Dobrý Den
I realize my journal has been extremely quiet for quite a while, so I've been meaning to post about my recent trip to the Czech Republic and Austria, before I begin to forget details. Unfortunately, work has been hectic since I've gotten back, and I had so many other post-vacation errands to run. Also, I feel a little overwhelmed by the daunting task of writing about my 11 day trip. But maybe if I break it down day by day, it will be more manageable. So here goes.
Day 1 - Prague, Czech Republic
I arrived in Prague on Saturday, May 24th, 3 days before I was scheduled to meet my bicycling companions. I gave myself 3 days to explore Prague on my own. The first thing I saw when I got off the plane was rain. Perhaps that was an omen of things to come.
I had pre-arranged to have a taxi take me from the airport to the hotel, so I was relieved to see the man standing at the terminal exit holding a sign with my name on it. Turns out that he only knew a few words of English, and I knew even less Czech. I thought he was asking my name, but eventually I realized he was asking for the name of my hotel. The rest of the mercifully short trip to the hotel was in awkward silence.
For the first 2 nights, I stayed at the Aria Hotel, right in the heart of the Castle district of Prague. The Aria Hotel is a really cool hotel with a music theme. All of the paintings on the wall are about musicians of all varieties, from Chopin to Chuck Berry. I stayed in the Vivaldi room, which just so happens to be one of my favorite classical composers. Each room had an Apple TV, with playlists of the room's namesake.
The hotel also has a gorgeous garden, which it is famous for. And the garden seemed like a great place to start my tour. The garden lived up to it's reputation. The top of the inclined garden provided my first panoramic view of Prague. Stunning. I loved all of the red rooftops.
Next on my list was to find some food. And there was nothing I wanted more than to sample some local goulash. There were too many cafes to choose from, so I just pulled up a chair at the first cafe with a view. The goulash wasn't as good as what I had in Hungary, but it was satisfying. And I chased it down with my first Czech beer.
To work off my belly full of goulash, I walked to the famous Charles Bridge, the quintessential Prague landmark. Fortunately, by now the rain had disappeared, and I could enjoy my stroll across the bridge in the sun. I admired all of the statues on the bridge. I especially liked the statue of Saint John of Nepomuk, which had been polished to a glistening shine by all of the fingers that rubbed it for good luck. I later learned that if you touch it, you will return to Prague again one day. When do I go back? There's also another plaque in honor of Saint John, which contains 5 stars, which if you touch it with your 5 fingers, your wish will come true. Unfortunately, I didn't learn this until later.
For dinner, I had trouble choosing a restaurant. Part of me wanted a restaurant with a view, but finally I decided to keep it simple, and to find a restaurant where I could enjoy several Czech beers. I chose Baráčnická rychta, mostly because it was just a block from my hotel. I walked in and found myself a table. Apparently I picked an authentic local restaurant, because my waiter didn't speak english, and my menu didn't have an english translation. Uh oh! But when you're hungry and thirsty, it's amazing how quickly you can learn a language. I'm sure I butchered the words, but I ordered trout with potatoes and a Pilsner Urquell. The PU was very good, but after one beer I was feeling more adventurous, so I ordered a Svijany. Wow. This was my favorite beer of my whole trip. The trout and potatoes were delicious too. One downside to this restaurant, and many restaurants in the Czech Republic, is that smoking is very common. The other downside was that I picked a table that didn't have a direct view of the TV. I guess I should feel lucky that I found a seat at all, considering that the game on the TV was the Czech Republic vs. Finland in the Semifinals of the World Hockey Championship. Unfortunately, the Czechs lost. Many Svijanys were consumed that night.
Day 1 - Prague, Czech Republic
I arrived in Prague on Saturday, May 24th, 3 days before I was scheduled to meet my bicycling companions. I gave myself 3 days to explore Prague on my own. The first thing I saw when I got off the plane was rain. Perhaps that was an omen of things to come.
I had pre-arranged to have a taxi take me from the airport to the hotel, so I was relieved to see the man standing at the terminal exit holding a sign with my name on it. Turns out that he only knew a few words of English, and I knew even less Czech. I thought he was asking my name, but eventually I realized he was asking for the name of my hotel. The rest of the mercifully short trip to the hotel was in awkward silence.
For the first 2 nights, I stayed at the Aria Hotel, right in the heart of the Castle district of Prague. The Aria Hotel is a really cool hotel with a music theme. All of the paintings on the wall are about musicians of all varieties, from Chopin to Chuck Berry. I stayed in the Vivaldi room, which just so happens to be one of my favorite classical composers. Each room had an Apple TV, with playlists of the room's namesake.
The hotel also has a gorgeous garden, which it is famous for. And the garden seemed like a great place to start my tour. The garden lived up to it's reputation. The top of the inclined garden provided my first panoramic view of Prague. Stunning. I loved all of the red rooftops.
Next on my list was to find some food. And there was nothing I wanted more than to sample some local goulash. There were too many cafes to choose from, so I just pulled up a chair at the first cafe with a view. The goulash wasn't as good as what I had in Hungary, but it was satisfying. And I chased it down with my first Czech beer.
To work off my belly full of goulash, I walked to the famous Charles Bridge, the quintessential Prague landmark. Fortunately, by now the rain had disappeared, and I could enjoy my stroll across the bridge in the sun. I admired all of the statues on the bridge. I especially liked the statue of Saint John of Nepomuk, which had been polished to a glistening shine by all of the fingers that rubbed it for good luck. I later learned that if you touch it, you will return to Prague again one day. When do I go back? There's also another plaque in honor of Saint John, which contains 5 stars, which if you touch it with your 5 fingers, your wish will come true. Unfortunately, I didn't learn this until later.
For dinner, I had trouble choosing a restaurant. Part of me wanted a restaurant with a view, but finally I decided to keep it simple, and to find a restaurant where I could enjoy several Czech beers. I chose Baráčnická rychta, mostly because it was just a block from my hotel. I walked in and found myself a table. Apparently I picked an authentic local restaurant, because my waiter didn't speak english, and my menu didn't have an english translation. Uh oh! But when you're hungry and thirsty, it's amazing how quickly you can learn a language. I'm sure I butchered the words, but I ordered trout with potatoes and a Pilsner Urquell. The PU was very good, but after one beer I was feeling more adventurous, so I ordered a Svijany. Wow. This was my favorite beer of my whole trip. The trout and potatoes were delicious too. One downside to this restaurant, and many restaurants in the Czech Republic, is that smoking is very common. The other downside was that I picked a table that didn't have a direct view of the TV. I guess I should feel lucky that I found a seat at all, considering that the game on the TV was the Czech Republic vs. Finland in the Semifinals of the World Hockey Championship. Unfortunately, the Czechs lost. Many Svijanys were consumed that night.