw this Holocaust memorial. It's a very powerful sculpture, but unfortunately the photo doesn't show the detail on the figures.

We rode the cable car to the top of the hill, walked up the steps of the 'view tower', visited the observatory, sat on park benches and read, then wandered down the hill (steep!). Photo left: Holocaust memorial, Prague.

After an early dinner and another stop to listen to the jazz players on the Charles Bridge, we returned to the hotel by a slightly different route through the old town (extremely narrow steets, mixed architecture, cafes everywhere -- especially in a big square (which must have been a medieval market square). Charles Bridge webcam.

I'm happy to report that most signs around town were in English as well as Czech (and sometimes other languages). In the tourist areas, everyone in the shops spoke a little English (or a lot). They also seem to speak 6 other languages, starting with German, so we didn't have any difficulty getting food and drink. Photo right: View of Prague from top of hill.

I needed a rest day on Monday, but I didn't get it. We didn't do anything particularly ambitious, and walked less far than on each of the past two days, but it was still quite a long distance. Everything here costs money, including water in a restaurant (always bottled, even though the tap water is safe to drink), using a public toilet, and separate items on a dinner menu (meat, potatoes, vegetables). All of which I remember from 40 years ago in western Europe (except that then we were leery of the tap water), so evidently some things haven't changed. Photo left: Prague Castle and cathedral.

We covered some of the same ground as the past two days, but in reverse order so I could get photos with the sun at a different angle. In one square we happened upon a street market: the usual mixture of souvenirs, food, arts and crafts. Photo right: Wenceslas Square, Prague.

We saw several weird sculptures. My favourite is one featuring bathroom and laundry fixtures (sinks, toilets, bathtubs etc) on stalks.

The weather continued to be perfect: sunny and about 25C. A different jazz band was playing on the Charles Bridge, and a couple hours later yet another jazz band was in the same spot. The first band today featured a man playing a washboard! I can't remember when I last saw someone playing one. The washboard player wore metal tips on his fingers and was very enthusiastic in his movements while playing. Photo left: Jazz group featuring washboard player.

Old Prague seems to be a city of marionettes. Tourist shops everywhere have them, in varying sizes and complexities, with subject matter ranging from the traditional lords and ladies and goblins and orgres and witches etc, to cats and dogs and soccer players. Harry Potter and some of his mates were common too. Photo right: Prague shop selling marionettes.

For Monday's dinner, I had a goulash which was tasty but not over-spiced (like I think of Hungarian goulash as being). The menu said 'with dumplings' but the dumplings turned out to be nothing like what I expected. They were like slices off a loaf of bread, but with a dumpling-like consistency. Tasty enough. I got a Czech Pilsen beer which went quite nicely with the goulash. Daniel had a pork dish that the guidebook said is also 'traditional Czech cuisine', and pronounced it excellent.

After all the walking we'd been doing, our feet hurt, so the next day we braved the Metro. The explanations of the different types of metro tickets were a bit confusing, but the maps of the 3 colour-coded routes were excellent. We had to change lines once, but had no trouble and got to our station okay. Photo left: Interior of a restaurant in Prague.

We then wandered along the riverbank a short distance to the Charles Bridge, beneath which are one set of the river cruise boats. These are small to medium-sized boats, in contrast to the large boats that leave from the other end of the bridge; in addition to cruising up and down all day, the large boats have jazz concerts and dinner cruises at night. The boat we took was small enough to go up one of the little canals leading off the river.

After the boat cruise we climbed one of the towers of the Charles Bridge (another good view), then sat and listened to a jazz band for awhile, before going off to late lunch/early dinner. I enjoyed my meal of pork roast very much, not least because it came with some green beans as well as potatoes. And the Pilsen lager went down as well with the pork as it had yesterday with the goulash. Photo right: Charles Bridge, with Prague Castle in background.

On Wednesday we moved to the Hotel Digitals. This is a small family-run place. The cozy common room had comfortable chairs and couches and a television (one night apparently showing some major sporting event, judging from the cheers and jeers emanating from the assembled guests). My room was in an extension at the back, reached by walking through the breakfast room and up and down a series of small flights of stairs, then a spiral staircase. Fortunately I did not have to carry my own suitcase!

The room was okay, but the bed was not very comfortable, the lighting was bad, and the place had no internet. It turned out to be further from the castle district than we had been led to believe, necessitating a tram ride to get there. At least it was cheaper than the other place!

We took the tram to a stop near Prague Castle and wandered though its extensive area which includes many different buildings: palaces, churches, and others. I didn't quite feel up to exploring the gardens as well. I could easily have spent more than a full day going through the buildings and gargens if I had wanted to; there is a lot to see.

Czech Republic: Kutna Hora

On Thursday we took the train to Kutna Hora, a town about an hour's ride from Prague. The train was one of the type with individual compartments seating 8 people; I remember them from 20 years ago. Here are two photos from the town. We didn't have much time to look around, because we got started late but didn't want to wait for a late train back to Prague. Photo left: Kutna Hora. Photo right: Cathedral at Kutna Hora.

General comments on trip so far

Typical "continental breakfast" buffet included breads, cereals, fruit, hard-boiled eggs... and sliced meat and cheese, tomatoes, and other things I associate with lunch.

Speaking of breakfast, most places had UHT (heat-treated) milk instead of fresh, even in pitchers of milk for cereal in breakfast buffets. Not my preferred choice, especially in tea! But as that's what I get when forced to use those little liquid-milk packets in hotels, I'm used to it, even if I don't much like it.

We also discovered that pork is the most common meat in all the places we visited, and the most affordable. Game meats (venison, rabbit, duck) were also often on the menu, along with chicken, fish, lamb and beef. Portions of everything tended to be smaller than those in the USA and Australia, which meant that meal sizes were about right for me (and sometimes too much). Photo left: Entrance to Prague castle.

Of course we had lots of potatoes in various forms, roasted and 'French fries' being the most common. Other vegetables were also available, and even good salads, in contrast to years ago. I had a couple of very nice salads featuring 'field greens' (what Eric calls 'weeds'), bell peppers, cucumber, tomatoes, and chunks of roast chicken. I managed to avoid most of the pickled vegetables (which I don't like) until I got to Germany, when they kept sneaking into salads. Photo right: Inside Prague castle grounds.

I loved one variety of the Czech sausages (which the vendors called 'hot dogs') available from small stands and shops. The grilled ones were great; the boiled ones (a different kind) were more like American hot dogs, which I don't like. They were served on a slice of bread or a bun -- not a soft 'hot dog' bun, but a baguette-style bun with a crunchy crust. With lashings of mustard and/or ketchup, and often grilled onions as well. Yum!

We got some really nice ice cream from some small stands, too. It tasted like good old-fashioned 'full cream' ice cream, which I love.

I didn't try much wine in Prague, because it was a lot more expensive than beer for a fairly small quantity (100 ml, typically) and the local Pilsen beer has such a good reputation. I'm not a real beer fan, but I did like the Pilsen, and it went down really well with pork.

I didn't sleep well most of the time, because the bed covers were too warm for me, and the rooms never had top sheets, just duvets (aka doona, contin­ental quilt). Even if I left the window open and the evening was cool, I was too warm; and I didn't want to leave the window open because of the traffic noise. In several places I resorted to taking the duvet out of its cover and using the cover as a sheet, because I was too cold without any cover. I also didn't like the pillows, which were too soft and fluffy and didn't support my neck properly.

On balance, though, I loved Prague, not least because eating well more than compensated for not sleeping well.

On Friday we flew to Kraków. Continued...