Nate Siggard’s Travel Blog

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I woke up extra early Friday to write my blog for Thursday. It was well worth it. I have a terrible memory and the written record will last me forever. The sun rise lasts a few hours in Prague, probably because there are no tall mountains around the city, and it is a beautiful sight.

Next up for the day was figuring out what was going to happen next on our trip. The hotel was booked through Saturday, and we wanted to spend the second half of our trip in Amsterdam. It made sense because we were going to have a layover in Amsterdam on the way home from Prague anyway, and we figured we could pick up the flight halfway. Boy did we learn our lesson later in the day. I booked two plane tickets, which included an hour trip on a turbo prop to Hungary, and a connecting flight to Amsterdam. It was the most affordable option, and we have an adventurous spirit.

Once the flight was booked we started looking at hotels, but the internet at the hotel was off and on and by noon we decided we had to get out of the hotel for the day or risk losing a valuable last day in Prague. The destination was Karlstejn Castle, a short 35 minute train ride from the local train station and about 29km south of Andel in Praha 5. The city is broken into divisions all beginning with the name Praha or Prague in Czech, and then the district number. Shops and restaurants are named after the street or local point of interest and a describing word for the shop.

The walk to the train station was brief but when we got there it looked abandoned except that there was a movie being filmed on one of the unused platforms. We found our way back down to the ticket counter and after attempting to communicate with the information window attendant who spoke absolutely no english, we got two round trip tickets to Karlstejn. This was probably the hardest place to communicate and figure out where we were supposed to go on the entire trip. I guess only locals use the domestic rail. A friendly kid about our age asked what we were looking for when we got up to the platform where I saw a number 3 (which was what we were looking for), and told us we were in the right place. First nice Czech local we ran into in town. Strangely enough he looked identical to my friend Cory in Santa Rosa, CA.

The train arrived and was really worn down. Lots of graffiti – more so than the metro, trams, and buses. It was Friday afternoon around 2pm by the time we got on the train and it was very full. Standing room only for the first four stops, and then we finally got a seat. The train although worn down was enjoyable, and my first view of the countryside was beautiful. The hills are covered with forests and the valleys are nestled with small villages along the main river. The people in the villages were no less civilized than the ones in the city center. Lots of cell phones, american brand clothing, and the essentials of modern life. There were many bed and breakfast type hotels along the route, most notably was one on the river with the sign “Romanticky” above the entrance. Just a tip, if you want to say anything (at least modern words) in Czech your best bet is to take that word and add “cky” or an “i” to the end.

The train arrived in Karlstejn and we may have missed the station if I hadn’t seen the castle right before we stopped. We got off the train and started walking through a wonderful little village with horse drawn carriages on cobblestone roads. Across the river and up the hill. Along a stream and passed the souvenir booths. The forest is dense and the castle is massive on top of the hill.

* This is as far as I got writing about the castle the next day, and I just finished it while in Amsterdam. It might be hard to understand, but I just wasn’t able to fully elaborate on how wonderful the castle in Prague was once I got here. No where in my my entire life, not even the splendid Czech countryside will ever compare to the way I have felt since reaching Amsterdam. For more on that, check back in a few days.

The last tour had started and the castle was closed for the day. So we looked around as much as possible which wasn’t much, and headed back down the other side. The castle was beautiful and much bigger up close than I could have imagined. It must have been really hard to attack someone inside such a protected fortress.

The way back down was beautiful and the souvenir shops were closing up for the day. We were lucky to come after the busy rush of tour groups and tourists who pour through the town. Back in town across from the train station we had dinner and a beer and waited for the train to take us back to Andel. It was a beautiful day. The perfect way to leave the Czech Republic with a little view of everything. I would have loved to talk with more Czech people, but from what learned I have a very deep appreciation of the people and their culture. It is definitely a place that I want to go back to. Perhaps with an adventurous lover in the late spring.

The rain started as soon as the sun had set on Wednesday (day 2), and continued in short bursts throughout the night. The temperature fell as well, and as a precautionary measure we made sure to sleep in for the first time on the trip. No need to catch a cold. Or race out into the frigid wet morning dressed for the upper 50’s (F) when it was clearly in the lower 40’s.

The late morning was a welcome change of pace. We got ourselves together, and hit the road. The Andel town center is only a few blocks from the hotel and is the starting point for our journey each day. By now it’s beginning to feel a little like home. My desire to keep my mouth sealed shut in fear of outing myself as an American with no clue what’s being said around me started to wear off.

There are a handful of trams that pass through Andel center and we boarded number 9 into the newer part of town on the other side of the river. The above ground metro here is pretty odd at times. It usually smells like a big hotdog, and the people who ride it are dead silent. You could hear a pin drop if it weren’t for the abundance of life outside the train car. Once on the other side of the river, it was interesting to see a lot more young adults. This is the more modern part of the city and there are many offices and business people to and from along the metro. The most popular place to grab a bite was KFC, with a line that was easily 10 people deep into the street (from a serving window). They take their KFC seriously here. The KFC in Andel center is open late, at least until midnight and was full even then. I wonder what they would think if they knew the reputation KFC has back in the States (as something to be avoided). Perhaps it would make them like it even more. Now that I think about it the TGI Fridays is pretty busy too.

My plan was to get us a bit lost in the newer part of the city and head towards the city center and National Museum. Since it was drizzling a bit we had to take cover under a few awnings, but it never lasted longer than a minute or two before we could continue. The buildings here have a similar layout throughout the city. The front is a tall straight facade with storefronts on ground level and condos or lofts above. In the center of each, is a car park, usually blocked by a garage door of some type. You can tell which buildings are the pricer ones by the quality of their garage doors, and how well they are disguised. Parking on the streets in central Prague looks like the biggest headache ever, worse than the busiest parts of LA for sure. These parking garages are essential part of getting anywhere, and to the looks of it, reserved for the luckiest of people.

It was past noon, and we were starting to get hungry. I have the habit of meandering through the streets in a fashion that looks intentional but hints at my lack of knowledge of the city. It comes from my desire to see something new around every corner, and in Prague, that’s not too hard. Eventually we passed a small door with a couple windows along the ground that looked like they led to an Italian restaurant. Czech food is delicious, but heavy and lacking diversity in flavor. Italian seemed like a nice break from the meat and potatoes we were getting used to. Cafe Aforma was a beautiful restaurant beneath ground level, that was full of people when we walked in. For central Prague it was reasonably priced and smelled wonderful. The beers and pizza were equally as good.

When we finished lunch, we took the next left towards the National Museum up the street. This area is where you can find a lot of the adult shops and cabarets that dominate the city at night. During the day, especially a drizzly one, it was rather calm and didn’t warrant alarm. It seems like every street in Prague leads towards the Wenseclas Square where the National Museum is, or the Old Town. No matter how lost I am able to get myself, somehow I end up at one of these two places.

From the steps of the Museum a beautiful view unfolds of a city in transition. From what I’ve learned so far, Prague and the Czech Republic has been in transition now forever. When asked to sum the city with a singe word, I immediately thought “verge”. Convergence of cultures, and the shift from old to new. As if the entire city was on the verge of becoming the modern center it desperately wants to be, but still somehow can’t figure out how to integrate it’s past. It’s full of potential yet seems to be trapped under a glass ceiling of worry and desperation. This probably has something to do with changing governments, cultural expectations, and lifestyles more than five times throughout the 20th century. To think that in one lifetime, this country has gone from being a republic, to being stolen by the third reich (or handed over by the European world powers depending how you look at it), back to a republic, to communist totalitarian, and then back republic is something I am barely able to comprehend. The lack of a constant reliable government instantly makes the palpable anxiety of the people here a little easier to understand.

The National Museum is a beautiful building and no doubt has gone through it’s own transition many times throughout history. The top floor is a library of natural sciences ranging from Archeology to Zoology. Each had it’s highlights, but to see the range of specimen was a real treat. The second floor, had the Paleontology and Geology sections. I particularly enjoyed the Zoology and Geology rooms as I am a huge nerd! Something about million year old rocks, really gets me excited. Also on the second level was a wonderful exhibit of 20th century Czech life and history. Particularly interesting and emotionally moving were the documents signed by the European power heads of state in 1938 when they transfered control of the first Czech Republic to the Third Reich. They did this without inviting a representative of this country and although they were ready to fight for their independence, they had little choice but to accept Nazi control. To see Hitlers signature on that piece of paper next to the Prime Ministers of England, France, and Spain was heart breaking. To think that they so easily submit to Hitlers demands did little to convince me of their lack of wrong doing. No wonder they were obligated to eventually fight back. I’m sure this is only a small peace of the puzzle but until that moment, the war was something foreign to me, even considering the United States involvement. And seeing Hitlers signature on that paper right in front of me made it painfully real.

On the second and third floors is also an amazing room filled with statues of prominent men, and a single women, with walls covered in paintings and marble. I took about a hundred pictures in here (which you can see below), and would have loved to spend an afternoon in their with a piano playing. Unfortunately for us, it was covered and in the corner of the room.

At this point it was almost 5pm and the Museum was closing so we made our way back out into the city streets. Inside the museum it was fairly warm and we almost forgot how cold it was outside. We walked up towards the River leading us passed the train station, Opera House, and through one of the lesser parks in Prague. We ended up back at Powder Tower and in the Jewish quarter and eventually into Old town square. When I say that every street leads to this part of the city, it’s no exaggeration. Even without the picturesque spires of the church or the astronomical clock tower it’s easy to find your way back to the center of the city. And in very little time too.

By this point Alexis had had enough of walking for the day and opted for a rest on a park bench. I took advantage of the time to cover new ground and headed through the narrow streets of Old Town towards Charles Bridge. Between Old Town Square and Charles Bridge is the main tourist area of town and is constantly filled with people, and the widest variety of Language I have ever experienced. At any given time you will hear Czech, Italian, French, Polish, and even occasionally English as you walk through the streets. I love Prague, but the sound of someone speaking English still makes me very excited. Even after just a few days of exploring this foreign land.

In front of Charles Bridge is a beautiful church and the lady in front let me snap a few photos of the interior, even though no camera signs were clearly posted on every wall inside. I made the best of it and fired off a handful before continuing on. The rush of people onto the bridge was a bit overwhelming, and the construction on both ends of the bridge didn’t help that much. It was a shame to miss the bridge in it’s full glory, or when it wasn’t full of people, but I have a feeling I’ll be back early Saturday around sunrise when the bridge is supposed to be the most beautiful. After a brief walk across the bridge and back the way I came, I noticed a small door in the bottom of the tower at the end of the bridge. I passed it wondering what it was when I decided to turn around and see what was inside. This was probably the best decision I made all day. For a small fee I climbed the tower and was met with the most beautiful panoramic views of the city I had seen yet. There was a break in the clouds and the sun illuminated the entire city with it’s gloomy backdrop. Perfect weather for HDR photos. I took a few hundred and then spent another twenty minutes taking in the view. It was sad to see so many people had etched or drawn their names on the roof of the building. Especially since a lot of them had added “USA” underneath their names. Way to go guys. The statue at the top of the stairs just before waking out onto the roof was also missing it’s face and I took a moment to think about the selfish destructive nature of humankind on my way back down. It’s probably the greatest natural mystery I will ever explore.

From there I walked back through the narrow winding roads to the Old Town Square. My legs were sore and my feet even more so from the uneven cobblestone roads and sidewalks. I passed a small tattoo shop and took a look inside. One of the artists was drawing a small design for someone and there were a few teenage girls looking through books of flash and occasionally giggling to each other in a language I didn’t understand. I looked through the only portfolio on the table, which was actually quite good considering the shop was fairly similar to one found in other busy tourist spots like Venice, California where quality comes second to price and the location of the shop. I grabbed a card and headed back to the square.

We did a few circles looking for a bar called Riley’s we were told about that served Absinthe with a literal flare. Although after a few minutes and the temperature dropping again with the sun setting, we headed back to the metro station and on to the hotel. It was another beautiful day in Prague and I was thankful to be blessed with a rainy day while here. It’s always a treat to see a new city in all the different ways it exists, and there’s no better or more consistent change than with the weather. It’s one of the things that we all universally experience with little effect or control on our part, and share has citizens of the Earth.

I woke up at 6:30am Wednesday morning as the sun began to light the sky in a pastel hue, something close to the color orange, which hardly describes it’s full scale and beauty. I tried to sleep longer but the excitement of being half way around the world grabbed my by the wrist and sprung me from my simple twin bed. We decided to wake up around 8, and I wanted to give Alexis some time to rest, so I showered and got ready for the day before waking her.

The internet at the hotel is on the fritz, and as she got ready I headed to the lobby to add a few things to yesterday’s post, and finish setting up this new blog. A few other guests came through on their way out and it was interesting to find out most of them were Italian, like the hosts here at the hotel.

When Alexis was ready, she joined me in the lobby and we ate the best continental breakfast I’ve ever had. There was an array of fruit, cereal, breads, and yogurts. Our host Kristina made us some delicious toasties (paninis for all intensive purposes) and ridiculously strong cafe lattes. She made everyone toast a shot of Becherovka an herbal liquor, which she said was the local cure-all. I thought it tasted like cinnamon.

Next, we were off to the Prague castle. A short trip on the tram up the street, and we were at the base of a massive park that runs along the west side of the city. It was there that we caught another tram up to the top of the hill where there was an observatory and an observation tower. The tower cost 100 krown ($5) and was well worth it. The views were spectacular and we could see the entire city from the top. The climb was not an easy one and I don’t think it would have been as rewarding at the top without it.

Prague has a bit of everything. Parks, urban areas, and tons of classical architecture. I am in love. After the tower, we walked over to the “mirror labyrinth” where little kids chased each other and almost ran into themselves. The labyrinth was small, but I think I got a few good pictures inside. It was the first time I have ever been in such a place.

We left the hilltop, and began down a cascade of walkways and staircases, leading to a beautiful garden full of blooming blossoms below the castle walls. The views from here were to die for, the trees were full of singing birds, and as an added bonus the abundance of flowers in the trees was a welcome break from the smell schnitzel.

The monastery atop the castle grounds was enormous and had a beautiful basilica that was gated off at the entrance. A separate fee to enter the library was required and although it looked beautiful, the no camera sign was enough to dissuade me from the trip. Too much to see in so little time.

We continued down the top of the castle walls to the entrance of the castle just as the royal guards were carrying out their daily ceremony. A band played as they carried out marches, and left through the main gate and crowded exterior towards the monastery. Once they left, we all rushed in to fill their place. Through the castle courtyard and out the other side was St Vitas Cathedral. It is beautiful 14th century gothic building with a breath-taking baroque onion roof which was added in the 18th century. I can’t tell you how excited I was to get the chance to go inside of the cathedral. A short 20 minute wait in a crowded line of tour groups, and we were inside.

The cathedral deserves it’s entire own post, but I will leave that to the guide books. What I will share is the reverence I felt inside the building. I wouldn’t normally consider myself to be a religious person (although a very spiritual one), and my breath was stolen from my body when the I saw the stain glassed tinged light illuminating the interior. To think of all of the people to stand in the same spot, hundreds of years ago, no doubt in awe of the magnificence of the thought involved in constructing such a work of art, was enough to leave me speechless. I had entered my first gothic, or for that matter, historical church in Europe. What an amazing experience!

The building is lined with stained glass pictures, each depicting a different story from the bible. In each section, enormous paintings, statues, and gold plated carvings decorated the walls and floors. I could have spent a week inside this building and it would not have been enough. I took a few hundred pictures, so they will have to do instead.

We exited into the center of the castle grounds and walked around the cathedral and back down to the castle walls where the city was once again laid before us in all it’s splendor. The mix of architecture throughout the city is perhaps my favorite part of Prague.

As we left the castle grounds I was sad to go so soon, but excited for what awaited us below. Returning to the city we were met with the hustle of modern life. A short walk from the stairs and we crossed the Manesuv Most (bridge) into Josefov (Jewish quarter). There were many more police here, and they seemed to have more of a “swat” style to their dress. The old jewish cemetery and surrounding buildings were in various stages of collapse but had almost as much if not more emotion behind them than any other in the city. This must have been a very difficult place to be jewish (I’m coming to find out this is the case almost everywhere), and the buildings and cemetery are proof that that was true.

As we left the jewish quarter we walked straight into the most western area of the city that I have seen yet. It reminded me of the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica. Every luxury name brand you can think of had a store on this beautiful tree lined street which led us into Old Town Square where we visited last night. It is a much different place during the day. Many more tour groups, and much less charm. I’m really happy to have seen it at dusk yesterday because it was so magical. Still, it is always amazing to stand in the same place as so many generations before me.

By then we were starving, and an outdoor cafe lunch seemed appropriate. The prices at these cafes isn’t the best in town, but the food is great and the people watching is superb. I think while drinking my first beer at lunch I fell in love ten times and counted at least twice as many mullets. Got to love the Euro-mullet. I had a delicious lamb and spinach dish with what could only be compared to tatter tots. It was best eaten all together in each bite. The service out here is not very good, but it’s probably because they are pretty annoyed with ignorant Americans on a daily basis.

A few beers later and we were ready to head back to the apartment. It was mid-afternoon and began to get pretty cloudy. We meandered through the commercial streets and ended up back in Weseclas square, where we had gone last night. It is a quick trip on the A metro line back to Andel station, and we stopped in the Tesco supermarket (inside of an modern indoor shopping mall), to pick up some Staropramen beer and water. Alexis’s feet had had enough for the day, and I was feeling pretty tired myself. The comfy apartment was a very welcome home to return to, and we cracked open our beers and kicked our shoes off. What a great way to spend our second day in Prague!

[Photos are at the bottom of the post]

I made sure not to sleep the Sunday night before we left. This was the best idea ever. We left for the airport at 5:45am and got to LAX at 6:20. Lots of security on the way in because a Jamaican man held a plane captive for 8 hours the day before. Great!

I had little trouble dozing off on the plane and woke up in Atlanta. Time, 3:50pm. After 4 gate changes and a little shuffling we got to our proper gate and boarded about an hour late around 6:30pm. By now I was exhausted and I had no idea of what day it really was. As soon as we were on the plane I was out. I don’t even remember take off. Woke up once mid flight to see night out the window and went back to sleep. Woke up at 8:20am Prague time, had a quick croissant and landed a half hour later.

We walked off of the airplane and almost all the signage in the airport is in English. Alexis got her bag, and I changed $60 into krown so that we could buy transit passes. As we walked out of the baggage area, there were many tourist booths trying to sell sightseeing or hotels. There was a long line in front of one (and no body in front of the others). The transit serviceman was helpful and spoke many languages. We bought two 5 day passes for 500 krown each, or about $25. He gave us specific instructions on a map (wouldn’t be the last time someone did this in near perfect English) on how to get to the hotel. First stop, across the street. Bus number 100 takes you to the beginning of the yellow metro line. And we were off.

It was beautiful out, 70 degrees F and sunny. I took my camera out as soon as we sat on the bus bench and tried taking a few pictures. Something was happening with my autofocus and I had a mild heart attack. But I wont let any problem get in my way, so we boarded our bus, stamped our tickets in the machine and off we went. After a few quick stops right around the airport we were dropped off at a transport hub in the suburbs. I know it was the suburbs because there was a mall with H&M, Electroworld, and a gigantic IKEA right off the same exit. The housing looked to me like large projects. Big styleless buildings that could have been dorms, housing too many people at once. This spot was the end of the line for the bus we were on and we knew to get off there.

A short walk and into the building with a yellow B out front and we descended into the metro station. Hardly anyone was around, albeit it was 10am and the people in that area of town all probably tae the metro at 7am to reach their jobs in the city by morning. I watched my back incessantly as I had been warned that there were many pickpockets (even by stickers on the metro doors), but honestly, I didn’t notice one nefarious person at the station or on the train at this point. As we got closer to our exit, a few more people got on that I definitely kept an eye on. But I wasn’t the only one, because at least one women would not stop staring. I think she had a crush.

We reached Andel stop, and made our way up the escalator. After a few minutes wondering which way the hotel was, google maps came to the rescue and luckily we were only a block away. The hotel is a cute pink building tucked between a lot of dirty stone buildings. The buildings here are very fortified, as if on permanent defense. Aside from refurbished department storefronts, building entrances are small, inward-opening and lack any welcoming feeling. Same for windows, which are rare and usually barred.

We buzzed at the entrance and were let in by the purveyor Gastone. He’s a very friendly Italian man who speaks wonderful English. Apparently they were out of studios and upgraded us to an apartment on the third floor. It was still being cleaned, so we took a short walk to the river and into the center of the suburb that we are staying in. There were a lot of people in the area and a lot of department stores, in a way that reminded me of a western shopping center, but with a shanty alley feel.

It was getting hot out, and we were getting hungry so we ducked into an underground restaurant we passed on the way to the river. We chose our table and took our seats, accidentally in the smoking section. Seating yourself without a host, seems rude but is normal here. They brought a menu over and we ordered beers. The waitress didn’t seem too excited to be helping us, and somehow knew we spoke english without us saying anything. This was the first time I realized how much we stood out as foreigners. I ordered a delicious cheese and leek stuffed chicken breast and had two very good beers for about $9.

When we got to the hotel our room was ready. It is surprisingly big for $70 a night, with a room, bathroom, and living room which faces the street. It is very clean and feels very comfortable. We decided to take a little nap to adjust to the time change. Alexis gave me some more melatonin and I feel right asleep.

Around 7:30pm we got up, to a beautiful dusk evening and took the metro into the city center. This time the train was packed, to the point where we barely fit in. The city center is only three stops away, and it was a very quick trip. Leaving the station was a bit confusing. We were stopped by what we thought was someone trying to sell something, but ended up being a police women asking for our tickets. Alexis fumbled a bit finding hers, but the women was a bit let down when we both had tickets. Once we reached the top we were in a sort of “time square” called Wenceslas Square, with a large beautiful building at the top of the street which is the Czech National Muzeum. This area was full of people, a lot of which were tourists as well, and I led us on a nice walk into Old Towne square.

There is a large clock tower and beautiful church surrounding the square with lots of outdoor cafes. A short walk around the exterior of the square and we were back to the main street where we had started. There are a lot of crystal shops. Probably more than any other business. Almost no salons, of any kind, which seems weird considering that most of the women are fairly attractive and well kept. There seems to be an obsession with mullets here. I’m not even kidding you, tons of mullets. Mostly on what I would consider a “hipster” back home. Tight brightly colored (or white) designer pants, tucked into high top shoes, and a mullet. Sometimes they look like mohawks that have no product in them, but they proudly rock the mullet look. It’s way more common than I can even describe.

There was one street in particular off the main street that had tons of red lights, and a few cabarets. Otherwise, the cabarets offered 2 draft beers for an admission fee of 200 krown, or about $10. I’ll let you know how it goes, because you know I’ll be visiting at least one.

It started getting late and we headed back to the apartment on the metro. Just as busy getting back as on the way, if not more. Just off the metro we grabbed a few waters and made our way to the apartment to end the day.

Edit 4/22: I’m lucky to have a Prague local, Jeff Povey (Twitter: JeffPovey) reading my blog and helping me fill in the names of places I didn’t know, which I’ve added in italics. He runs a site called Prague.tv that has a great video on using the metro system, and offers a lot of good recommendations for things to do in Prague.

I have been traveling for the last year, and now that I made it to Europe it’s time to have a travel blog. I hope you’ll enjoy living vicariously through my journey!