Days in Prague

Arrived in PRG half an hour late the takeoff in LED was late for whatever reason. Again the boarding was a bit chaotic, certainly not called by row numbers. The shuttle was there to meet us and the trip into Town was picturesque and smooth - not a lot of traffic.

The Atlantic Hotel is reasonably modern and well located in the old Town easy walking to all sights. We signed up at the front desk for a Dinner Cruise tomorrow - Doreen's Birthday, and the usual hopon hopof tour. The wrinkle this time is that the buses are smaller. We will see how crowded that gets.

We arrived at the hotel at 5.30 pm and immediately needed to eat. A very good looking Italian resto was two doors down and we entered to encounter the first shock of Prague. The Czeck Republic is a member of the EU but not a member of the eurozone so it uses its own currency - the Krown. So asking if the resto took Euros and being assured it did we sat down and ate a magnificent spread of Pasta and Goulash. When the check arrived it was written in Euros and Krowns and doing the calculation discovered that the exchange rate was 21 Krowns to the euro not the 25 Krowns to the euro we were expecting to pay. Moral of the story always ask for the exchange rate so there are no surprises.

Up early to discover that the breakfast at the hotel is a buffet and a big to boot. We walked to the place where we could exchange our bus vouchers for tickets and start the ride and found that at 9am we were almost the only people on the street - late risers!! Spending one full day on the bus and boat we now think we now where all the sights are. All we need to do next is decide which ones to see.

The first day we did get off at the number one sight in Prague - the Castle. Actually the Castle isn't just a Castle but a complex. Comprising a Palace, a Cathedral, a couple more small churches and palaces and a garden. Taking a look at the lineup to the entrance of the Cathedral and remembering back to the torture of the line at the Hermitage - once bitten twice shy - we passed.

Walking the  length of the of the complex we once again saw Brides, this place was obviously a magnet for wedding photogs.

The bus ticket also allowed us to board a one hour River Cruise, so we did. Just a ride up the river, turn around and come back, the buildings look different from the water side so everything was new. Changing buses for the other bus ride we were transported around the suburbs, if I had to guess it was a ploy to attract ridership from hotel guests staying in the larger swankier hotels that are not located downtown, as we stopped at all the major hotels and little else. So the day was spent on an overview of the City.  small walkable and clean City.

Next day, today, and still 24 hours on our  bus passes the question was "how do we use them today if we saw the sights yesterday?" Easy we rode the bus to the other side of the river and walked back to the hotel through Lesser Town, the Charles Bridge, Old Town Square and past the Music House, back to the hotel.

This walk took a couple of hours and we saw the sights, didn't go inside all but did go inside Saint Nicholas's Church. Unfortunately it was being reno'd and scaffolding obstructed the views.. A coffee break was taken in the Old Square, where we told ourselves that we glad not to be on a guided tour and stuck in the crowds in the pic on the left, we were actually sitting below the house that Franz Kafka lived in for many years - pic on right, and then we meandered back. Before we did we were attracted to a vendor selling potatoes and ham. Asking for a portion of each the vendor proceeded to load up a plate of the potato mixture (sauerkraut, bacon and pots) and cut a huge hunk of greasy, fatty ham from the hock. Weighing the portions and being charged by the weight he asked for 700 krowns (13 euros) we just looked at him. I told him I only wanted a small piece of meat he told me, very rudely, "Those are the sizes we sell!" I told him to stick it and because we wanted to eat only took the potato mess. That was so bad that after we struggled to eat as much of it as we could, it was very vinegary, we stopped a bypassing bum and asked him if he wanted a meal - he did. well only one ripoff a day isn't that bad. But in future avoid the meat vendors in the Square.

Our other culinary experience has been wonderful. There are shops and booths that sell a pastry shaped like a cone, in the UK they are called 'cream horns'. Pieces of dough rolled  into strings and wrapped around a skewer then roasted over charcoal. The roaster in the pic shows the dough being roasted vertically but most of the machines roast horizontally. However they do it they result is sublime. Yesterday we had one with a cream filling, today we had one with ice cream in it -  a foodie masterpiece however you design it.

Tonight there is a Dinner cruise  and tomorrow we are off to Poland for a couple of days.

Another walking in the rain day

After breakfast, the usual Continental coffee, cheese and yoghurt, we decided that a shopping day might be in order. After all none had been done yet and it looked like a rainy day. The largest indoor mall in SP was a ten minute walk away so we set off. The pic in the left is an exterior shot. Inside there are five floors packed with the usual mall stores. Honestly all the same stores as the Oshawa mall. But being on five floors was interesting. Connected by escalators the largest and swankiest stores were on the bottom floors, the junkier the higher. The pic on the right is an interior shot - looks just like Yorkdale!

Staying about an hour and a half, the last thirty minutes in a Costa Coffee shop on the third floor we rested our feet and prepared for the next sight - a peek at the Railway Station.

A crowded place, one of the events going on here in SP is the Confederation Cup, a FIFA soccer competition and one of the moneymaking relentless International rounds of soccer play leading up to the World Cup, which means that loads of people come to SP every time there is a soccer match, and most of them come by train. If one purchases an entry ticket to the Stadium one can also get free train travel to the venues. The station (pic on left) is an imposing building and set inside the Square of Hero's, pic on right.

Walking back up Nevsky Prospekt we recognised all the stores and cafes we had been passing for the last three days. We were on our way to the Museum of the Defence of Leningrad. a twenty-five minute walk in intermittent rain was bearable but the biting wind was quite bad. The museum was a bit of a disappointment as it was only in one floor of a small building but considering its own history we were lucky to see it - Stalin destroyed it in 1953 and it has only been rebuilt as a collection since 1988. the artifacts are quite moving but sparse. Leaving the place, it was once again raining and we made it as far as a local cafe before we had to hide from the rain. The hotel was some twenty minutes away and we were doorway hopping for a bit of the time, but the trusty umbrella, which was never separated from us really did come in handy. Saint Petersburg tip - NEVER come without an umbrella!

A late lunch and an early night; off to Prague tomorrow

Walking and Waiting

Walking/waiting the watchwords for today. On the sidewalk and prepared to walk to the Hermitage Museum, 2.3 kms away. Unfortunately the rain was intermittent and we needed the umbrella. It took thirty minutes to get to the Palace Square and we saw a lineup outside the Hermitage entrances when we arrived. Getting in line we waited. ten minutes later the gates opened, at 10am. Why they did this when tickets do not go on sale for another thirty minutes is beyond me - rules and Russia. There are automatic ticket machines just inside the gate and yet they are ignored by the absolute majority of people - stupid. We stepped out of the line to use them why don't the rest of the people in line?

Anyway we were still wet when we finally got in and braced to fight the masses of people, as Rick Steves - the travel guru, says about the place, "Be prepared to spend three hours at the hermitage - two to see the place and one to fight the crowds!" We did and it is almost as though the waves of groups just keep coming at you - like fighting the Russian hordes - they just keep coming.

Beside watching out for people one could only stand amazed at the opulence and fashion of all of the rooms. Most of the rooms contained paintings produced by the Great Masters and collected by Catherine the Great and her successors. It is hard to imagine the wealth of these collections.

What is more amazing is that when the Nazis attacked Russia the curators and Citizens loaded trains full of the masterpieces in the collections to safety. So most of the collections emerged intact for the reconstruction after the war.

It is easy to lose direction as one just cannot keep going in a circular direction as the rooms meander as most of the original rooms are intact and they were once apartments for the Royals. But smaller rooms do lead into bigger rooms and most of the smaller rooms are furnished with original 19th Century pieces, of the highest quality. As we left after ninety minutes of being pummeled by the sights we have the images stamped into our consciousnesses.

Emerging into the Palace Square we encountered a line that was three times the length it was at 1030. How the people at the end of the line would get in by closing time was the question. Even more so the question was why they didn't use the ticket machines? 

Moving out of the square, and still fighting wind and rain with only one umbrella the Kazan Cathedral loomed into view. An imposing structure, modelled on St. Peter's in Rome, the Russian Monarchy really liked to copy other people's civilisation, and we entered for free. Entering for free is a rarity here as all Museums like to charge. The Hermitage being the most expensive so far 700 Rubles each ($17). The Cathedral is a memorial to the might of the Russian Military through the ages and especially commemorates the wars of the 18th/19th Centuries. As it was a working Cathedral worshipers mingled with tourists and the lineup to worship, pray and kiss the Icons on the Altar panel was moving and surprising considering that Russia had been a secular State for so long, well at least since 1917.

One more museum to go and we called it a day. Again, on the walk to the hotel along the Nevsky Prospekt, the last one beckoned. The Strogonov Palace/Museum is an imposing pink stone structure and for only 300 rubles apiece we were in. Again the same setup as the Hermitage - impressive rooms, most without furniture and some with but the decoration of the walls and trim was the attraction to most visitors.

A rainy day

A day of buses and boats, we had to get to the Peter & Paul Fortress complex today and we did it by using our hopon hopoff tickets purchased yesterday. Well that's what we thought. Unfortunately we only bus tickets not a combo ticket, so we had to buy a boat ticket to get to where we wanted to go.

The Fortress complex contained many museums and the Cathedral that contained the tombs of most of the Tsars and members of the Romanov family. Another place of interest was the Prison that housed criminals prior to the Revolution and political prisoners after. A grim place. The cell in the pic was filled with one prisoner prior to 1917 but crammed with up to twenty when the Bolsheviks ran the place. It was finally closed in 1924.

Rushing around to see all the spots and get back to the boat, in two hours was a rush but we managed it. The next stop was a visit to the Cruiser Aurora, a National Monument moored on the embankment. It was inexplicably closed

but we did see a St. Petersburg tradition - that of a bridal party rushing around Town to get their pics taken in as many as ten locations. The other sight at this spot was the Cabin of Peter the great - it too was closed, and we spent time waiting for the next boat in a bazaar.

Onto the next stop we alit at the Faberge Museum. Home of the famous collection of Faberge eggs collected by the Tsars it also housed an exhibition of some Salvador Dali pieces and many displays of Russian silversmithing, Mainly traditional tea services and intricate they were too. Take  a look at the punchbowl in the pic on the right.

Calling it a day at about 4.30 pm we walked back to the hotel in the intermittent rain.   

Out later that evening we finished up by having dinner in an Italian resto contained inside a three storey traditional building - you have to see what's behind these facades to really appreciate the extent of the post-war reconstruction.

First full day in St. Petersburg

This one of the 'must-see' sights here in SP - the Church on the Spilled Blood, and blood was nearly spilled this morning as we tried to find the hopon hopoff bus company's office or at least a marked bus stop.

We had a voucher for the bus ride, booked online a few weeks back and silly us thought that this company would be like every other bus company in the world - inundate the sidewalks with markers and salespeople. Nooo. We walked for two hours looking for a bus and never found one. By this time we had already found this sight and looked around. By the time we found a place to stop one half the day had gone and the clock was running on the voucher. Finally found it and rode around the City. The commentary was surprisingly good on the bus and we identified most of the sights to see tomorrow. Unfortunately the biggest site - the Hermitage was closed on a Monday, well there's always tomorrow.

But we did see St Isaac's Cathedral and the place to get on the boat for tomorrow's trip to the Peter and Paul Fortress. Capping the day off with a visit to St Isaac's Cathedral and a stroll down Nevsky Prospekt. Not to mention the mushroom pancake for lunch. The pic on the right is a panel in the Cathedral.

Day in Budapest

Up early, skipped breakfast and waited for the van to pick us up at 0645. Dropped off at the Opera House we had just saved a fifteen minute walk. Naturally we got on the wrong bus at first and then took the last two seat on the right bus. Discovering an intermittent wifi on the bus we settled into a two and half hour ride to Buda, Pest was the second stop!

Riding through the flatlands of Central Europe we saw few livestock and plenty of wheat and market gardens. The guide warned us that we would only be inspected at the Border - as we enter Hungary - on the way back, so the journey was very calm and settled. Crossing the Border we did notice that Hungary, although a member of the EU appeared to be a poorer and grimier state than Austria, but only in the suburbs and countryside; the City was spotless.

The first stop was the touristy Castle and the church of St. Mattias. Everything looked new and rebuilt, but to original sixteenth century architecture. That fact was not surprising considering that Budapest has been rebuilt after every invasion or revolution - perhaps every fifty or hundred years or so. The last rebuild after WW2 but the revolution of 1956 did produce a boom for the trades too. Anyway, as in Vienna the streets are spotless, very little litter on the streets, if none. But the 'taggers', as in Vienna; more so in Vienna, have produced marvellous graffiti art.

We didn't have time to enter any of the buildings, but naturally we were taken to, what we call "the brother-in-laws" knick-knack store to waste fifteen minutes - the perils of the guided tour! Back on the bus to gaze out of the windows at the sights o Buda and crossing the river Danube we entered the larger Pest. Older and kitted out with wide boulevards this City had been laid out by one of the Emperors in the eighteenth century obviously trying to keep up with Paris during the height of the Hungarian Empire.

This City has all the attributes of an Empire - Opera House (not as large as Vienna's) War Memorials and Museums. None entered but plenty seen! At last after five hours we were taken to one of the famous restaurants  overlooking the winter ice-rink, on a lake, but we were assured that the ice in the winter can be as thick as forty centimetres, for a lunch from a genuine Hungarian menu. Great lunch even better dessert and supplemented by three quarters of  a litre of good Hungarian beer. Sufficiently sated we were then taken past a few more sights and dropped off at the edge of a large shopping promenade. For this part of the trip we were given two and a half hours. Probably not enough for a serious shopper but good enough for us we were done in ninety minutes and decided to wait out the hour in a genuine Hungarian Cafe. Should mention that the Hungarians, although a member of the EU, do not use the Euro. This creates a bit of a problem for the casual shopper. One store did take the money but in the Cafe they converted the bill into Euros at an exorbitant rate. An additional four euros disappeared in the transaction, cost of goods fifteen euros, final bill twenty!! Moral  of the story always use the change bars even for a small change, the commission will be offset by the potential ripoff.

All in all a good day, our good luck with all forms of transit is still alive, the Border crossing didn't even happen we were waved through. Hitting the nearest resto near the hotel, we had eaten there the night before and loved the place, we picked up a burger to go. Massive and not so well cooked but still good at the end of a long day. The last order of business was to arrange the carry ons for tomorrow - the leg to St. Petersburg.

Second full day in Vienna.

Thanks to the Vienna Pass for the opportunity to save big euros. This pass allows one to access over sixty sights in the City for a reasonable price (two days for 71euros). Considering that the hopon hopoff bus is worth 25 euros and the admission to the SISI museum is 20 euros the savings add up very quickly.

So today was the second day on the bus and we travelled the Red Route, the one that circles around the Old Town and hits most of the big sights. We passed the Hofburg and the Museum District and alit at the City Cruise. This ninety minute boat ride provided the calm needed to slow us down. A wonderful trip that took us to the lock that enters the Danube, turned around and sailed some more. Believe it or not the buildings in the pic are a power complex, another view of it in the pic on the right. An energy from waste plant looks really spiffy doesn't it?

Relaxed from the boat ride we then came back into the "ring" and  walked to the Hofburg, a huge Palace complex that houses, amongst many other attractions, the Spanish Riding school and the Royal Apartments. The Sisi Museum is dedicated to the life of Empress Elisabeth, the wife of Franz-Joseph the great Austrian ruler of the 19th Century. The museum was crowded and hot but due to the fact we picked up audio devices the narration made up for that by being so informative. One cannot fail to be impressed by the size of these complex as well as the amount of work done to restore them after the damage suffered in WW 2.

From the Hofburg it was on to the Cathedral, again getting in for nothing - thank you Vienna Pass, another audio device led us around this edifice, impressive again. This place was packed the walking tours really do take a lot of people to the same sights on the same route and this part of the City - Graben - was jammed.

Enough of the crowds and we found a table in the Cafe down the road but it was packed too.

Using the map function on the phone which told us that the hike back to the hotel would be another 25 minutes we allowed ourselves a small reward. The pic on the left.

Up early tomorrow we have a bus ride to Budapest starting at 0645 hrs.

First full day in Vienna and the big sights done

This is the biggie in Town and the crowds tell you that. It's the Schonbrunn Palace, the Summer palace of the Hapburg's. A massive complex of gardens, buildings and walkways and gazebos, even a maze. The authorities only allow so many people in the building at any one time, so although we had Vienna Pass's we still had to wait two hours to get in. To kill time we visited a couple of the gardens and the Carriage Museum. After getting in we followed the route and inspected each and every room for signs of authenticity - the place oozed it. 

Back on the bus, we were on the hopon hopoff bus, the only way to see any place on the earth in the quickest possible time. This company may be the biggest in Town but still needs to up its game. The canned commentary was not as good as could be and lacked a lot of detail about the buildings as we passed.

Next stop the military Museum and as such it was very good, a lot of exhibits and the Museum certainly did not hide its WW2 alliance with Germany, with a lot of WW2 exhibits. Showing its prowess off as a manufacturer of rifles this collection was complete from the first age of gunpowder. My exhibit covered we now moved onto the next big Palace complex the Belvedere.

This complex has two palaces separated by acres  of gardens and fountains. The pic shows the Upper Belvedare fronted by a fountain at least 500 metres in front of it. The lower palace is as far away to the rear. An amazing setup, one can just imagine the hordes of gardeners needs in the 17th Century to maintain it. Built for Prince Eugene of Savoy it has been declared a UNESCO site.

Back on the bus and to the hotel, problem is that's another 17 minute walk. With the walk taken to find a supper place we put in over 18,000 steps. No wonder we are going to bed early tonight, besides the TV has no English channels so what do we need to stay up for?

First Flight

Arriving at Terminal 1 three hours early gave us plenty of time we never really needed. Printing the boarding passes ten hours earlier mad it easy to sail through the initial process - actual check-in - passport check and baggage weighing. Onto the screening and personal search, usually a long line up and plenty of people trying not to get annoyed at the first unknown - will my bag pass the Xray. Tonight no line up and few illegal bags. It was the fastest screening we have had.

Terminal 1 has a system of restaurants around the terminals and most of them are actual boarding gates. Approaching many tables, with ipads for menus and few actual airport seats is intimidating if one doesn't want to eat. But many signs instruct passenger to feel free to sit at the table without ordering, but most at least buy a coffee so it pays off in the long run.

Finally boarding time and we watch as the wheelchair people go first, then the families then the club class and finally the rows at the back of the plane - that's us. We're on, again in record time. Perhaps an omen of difficult times as we are having an easy time now?

Six and a half hours and a tailwind is all it takes to get us to Schipol (Amsterdam). Apart from the crummy food and the most annoying passenger behind the screaming kid - the farter, the time spent wasn't that bad. two movies, a little nap and then a piece of bread for breakfast and we are ready to get off.

Landing into yet another speedy deplane and immigration clearance, but the wait for the airport shuttle was a thirty minute one but hey we waited in the sun and it was free. Ten minutes later the hotel heaved into view but we knew all about the location because the bus had a TV screen with an active GPS location on it - very hightech.

Doreen is thinking of buying
new shoes

Walking around a bit, we really wanted a coffee, and found one, the first one at European prices - 3euro ($4.50cdn) for a run of the mill machine drip ground. We enjoyed a sunny interlude watching planes land and buses coming and going.

Back to the room for a needed nap, after all we hadn't seen a bed for thirty six hours. Napped dreaming of the Dinner, prepaid before arrival on an internet special. A three course a la carte for thirty euros ($45 cdn each).

Back in the room well fed. I ordered spare ribs and expected a quarter rack, two small half racks appeared - thirteen ribs in all and didn't have to fight with any of them, the meat just fell off the bones. Now all we have to do is navigate the 'extended' buffet in the morning and we can say "we pigged out in Amsterdam!"


Off to Vienna in the morning - take off at 1330 land two hours later, next post then!

We're off!

Well not yet another eight hours before we get in the car and head to the four nothing one and Pearson. Printed the boarding passes though. Weighed the luggage and it's under the limit - that's a good sign. Heading out of muggy humidity into nice 22 deg C weather.

We will be posting on FB and here, if I get time to write. So keep checking in for news.

Eight more sleeps!

Bags half packed, final plans looked at many times, airport shuttles arranged, electronic gizmos all tuned up and packed and we are ready.

The foreign currency has been obtained, the Russian Rubles purchased and ready to be spent. Using small bills, for as we all know local purchases need small bills, the small bills worth $500 are an inch thick.

The last arrangement was to buy a roaming pass for Europe for the phone. Usually I buy a sim card but as we are going to three countries no one sim card can do all three so the easiest way is to buy the roaming, international, pass - $60 for 30 days.

Another super deal was the ParknFly discount - almost a 50% discount: $274 down to $170.