VAN GOGH
HEMP
CLOGS
TULIPS
BIKES
REMBRANDT
RED LIGHT DISTRICT
CLOGS
TULIPS
BIKES
REMBRANDT
RED LIGHT DISTRICT
CANALS
WIND MILLS
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Monday, November 27, 2006
We almost didn't make it into our next stop in Europe...
After a wonderful 4 days of exploring Vienna, our next destination was one we were both looking forward to and had heard rave reviews about; the Czech’s national capital, the home of some of the best brewed beer in the world, a city which has recovered from the communism it experienced for over 40 years, the cradle of Czech culture and one of the most beautiful and fascinating cities in Europe – that of Prague.
Since our Eurorail had expired in Vienna, we had done countless research at Internet cafes a month prior to arriving in Vienna, in search of the “cheap” inter-European flights that we had heard so much about. We unfortunately weren’t having much luck at first as we were able to find some pretty good deals for flights from Prague to Amsterdam and Vienna to Amsterdam but for the life of us couldn’t find any “cheap” carriers that would fly direct from Vienna to Prague. We therefore had to rearrange our travel plans and add an additional flight from Vienna to Cologne-Bonn in Germany before flying from Cologne to Prague. Although the two flights were rather “cheap” (the majority of the cost ends up being taxes since we were able to find one flight that was zero Euros and the other was $5 Euros each) we later found out that perhaps flying to Germany wasn’t the best option. It saved us some money but as a result we almost ended up being detained in Germany and missing our flight to Prague. It’s a never-ending adventure with us I tell ya….
We arrived at Cologne-Bonn airport on the 17th of November and had to stay one night here as we were unable to get a flight to Prague until the following day. With our last few destinations in Europe set and airline tickets confirmed and purchased, we decided that reserving hotels in advance would be a nice change. We already had an apartment booked in Prague and were hoping to pre-book for Cologne as well but were finding it very difficult to find anything online that was affordable. Most one and two star hotels were advertised for no less than $70-$75 Euros. During our research, we came across a very interesting hotel more so for its architecture than anything else. Hotel Chelsea was in the centre of town and recently they had renovated the roof and boy was it something else. The ordinary gabled roof had been transformed into various angles and slopes creating what looked like a gigantic building block set that you would assemble as a child. The price of the rooms were higher than we would normally pay but at this point in our trip, we were tired and ready to splurge on ourselves and not in the mood to go wandering the streets of Cologne for only one night. So we took the advice of our good friend, James, who had told us prior to leaving that there will come a time when you will have to splurge on accommodation and just enjoy it. And that we did. We ended up booking a room for $79 Euros/night – we unfortunately did not get to stay on the top floor with the newly constructed roof for this amount but were enthused at the sight of the stark white duvet covers, fluffy pillows, chocolates on the pillows and yes, a shower where we didn’t feel like we had to wear our slippers in. The extra money was well worth the great night’s sleep we had, so good that we barely even left our room. We left for lunch and dinner and spent the rest of the time enjoying every penny of the $79 Euros. Thanks to James for some wonderful advice.
Chelsea Hotel – sometimes the right splurge at the right time is all you need
Despite a good night’s rest and sound sleep, nothing could prepare us for what was to happen at the Cologne-Bonn Airport the next day. We arrived 2 hours prior to the plane departing and did the normal check in and security check and had decided to go through passport control a hour or so earlier and just wait in the lobby for our flight. Lucky we decided to do this earlier rather than later as we weren’t expecting the passport control police to tell us that we had overstayed our welcome in the European Union and were illegally staying in Germany. Before either one of could explain that we had no idea what the woman was talking about, she told us that we are only allowed to stay in those countries that comprise the European Union for a maximum of 3 months and since we had not left the European Union since August 14th when we had first arrived back in Munich from our 1 month hiatus from travelling, we were illegally in Germany or any country comprising the European Union for that matter. As both Chris and I looked at each other with shocks of dismay, we had no idea what to say. This was the first we had ever heard of this as our travel agent had never mentioned anything about this and we just assumed you could stay in Europe as long as you wanted to since we had heard of so many travellers who have travelled within Europe for a year if not longer. After explaining that we had no idea of this “regulation”, she advised that she would have to take us into her office and talk to the “chief” about it. With our flight departure only 40 minutes away now, she said she would try her best to get this resolved for us in time to make our flight. So we were led back through security and check in while other passengers were staring at us and wondering what we had done. She ushered us into a stark white room with no windows and asked us to have a seat while she explained the situation to her superior. Chris and I sat in this room, unaware of what was going to happen to us but somewhat calm as the woman police officer was very nice and made us both feel as though she would help us out as much as she could. After a few different police officers came out and asked us why and how we didn’t know of this “3 month limit”, the ease at which we came into the room, slowly started to disappear. Lucky for us, the original woman police officer came out and asked us to show her some proof that we had at least been out of Germany since Aug 14th and had been travelling around as we had indicated to them. I was able to produce a couple of bills from our shopping in Vienna and sure enough those seemed to save the day. Thank goodness for shopping and H&M!! What happened you ask? Fortuitous for us, the woman decided she was not going to post a “formal complaint” in the system on us and was going to jot down a personal note within German records that she had found that we had overstayed our welcome but that she obtained proof that we were not in Germany the entire time. The only stipulation was that we were not to enter Germany again anytime this year or else we’d be in big trouble – which was no problem for us. We were still a little baffled at how this could happen but by the end of it all, our understanding is that we should have gotten a stamp when exiting the Munich train station when we first arrived in August to show we left the country but even if we had done this, we would have still been in the European Union illegally as you are only allowed to visit the countries that make up the EU for a maximum of 3 months in a 6 month period. We made it back to our flight with minutes to spare no thanks to the super nice woman we were lucky enough to get during passport control, I can only imagine what would have happened if we got someone else besides her that day that wasn’t as “nice”…sometimes we just have to thank our lucky stars!!
We boarded the plane with a sigh of relief and spent the next hour and a half wondering what Prague would be like and what adventure lay ahead of us next.
We arrived to the airport in Prague with no hassles and for the first time in a LONG TIME, were greeted by someone holding up a sign with our names. We’re used to aimlessly finding our way around an airport for the information desk when we first arrive to get into the centre of town but to have someone waiting to take us to our pre-booked accommodation was a bonus. Within a hour we were dropped off at our apartment which would be home for the next 6 days while in Prague.
Letna Apartment was perfect! It was a small studio with a kitchenette, fridge, satellite TV and a large bathroom. It reminded us of our time in Budapest and the gem of a place that luckily found us. Letna Apartment was similar to our place in Budapest in that it was a bit out of the centre of town which was fine by us as we loved the 20 minute walks into town through the lovely Letna Park which afforded beautiful views of the Vltava River which winds itself through the middle of Prague. Not only were the walks a wonderful start and end to our long days of walking throughout the city, but it was a bonus to be away from the touristy part of town and again, although we are in mid November and approaching the winter season, the tourists were still in full force and evident in overwhelming numbers.
Our home away from home in Prague
Our 6 days in Prague were spent wandering the narrow cobblestone streets of the Old Town, walking along side the Vltava River to appreciate the various types of architecture, catching a game of Prague’s sports fans’ favorite sport – lucky for us Canadians, it’s ice hockey, and enjoying our cosy home where we read, relaxed, made dinners and for the first time in a very long time, felt right “at home”!!
The Vltava River and the various bridges that cross it – this was one of many views we were lucky enough to encounter everyday we walked into town
The centre of Stare Mesto (the Old Town), this is Old Town Square – thought to be one of the most beautiful squares in all of Europe
Goltz-Kinsky Palace – Prague’s finest rococo façade. Although it stands tall in the square today as one of its prominent sights, for locals here this still conjures up dark memories as it is here where it was proclaimed that communism would prevail in Czechoslovakia. Today, it’s a branch of the National Gallery, showing temporary exhibitions
A close up of the Astronomical Clock that adorns a corner of the Old Town Hall – each hour on the hour, a small show is put on where a bell is rung and the 12 Apostles parade past the windows above the clock, nodding to the crowd. It’s nothing too spectacular but sure enough, every hour on the hour, you’re bound to find a very large mob of tourists anxiously awaiting the clock to strike the hour
The Opera House – one of many that can be found throughout Prague as it is a city full of rich and varied musical life ranging from classical to jazz to rock & pop
Turning the corner to find one of these ancient towers in the middle of the city is no surprise
A dark and dreary day overlooking the skyline of Prague
The famous Charles Bridge stands out amongst the rest with the 30 monuments that line either side of the bridge. In the far distance perched atop a hill, is the Prague Castle
Taking a stroll along the Charles Bridge
The western gateway onto Charles Bridge
Enjoying the sun and the views, what better way to spend a cold Autumn’s day
The Prague Castle which is almost a town in itself is the world’s largest ancient castle at an 570m long, an average of 128m wide and covering a total area bigger than seven football fields. Can you imagine trying to find your hubby in this place, I think not!!
A depiction of the Last Judgment above the Golden Gate (an elegant triple arches Gothic porch) on the southern sie of the church which is a part of the Castle grounds
We even got a chance to get our hockey fill and watched a great hockey game where one of Prague’s biggest hockey teams, HC Sparta Praha played HC Mountfield
It was a great game with lots of great saves as seen here and the home team won 5-3 which made the atmosphere in the building electrifying. Definitely pumped to come home and see how our ‘Nuckers are doing.
Despite the cold and grey weather we had most of the time we were in Prague, our time in Prague were fantastic. Not only was there lots to see and do but it is also here that I have discovered my favorite beer. Hard to believe but Pilsner Urquell – the world’s first clear golden beer is my beer of choice from now on, that is if I can afford it. Not only because it goes down smooth but because it’s one of the few beers that I can drink without making a funny face afterwards and that goes a long way!! Besides the beer and good food, Prague is definitely a city to be explored by foot as there are so many wonderful images to feast your eyes upon. From the pedestrian packed Charles Bridge, to the massive castle which seems to tower over the entire town to the endless squares and narrow alleyways you’re sure to encounter, the city is a walker’s paradise. A lot of times during our walks, I couldn’t help but imagine what the city would look like under a soft white blanket of snow, something I guess we’ll have to see the next time we visit Prague…
Goodbye Prague, until our next encounter..
Ravy the Roamer
Since our Eurorail had expired in Vienna, we had done countless research at Internet cafes a month prior to arriving in Vienna, in search of the “cheap” inter-European flights that we had heard so much about. We unfortunately weren’t having much luck at first as we were able to find some pretty good deals for flights from Prague to Amsterdam and Vienna to Amsterdam but for the life of us couldn’t find any “cheap” carriers that would fly direct from Vienna to Prague. We therefore had to rearrange our travel plans and add an additional flight from Vienna to Cologne-Bonn in Germany before flying from Cologne to Prague. Although the two flights were rather “cheap” (the majority of the cost ends up being taxes since we were able to find one flight that was zero Euros and the other was $5 Euros each) we later found out that perhaps flying to Germany wasn’t the best option. It saved us some money but as a result we almost ended up being detained in Germany and missing our flight to Prague. It’s a never-ending adventure with us I tell ya….
We arrived at Cologne-Bonn airport on the 17th of November and had to stay one night here as we were unable to get a flight to Prague until the following day. With our last few destinations in Europe set and airline tickets confirmed and purchased, we decided that reserving hotels in advance would be a nice change. We already had an apartment booked in Prague and were hoping to pre-book for Cologne as well but were finding it very difficult to find anything online that was affordable. Most one and two star hotels were advertised for no less than $70-$75 Euros. During our research, we came across a very interesting hotel more so for its architecture than anything else. Hotel Chelsea was in the centre of town and recently they had renovated the roof and boy was it something else. The ordinary gabled roof had been transformed into various angles and slopes creating what looked like a gigantic building block set that you would assemble as a child. The price of the rooms were higher than we would normally pay but at this point in our trip, we were tired and ready to splurge on ourselves and not in the mood to go wandering the streets of Cologne for only one night. So we took the advice of our good friend, James, who had told us prior to leaving that there will come a time when you will have to splurge on accommodation and just enjoy it. And that we did. We ended up booking a room for $79 Euros/night – we unfortunately did not get to stay on the top floor with the newly constructed roof for this amount but were enthused at the sight of the stark white duvet covers, fluffy pillows, chocolates on the pillows and yes, a shower where we didn’t feel like we had to wear our slippers in. The extra money was well worth the great night’s sleep we had, so good that we barely even left our room. We left for lunch and dinner and spent the rest of the time enjoying every penny of the $79 Euros. Thanks to James for some wonderful advice.
Despite a good night’s rest and sound sleep, nothing could prepare us for what was to happen at the Cologne-Bonn Airport the next day. We arrived 2 hours prior to the plane departing and did the normal check in and security check and had decided to go through passport control a hour or so earlier and just wait in the lobby for our flight. Lucky we decided to do this earlier rather than later as we weren’t expecting the passport control police to tell us that we had overstayed our welcome in the European Union and were illegally staying in Germany. Before either one of could explain that we had no idea what the woman was talking about, she told us that we are only allowed to stay in those countries that comprise the European Union for a maximum of 3 months and since we had not left the European Union since August 14th when we had first arrived back in Munich from our 1 month hiatus from travelling, we were illegally in Germany or any country comprising the European Union for that matter. As both Chris and I looked at each other with shocks of dismay, we had no idea what to say. This was the first we had ever heard of this as our travel agent had never mentioned anything about this and we just assumed you could stay in Europe as long as you wanted to since we had heard of so many travellers who have travelled within Europe for a year if not longer. After explaining that we had no idea of this “regulation”, she advised that she would have to take us into her office and talk to the “chief” about it. With our flight departure only 40 minutes away now, she said she would try her best to get this resolved for us in time to make our flight. So we were led back through security and check in while other passengers were staring at us and wondering what we had done. She ushered us into a stark white room with no windows and asked us to have a seat while she explained the situation to her superior. Chris and I sat in this room, unaware of what was going to happen to us but somewhat calm as the woman police officer was very nice and made us both feel as though she would help us out as much as she could. After a few different police officers came out and asked us why and how we didn’t know of this “3 month limit”, the ease at which we came into the room, slowly started to disappear. Lucky for us, the original woman police officer came out and asked us to show her some proof that we had at least been out of Germany since Aug 14th and had been travelling around as we had indicated to them. I was able to produce a couple of bills from our shopping in Vienna and sure enough those seemed to save the day. Thank goodness for shopping and H&M!! What happened you ask? Fortuitous for us, the woman decided she was not going to post a “formal complaint” in the system on us and was going to jot down a personal note within German records that she had found that we had overstayed our welcome but that she obtained proof that we were not in Germany the entire time. The only stipulation was that we were not to enter Germany again anytime this year or else we’d be in big trouble – which was no problem for us. We were still a little baffled at how this could happen but by the end of it all, our understanding is that we should have gotten a stamp when exiting the Munich train station when we first arrived in August to show we left the country but even if we had done this, we would have still been in the European Union illegally as you are only allowed to visit the countries that make up the EU for a maximum of 3 months in a 6 month period. We made it back to our flight with minutes to spare no thanks to the super nice woman we were lucky enough to get during passport control, I can only imagine what would have happened if we got someone else besides her that day that wasn’t as “nice”…sometimes we just have to thank our lucky stars!!
We boarded the plane with a sigh of relief and spent the next hour and a half wondering what Prague would be like and what adventure lay ahead of us next.
We arrived to the airport in Prague with no hassles and for the first time in a LONG TIME, were greeted by someone holding up a sign with our names. We’re used to aimlessly finding our way around an airport for the information desk when we first arrive to get into the centre of town but to have someone waiting to take us to our pre-booked accommodation was a bonus. Within a hour we were dropped off at our apartment which would be home for the next 6 days while in Prague.
Letna Apartment was perfect! It was a small studio with a kitchenette, fridge, satellite TV and a large bathroom. It reminded us of our time in Budapest and the gem of a place that luckily found us. Letna Apartment was similar to our place in Budapest in that it was a bit out of the centre of town which was fine by us as we loved the 20 minute walks into town through the lovely Letna Park which afforded beautiful views of the Vltava River which winds itself through the middle of Prague. Not only were the walks a wonderful start and end to our long days of walking throughout the city, but it was a bonus to be away from the touristy part of town and again, although we are in mid November and approaching the winter season, the tourists were still in full force and evident in overwhelming numbers.
Our 6 days in Prague were spent wandering the narrow cobblestone streets of the Old Town, walking along side the Vltava River to appreciate the various types of architecture, catching a game of Prague’s sports fans’ favorite sport – lucky for us Canadians, it’s ice hockey, and enjoying our cosy home where we read, relaxed, made dinners and for the first time in a very long time, felt right “at home”!!
Despite the cold and grey weather we had most of the time we were in Prague, our time in Prague were fantastic. Not only was there lots to see and do but it is also here that I have discovered my favorite beer. Hard to believe but Pilsner Urquell – the world’s first clear golden beer is my beer of choice from now on, that is if I can afford it. Not only because it goes down smooth but because it’s one of the few beers that I can drink without making a funny face afterwards and that goes a long way!! Besides the beer and good food, Prague is definitely a city to be explored by foot as there are so many wonderful images to feast your eyes upon. From the pedestrian packed Charles Bridge, to the massive castle which seems to tower over the entire town to the endless squares and narrow alleyways you’re sure to encounter, the city is a walker’s paradise. A lot of times during our walks, I couldn’t help but imagine what the city would look like under a soft white blanket of snow, something I guess we’ll have to see the next time we visit Prague…
Ravy the Roamer
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