On our way to Prague, we detoured to a place called Bastei, just before the border from Germany to the Czech Republic. This is the site of a settlement from the Middle Ages, built high up (309m) in some pretty amazing rock formations. It was very interesting to see how the people had managed to build a village into such a lofty spot, and the views of the surrounding area were stunning, especially over the Elbe River.
The first thing we noticed about the Czech Republic was that the roads were nowhere near as good as the ones we’d travelled in Germany. And there were no wind turbines crowding the horizon. The drive through the Prague streets was a challenge only just second to the one in Brussells – it didn’t help that we had to navigate through a major crowd of people, buses and trams converging on a stadium event and that we also had to detour around some very major road works in the major of the city (which sent Gloria into a fit of constant “recalculating”). But we finally made to the apartment of our Couchsurfing host, Petr – a Russian who had recently set himself up in Prague.
No sooner had we arrived and he immediately took us out to meet some other couchsurfers in the city. We caught a tram and during this small trip we were educated somewhat. It seems we are a little naive and didn’t read up too well on Czech Rep. We are supposed to carry our passports with us at all times. Also you are supposed to buy tram/train/bus tickets. One ticket covers any one of these, but you can only buy them in the city. We were in the suburbs….hmmm. So Petr says, “Don’t worry about buying tickets. No one buys tickets”. Also, there were Police just down from the tram stop checking someone’s papers. He says “Don’t look at the Police like you have done something wrong, cause they will definitely come up to you and check you out’. We look at each other and talked with our eyes again, saying to each other “what have we gotten ourselves into”. So we nervously follow Petr into town, changing from trams to trains, not buying tickets at all. He then takes us all over the place because he can’t find the pub. We are really talking with our eyes now. We eventually find it and have a meal and a beer and meet some other couchsurfers. It was a fun, but tiring, night. FYI – Petr is from Moscow, and he has a very interesting view of the world. According to him, Russia is a corrupt society, and you can’t trust the Police or the Government. He is working in Prague (with proper visas he assures us) to save and get permanent residency somewhere away from Russia, so he can then bring his girlfriend and 2 year old daughter out of Russia.
The next morning, Petr took us for a walk to an old abbey. We wandered through the grounds, which consisted of several acres of fruit trees - now just left to people to help themselves. The buildings and church have all been renovated and some areas turned into cafes and offices. We then braved the trams again, without a ticket. But we did have a colour copy of our passports, which was all we needed.
We went straight to Prague Castle and joined the crowds of people. We walked, trying to avoid the numerous groups with their guides walking around holding up flags or umbrellas. This was the first time since London we had really been affected by the crowds of tourists. At one point we had 4 separate groups converge on the spot where we were. Needless to say we were bundled out of the way by the tour leaders so they could do their speech.
We wandered down the hill, and across into the Jewish quarter, where we ate lunch. Then on again in the crowds to the main square, where we watched the famous clock do its thing at 1pm, along with several hundred other people. We then fought our way down the narrow streets and on to Charles Bridge, which was under renovation and only half of it was open, squeezing the crowds up even more. Yukk. The people were starting to spoil the experience. We know we were part of that crowd, but we couldn’t get away from it quick enough. We found our way to the river and walked along it with just a few other tourists. It was a beautiful hot day, so we hired a paddle boat, and spent a leisurely hour cruising out on the river. We had finally found the space we were looking for, and we and still got to see the city.
We caught the tram home in the early evening - with tickets this time. Petr cooked us some Czech sausages and tomato soup (his specialty), and we supplied some beers and wine. We sat in his tiny kitchen and talked about Russia and his family. He showed us photos of his grandmother, who was a mountaineer in the 1920’s and trained as a specialist in alpine rescue. His grandfather was in the Russian Army, and had recently asked Petr to send him a photo of the Charles Bridge, as he hadn’t seen it since he drove a tank over it during the War.
Deb asked Petr if there was anything that she could do for him, and he jokingly said that his fridge needed cleaning out. So she rolled up her sleeves and defrosted and cleaned it for him while we all continued to drink wine and talk. Ah, the crazy things you do when holidaying in Prague.
The next morning, before hitting the road again, Petr took us for a walk to a large forested area nearby. It was originally set up as the hunting estate for one of the early kings, and had a lodge situated at one end (built in the shape of a six-sided star). Over the centuries, the building has been occupied by the invading armies of Sweden, Austria, Germany, and Russia. It is now set up as a museum, with many tracks threading through the beautiful forested park. And there were no tourists.
Our goal for the day was to get to Poland, but on our way we detoured to visit a famous church called Sedlac Ossuary, in the Czech town of Kutna Hora. This small church is decorated with the bones of some 40,000 people, most of whom died of the Plague. Because there wasn’t enough room to bury everyone, they started to dig up the old bones and stack them beside the church. Until a local woodcarver decided to arrange them into things like chandeliers, religious symbols, and 4 huge pyramid-like mounds. It was quite a macabre sight to behold.
Luckily we didn’t have too much time to ponder our experience, as we still had a long way to go if we were to reach our destination in Poland before dark.
|  | 
|
