We had a fairly shittxy nights sleep owing to a very echoey hostel where every footstep and door opening etc echoes to about three times its usual volume.
We headed into Alexandraplatz assumign that might be a place to buy a tourist map and start out. We havenät done much research this trip and really had no idea where to go or what to do. With tourist map in hand we walked the two kms to Checkpoint Charlie- which with fake American soldior re enactments etc was fairly lame. The museum was incredibly interesting but not laid out well. Lots of writing and photos etc crammed into a small space and it didnät unfold in a very logical way. Hard to get a chronological idea of the Berlin and its wall and would be particularlz confusing if yzou had no previous knowledge about it. I suppose most people know a bit about it all though. We spent a good 2 hours wandering around it though- lots of incredible stories of escape.
From there we walked to Potsdamer Platz and to the Holocaust memorial. The Memorial is a colloection of probablz 100 or more cement rectangular pillars of varying height. The ground they are on is not even but waving hills and burrows so when you look at the memorical from the outside you donät realise how tall some of the pillars actually are and you can#t see all the people wandering through them.
From there we walked to the Brandenburg Gate- the only surviving gate of 4 to berlin built in the 1700s.
We are now at the internet in a big mall across from where the German Premiere of Star Trek the movie is happening. Lots of excitement earlier on but we couldnät be bothered waiting to see a couple of famous people walk by.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Berlin
Spent the morning bumming around Dresden before getting the train to Berlin. One thing we have realised about Eruope travel is that booking trains ahead etc is kind of pointless and excessive- but that the internet does not help zou at all. Get buses not trains. We booked a train in advance because we have limited time and didnät want to get stuck. We then realised that we booked the super slow train that we had to change at some random German village. But not a complete loss the views were gorgeous. Spring trulz has sprung in Europe. When we arrived in Prague the trees were all still basicallz bare from Winter and over the first week we saw them starting to bloom and now at the end fo two weeks things are reallz green. Its amayzing.
Arrived at Berlin central station- which is quite incredible in itself. I know this is going to sound incredibly dodgy but Berlin is the kind of place that can reallz take advantage of the fact that it was destroyed by war and build some super cool new stuff and not be bogged down by old buildings forever. Ok yes old buildings are amazing and wonderful etc but seriouslz some of Europe has got to go people! Ok old building rant aside - we checked into our hostel which is about 15 minutes train trip out (everywhere central is ridiculouslz expensive). Then we went back into town. We wandered along a street headed towards Alexandraplatz where the huge tv ariel thingy is (created by the Soviets to make the East look impressive). Along this street we came to this old derelict looking archway and building but there appeared to be some life within. So we walked through to find an area covered in sand with outdoor lounges, benches etc. Not classy pretentious fake beach stuff but just like someone dragged an old couch off the street. Tehre were some art studios with people working in them and stuff to look at. So we had a look around and then sat back amongst the sand etc to ahve a beer and listen to some cool music. The place had a really great vibe and I can now see whz everzone is wanting to move to Berlin and become an artist. There were a couple of rat sightings however but I suppose that just added to the crazyness of it all.
Along this road were some other curiosities. Many many prostitutes. All wearing bum bags. Very strange. I don#t know whether its legal along this particular strip or what but there thez were plain as day with their pimps wandering around behind them. At first I thought the first two were just a couple of slappers out for the night until we kept walking adn the same theme continued.
Arrived at Berlin central station- which is quite incredible in itself. I know this is going to sound incredibly dodgy but Berlin is the kind of place that can reallz take advantage of the fact that it was destroyed by war and build some super cool new stuff and not be bogged down by old buildings forever. Ok yes old buildings are amazing and wonderful etc but seriouslz some of Europe has got to go people! Ok old building rant aside - we checked into our hostel which is about 15 minutes train trip out (everywhere central is ridiculouslz expensive). Then we went back into town. We wandered along a street headed towards Alexandraplatz where the huge tv ariel thingy is (created by the Soviets to make the East look impressive). Along this street we came to this old derelict looking archway and building but there appeared to be some life within. So we walked through to find an area covered in sand with outdoor lounges, benches etc. Not classy pretentious fake beach stuff but just like someone dragged an old couch off the street. Tehre were some art studios with people working in them and stuff to look at. So we had a look around and then sat back amongst the sand etc to ahve a beer and listen to some cool music. The place had a really great vibe and I can now see whz everzone is wanting to move to Berlin and become an artist. There were a couple of rat sightings however but I suppose that just added to the crazyness of it all.
Along this road were some other curiosities. Many many prostitutes. All wearing bum bags. Very strange. I don#t know whether its legal along this particular strip or what but there thez were plain as day with their pimps wandering around behind them. At first I thought the first two were just a couple of slappers out for the night until we kept walking adn the same theme continued.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Dresden
Spent the day exploring Dresden by foot.
Very nice city.
Went to an art exhibition bz this modern German artist called Martin Eder- running out of net credit so not much time to write about it. Google Martin Eder to have a look at his stuff. Some of it is quite interesting, perhaps a little pretentious. Will write more later.
Found a cool part of Dresden that reminded me of Newtown or Enmore, lots of similar shops etc.
Sat in the sun on the River Elbe watching people and whatnot.
Tomorrow to Berlin.
Very nice city.
Went to an art exhibition bz this modern German artist called Martin Eder- running out of net credit so not much time to write about it. Google Martin Eder to have a look at his stuff. Some of it is quite interesting, perhaps a little pretentious. Will write more later.
Found a cool part of Dresden that reminded me of Newtown or Enmore, lots of similar shops etc.
Sat in the sun on the River Elbe watching people and whatnot.
Tomorrow to Berlin.
Goodbye Prague Hello Dresden (plus third tragedy)
So we spent the morning wandering about saying our goodbyes to Prague and spending the last few Czeck krones we had. Tim wanted to trz a langos- these depp fried pastry bases that they paint with garlic oil, tomato sauve and then pile with cheese- which he did and enjoyed until I decided to get into this incredible looking chicken kebab on a stick stuck in a baguette. I lined up and got one (the line was huge so I assumed it would taste good) reallz I have no idea how good it was because I basicallz accidentallz swallowed the first piece too earlz and spent the next twentz minutes half choking half trzing to digest this piece of meat. It had no idea whether it wanted to go down or come back up and I suspect it maz have been in the wrong tube altogether, so I was coughing, spewing up stomach bile etc in the middle of the old Centre of Prague before eventuallz vomiting, coughing up this piece of chicken. I probablz didn#t reallz need to describe this in such detail but it was trulz a horrific experience and I (being a drama Queen) thought I was going to die in a verz embarrassing way in a foreign countrz without travel insurance. For about 2 hours I thought it was revenge of the chickens and I decided to go vego once and for all- then when we arrived in Dresden I had a chicke burger at Hungrz Jacks and that was the end of it all. I suppose once yzou fall off that horse zou jsut need to get back on there!
Ok so we made it to Dresden- after what nearlz could have been an Asia stzle bus trip. It was onlz 2 and a half hours but after about an hour thez stopped the bus, started running around as though something was wrong and then declared a ten minute break. We all waited around until whatever was the problem was fixed and were off again. Phew- nightmare flashbacks to 15 hour trips in Vietnam with numerous bus problems! The views were lovely especially as we went through some mountains and along a river passing little Czeck villages and a prettz cool castle on the edge of a cliff overlooking the river below.
Arrived in Dresden about 5pm and spent the evening wandering through the town centre. Its interesting as so much of it was destrozed in WW2 that there is a lot of new development and as such the roads are much wider etc and it feels more like and Aussie citz than anz other we have zet been to.
Ok so we made it to Dresden- after what nearlz could have been an Asia stzle bus trip. It was onlz 2 and a half hours but after about an hour thez stopped the bus, started running around as though something was wrong and then declared a ten minute break. We all waited around until whatever was the problem was fixed and were off again. Phew- nightmare flashbacks to 15 hour trips in Vietnam with numerous bus problems! The views were lovely especially as we went through some mountains and along a river passing little Czeck villages and a prettz cool castle on the edge of a cliff overlooking the river below.
Arrived in Dresden about 5pm and spent the evening wandering through the town centre. Its interesting as so much of it was destrozed in WW2 that there is a lot of new development and as such the roads are much wider etc and it feels more like and Aussie citz than anz other we have zet been to.
Botanical Gardens etc
Today we went to the Botanical Gardens in Prague which was quite cool because its on top of a hill on the edge of town. Very nice to get out of the way of buildings buildings and more old buildings... do I sound a little sick of old buildings? well I am. I am starting to realise that makes up a large portion of what europe has to offer- I am now understanding why people can go on a 3 week 7 country Euro drinking spree and feel thez have seen it all. I think (even though reallz enjoyed Prague) we stazed a little too long. Anywaz I will let Tim elaborate on botanical garden escapades as he was very excited bz the green house vegetation.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Kutna Hora escapades
So today we decided to get out of Prague and jumped on the train to Kutna Hora- about an hour and a half away. Basically used to have a silver mine there, lots of churches etc but we were going for the 'Ossuary'- and we got much more than that!
Ok so first of all the ossuary- back in about 990 some dude did a pilgramige to Jerusalem and got some dirt from Galgotha and brought i back dumped it near the monastry and Kutna Hora and then a bunch of wealthy guys decided they wanted to b burieed there and it started out as a burial site for the rich and famous. Then in about 1300 there was a massive plague, followed by a big war (Husseit wars- not exactly sure who with... I think the Turks? Anyway a ton of people got corpsed and laid to rest at the Ossuary. Then in the 1500's his half blind monk thought it would be really cool to get all their bones (some 40 000 dead bodies worth) and turn them into decorative art - which he did and it is in fact cool. There was a big coat of arms made out of every single bone in the human body, a chandelier and oher stuff that photos will depict better than me describing it whilst half asleep.
The Ossuary didn't have as much atmosphere as the catacombs in Paris but the designs were pretty impressive.
Ok so the other unexpected delight was the fact that they were having some kind of Easter fair. It was almost exactly like the Dubbo show or equivalent except for a few differences:
* You could buy beer and walk around with it (not confined to a no kids alcohol area)
* Every second stand wanted to sell either colour co ordinated pegs (yes clothes pegs sorted into olours) or dodgy (used looking) underwear!
*
We had decided to bring our own lunch to save money and found a nice spot on the other side of the cemetary to eat our bread and cheese and it was quite lovely.
Tim succumed to the call of the waffle and experienced the waffle on the stick- whih Tim approved of completely. I will let him review in his own time.
It was kind of cool to be in a random Czeck town that had minimal tourist traps- and to see that not all f Europe is quaint cobblestone alleys and colourful castles... there are shitty carnie shows here too!
Ok so first of all the ossuary- back in about 990 some dude did a pilgramige to Jerusalem and got some dirt from Galgotha and brought i back dumped it near the monastry and Kutna Hora and then a bunch of wealthy guys decided they wanted to b burieed there and it started out as a burial site for the rich and famous. Then in about 1300 there was a massive plague, followed by a big war (Husseit wars- not exactly sure who with... I think the Turks? Anyway a ton of people got corpsed and laid to rest at the Ossuary. Then in the 1500's his half blind monk thought it would be really cool to get all their bones (some 40 000 dead bodies worth) and turn them into decorative art - which he did and it is in fact cool. There was a big coat of arms made out of every single bone in the human body, a chandelier and oher stuff that photos will depict better than me describing it whilst half asleep.
The Ossuary didn't have as much atmosphere as the catacombs in Paris but the designs were pretty impressive.
Ok so the other unexpected delight was the fact that they were having some kind of Easter fair. It was almost exactly like the Dubbo show or equivalent except for a few differences:
* You could buy beer and walk around with it (not confined to a no kids alcohol area)
* Every second stand wanted to sell either colour co ordinated pegs (yes clothes pegs sorted into olours) or dodgy (used looking) underwear!
*
We had decided to bring our own lunch to save money and found a nice spot on the other side of the cemetary to eat our bread and cheese and it was quite lovely.
Tim succumed to the call of the waffle and experienced the waffle on the stick- whih Tim approved of completely. I will let him review in his own time.
It was kind of cool to be in a random Czeck town that had minimal tourist traps- and to see that not all f Europe is quaint cobblestone alleys and colourful castles... there are shitty carnie shows here too!
Friday, April 10, 2009
Czeck adventures continued
So we spent the rest of our time in eating our way around Cesky Kumlov. WE took a walk up to the top of this hill called 'Krizak' and amazingly it was so hot we had to be bare armed! Very enjoyable. The views from the top were pretty cool and our camera is drying out slowly but surely.
After saying goodbye to the bears and taking a walk through the park and castle gardens we were bound for a bus back to Prague.
When we arrived at the hotel we had booked the woman looked at our reservation email wth puzzlement- which is unnerving when you arrive in a city that everyone is leaving because its booked out for Easter long weekend. BAsically Wotif or the hotel had screwed up and double booked so the receptionist rang around and then told us someone was comign to take us to an apartment- kind of strange and considering I have seen one too many 'Hostel' films a bit unnerving. I pictured our corpses being tortured in some dngy apartment in Prague. But it all turned out ok and we were given an apartment to stay in for the night- it had a very 'Bohemian' feel and so we got ourselves some absinthe and tucked in. One shot and I was done- that stuff burns- I suppose 70 % alcohol will do that to you.
So this morning they came and picked us up and took us back to the original hotel and we checked in for the rest of our stay in Prague.
The weather is soooooo beautiful here- must be mid twenties and sunshine everywhere! good outdoor beer weather and we are making the most of it. Today we wandered from our hotel to the Castle and had a wander about. Bit over castles really and so didn't bother paying to go inside- the views from the top of the hill were free and pretty fantastic. Also watching middle aged European tourist couples who dress alike is equally enjoyable.
Just figuring out how to avoid a tour and get ourselves to this bone ossury about an hour from twn by public transport... then we are back out into the square for some sunshine and again more FOOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Unfortunately because of Easter weekend we could either get to Germany yesterday or not until Monday- we opted for Monday because its cheaper here - but it means we only get about 5 full days in Germany- so the highlights of Berlin is all we will manage and a day in Dresden. I suppose if we like it we can come back.
After saying goodbye to the bears and taking a walk through the park and castle gardens we were bound for a bus back to Prague.
When we arrived at the hotel we had booked the woman looked at our reservation email wth puzzlement- which is unnerving when you arrive in a city that everyone is leaving because its booked out for Easter long weekend. BAsically Wotif or the hotel had screwed up and double booked so the receptionist rang around and then told us someone was comign to take us to an apartment- kind of strange and considering I have seen one too many 'Hostel' films a bit unnerving. I pictured our corpses being tortured in some dngy apartment in Prague. But it all turned out ok and we were given an apartment to stay in for the night- it had a very 'Bohemian' feel and so we got ourselves some absinthe and tucked in. One shot and I was done- that stuff burns- I suppose 70 % alcohol will do that to you.
So this morning they came and picked us up and took us back to the original hotel and we checked in for the rest of our stay in Prague.
The weather is soooooo beautiful here- must be mid twenties and sunshine everywhere! good outdoor beer weather and we are making the most of it. Today we wandered from our hotel to the Castle and had a wander about. Bit over castles really and so didn't bother paying to go inside- the views from the top of the hill were free and pretty fantastic. Also watching middle aged European tourist couples who dress alike is equally enjoyable.
Just figuring out how to avoid a tour and get ourselves to this bone ossury about an hour from twn by public transport... then we are back out into the square for some sunshine and again more FOOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Unfortunately because of Easter weekend we could either get to Germany yesterday or not until Monday- we opted for Monday because its cheaper here - but it means we only get about 5 full days in Germany- so the highlights of Berlin is all we will manage and a day in Dresden. I suppose if we like it we can come back.
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