Prague has been ridiculously hot the whole time we've been here. Like close-to-heatstroke hot. Last night we got ripped off in a stupid tourist trap restaurant and were left feeling like Prague is seriously overrated. Today however we went on a tour (also overrated. English speaking tour guides who can't speak English... buses that don't stop to let you out at the sites... large price tag..) but it turned out to be good as we discovered a whole new world of Prague we didn't know existed. That is, the world over the bridge!
Our neck of the woods has so far been an accumulation of bogans, ripoff tourist traps (Rashi and I call them man-traps) and generally dodgey looking men. (Who stare at you coldblooded if you should happen to dress up, to go to a classical music concert in the National Museum, for example! After walking to and from that experience we figured, no wonder Prague women don't dress up... imagine having to deal with that every time you wore something other than shirts and shorts) (can I also point out the concert was amazing, and even tho I've never ever been a fan of classical music, I was actually very 'moved' by some of the pieces especially Brahm's Hungarian dance which for me was a completely bizzare experience. A whole new world of music.. for the first time in my life I could hear the violins question and answer each other, the snow storms, whirlwinds... kinda forgot where I was. Except when the musicians pulled interesting faces - that drew me back in. E.g the violinist lady who grimaced madly, the pony-tail man with a peaceful smirk, the cellist who seemed to be holding back tears the whole time, the cute little Asian pianist who bobbed her head in time to the beat constantly)
Anyway where was I... oh yeah, so we thought Prague was filled with all that dodgey stuff, especially considering all the sex shops and other unmentionable stores we have to walk past to our apartment.
But the world beyond the river is amazingly old and for miles and miles there seems to be nothing but gothic steeples ("city of a thousand towers") and terracota rooves. And tourists. And sunstroke. (And disgusting sausages with a stench that seeps into your clothes I swear and after walking past a sausage stall you can almost imagine your skin has been freshly spritzed with grease. In fact I got a pimple here in Prague. Not normal. )
Its a pity about the tourists being everywhere but still, who cares; when you step into a world of clean pedestrians and amazing shops, the lack of gold chains poking out from hairy chests is more than refreshing. Everything was as it should be on the other side of the river.
Turns out we had been chilling in our own little beighbourhood and the main road, but had not ventured to the Old Town, which is the main attraction of Prague, and is totally beautiful.
We went to Hard Rock cafe for lunch (milkshake and juice. You can't face anything else after a greasy sausage for breakfast when you were running too late to keep up with the rest of the tour group). Which was a nice and normal seeming place. I can now understand why American's buy McDonalds and Starbucks even when they are in NZ. Not that NZ restaurants are scary.
We have decided to leave here tomorrow morning and head to Vienna. Another series of multiple trains and trams with an overwieght suitcase, backpack, and stairways which I'm completely not looking forward to. Everyone says the train is great in Europe because you can go everywhere. But I find 'everywhere' usually requires 3 to 4 changes just to get to your hostel. Anyway, enough complaining.
After Vienna I am stranded all by myself until who knows when. I'm not entirely sure how I'll spend the time apart from a random hotel job 2 days a week. That means 5 days a week to fill in. I'm pretty keen for a short no-travelling break for a little bit so I might just settle into some Austrian culture for a week. I'll see.
Our neck of the woods has so far been an accumulation of bogans, ripoff tourist traps (Rashi and I call them man-traps) and generally dodgey looking men. (Who stare at you coldblooded if you should happen to dress up, to go to a classical music concert in the National Museum, for example! After walking to and from that experience we figured, no wonder Prague women don't dress up... imagine having to deal with that every time you wore something other than shirts and shorts) (can I also point out the concert was amazing, and even tho I've never ever been a fan of classical music, I was actually very 'moved' by some of the pieces especially Brahm's Hungarian dance which for me was a completely bizzare experience. A whole new world of music.. for the first time in my life I could hear the violins question and answer each other, the snow storms, whirlwinds... kinda forgot where I was. Except when the musicians pulled interesting faces - that drew me back in. E.g the violinist lady who grimaced madly, the pony-tail man with a peaceful smirk, the cellist who seemed to be holding back tears the whole time, the cute little Asian pianist who bobbed her head in time to the beat constantly)
Anyway where was I... oh yeah, so we thought Prague was filled with all that dodgey stuff, especially considering all the sex shops and other unmentionable stores we have to walk past to our apartment.
But the world beyond the river is amazingly old and for miles and miles there seems to be nothing but gothic steeples ("city of a thousand towers") and terracota rooves. And tourists. And sunstroke. (And disgusting sausages with a stench that seeps into your clothes I swear and after walking past a sausage stall you can almost imagine your skin has been freshly spritzed with grease. In fact I got a pimple here in Prague. Not normal. )
Its a pity about the tourists being everywhere but still, who cares; when you step into a world of clean pedestrians and amazing shops, the lack of gold chains poking out from hairy chests is more than refreshing. Everything was as it should be on the other side of the river.
Turns out we had been chilling in our own little beighbourhood and the main road, but had not ventured to the Old Town, which is the main attraction of Prague, and is totally beautiful.
We went to Hard Rock cafe for lunch (milkshake and juice. You can't face anything else after a greasy sausage for breakfast when you were running too late to keep up with the rest of the tour group). Which was a nice and normal seeming place. I can now understand why American's buy McDonalds and Starbucks even when they are in NZ. Not that NZ restaurants are scary.
We have decided to leave here tomorrow morning and head to Vienna. Another series of multiple trains and trams with an overwieght suitcase, backpack, and stairways which I'm completely not looking forward to. Everyone says the train is great in Europe because you can go everywhere. But I find 'everywhere' usually requires 3 to 4 changes just to get to your hostel. Anyway, enough complaining.
After Vienna I am stranded all by myself until who knows when. I'm not entirely sure how I'll spend the time apart from a random hotel job 2 days a week. That means 5 days a week to fill in. I'm pretty keen for a short no-travelling break for a little bit so I might just settle into some Austrian culture for a week. I'll see.
