czech republic: prague

I got really lucky this year when it came to holidays during the school year. We had our 'spring break' at the end of February and beginning of March, (when it was not yet spring,) AND I got to have a short work week the next week. International Women's Day takes place every year on 8 March, this year it was a Thursday. I asked my director ahead of time if we got the Friday off school as well, and as soon as she said yes I booked tickets for another trip. In other words, I got a week off for spring break, then a 4.5 day weekend right afterward. YAY!

My schedule at school this year had Wednesday afternoons off, so I was able to head to the airport at lunchtime in time for a mid afternoon flight. Several hours later I landed in Prague, one of my all time favourite cities. Even though I've never lived in Prague, every time I arrive there it feels like I'm coming home.

My host sent an Uber taxi to pick me up, it didn't take long to get to the home of my host. I met Katarina when I lived in Kyiv, we became good friends during those years. I was thrilled when she moved to Prague with her daughter, I knew I'd come visit. Katarina and I stayed up late talking, catching up about our lives.

The next morning I woke up pretty early, as my body was totally confused about what time it was. (Keep in mind that less than a week earlier I was in Uzbekistan, which is a couple hours ahead of Moscow, and Prague is an hour behind Moscow in winter.)

Before flying Katarina had asked if there were any foods in particular that I wanted, so I told her about my all time favourite yogurt. She hadn't been positive with what she'd bought, and when I first saw it, I wasn't sure either. 

Howeva, when I opened the jar I realized the company had changed its packaging but the yogurt was the same goodness I remembered from before. Best yogurt ever.

That morning I went with Katarina as she dropped her daughter off at school. There was some sort of reception before class started, so I got to meet her teacher and see her classroom. It was nice to see that she fit in well with her classmates, and was doing well academically.

Then Katarina dropped me off in the city center, we arranged a time for me to be home later in the evening. She dropped me off near an area of the city called Mala Strana, which is basically at the bottom of Castle Hill. I walked through the neighborhood, making my way slowly up the hill. I looked in a lot of souvenir shops, looking for a specific keychain, and finally found it.

After the successful keychain shopping miracle, I walked back down the hill, and made my way over to the so called Lennon Wall. It isn't any great shakes, it's just a wall covered in grafitti. The wall became a thing when young Czechs decided to use it as a way to express themselves when the government was still very repressive. The current grafitti is painted over quite regularly, as far as I know there are no rules about it. Visitors love to take heaps of photos, Czechs in general don't think anything of it. (According to Mom, who had never even heard of the wall until I took her to see it during one of my visits.)

I walked across the Charles bridge and through part of the old town area, making my way toward one of David Czerny's works, a man hanging from a pole over a street. It's not immediately obvious, but you can always tell when people spot it for the first time, as they are quite concerned that a real person is hanging on for dear life.

Obviously, I looked into every church I passed along the way, as I always do. Churches in Prague are fancy, glorious, and numerous.

I walked through the old town square, it was crowded as always. I noticed there was scaffolding over the astronomical clock, which must've been a huge disappointment to many visitors. The clock was first installed in 1410, and is the oldest still operating clock in the world. During a previous visit to the city I climbed up the clock tower, the views around the area are lovely.

From there I walked to a mall to see another work by David Czerny, a guy sitting on an upside down horse. It hangs from the ceiling, eye catching to say the least.

I was hungry by that point, and instead of eating real food, I went for one of my favourites: a filled chimney. It's basically dough wrapped around a form and cooked to form a cone of sorts. I have no idea where the name came from. My favourite flavour is called berries, it is whipped cream and berries. So good.

I decided to walk along the river, to another iconic sight of the city: the so called Dancing House. It is actually a couple buildings designed to look as if they are a couple dancing. Very cute.

There is a bridge close to the dancing house, so I crossed the river and started walking home. On the way I stopped by yet another of David Czerny's works: the babies. They are huge, crawling babies with funny looking heads.

My walk took me out the back side of Castle Hill, I don't think I've ever walked that way previously. Then the most embarassing thing ever happened to me. I slipped and fell, ON A BANANA PEEL!!! I thought that only happened in movies, but I was wrong. It's a good thing I can laugh at myself.

I met Katarina and her daughter at a grocery store, where we picked up dinner ingrediants. We walked home through the campus of a technical university, another part of Prague I hadn't seen previously.

The next day was Friday, the daughter had to go to school again. She was up as early as I was, and was happy to spend some time reading while eating breakfast. My breakfast was another double serving of the best yogurt ever.

After dropping the daughter off at school, Katarina dropped me in another part of central Prague, near Cafe Savoy. I first walked up the rest of the short street (it is a dead end,) to a memorial I've seen before. This memorial honours the victimes of Communism and Fascism, using guant human like sculptures. I don't know how to say it other than it is intense.

I walked up the street, toward the more touristy section, to see if my favourite place in the city was open. Unfortunately, it wasn't. Vrtba gardens has amazing views of the whole city, from the middle of the city.

Even though I wasn't terribly hungry, I went back to Cafe Savoy and very much enjoyed another breakfast and tea.

After stuffing myself, I walked back to a bridge and went back to the old town side of the river. I got to the tall tower on one side of Charles Bridge and paid to climb up the stairs. 

The views from the top are great, its fun to watch all the tourists scurry back and forth across the bridge. There is also a small museum up there, with history of the city.

I went back down the stairs and walked through the old town area. I've gotten quite good at moving quickly through crowds, a talent sorely needed in highly touristed cities. I walked all the way to a public transport stop, where I was able to catch a tram that took me to the neighborhood where my mom used to live. I love the neighborhood, I really wish she'd bought her apartment instead of renting. That way I would've been able to stay in the 'family apartment' each time I come to visit the city. Oh well.

I got off the tram and went into a mall, where I used wifi to download podcasts. I also spent time wandering through the grocery store in the basement of the mall. (I can never resist a grocery store, even if I've been there many times previously.)

I took the metro back to the home of my host, where I stayed up way too late (again,) chatting with Katarina. We don't see each other often, but clearly have plenty to say when we do.

The next morning I continued my streak of waking up early, and ate breakfast. Then, just because I could, I went back to sleep. Eventually I got up for real, and got dressed to go for a walk with Katarina and her daughter.

Our walk actually started with a drive, to a parking garage closer to the city center. We made our way out of the parking garage and walked down the street that has the memorial I'd seen the day before, to the victims of communism and fascism.

Since we were in the area, I asked Katarina and her daughter if they'd seen Czerny's babies. It turned out they hadn't, so that's where we went. It was a fun chance for the two of them to have a photo together :)

We also took a look at the yellow penguins (modern art,) lined up along the edge of the river, because I think they're cute.

Then the three of us crossed Charles Bridge. The city/country is slowly cleaning all the statues on the side of the bridge, removing each one as they do so. There is a HUGE difference in how the clean statues look versus the 'dirty' statues look. I wonder how long it will take for the whole project to be finished.

Considering the number of people on that bridge on a Saturday afternoon, I'm pretty proud that all three of us made it off the other side of the bridge, together.

Katarina needed to exchange money, so we went looking for an exchange bureau that used a reasonable exchange rate, and didn't charge a huge commission. I had no idea how hard it would be to find a decent place! Some places charged a commission as high as 25%, others used a rate that was about 60% of the value a US dollar. Crazy.

We found a good exchange desk next to a mall. After getting the money she wanted, we went in the mall, to visit a toy store. Katarina's daughter had fun picking out a toy she had been promised.

We went to eat at a place in the old town that had good food and decent prices. It's been a while since I've had handmade Italian noodles. Yum. Even though I didn't need it, I got a chimney for dessert as we walked back to the car. Before getting in the car we went grocery shopping, who am I to say no to my favourite activity?

The next morning I finally woke up at a reasonable time, just in time for my last day of the trip. I got dressed and packed up, then took advantage of the good weather to go for a walk.

I started by going back through the campus of the technical university, appreciating the architecture. I practically grew up on a university campus, I love seeing how they differ around the world. 

Even though it was a university campus, I also spotted a religious statue on the grounds. Faith is never very far away.

I wound my way through the streets to a newish looking park with a pond in a corner. There was a playground which had some nifty looking jungle gym equipment for kids.

I kept going, walking to the very tippy top of castle hill. I made my way down the hill by using small alleys in between buildings. Some of the stairs were pretty steep, I'm happy I didn't trip over my clumsy feet.

I walked across the Charles bridge for one reason: my last chance to have a chimney. It was worth every step :)

I kept going, through the Jewish Quarter, across another bridge and up to Letna Park, where I took a few minutes to enjoy the view of the city. There is a giant metronome up there, replacing what used to be a statue of Stalin. 

I'd love to have a photo with the metronome, but it is always full of people, so the only way I'll get that is to get up super early during a future visit.

I followed the map on my phone, arriving back home in time to eat dinner, then catch a cab to the airport. It was a fantastic visit to a city I love, with people who mean the world to me. I'll definitely be back.

czech republic: prague

My bus from Berlin arrived in Prague at 0410, on time. It was one of the few times I kinda wished my bus would be late. Arriving anywhere at that hour isn't fun, even though I love Prague.
I knew the sun would be coming up soon, so I started walking and made my way to Charles Bridge. It's probably the most famous sight in the entire city, lots of people want a photo of themselves on an empty bridge. I admit I wanted that too. (I really need to learn how to use editing programs, so I can take photos then edit out anything I don't want in the photo.)
I arrived at the bridge at 0440, only to find plenty of other folks with the same idea. I knew I wasn't going to get the photo I wanted, so I went hunting for another angle. Not too much later I got really lucky with an amazing sunrise, I was able to get the bridge in profile. Absolutely gorgeous.

I walked to my hotel, where it was still waaaay too early to check in. (It was only 0600 or so.) I was able to relax in a lobby for a while, and get myself sorted. Like many hostels, there were plenty of plugs, and free wifi, so I took advantage and charged all of my gadgets. 
They let me shower and clean up, and I was able to leave my bag behind the desk while I went out for the day.
Since I've been to Prague a few times, and seen most of the sights, I was looking for something I hadn't seen before and was a little out of the way. In a previous visit I'd walked out to a palace only to find it closed. This time, I made sure it would be open.
Troja Chateau was built as a summer place to relax when this area of the world was part of another empire. The garden is very landscaped, and has a small labyrinth.
The entrance visitors use is actually the backside of the palace I think. Before finding that entrance I took photos of the proper entrance side of the chateau, which is quite grand.

The palace itself isn't all that great, there isn't much in any of the rooms. What is noteworthy are the ceilings. Almost every room has a lovely painting on the ceiling.  Always look up is one of my travel mottos, I had a crick in my neck from doing it so much in this palace.
There is one room that's really stunning in the palace, the Great Hall. The entire ceiling is painted, as are the walls, most of it honoring the leaders of the time. Not only is the ceiling painted, it was done as an optical illusion. As you walk through the room and look up, it feels like the eyes of the painted people are following you. Beautiful.
The docent tried to explain all of this to me, mostly in Russian. I think I understood most of what she said, though I was only able to respond with a few words here and there. 

After leaving the palace I walked back along the same general path, which took me through Letna Park. This park has one of the best views of the city, in my opinion. I sat and enjoyed the view for a while, then started walking again. At that point I was hot and starting to feel the lack of sleep.
I walked to the old town area, still feeling the calf cramp that developed during my first day in Berlin. Apparently you can't walk such things away. I really noticed it when going down stairs, and Prague is a city with plenty of ups and downs. I didn't like having to think about ever step I took, but that's what was happening. 

I walked the the old town area, watching some of the tourists. As I walked by the clock for which the city is famous I saw scaffolding all around. You could still see the faces of the clock, but the rest of the tower was covered. I'm glad I've seen it looking 'normal.'
I walked to a tram stop where I caught a tram that took me to Mom's old neighborhood. The mall there has a food court, and I wanted Indian food from there. I also wanted to go to the grocery store there, as I knew they had the yogurt I love dearly, which I'd planned to have to breakfast the next morning.
The food was good, then I walked back to my hostel. I had no trouble checking in, and got to have the loft level of my room all to myself. I fell asleep fast, and slept through the night.

The next morning I took my time getting up. Sleeping in a real bed is a luxury for me, I wanted to relax.
I had breakfast in the kitchen, after asking a couple to stop making out at the kitchen table. I do not need to see that, especially not while I'm eating. As they say 'get a room.'
Eventually I left the hostel for the day, and started by walking downhill. I stepped into a church I've seen before but still enjoy. It's covered in frescoes, the artwork is great.
From there I walked to another bit of art I'd seen before but still love: Kafka's spinning head. It's definitely a bit odd, but it's fun to watch.
I kept walking, going through Wenceslas Square. No matter how many times I go through there, it doesn't seem like a square to me. It's a looong rectangle, with some landscaping going down the middle. 

It's definitely not an open platz, which is what I expect when I hear the word square.
As I walked through the old city square I had to stop and get a chimney. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned it before, it's a trdelnik with a sealed bottom, filled (in my case) with fruit and whipped cream. Totally unhealthy, and worth every calorie.
I crossed the river and kept going, ending up at the memorial to the victims of fascism. As I came close I could see a group of Americans wanting to take a funny photo with the memorial, they wanted me to take the photo. I politely declined and told them the memorial was rather serious and I would prefer to respect it. It turned out they had no idea what it was, so I explained a little, and pointed them to the sign, which was just a couple meters away. They said their guide hadn't told them what it was, which sounds reasonable, but I was also thinking to myself that they should've looked for a sign/description nearby. Anywho.

From there I started following paths that took me to the top of a Petrin Hill. It was full on sunny and hot, I did not love my heavy breathing and sweating, but I did enjoy the views of the city.
When I got to the top I took a look at the TV tower, which can be ascended. I chose not to, just because I wasn't in the mood. I'm pretty sure that the idea of being crowded with other people did not appeal to me at all at that moment.
There was a church nearby, but it was not open, darnit. I ended up walking around the church, and finding a pretty garden on the other side.
I kept going, and found a huge rose garden, which was amazing. I have no idea how big it was, but I loved it. So many roses, they all smelled good. I took plenty of photos, even though the photos probably don't convey the atmosphere, or the smell.

I went down the hill by another path, and crossed back over the river. As I crossed the bridge I realized there were a lot of paddle boats in the river, everyone was having fun. I need to come back to Prague in the summer so I can rent a boat.
It was already evening by this point (I'd gotten a really late start,) so I walked back to the mall I'd visited the night before. I picked up a couple more yogurts, and had more Indian food. From there it was back to the hostel again.
I didn't have the loft area to myself anymore, but the other girls were quiet, so I didn't care.
The next morning I took my time again, just because I could. I cleaned up and packed up, and left my bag at the front desk.

I walked along streets I hadn't walked before, eventually crossing the river and making my way to the bottom of Castle Hill. I found a couple churches I hadn't visited before, and stepped inside both of them. Despite being close to the tourist meccas of the city, neither one was at all touristy. That is, there weren't any others in there while I was there.
I stayed on that side of the river and started walking toward the Smichov area of the city. If I remember correctly, Mom grew up somewhere in this area. (I've seen her old building, but don't remember exactly where it is located.)
I walked past the Staropramen brewery, I don't think I've seen that before. Across the street from the brewery they'd put together a big streetside advert that showed a glass of beer with the 'head' that would be typical in various countries. The American 'head' was a cowboy hat. I wish I'd taken photos of more of them, they were funny. Also stereotypical, which I didn't love. 

After a while I decided I wanted to cross the river. It took me a while to find a bridge, as they aren't so close together when you get out of the old city area. The bridge I used was also used by trains, and took me to the bottom of the Vysehrad area of the city.
I've seen the Vysehrad area before, and wouldn't mind seeing it again, but I was just plain exhausted at that point. Instead I wound my way through various streets, picking up dinner and snacks along the way.
I ate back at my hostel, then killed a few more hours until it was time to walk to the bus station. It's amazing how short a 30 minute walk can seem compared to 90 minutes.
My bus departed on time, and I know I'll be back to Prague.

czech republic: brno

Thankfully the bus Bo and I were on arrived on time (even ten minutes early!) in Brno. It was still after dark though, which always unnerves me a bit in a new place. I was able to call our accomodation and they told us to call again when we got close.

I was able to use the wifi from the bus to figure out the quickest walking route, it only took 20-25 minutes. As we got close I started looking for building numbers and noticed a sign pointing to registration for the place I had booked. Check in was easy, and I loved the place.

It was a loft, which made the space feel quite big. Two beds upstairs, bathroom and desk downstairs.

We saw a branch of my favourite Czech grocery store, but we got there about 30 minutes after it closed. Oh well, I knew we would go again the next morning, and it was good to have an idea as to where we would be going first thing in the morning.

The next morning I woke up early as usual, and we eventually got ready for the day. It was a beautiful day, with a blue sky and fairly warm. Next to our hotel was a giant wall mural, so of course we took photos of and with the mural. (Thank goodness for timers and tripods.)

We went to the grocery store (Albert) straightaway and I was thrilled to find they had my favourite Czech yogurt. Between the yogurts (because of course I bought two) and juice I was a happy camper. We found a bench not too far from the grocery store to sit down and eat.

Not too far from our eating bench was a wall of graffiti murals, we took a look. Nothing exciting, but I like seeing that kind of art. Graffiti can be awesome when it is actual art, not just tagging.

We kept walking, and Bo noticed a vehicle with a specialized license plate. It was a LandRover, and the licence plate said "funrover."

What Bo also noticed was that this particular LandRover had also been booted, which was rather funny to the two of us. Of course he took a photo. The lady who owned the car was standing around waiting for whateva; she didn't think it was nearly as funny as we did, and didn't want Bo to take a photo. (But it didn't stop him.)

I'd already noticed that my new camera had one small problem: the lens cap was a separate piece, not attached to anything else on the camera. I knew there would come a time when the wind blew the cap away or some other accident caused me to lose it, so I wanted an attachment of some sort.

Bo and I walked, and fairly soon came to a camera store. I used English and charades to explain my problem, (and the guy spoke plenty of English,) and the guy knew just what I needed. Problem solved, yay!

Our next issue for the day was money. Czech Republic is part of the EU and Schengen Zone, but it does not use the common currency. In other words, our euros weren't going to do us any good. We went hunting for an ATM, and eventually found one.

Sometimes I wish all the countries used the same currency, but I also love learning the relative value of every currency.

We walked toward the castle that overlooks the city, there isn't a straight road to get there. The hill is covered with a park, with criss crossing paths going everywhere. Some of the paths are quite steep, but none of them are very long. We got to the top, and figured out where the entry gate was located. Surprisingly, the ticket window was not near the entry gate, there is free entry to the outer walking area.

We walked all the way around the castle to find the ticket window, and found that there were several options for tickets. We bought the cheapest option, which just let us into the tower with an observation deck. There was also an option that let visitors into an art exhibition, and another ticket window if we wanted to visit the dungeon jail.

We entered one of the courtyards of the castle and went through an archway into another courtyard. In the middle of this second courtyard we saw a well and a set of bells.

I don't remember what was so important about the bells, but I do remember about the well. It was the deepest in the country, and most of the work to dig the well was done by prisoners.

We found our way to the tower, and climbed up the stairs. We got up to the observation area and I must say I was not terribly impressed. We could look over to the old city area, and see the tops of a few churches. It was also really windy, it was sortof hard to keep my eyes open.

We went back down the tower stairs, then out of the castle. We followed the winding paths down the hill and started walking toward the old city area. When we left the castle I realized that no matter what ticket you buy, you don't really get to see the castle itself, I wonder why. I know it has been a fortress or prison for most of recent history, is there nothing (or very little) left of what furniture used to excist inside?

Most of the old city area is pedestrian only, which I loved. We came into one of the main squares, there is a farmers market of sorts on one side.

There is a statue with a memorial/monument in the middle, it was surrounded by locals just hanging out. We took a look at all the buildings and moseyed through the market, nothing exciting.

We walked out of the platz on another side, and walked up to Sts Peter and Paul Cathedral. It's at the top of all the lists of the sights to see, and is quite big. You're not allowed to take photos inside, and it seemed as if someone was there to watch to make sure no one ignored that rule. The inside was pretty, but not super stunning. (I know, I'm totally a jaded, spoiled traveler when it comes to judging how a church looks.)

We walked around the outside of the church and found options for climbing a bell tower or visiting the crypt, both of which required tickets. Since we'd already seen the city from the castle and knew the skyline wasn't impressive, we skipped the tower. We skipped the crypt just because we weren't in the mood for it.

We walked back through the big platz, and exited through yet another side. I bought ice cream, just because I could. We hadn't had a proper meal since breakfast, even that wasn't a proper meal.

We walked along the street, which took us past another church. This one wasn't a separate building from the others on the street, at least not in an obvious way.

I expected very little when I walked in the door, but absolutely loved it. The whole church was painted and decorated, it was very energetic, if that makes sense. As I stepped in I could see a worship service taking place, so I didn't go more than a couple steps inside. I looked around and knew I couldn't see the whole church, so I stepped out again.

Bo and I got back out to the street, a minute or two later people started spilling out of the church onto the street. I knew the service was over, and was interested in going back in. Bo didn't much care, so he sat on the next street corner and watched people while I was in the church. I took my photos and went back out.

We walked some more, and made our way to Svobody Square. Freedom Square in English. It isn't a square shape, more like a long extended triangle. Almost immediately I saw the astronomical clock, which didn't look much like a clock to me. Big and black and tall.

In another area of the platz was another memorial, I think this one might've been a plague memorial. There were some people out and around, I imagine the area is packed with families and friends in warmer weather. It's a great place for people watching.

We walked out the other side of the platz, and eventually got to another church. This one was unique in that there was a giant horse statue in front. We peeked into the church but there was a service taking place, so we didn't go in any further. We noticed the way the light shined in at exactly that time, it lit up a small area of the altar, which I thought was pretty cool.

More walking took us to another church. I love churches, but even I was getting a bit churched out at this point. This one was not having a service, so we were able to go in a bit further. In fact I walked all the way around the altar area in front. There were tall windows allowing in a lot of light, which I loved, even though they weren't stained glass.

More walking brought us back to Freedom Square. At this point we were both starting to get hungry, and were thinking about dinner. We picked up a snack and started making our way back toward our accomodation.

When we walked past the abbey this time I noticed the door of the church was open, yahoo!! We stepped inside to take a peek, because even though I was a bit tired of churches I also wasn't about to pass one up. The interior was really busy, and didn't seem to match. That probably doesn't make any sense, but that's how it felt. Different themes seemed to run through different areas of decoration, the whole thing didn't seem to fit together very well. It was all quite nice, it just didn't match.

Along the way back we passed a micro brewery. It was full of people, and I've always had good food at such places all over the world.

It took us a while to figure out how to get seated, and order food, but it was worth it. I loved my dinner, which was braised beef. YUM.

The next morning we packed up and checked out, then started walking.

As we packed we talked about what we wanted to see that day, and initially wanted to see the UNESCO sight in town. We checked it out on travel apps and other mentions online, and found out we wouldn't be likely to see it that day. It was a villa, and according to the designation was one of the first examples of modern design for a house. Something like that.

Anywho, to get inside the villa you have to take a tour, and everything we read said those tours are booked out 2-3 months in advance. There was a chance we could show up and get lucky with someone else cancelling, but we didn't really want to walk all that way and more than likely not get what we want. Somehow I don't think I'll ever see this place, as I'm not likely to plan a repeat trip to Brno 2-3 months in advance.

We walked in the same direction we had the day before, making our way to the old town area. We walked a couple different streets just because we could, and made our way back to one of the churches we'd seen the day before. Since this was Sunday morning we didn't see many people out on the streets.

I wanted to see the ossuary. Bo had no interest in it, or at least not enough interest to pay the entry fee. (Which was a bit steep.) It took us a bit to find the entry, as the listed address was not where the entry was actually located.

According to the sign at the ticket desk, this is the second largest ossuary in Europe, after the catacombs of Paris. I'm not sure how the size of these things is measured, as I've definitely been in bigger places with bones.

The bones in this ossuary are several centuries old. To make a long story short, a church crypt was created then forgotten about several times. Each time more bones were added, messing up others already interred. Eventually someone decided to fix the terrible state of the crypt and make it into something respectable.

I wandered through three hallways or so, looking at the different arrangements of bones. Not super exciting, not super scary. I don't think I would be capable of arranging bones like that, but it was interesting to see. There were a couple signs telling the history of how this ossuary came to be.

The other thing I wanted to see that day was the crypt we'd missed the day before. Go figure, as we got there I realized I'd just missed it again, by just a few minutes, again! Argh. This time the door was closed for lunch as we arrived. Argh. Oh well.

Since not visiting the crypt meant we had a few minutes to spare, so we walked around the first platz we'd seen in the city the day before. While watching people I noticed a spire a few buildings over, and wondered what it was. Walking down another street took us to the building, which ended up being City Hall.

It was definitely not a grand building, and I only noticed it because of the spire. As we got closer we could see something over the entry gate, made by the man who designed city hall. There are small 'towers' on the front facade, one of which is bent. Legend has it that the man who designed the building wasn't paid properly, so he made sure one of the 'towers' was bent as a form of revenge.

Inside the entry arch were two things hanging from the ceiling: an alligator and a wheel. Wikipedia told me those are the symbols of the city. Interesting combo, to say the least.

I peeked into the courtyard after going through the arch, and saw a wedding couple taking photos. Pretty.

From there we walked to the bus station, arriving 15 minutes early as our tickets said we should. We waited, then waited some more. And waited. And waited. At one point I went into the ticket office to see if that lady knew anything, but she didn't. She told me what time the bus was supposed to depart and I said it still hadn't arrived. She said delayed (in English,) and I remember thinking 'I already know that.' Bo and I talked about how long we should wait, and what we would do if the bus didn't come in that amount of time.

The bus finally arrived, almost two hours late. In other words, it arrived not too long before we should've been arriving in Vienna. Argh. Oh well, at least it finally arrived.

After the bus crossed into Austria we were pulled over by an Austrian police officer. We hadn't done anything wrong, he was just checking the ID of everyone on the bus. He also quizzed the driver and other staff, asking where the bus started, how often the route was run, etc... Nothing happened, but it was nice to know that governments are paying some attention to what is happening on the continent.

Brno was nice, but not great. I don't know if I will return, but I'm not against it either.

Czech Republic: Prague again

I love Prague. I am always happy to return to Prague, no matter how many times I've been there, nor how recently I've been there. This visit was less than three months after my last visit, but it was for a reason. My mom was planning to move back to the states before the end of March, so I wanted to take advantage of a long weekend to spend a few days with her while she was still close and living in a city I love.
I got out of school as fast as I could, and caught a 1400 flight. While waiting for my flight in Kyiv I saw one of my students, it was fun to have a personal sendoff. This first flight took me to Frankfurt, where I had a 5 hour layover.

Fortunately, I know someone who lives close to Frankfurt. I arranged to have dinner with my friend Tripp, it was great to have a catch up with a friend from years ago, and kill the layover. we took the train from the airport to the central train station, then found an Indian restaurant nearby. A nice couple of hours.
Since I flew Lufthansa, the service and food were good. I wish they were cheaper, I'd be happy to fly them all the time.
Mom met me at the airport in Prague, and due to the late hour we took a taxi to her flat. We stayed up late chatting as we always do the first night of any visit by me, and I ate one of the yogurts I love so much.

Saturday morning we got up slowly, and went to see Kafka's grave. What we didn't think about ahead of time was the day of the week. Saturday is Shabbat, and Kafka was Jewish, and buried in a Jewish cemetery. Not surprisingly, the cemetery was closed, so we turned around and went back to where we started. Mom bought me a 24 hr transport card, so it didn't matter how many rides we took.
We took the metro and trams up to the back side of castle hill, to see Loreta Monastery.

I'd seen it a couple months previously, but didn't mind seeing it again. Mom hadn't seen it since she lived in Prague a long time ago, and since she would be leaving Prague soon, she was happy to walk through with me. I've realized it is fantastic to visit tourist spots in Prague with Mom, as she usually has a story to tell of a previous experience, or has some history that isn't on the information boards. I paid the photography fee, and retook some of the photos I'd taken two months earlier but hadn't backed up and lost when my phone was stolen in Bucharest.
I loved the treasury the second time around just as much as the first visit.

The chuch was just as Gothic, and felt even more busy. Gothic churches always feel way too busy for me, at least in terms of how I would prefer to worship.
We walked a few hundred meters to a place I'd heard about from fellow travelers, a restaurant called U Zlate Hrusky. In English the name is The Golden Pear. It's a place with traditional Czech food, and has some special pear dishes on the menu. Mom didn't know the place from the name, but as soon as we were seated, she remembered being there before. A looooong time ago. I loved my pear soup.
After leaving the restaurant we passed a church I hadn't seen before, called the Soldiers Church. We didn't go inside, then exterior was rather boring.
We walked all the way down the hill, across the river, to the old city center. I wanted to get a chimney, but as we got to the place that sells them, the queue seemed to go on and on and on. I love chimneys, but I wasn't willing to wait in that line. Neither was Mom.

Instead we walked to a nearby metro station and went back to her flat.
The next day we took a day trip with Mom's friend from childhood and her son. That's in another post, and was a great day. I love the whole country!
Monday morning Mom and I were up early to beat the crowds. I wanted photos of a couple places without other people in the way. We took the metro and tram to malostranska, and the bottom of castle hill. Then we walked to Lennon Wall. I was surprised to notice that the graffiti had already changed, from just a couple months ago.

I took my photos, and we moved on. I don't think Mom had seen this wall before, as it started in the 80s, I think.
We also took photos at another art installation by David Czerny, the Babies.
From the Babies, we walked to Cafe Savoy for breakfast. This was my second recommendation/request for a specific meal with Mom during this trip. I'd enjoyed breakfast so much back during January that I wanted to come again. Good service, good food. Even though I was the one who had been there previously, it was Mom who took a couple photos I hadn't seen before. I copied them.
We walked across the river on a bridge Mom crossed almost daily when she was growing up. I'm sure there is an official name, but in my head I'll probably always think of it as Mom's bridge from now on.

Remembering that back in January Mom and I had tried to do a tour of the Klementinum and it hadn't worked out, we tried again. This time it worked perfectly. We arrived just 15 minutes before a tour was scheduled to start. Yay! Our tour group was small, just 8 people. I think. It might've been less. Anywho. Our guide spoke well, and gave us all the relevant information. The Klementinum was/is a monastery, and was once one of the learning centers of the continent. Mom remembers studying there from time to time, how amazing that must've been.

The astronomy tower still has some of the original tools used in the 1500s (i think?) which was really nifty to see. Hard to believe that scientists were able to do such amazing things, centuries ago, with tools so much simpler than what we have now. The views from the top of the tower were awesome, I realized how many towers and churches there are in Prague, and how big or small they appear totally depends on distance from the eye of the beholder.
I was most impressed with the library, which was incredible. We weren't able to go past the doorway, but WOW. Just as amazing as the library in the Strahov Monastery. I could've stood there for ages.

After the tour we finally got our chimneys. Just as good as I remembered :)
We walked through the old city center area, and made our way to the area near Charles University. I loved seeing the buildings where my mom was a student. We didn't go in the buildings, but it made family history just a little bit more real for me.
Even though we'd just had chimneys, we settled into a cafe (named for Kafka, on Kafka square,) to warm up and relax with coffee and tea. Good service, nice decor. They also served Kosher food, which I thought was nice even though I'm not Jewish.
After the cafe we walked past a couple souvenir stores when Mom decided to enter one of them. Since she knew she was leaving soon, she wanted to find a coffee mug with Prague/Praha written on it somewhere. Even though this sounds like an easy thing to find, it's not as easy to make a decision. There are HEAPS of coffee mugs with pictures of the city, the flag of the country, words in Czech, etc... Any visitor can browse for ages and ages when looking for just the right mug.
Even though I'd seen it before, and Mom had no thoughts about it one way or the other, I convinced her to go see the spinning Kafka head. Definitely a unique piece of art, as are all of Czerny's works.

We went back to Mom's flat, and on the way decided to go to Kafka's grave. This time, we didn't get to see it because of our arrival time. The cemetery had been open all day, but we arrived 15 minutes after it closed.
Actually, that isn't true. The cemetery closes at 1600, but the last admittance is at 1530. We arrived at 1545. Argh. Defeated again!
That night we had dinner in the food court in the mall close to Mom's flat. Simple, easy.
The next morning we got up early and finally saw Kafka's grave. Its the truth, the third time really is the charm!
Sadly, that was the end of my trip. When I got back to Mom's flat, I had enough time to pack up, and Mom took me to the airport. It was harder than ever to leave, knowing that I wouldn't be seeing Mom again for who knows how long.