Czech Republic

Absynth hangover. I woke up in a complete Zombie state and I mean Zombie. Vic would ask a question but no registration until minutes later. I stared at my bag for what seemed like an eternity trying to figure out my next move when I was meant to be frantically packing. I was operating in slow motion (maybe two frames per second) and had absolutely no control over it. It wasn’t a typical hangover, I didn’t feel dusty or sick just slow and sluggish. It lasted most of the day. Horrible.

Missed train. It had to happen at least once. We missed our train to Munich (mainly because of my subdued state) which meant we now had 5 hours to kill. A long lunch including every imaginable course was the best way to fill the gap. I had Goulash because I didn’t know when I’d be having it again (nice but nowhere near as good as the real thing) and Vic went for the lamb. Great way to finish our time in Prague and thankfully my beer allies started to win the battle over the Absynth demons swimming in my head.

Praha. Again it rained for most of our time in Prague but it didn’t at all sour our experience. We fell in love with its charm and inviting culture. We found the people to be pleasant and helpful but surprisingly lacking animation, especially when considering the beer consumption statistics. We enjoyed Prague on many levels but mostly for the café, beer, music and food culture that is so evidently embedded in Prague’s social fabric.

Aussies. Well if we thought that Croatia was filled with Aussie blood then Prague must secretly be the ninth state/territory of Australia. Maybe it’s the fine beer at cheap prices or maybe it’s simply that Victorians have found a home away from home in what could be considered a European version of Melbourne. We didn’t have time to run a survey.

Train. Not sure whether there was much of a difference between first and second class on the train from Praha to Munchen. Not the most comfortable train but thankfully the ride was only a few hours.

Penalty! Vicki quickly ducked out at one of the stops for a cigarette. Moments after she sat back down, two policemen arrived at our cabin. “Passports please.” He handed mine back immediately, hung on to Vicki’s and pulled out his writing pad. “No smoking… penalty” For a few minutes we didn’t know what was happening due to their limited English but soon enough realised that Vicki was being written up for smoking in a non-smoking station. Luckily the fine was only ten-ish dollars, a small price to pay for a pretty cool souvenir.

Tram. For the first time in Prague we decided to catch the Tram. It was really the only way of getting to the other side of the river without walking through the central shopping district. The shopping simply had to be put on hold… forcefully. We didn’t have the will so avoidance strategies were our best chance.

Pražský hrad. We started at the top of the hill and made our way down towards the river. It is apparently the largest castle in Europe and one of the largest in the world. It wasn’t as ornate as most of the castles or palaces seen to date but the size of it was startling. The thing stretched for half a kilometer and was over 100 metres wide. The grounds were unbelievable with parklands and vineyards filling every recess. The walk was all downhill which is mandatory at this stage of our holiday.

Cocktails. We were in need of a pick me up after exploring the castle grounds and popped into the Bombay Bar for a few cocktails. Nice bar, candle lit with a few Bombay touches. Reminded me a bit of being in India, Club 9 (Bandra) to be precise. A few Bloody Marys and Pina Coladas were just what we needed to get the stomach juices ready for dinner.

Dinner. Argentinean steak fest. Again there was live music however the singer was terrible. She was pretty but had the voice of a dying moose. The steaks were great and the atmosphere (once she stopped singing) was fantastic. Vic tried ramming a celery stick and a bottle up some guy’s bum for invading her space but other than that, a very enjoyable evening.

Absynth. We get the watered down crap at home, without all the herbs. I bought a small bottle to drink back at the hotel. The stuff is toxic at 76% alcohol. My eyes literally popped out of my head after just a sip and the burning sensation down my chest lasted at least 10 minutes. Apparently, Van Gogh drank the stuff all the time. No wonder he chopped part of his ear off.

Hotel. A little more absynth, a couple of coffees for Vic, a bit of internet time and we were off to bed.

Agenda. We were planning on making our way to the bridge but the shopping strip between our hotel and the river proved again to be troublesome. This city is just so inviting when it comes to eating, drinking and shopping. Very Melbourne-esque. It almost felt like we were home at times.

Pitstop. Prague has these cool little delicatessens dotted around the city that sell small open sandwiches with an assorted array of toppings. They are pre-made, very fresh, dirt cheap and most importantly tasty! We ate several.

Sweet dough thing. The Staroceske Trdlo or the 'Old Bohemian Muff' (best left alone) is a long swirly pastry that is baked on the spot as you order. Vic of course just had to have one. The basic rule here is, if it’s sweet and sold in the street, Vic wants one!

CD shop. Vic had just received her takeaway order of coffee when she spotted a cool little CD shop on the other side of the road. There was Vic, coffee in hand listening to Jazz and chatting up the music guy. She really looked at home.

Bridge. We finally made it! Worth the wait. The river banks of Prague (Vltava river) are very beautiful and the bridge is literally the icing on the cake. What else can I say?

Dinner. Originally, we only stopped for a pilsner but the menu looked good so why not sample what was on offer? It was getting on after all. Czech onion soup was sensational. Food was good but I made the grave mistake of ordering dinner without potatoes. You should have heard Vic. “How the f am I meant to eat steak without potatoes? We’re not all hippy salad-eating rabbits like you..” and so on. She didn’t let up for a while either. Won’t make that mistake again. I thought some fresh natural vitamins were a good choice. Apparently, I should go hug a tree.

The sleep in. We surprisingly got up for brekky. After filling our tummies with food, we thought we’d ‘rest our eyes’ for a few minutes. No need to explain that theory. Woke up mid afternoon acting startled that we’d slept in so late. We blamed each other and eventually got showered before heading out. I still believe it was Vic’s fault.

Charles Bridge. We decided to head for the famous bridge as our first stop for the day. It was apparently very beautiful and one of the ‘must sees’ in Prague (if anyone uses that expression around me one more time…) however we didn’t quite make it. The walk to the bridge was via the shopping district. Instead we found ourselves walking, eating, drinking and shopping. What better way to spend the afternoon?!

Winter Woolies We found a little Carhartt store in one of the cobblestone alleys and lucky for me they were having a winter clearance sale. Big winter parkers that we’d easily pay in excess of $500 for back home, at a fraction of the price. I bought two and had to restrain myself from buying more.

More shopping. My bargains fuelled Vic’s desire to hunt (I was going to say shop but hunting is more appropriate). We pretty much shopped all day stopping for light meals and liquid refreshment (beer). A relaxed pace soaking up Prague’s atmosphere lead to one of the most enjoyable days of our trip.

Dinner. The restaurant was bustling with the sounds of locals enjoying fine Czech cuisine. A live band was playing soft pop while we ate which added to the ambience (of which it had plenty). I had to eat rabbit at least once when I was in Europe and this was my opportunity. Yum. Vic had a whole trout which was equally as good. Another winning meal.

Nightcap. Back to the hotel for some coffee and nice glass of Port.

Cabbies. For fks sake. How hard is it to get a fair fare in Europe? Our hotel was very close to the central train station and these tossers wanted 980 crown to get us there. Now that is about $65, a total rip off. It shouldn’t cost anymore than $20 and even that is being generous. Lucky I asked before jumping in. We were thankfully aware of the growing minority of disgustingly dishonest cabbies in Prague (according to Vic’s research). Pretty disappointing considering the wankers we’ve already had to deal with. This guy even tried asking what my best price was. Did I miss something mate? Are we in a rug shop? “I’ll give you 10 Euro!” I swear he muttered f’n touro under his breath as he walked away in disgust. We braved the Metro with our luggage and made it to the hotel without too much trouble.

Hotel. Now we love Art Deco and this place was aptly named the Art Deco Imperial Hotel. Everything about this place was Deco in a five star sort of way. They had their own adjoining café decorated in the same flavour. Location was superb within walking distance of almost everything and it was well equipped with Gym, Jacuzzi, Sauna and pool. Perfect.

http://www.hotel-imperial.cz/

First Stop. Two Pivo (beer), please! When in a Prague Bar, simply ask for a Pivo. The barman will deliver a half litre of beer with about four inches of head. Never order a 300ml. You may as well have ‘I’m a sphincter' written on your forehead. “It’s for my girlfriend, mate” “Sure it is, Pussy.”

Walk. After a litre or two of the famous Urquell Pilsner, we walked the streets of Prague to get a sense of geography and layout. We were located in the perfect spot and so close to everything. This place had a real warmth about it (despite the weather) with cool cafes, restaurants and bars lining the streets. The architecture again was similar to that in Budapest and Vienna but not quite as grand and regal. Don’t get me wrong, Prague is amazingly beautiful with its windy Dr Seuss-like cobblestone streets and colourful frontages but to provide some contrast, it had more of a ‘lived in’ feel as opposed to the Budapest and Vienna ‘look but don’t touch’ grandeur.

Shopping. We didn’t get far before hitting the shops. Everything was so very affordable again. No prizes for guessing how the afternoon was spent.

Dinner. Vic read up on a cool beer hall that sounded worth a visit. We had the standard pivo with schnitzel and some other fried pancake thing. This schnitzel was partly fried then baked in the oven with butter and the pancake was a combination of cabbage, potato and pigs trotter mixed together and fried in butter. Devilishly tasty. I’m sure this place is high on the Heart foundation’s list of recommendation.

Blog. We had caught up on most of our blogging during the train ride but we fell terribly behind with the photos. I think we are well over the 10 000 picture mark since starting our holiday on the second of May. It’s a real event when we have to cull, sort and manage. More often than not, Vic will stay up most of the night filtering through the pics and sorting into folders, etc. not to mention the uploading bit, excruciating with a slow connection. She’s very stubborn once she gets started and won’t normally stop until a milestone of sorts has been reached. With the help of a few coffees, we finally pulled the plug at 4am. Not sure we’ll make it to brekky tomorrow.