I am writing from Poland, having spent my first whole weekend here since I got to Warsaw about three weeks ago! I must say a 'staycation' was exactly what I needed to gear up before heading to Berlin soon! But, I also wanted to share with you all about my most recent adventure to Prague the early part of last week.
After leaving Kraków, I took the night train to Prague, figuring I could kill two birds with one stone: going at night, rather than taking a day for travel and getting some much needed sleep. Melissa had told me that it would the best to get my train ticket to Prague when I first got to Kraków which is exactly what I did. However, the one hiccup was that the woman said I needed a reservation for the sleeping car, that there were no seats left. Thinking that she meant no seats for the entire train, I frantically looked at her and politely asked if she could give me a ticket for anywhere on the train. She issued my ticket and my one thought was: "phew, at least I have a spot!"
Surveying the collection of travelers ready for the train, I saw that all of us looked ready to be planted in some place for an extended period of time to get some sleep, our eyes slightly starting to glaze over. I was in a cabin with two British travelers and one American, just thankful that we all spoke English.
In my maxi dress and traveller pillow, I tried to find a comfortable position, sharing the bench with the wife of the British man. Being half my size, this woman proceeded to lay down and occupy about three quarters of the bench. I thought to myself, "yes, the six foot giant sitting to your left will curl herself in the corner, no problem." (Very tongue and cheek, of course. I was just afraid I might kick her if I drifted off). While my eyes were struggling to stay awake before our 11 o'clock departure, I was able to find a comfortable position for a while and drift off. After a couple of hours, I woke up and continued to do this song and dance for the rest of our nine hour journey, alternating between sleep and whatever else I could do to occupy the passing time.
We finally got into Prague at 7:30 am the next morning. I was exhausted but excited to see this beautiful city scape rising to greet the day. What I didn't realize though after this long journey, was that my hostel was booked across the river, at the base of the Prague Castle. Did I really appreciate this scenic location after my night train? Not as much as I could have, especially with that backpack of mine, my careful travel buddy, weighing down my shoulders with the extra books I managed to get while in Kraków. But I was just excited to finally be in Prague, so off I went in the direction of the castle.
After about an hour or so's walk of what seemed like your typical "over the river and through the woods" jaunt, I finally arrived at the hostel. I walked up to the counter, ready to claim my reservation and wash the train off before heading out to explore this new city! However, the woman looked up from her computer and said, "We don't have a reservation for you." In my calm exhausted state, I showed her the screenshot of my booking confirmation and she returned with, "I don't see that here." I must admit that at this point, after having spent most of the night admiring the dark countryside in place of sleep, I just wanted to lay down and sleep for a couple hours; at least to regain some energy before some sightseeing. After some phone calls (whom I'm guessing were to her manager), I had a spot, was given my keys and wandered through the hostel to find my bed: 102A.
My bed is the one right by the door. I must say I was rather excited to finally see it!
I set my stuff down, went to get cleaned up and after feeling a little more refreshed, traded a much needed nap for some sightseeing. Being at the base of the Prague Castle is really quite beautiful! And it was also the perfect walking distance to go for a first stop in the adventure! I purchased a ticket for the castle, cathedral and other surrounding buildings and was off. The views were breathtaking as I roamed around, not only inside the buildings but also looking out over the expanse of the city.
The view from the Prague Castle. Just imagine looking over this beautiful city and feeling the sun against your face! Beautiful way to start that Monday morning!
St. Vitus Cathedral. An absolutely beautiful sight!
After about four hours of reading plaques and looking at these beautiful buildings, I looked for what was next, still running on the adrenaline that was accompanying me after the train ride. I walked next past the Lobkowicz Palace and was anxious to see what was inside. I was drawn in by the fact that the posters stated that this family's art collection had been stolen at one point by the Nazis. When I walked through the doors, the woman at the front desk stated that there was a concert about to start in the Lobkowicz Concert Hall. I was excited, the thought of getting to hear beautiful classical music in an actual palace! The concert hall was beautiful, with a single grand piano situated at the front of the room.
The pianist emerged from behind closed doors and began to play Beethoven, exhibiting so much emotion through her performance. I was mesmerized. Despite having heard these pieces played several times, it is a very different experience to actually been present in a place like that. I learned later that the Lobkowicz family was actually very influential to the music of Beethoven, Haydn, and Mozart.
The Lobkowicz family is very interesting. This palace was originally built in the 16th century and was home to the aristocratic Lobkowicz family for 400 years. It was taken by the Nazis under occupation and then again by the Communists in 1948. It was not until 2002 that the Palace was returned to the family. William Lobkowicz, the grandson of Maximilian Lobkowicz, was given the palace back after his grandfather fled Prague in 1939. Today, there is quite an extensive collection of art and other pieces, along with a very detailed audio guide that helps you to understand the significance of this collection, both to their family and the broader historical context.
By the time I finished touring the Lobkowicz Palace, I had been wandering around Prague for seven hours and needed to get some energy for the next couple of days. I spent some time just reading my book and resting at a cafe before finding a place for dinner. After getting lost in my book and enjoying some yummy food, I came back to the hostel and crashed, exhausted after the day of sightseeing.
The next day, Tuesday, was really my last day in Prague since I was leaving early Wednesday morning. I have to say that Prague is one of the most TOURISTY places I have ever been in Europe (not that I have been to that many...yet). I mean, tourists everywhere, flooding certain places, all storefronts succumb to souvenir shops, etc. I must say that I found it to be just as it is titled: European Disneyland, which in a way was a disappointment. Prague is an absolutely beautiful city but I must say for my interests in visiting these places, it seems as though the history of the city itself is lost to commercial tourism. I am really grateful that I got to go and see the city, but can't say that I will rush back there for another visit in the near future. I do recommended seeing it at least once though!
A little cafe I grabbed breakfast, called 'Bakeshop'. I had a delicious cafe latte with a blueberry rhubarb pastry. I welcomed this peaceful people watching start to my Tuesday morning!
I had heard from friends to try the food in Prague so I went and found a place that advertised: Pork knee and other delicious Czech "delicacies".
Lunch was an Old Bohemian feast of two separate Pork preparations with different slaws and mustards.
While iPads and iPhones were out of everyone's pockets, capturing pictures from the St. Charles bridge or the Old Town Square, I decided to join them and book a Segway tour. Still feeling exhausted from the previous day of adventures, I was thankful that I could be slightly lazy and ride around to see the city. My tour was a couple of hours and I got to see a lot of the city through this excursion. Our tour guide, Martin, led us around to see the John Lennon wall, the Strahov Monastery, Prague Castle, Old Town Square and others. Martin was also a history major at the local university so he was able to provide a lot of the history I was craving to hear that accompanied these places.
After the tour, I had to regain the feeling of walking around the city as gravity seemed to meet each step and went to read along the river for a while. It was beautiful to sit under the shade of the tree that blocked the hot sun and watch the activity along the river and the tourists as they crossed the St. Charles bridge.
I had found a little place along the river earlier that I wanted to try for dinner and so I took my book, a hundred pages from the end, and went to have a relaxing meal. It was so peaceful along the river, watching the sun set and enjoying a delicious flatbread and salad.
The view from my little table as I sat to eat dinner. That hot air ballon takes tourists, two at a time, and lifts them up to see the city.
The sun set for the day and I walked across the St. Charles Bridge to my hostel and "cashed in my chips" for the night. Morning meant an early train ride back to Warsaw and an adventure in getting there!
I finally found the train station after some time getting a little lost and boarded the train for Warsaw. It left at around 11:30 am and was scheduled to get into Warsaw at approximately 8:00 pm. A long day of traveling for sure. When I finally made my way back to Warsaw, I was so stiff so I took a couple of laps around the mall that's adjacent to the train station, trying to stretch out my stiff legs.
A little collection of photos from these past couple of weeks in Kraków and Prague.
I came home and hit the pillow pretty quickly. Morning came early, although I was thankful that I didn't have early class. I worked both Thursday and Friday and was gearing up for the weekend. Melissa came back from her travels to the Ukraine on Friday afternoon so I was thankful that the weekend likely meant that we would begin crossing off things on our list that we had created to see in Warsaw before both of us leave Poland in a few weeks!
I must say that I am falling in LOVE with this city! I reached the halfway point of my internship this past Friday so I am definitely wanting to make the most of the time that I have left here! It will be very bittersweet when these three weeks are finally up! But for now, I will be spending this week at work, where I am currently assembling a database for accessibility to the Family Heritage Genealogy services and then on Friday, I will be headed to Berlin for a long weekend! I am very excited for what adventures continue to come!
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