Praha - ho ho ho
Our last day in Nuremberg was a pleasant one. We visited the old town and the fanciest cemetery I have ever seen (and I am macabre enough to have seen a few old ones). Each stone grave has an ornate iron bowl full of plants and flowers on top. To look across the cemetery is to gaze at some kind of rock garden. It was beautifully maintained and many had Christmas wreaths/decorations on them - either from the grounds staff or relatives. It is called Saint Johannis Friedhof cemetery and is worth googling at the very least. From there we went to the Kaiserberg (castle) and enjoyed a beautiful view over the lovely red rooftops of Nuremberg. We found a Mexican restaurant and lazed inside as it got dark and we were able to feel our noses again.
Kamahl and Tanner didn't want to face the markets but us girls were feeling nostalgic and wanted to enjoy our last German Christmas market. We moved with the crowds and enjoyed oohing and aahing over what was on display. We definitely kept it to window shopping as needed to pack that night and were already worried on how we would fit everything in for the bus ride to Prague.
The scenery on the bus the next day was very similar to what we'd already seen. The wording however... The Czech language doesn't look like or sound like anything we've been practising. Write down a sentence then remove two-thirds of the vowels and decorate the tops of several letters with dashes and ticks galore and you are getting close. We eventually found our accommodation after changing trains and going only a stop at each, hoofing our heavy bags up and down steps (hee hee, glad I am not the Godfreys with their many purchases). The apartment is delightful with plenty of space to fit us all and have many common areas to occupy. Kamahl and I headed to the supermarket to find some food to cook in the kitchen (yay for home cooked food) and because we weren't sure how much would be open on the 24th which is the day they officially celebrate Xmas. We worked out 2 words of the Czech language - coriander and coconut but the rest of the purchases were made with a bit more guessing. Thank goodness for pictures and clear packaging to know what you are buying. Mum says there is a lot more English words around on signs but proportionally the prices have gone up too. Our hundred or so Australian dollars are not going to go as far as we hoped. Plus with all the warnings of bad exchange dealers in the Czech Republic we changed money in Germany and got a pitiful rate and mum who changed hers in Prague got the best - what the? So her food ends up cheaper even if we buy the same thing. The currency is different too in the sense that there are no dollars and cents, just a total such as 85 koruna for a roll. We hit the markets and of course Kamahl bought (I don't even need the drumroll to announce...) some nuts. The Godfreys tried a few other Czech food sensations and probably went through the koruna like they were cents, while I was imagining them as dollars and refused to buy anything. The markets here are like the poorer, less stylish cousin of the German ones. There are still crowds around the hot alcohol stands and lots of Christmas trees and pretty lights but are a little less ornate. We explored the beautiful Bohemian buildings, which are ornate and stylish and marvelled over the frescos, the wrought iron balconies and art nouveau roofs. Their Jewish quarter is one of the best preserved in Europe but for tragic reasons. Hitler was keeping intact as the site for his 'Museum of an extinct race'. The Jewish cemetery is above road level because the nazis refused to let Jewish people be buried anywhere else and so they literally were in top of each other. There were several synagogues but as much was closed (and it wasn't cheap) we didn't go in any. It is a place of pilgrimage for many Jewish people because of its intact walls and churches.
We walked to Wenceslas Square, although all the stalls and many shops surrounding it were closed, we enjoyed the ambience. We had to keep reminding each other that it was Christmas Eve, in spite of being surrounded by markets and planning this for months, it didn't feel like Christmas because we would normally be near a pool instead of wearing 3 layers and still being cold if we stood still.
Tonight we had a great meal that Kamahl prepared for us and are going to get rugged up again and go to a church for their evening Mass. We don't really know what to expect but will enjoy the experience just the same. We are planning on having a lazy morning tomorrow and go out and visit the Prague Castle and famous Charles Bridge while we have the light. It is going to be a fine day of 5 degrees with 'Boxing day' (or the 26th for us as they don't celebrate that but many businesses will be closed for it) being 1 degree... (Insert shudder here). No snow though.
It is with trepidation that I look at the approaching forecast. Vienna is next and I need to expect zero degree days. My face aches in anticipation of that kind of cold. I might need to do a virtual tour of Vienna on my iPad from the comfort of my warm room.
Merry Christmas to all and have a blessed season full of love and laughter.
Thanks for reading.
If you want to read the Godfrey's blog and see their phots - sorry but it is godfreytraveladventures.blogspot.com.au
Kamahl and Tanner didn't want to face the markets but us girls were feeling nostalgic and wanted to enjoy our last German Christmas market. We moved with the crowds and enjoyed oohing and aahing over what was on display. We definitely kept it to window shopping as needed to pack that night and were already worried on how we would fit everything in for the bus ride to Prague.
The scenery on the bus the next day was very similar to what we'd already seen. The wording however... The Czech language doesn't look like or sound like anything we've been practising. Write down a sentence then remove two-thirds of the vowels and decorate the tops of several letters with dashes and ticks galore and you are getting close. We eventually found our accommodation after changing trains and going only a stop at each, hoofing our heavy bags up and down steps (hee hee, glad I am not the Godfreys with their many purchases). The apartment is delightful with plenty of space to fit us all and have many common areas to occupy. Kamahl and I headed to the supermarket to find some food to cook in the kitchen (yay for home cooked food) and because we weren't sure how much would be open on the 24th which is the day they officially celebrate Xmas. We worked out 2 words of the Czech language - coriander and coconut but the rest of the purchases were made with a bit more guessing. Thank goodness for pictures and clear packaging to know what you are buying. Mum says there is a lot more English words around on signs but proportionally the prices have gone up too. Our hundred or so Australian dollars are not going to go as far as we hoped. Plus with all the warnings of bad exchange dealers in the Czech Republic we changed money in Germany and got a pitiful rate and mum who changed hers in Prague got the best - what the? So her food ends up cheaper even if we buy the same thing. The currency is different too in the sense that there are no dollars and cents, just a total such as 85 koruna for a roll. We hit the markets and of course Kamahl bought (I don't even need the drumroll to announce...) some nuts. The Godfreys tried a few other Czech food sensations and probably went through the koruna like they were cents, while I was imagining them as dollars and refused to buy anything. The markets here are like the poorer, less stylish cousin of the German ones. There are still crowds around the hot alcohol stands and lots of Christmas trees and pretty lights but are a little less ornate. We explored the beautiful Bohemian buildings, which are ornate and stylish and marvelled over the frescos, the wrought iron balconies and art nouveau roofs. Their Jewish quarter is one of the best preserved in Europe but for tragic reasons. Hitler was keeping intact as the site for his 'Museum of an extinct race'. The Jewish cemetery is above road level because the nazis refused to let Jewish people be buried anywhere else and so they literally were in top of each other. There were several synagogues but as much was closed (and it wasn't cheap) we didn't go in any. It is a place of pilgrimage for many Jewish people because of its intact walls and churches.
We walked to Wenceslas Square, although all the stalls and many shops surrounding it were closed, we enjoyed the ambience. We had to keep reminding each other that it was Christmas Eve, in spite of being surrounded by markets and planning this for months, it didn't feel like Christmas because we would normally be near a pool instead of wearing 3 layers and still being cold if we stood still.
Tonight we had a great meal that Kamahl prepared for us and are going to get rugged up again and go to a church for their evening Mass. We don't really know what to expect but will enjoy the experience just the same. We are planning on having a lazy morning tomorrow and go out and visit the Prague Castle and famous Charles Bridge while we have the light. It is going to be a fine day of 5 degrees with 'Boxing day' (or the 26th for us as they don't celebrate that but many businesses will be closed for it) being 1 degree... (Insert shudder here). No snow though.
It is with trepidation that I look at the approaching forecast. Vienna is next and I need to expect zero degree days. My face aches in anticipation of that kind of cold. I might need to do a virtual tour of Vienna on my iPad from the comfort of my warm room.
Merry Christmas to all and have a blessed season full of love and laughter.
Thanks for reading.
If you want to read the Godfrey's blog and see their phots - sorry but it is godfreytraveladventures.blogspot.com.au
posted by kym at
10:53 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home