I started this trip off with a bus ride from Groningen to Bremen. The bus ride went relatively smoothly. However, the wait in the airport was long. Next time I think I can kill time without a book, I need to slap myself. A 5 1/2 hour wait is not fun to do without entertainment.
14.30 - Prague
Carmel Frap for 65 CZK.
When I first saw the price, I choked. But then I remembered that 1 euro is roughly 27 CZK.
When I left the Bremen Airport, it was 20 C (68 F). When I landed in Prague, it was 36 C (93 F). The heat was a shock to the system for a bit.
Everyone is so kind and helpful! I've asked four different people where to go for a tram/bus and they've all helped me get to the right one. I had one gentleman walk me to bus stop, got me on the correct bus, and told me when I needed to get off. He then pointed to the next bus that I needed to get on. This man did not speak any English and I do not speak any Czech so it was helpful that I had written down where I was trying to go before I left Bremen.
On one of the buses, I talked to a lady about the weather, and she said this heat was unheard of. This is the hottest its been all summer, and next week it should be back around 20 C, which is what it normally is.
Tonight, I am going to meet up with Calum and Graham at O'Reiley's. Calum and Graham are two of my flatmates from back in Groningen.
7 June 2015
Calum, Graham, and I walked around the Old Town of Prague.
We found a cool restaurant, The Zapomenuty Cas.
We went to a bar and watched a game. Had a few drinks. Great times.
8 June 2015
Calum and I decided to take a day trip to Kutna Hora. I heard about Kutna Hora in one of my art history classes because of its Bone Church. I was told that it was cool and interesting to visit.
However, getting to Kutna Hora turned out to be an adventure all on its own. We made the first train, but we had a transfer that we had to make. The second train left early, so we had to wait an hour to catch the next one to Kutna Hora.
When we got to the Kutna Hora train station, we decided to walk into town. It was a long walk to the city center and we ran out of water. We found a shop where we bought water and picked up a city map.
There are many statues in Kutna Hora. I left Calum next to this one so he could sleep some more, and I headed into the city to explore.
Stone Fountain
According to the map, the Stone Fountain is a "late Gothic fountain that was created as part of the Kutna Hora early water distribution system around 1495 by Master Bricci.
Church of Saint John of Nepomuk
"This is a Baroque church, its front facade is decorated with statues of Saint Adalbert and Saint Procopius. The church is interconnected with the Club House from the 15th century, which is used as a gathering place and a gallery." - Kutna Hora travel map.
The Church of Saint John of Nepomuk is near the Stone Fountain.
I walked to the Cathedral of Saint Barbara. The cathedral is on a cliff, and I turned to the left. This is what I saw.
Cathedral of Saint Barbara
I approached the cathedral head on, and circled around it before I went inside.
The inside of the cathedral. Construction of this cathedral began in the late 14th century.
I made my way back to city center and passed a gate with pealing paint. I found Calum at the statue I left him at and we made our way back to the Bone Church.
Cathedral of Assumption of Our Lady
Close to the Bone Church is the Cathedral of Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist. This is "the oldest cathedral building in Central Europe." - Kutna Hora tour map.
Sedlec Ossuary
Also known as the Bone Church. The Sedlec Ossuary is located under the Cemetery Church of All Saints. There are between 40,000 and 70,000 remains in the church. The bones are used to decorate the church.
As the story goes, an abbot sprinkled dirt from the Holy Land on the cemetery grounds, and this caused the cemetery to become a desirable burial site for all of Central Europe.
Calum and I met up with Ryan, another flatmate from Groningen. We went to a vegan restaurant called Maitrea. Ryan heard of Maitrea and wanted to check it out. Me being lactose intolerant was okay with vegan, because then I would not have to worry about dairy products hidden in the food.
We had an awesome meal and called it a night. Well, I called it a night and the guys went out.
9 June 2015
I had an early morning. I went to the Charles Bridge.
Charles Bridge
After I walked across the Charles Bridge, I decided it would be a good idea to walk all the way to the Prague Castle.
The climb to the top took me a while, but I enjoyed the whole walk.
Prague Castle
Views from around the Castle. As soon as I made it to the Castle, it started to rain.
The Prague Castle is not just a castle; it is a complex with many buildings. I bought the student ticket that covered the A Circuit. This ticket includes the Old Royal Palace, The Story of Prague Castle, Basilica of Saint George, Golden Lane, Powder Tower, Saint Vitus' Cathedral, and Rosenberg Palace.
Saint Vitus's Cathedral
The cathedral is huge. If you look closely at the bottom of a few of the photos, you can see heads.
The Old Royal Palace
Basilica of Saint George
The Golden Lane
To me, the Golden Lane felt tiny. The buildings were vibrantly colored. If I remember correctly, the Golden Lane was a little off shoot of a loop that was optional.
Powder Tower
The Powdered Tower housed the Story of Prague Castle, or at least a portion of the history. I remember a lot of military uniforms on display.
After I explored the Powder Tower, I exited the Prague Castle and went to the Vysehrad Castle.
The Prague metro system is not like any other system I have encountered so far in Europe. There are three lines in the system and most of the stops were awesome.
Vysehrad Castle
I enjoyed visiting the Vysehrad Castle more than the Prague Castle because it was less busy. Because it was less busy, it was a calmer experience and I could take as much time I wanted to wonder from one area of the castle grounds to the next.
The story behind the Ctirad and Šárka statue is interesting, in a bloody way. Sarka lead f feminist uprising against Ctirad and his men. They tempted the men with mead, however, what the men did not know was that the mead was laced with a sleeping potion. When the men were in their drug induced sleep, the women killed them.
I spent almost all day in the Vysehrad Castle. I grabbed some food and went back to my Airbnb room for a nap. Instead of only an hour or two nap, I slept the whole night.
10 June 2015
I had a late start this morning. I made my way back into the city center and decided to go to the Astronomical Tower and explore.
I love the Prague metro system. I know there are only three lines, but still. Escalators take you down to the platforms and they are not short. I cannot remember which metro stop it was, but it felt like one of the escalators took a minute to get to the bottom.
Klementinum Library
This is a Baroque library in Prague. It was not permitted to take photos inside the room.
Astronomical Tower
A view from the top of the Astronomical Tower attached to the Klementinum Library. (Not to be confused with the Astronomical Clock,) The climb to the top of the Astronomical Tower was 172 steps.
Mirror Chapel
The chapel in the Klementinum Library had lots of mirrors in it, hence its name. The chapel is covered in frescos and decorated with carvings.
Strahov Library
It is only allowed to take photos inside the library if you have a pass. I do not remember how much I paid for the pass, but it was not much. If you do not have a pass, security will take your camera and will erase everything on the card, and they are not nice about it.
I had my camera up to my face and apparently they did not see my pass on my shirt, because they motioned for me to come over to them and reached for my camera. I handed it over because I did not want to get yelled at. The guy who took my camera was fiddling with it and the second guy noticed the bright yellow pass on my shirt. He stopped the man with my camera and handed it back to me.
So that was how I almost lost all of my photos from Prague, all because of a misunderstanding.
Petřínské sady
I had a lovely, relaxing afternoon in the Petřín Gardens. I spent the rest of my day in the Gardens.
11 June 2015
Today was my last day in Prague. I decided to get up super early so I could see the Charles Bridge at sunrise.
Charles Bridge
The bridge was pretty cool, not going to lie. I spent about an hour and a half on the bridge, just enjoying the morning.
Astronomical Clock
I walked past this clock quite a few times but this was the first time I took a photo of it. Well, a digital photo. I took a photo of both the Charles Bridge and the Astronomical Clock with a pinhole camera and I will develop the images when I get back to Groningen.
Last metro ride in Prague.
I got to the airport with enough time to spare. The flight back to Bremen Airport was uneventful and so was the bus ride from Bremen to Groningen.
Charles Bridge
Astronomical Clock
When I was in Prague, I took along two pinhole cameras and took an exposure of the Charles Bridge and the Astronomical Clock. Neither image developed to show a perfect photograph, but I like the results.
Both cameras got jostled around in my luggage and suffered damage which caused light leakage.