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Czeching out the Eastside!
So Christine and I rolled out of Bueren after visiting with our 
Derksen relatives and headed south, back to Austria, to get our new Europe East Railpass validated there. Originally we had intended to visit one more person, a family friend in Hagedorn, but Heike was away on a paddling trip this first week of April so we changed our plans around and decided to go east and then circle back to Heike later. It was a long train ride through Germany on our way to Austria but we had our "Durst Loeshers" along (my new favourite drink) to make it through and actually scored a super nice train and were riding in luxury even though it was only second class. Deutsche Bahn really is one of the best train systems in Europe! After spending the night on the border of Germany and Austria in Passau, we veered through Austria and back north into the Czech Republic. Since the Czech Republic is not yet a part of the EU we encountered out first border patrol guards on the train. It was kind of exciting because we finally got a new stamp in our passports! What also made it exciting was that 20 years ago this country would have been inaccessable to traveller's such as us because back then the Czech Republic was still hidden by the Soviet Union's Iron Curtain. That fact was visible as we travelled into the Czech Republic but you can also notice that they have made efforts to modernise and catch up with th west. Their currency, the czech koruny, was actually much more affordable for us than the Euro is so that was a definate bonus for us that they have not switched over yet! So our first stop in the Czech Republic was Cesky Krumlov, a small town in the south that is famous for it's medieval old town, 
like Rothenburg ob der Tauber is in Germany. It's quite pretty and is situated in a large bend of the Vltava river which eventually flows into Prague as well. We stayed in a hostel in the old town again and were thrilled to have finally found a place that offers a kitchen! It's nice to be able to make your own meals from time to time because it's definately cheaper. The IT thing to see in Cesky Krumlov is the old medieval castle so we took the obligatory tour...(a lot of places won't let you inside unless you pay for a tour). The coolest part was actually outside, though. 
There was an old moat, filled not with water, but with bears! There a unique way to keep invaders out! Well we only actually saw one bear but there a supposed to be two. The castle has seen many owners including an important Czech family, the Hapsburg rulers as awhile as a royal German family. This type of situation I think is common for the region of Bohemia and even the Czech Republic in general because it is situated in the crossroads of a lot of old kingdoms and national lines and there is evidence in the language of some of the town signs and emblems of this. I find all this quite fascinating but you may not so I'll move on! After the hour long tour was up we were chilled from the unheated castle!! We still managed to tour around the town a bit and get some nice pics. But we were ready to move on to Prague! 
I have been excited to see Prague for a long time so it was cool to finally get there! It truly is a beautiful city but in a more medieval sense than any other city in Europe I have visited thus far. It just feels older than some of the other more modernised cities do and I love that. There's a lot to see and experience in Prague: we visited Wenceslas Square, Prague Castle, the Old Town Square with the Astronomical Clock, Charles Bridge and many other more minor sights in between and really enjoyed it. We were also able to make some time to check out the Easter markets that were in full swing by the time we arrived! I love outdoor markets and the various ones in Prague did 
not disappoint! We ate traditional pastries (homemade paska is still better!), looked at traditional crafts and were even entertained by a youth orchestra and dance group playing traditional music and performing traditional dances. It was very fun and it partially made up for the fact that were not at home for Easter this year! After walking the old streets of Prague for awhile we found the Communism Museum (ironically located right above a McDonalds) and learned a bit about how Communism affected the Czech country and people. Very interesting insights into the world that ended with a riot at Wenceslas Sqaure in 1989. The sights in Prague are unique but Prague has 
become such a tourist hotspot that it is just PACKED with people! I can't imagine how the people of Prague have coped with this influx of tourists over the last 20 years but I can imagine it can be stressful, we witnessed a lady ranting in Czech at all the tourists at the Astronomical Clock one day. I can imagine this is great for the economy but it's a lot to deal with day in and day out! I for one will not regret visiting Prague though. It is a memorable city with a ton of history and we only spent two days there, I'm actually quite happy I'll be going back there at the end of May. Next time I'll definately have to check out one of 
the many concerts being advertised for on the streets in many of the beautiful theatres and opera houses in Prague. I'll also have to make sure I stay at a different hostel because there was a light outside our hostel dorm room that would flash on and off all night long and normally this isn't really a problem if you've got curtains but they didn't function and we could not get that curtain shut!! Anyway, in spite of that we did have a good time in Prague and I am looking forward to visiting it again in the warmer weather in May! Our Eastern Europe tour continues into Poland, Krakow to be exact, but that will have to wait for the next blog entry!
Derksen relatives and headed south, back to Austria, to get our new Europe East Railpass validated there. Originally we had intended to visit one more person, a family friend in Hagedorn, but Heike was away on a paddling trip this first week of April so we changed our plans around and decided to go east and then circle back to Heike later. It was a long train ride through Germany on our way to Austria but we had our "Durst Loeshers" along (my new favourite drink) to make it through and actually scored a super nice train and were riding in luxury even though it was only second class. Deutsche Bahn really is one of the best train systems in Europe! After spending the night on the border of Germany and Austria in Passau, we veered through Austria and back north into the Czech Republic. Since the Czech Republic is not yet a part of the EU we encountered out first border patrol guards on the train. It was kind of exciting because we finally got a new stamp in our passports! What also made it exciting was that 20 years ago this country would have been inaccessable to traveller's such as us because back then the Czech Republic was still hidden by the Soviet Union's Iron Curtain. That fact was visible as we travelled into the Czech Republic but you can also notice that they have made efforts to modernise and catch up with th west. Their currency, the czech koruny, was actually much more affordable for us than the Euro is so that was a definate bonus for us that they have not switched over yet! So our first stop in the Czech Republic was Cesky Krumlov, a small town in the south that is famous for it's medieval old town, 
like Rothenburg ob der Tauber is in Germany. It's quite pretty and is situated in a large bend of the Vltava river which eventually flows into Prague as well. We stayed in a hostel in the old town again and were thrilled to have finally found a place that offers a kitchen! It's nice to be able to make your own meals from time to time because it's definately cheaper. The IT thing to see in Cesky Krumlov is the old medieval castle so we took the obligatory tour...(a lot of places won't let you inside unless you pay for a tour). The coolest part was actually outside, though. 
There was an old moat, filled not with water, but with bears! There a unique way to keep invaders out! Well we only actually saw one bear but there a supposed to be two. The castle has seen many owners including an important Czech family, the Hapsburg rulers as awhile as a royal German family. This type of situation I think is common for the region of Bohemia and even the Czech Republic in general because it is situated in the crossroads of a lot of old kingdoms and national lines and there is evidence in the language of some of the town signs and emblems of this. I find all this quite fascinating but you may not so I'll move on! After the hour long tour was up we were chilled from the unheated castle!! We still managed to tour around the town a bit and get some nice pics. But we were ready to move on to Prague! 
I have been excited to see Prague for a long time so it was cool to finally get there! It truly is a beautiful city but in a more medieval sense than any other city in Europe I have visited thus far. It just feels older than some of the other more modernised cities do and I love that. There's a lot to see and experience in Prague: we visited Wenceslas Square, Prague Castle, the Old Town Square with the Astronomical Clock, Charles Bridge and many other more minor sights in between and really enjoyed it. We were also able to make some time to check out the Easter markets that were in full swing by the time we arrived! I love outdoor markets and the various ones in Prague did 
not disappoint! We ate traditional pastries (homemade paska is still better!), looked at traditional crafts and were even entertained by a youth orchestra and dance group playing traditional music and performing traditional dances. It was very fun and it partially made up for the fact that were not at home for Easter this year! After walking the old streets of Prague for awhile we found the Communism Museum (ironically located right above a McDonalds) and learned a bit about how Communism affected the Czech country and people. Very interesting insights into the world that ended with a riot at Wenceslas Sqaure in 1989. The sights in Prague are unique but Prague has 
become such a tourist hotspot that it is just PACKED with people! I can't imagine how the people of Prague have coped with this influx of tourists over the last 20 years but I can imagine it can be stressful, we witnessed a lady ranting in Czech at all the tourists at the Astronomical Clock one day. I can imagine this is great for the economy but it's a lot to deal with day in and day out! I for one will not regret visiting Prague though. It is a memorable city with a ton of history and we only spent two days there, I'm actually quite happy I'll be going back there at the end of May. Next time I'll definately have to check out one of 
the many concerts being advertised for on the streets in many of the beautiful theatres and opera houses in Prague. I'll also have to make sure I stay at a different hostel because there was a light outside our hostel dorm room that would flash on and off all night long and normally this isn't really a problem if you've got curtains but they didn't function and we could not get that curtain shut!! Anyway, in spite of that we did have a good time in Prague and I am looking forward to visiting it again in the warmer weather in May! Our Eastern Europe tour continues into Poland, Krakow to be exact, but that will have to wait for the next blog entry!
3 comments:
I told you Prague was a tourist trap! However, since you seem convinced that you must return there once again (and it will only get worse as the weather improves), I thought I would make mention of an interesting museum I had heard about. Supposedly Prague is home to the Museum of Medieval Torture.
When we were there last spring two guys from Vancouver were in our hostel, and they had visited it. They said it was rather interesting. Just a suggestion to accompany the cultured experiences you are looking for!
Oh, and the Czech Republic is part of the EU. The EU has no effect on border crossings as it is an Economic union. The Czech Republic, as well as the rest of Central/ Eastern Europe and even the UK, is not party to the Schengen agreement, thus the reasons for the border inspections and passport stamping.
Ahhh thanks for clearing that up for me Tricia! Nice to see your political science degree coming in handy there! I just assumed the border crossings were an EU thing but now that you mention the EU is purely an economic agreement and not a political one that makes a lot of sense because I noticed later that all the license plates have the EU symbol on them as well.
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