Prague: Fairytale city

Day 9

The train ride down to Dresden wasn't particularly interesting but from there onwards my eyes started to become transfixed on the magnificent scenery. The rail route between Dresden and Prague follows the Elbe river, where a steep valley has been gouged out by the water. On several occasions I was tempted to use my camera despite knowing it wouldn't do the landscape justice. So instead I had to be content to sit and soak it in as the train wound its way towards the city. After disembarking the train at the station, I had a brief moment of panic as I remembered id left my travel diary behind on the train. Luckily for me the train wasn't in too much of a hurry to leave so I managed to quickly jump aboard and retrieve it without too much drama. The station proved a distinct contrast to the more westernised transportation system id become accustomed to. The main hallway had a series of dodgy looking exchange booths, uninviting food stalls and a general feeling of uncleanness. Trying to make sense of the transport system was a little tricky also, at least compared to London or Germany's transportation network. So instead of simply catching the underground trains, known as the 'Metro' I mistakenly caught a bus in a random direction in which i hoped would lead to the town somewhere. About 20 minutes later having realised the error of my ways i got off and caught the next bus back to the train station, feeling a little stupid. Eventually having made it to the 'new town' section of the city I found the hostel which more resembled a hotel with its reception, lifts and stylish appearance.

 

 

Washing is unfortunately a necessary evil associated with living out of a backpack and for those who don't have mothers to do it for them. Hence every 7 days or so a visit to the nearest laundromat is required in the case that wherever I'm staying doesn't offer such a service. After dropping off my soiled clothes at a place not too far away i wandered down to the other, larger train station which is located just outside the old town. On my list of things to do was to buy a overnight train ticket to Krakow for my departure in a few days time. Having bought the ticket it meant there was once less thing to worry about.

 

 

Day 10

Today i thought id explore the city by foot and see the main attraction in Prague, the castle. After stopping at a supermarket for supplies for the day i made my way along the river up towards the Charles Bridge. There was limited visibility due to cloud cover but despite this the autumn colours i.e. browns, reds and yellows that you could see on all the foliage made up for it. On the waters edge i spotted men braving the cold fishing on the rivers edge while other locals choose to fish from boats near the bridge. Braving the tourist traps (which are quite frequent) in close proximity to the bridge i made my way onto Charles bridge to inspect the statues lining its walls and take in the view in either direction. Luckily for me as it was early, i didn't have to zig zag my way through a throng of people so instead i enjoyed the rather pleasant stroll. About half way along there was a man turning a metal handle on a curious contraption that was like a sort of one man band. I think 'music out of a can' seems most appropriate to describe what it sounded like.

 

The road up to the castle was lined on either side by all manner of touristy restaurants enticing you to sit at their tables. I eventually made it up the relatively steep hill to find myself looking at the large entrance gate complete with gargoyles and two stern faced guards. Having bought my ticket I entered the inner courtyard containing the immensely large gothic cathedral. Its similarity to the one id seen only recently in Cologne was striking. The Queue was quite large and full of tour groups containing mostly Czech people in their mid forties. Inside was what you'd expect from a cathedral of this size and nature. The highlight was of course the view from the tower which would of been even better if it wasn't so cloudy. Advertised as having 287 steps, I counted 296, which is not too far off the mark.

Next on the list of things to see was the old palace a few metres away. In there was an assortment of rooms with nothing of particular interest in them apart from some old portraits and family tree's painted on the wall. One of the large main halls was apparently used for indoor jousting tournaments. Next was the so called 'Golden Lane,' which was essentially some small quaint coloured buildings filled with touristy goodies of different varieties. Luckily at the end of the lane they had something which did appeal to me, an old prison tower full of torture devices. Inside you could see the pit they use to keep the nastiest criminals which looked a bit like something you'd find in a video game. No torture display would be complete either without a large executioners axe. It's No wonder they refer to the period as the dark ages.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Upon exiting the gate at the other end of the castle from where I had entered I sat patiently for the changing of the guard. This occurs every hour and was worth the watch as id never seen anything like it before to my memory. The gardens surrounding the castle made for

a nice spot for a picnic lunch, unfortunately the food didn't live up to the location. Here I observed a guard pausing to admire the view across the city, which isn't too shabby as far as views go. Having a full belly i set off in search of that elusive 'gem' which can be found when you off exploring without any real purpose. The back streets at the end of the castle were pretty but it was the large garden on the other side of the castle where i located a pristine sanctuary to relax or as I

sometimes like to think of it, 'kill some time'.

     

    

I made my way up a hill west of the castle where resided Prague's answer to the Eiffel tower although in miniature size. I didn't climb up it as id already conquered the cathedral tower, the real thing in Paris is on the agenda in the not to distant future.There were various buildings on the top of the hill but i decided to have some more chill time as well as smell the roses, in a literal as well as figurative sense. That evening I went down to the Old town square which is in my opinion the place to be in Prague as its where you see architecturally where the hype surrounding the city comes from, whether its justified or not is another matter. As the sun set on the city i slowly made my way back in the direction of the far inferior New Town. A place where you just feel like your in another underdeveloped, dirty, post communist city. So the lesson to be learned from that is, make sure you stay in the old town!

            

              

Day 11

I had read about somee cool places outside of Prague in my trust Lonely Planet guidebook and thought they'd be worth checking out. One of those was a Chateau formerly owned by the archduke Franz Ferdinand who was famously assassinated. To kick the day off I got my usual stash of food supplies, most often a cartoon of juice, some chocolate and fruit. The nearest town to the chateau was a place called Benesov, about an hour and 15 minutes by train from Prague. Following some basic directions in my LP I made my along a country road and was quite surprised there was no signage whatsoever to this place. A huge carpark at the bottom of a hill hinted that it was nearby, along with an assortment of touristy takeaway food outlets. I could imagine it being quite full in summer time but in the middle of October there was only a single tour bus to be found. There was a short but steep incline to the building itself which was quite stunning, yet simple in design. The structure itself was rectangular in shape and had a turret in each corner with all the outside walls being fully rendered. Upon circumnavigating it I located the entrance and bought my ticket for the English tour.

With some time before it started i wandered around the nice gardens situated in the  large grounds surrounding the Chateau. For ages I stood in awe at the magnificent black bear that had found its home here. It looked so lonely, yet so cute and cuddly :) I loved him. Apparently Franz kept a couple of bears as pets so the new owners kept up the tradition once he left. Luckily for those unlucky enough to fall in the pit, he wouldn't devour them in a second as he was a vegetarian!

 

 

The tour commenced with  a young Czech lady guided us through a door in the west hand side of the inner courtyard. We walked through several rooms including a small chapel, smoking room and even a working elevator. Franz had fitted the place out with all the luxury items that made it very modern for its time e.g. flushing toilets and electricity. All the original furniture was arranged as it was found including stools of varying heights according to a person's height. The walls were adorned with paintings and portraits ranging from people in the Hapsburg empire, (from which Franz Ferdinand was from) to family tree's and sketches of hunting trips. Most impressive was the extensive weapons and Armour collection which is apparently the third largest in Europe. As far as weapons were concerned it contained a huge array of pistols, rifles, swords and other stabbing implements i.e swords. The intricacy of the engravings was what struck me, making me think the worth of such items must be gigantic. Never had i seen anything like it, nor will i ever again i have a feeling. The same could be said for the unfathomable number of animal trophies he had collected over his lifetime. The recorded document speak for themselves: 300 000 animals shot, of which over 3000 are in Konopiste castle! The tour i went on didn't include the large hall with the majority of the animals but i did see some smaller halls that still left you in awe. All of the antlers were numbered to mark momentous occasions such as his 1000th kill. Obsessive killing which as you could imagine wouldn't be tolerated in our society today. It was quite eery looking at the head's of so many amazing creatures that were of all of all shapes and sizes. Bears, tigers, deer, birds, leopards and even an elephant were among the victims that made up the macabre exhibition lining the walls. Unfortunately i was not allowed to take photographs but i made sure i got a couple of postcards to show the folks back home.

There is smallish lake about 2.5km in circumference near the castle which i thought id wander around. As mentioned previously Autumn was in full swing so leaves littered the ground creating a blanket over the ground. It all made for a very pleasant and picturesque stroll. At the far end of the lake I came across some fisherman of which were all around the lake, who happened to be reeling in a fish as I was approaching them! I stood and watched eagerly in suspense, fearing it would struggle and break free at any moment. It was all safe in the end though and on closer inspection the fish looked something like a carp.

   

 

 

Back at the carpark i snacked on a Bratwurst before slowly beginning the walk back to the train station. It was here that i had a rather frightful moment. There was a train waiting on the platform which i was oblivious to the fact it was heading to Prague. I thought id go and ask someone on the platform where it was headed, unaware it was just preparing to leave. The man nodded and i went to get in just as the doors were closing and as a result got half my body stuck in the doors! In a frantic panic i started pushing with my free hand to get my forearms free. A lady inside the train was also helping me from the other side. Eventually i wriggled free after much effort, just as the train started moving. A close call, which could of ended up much worse then it did. The next train wasn't for another hour but i didn't mind as i spent the time reflecting on the events of the day.

 

Day 12

Saturday had arrived and with it some R and R. After sleeping in i grabbed some food and ate it in the Old town square. People watching is a great way to pass the time and there's no better place to do it then the centre of town. There was no shortage of interesting people in Prague. One older man I encountered stood in the corner of the square wearing a tux and playing the saxophone. It sounded quite crusty and occasionally he'd pause from playing and break out into a song whilst his stereo played in the background. Meanwhile there was a steady stream of horse carriages, taking tourists on twenty minute rides around the city. There was a mix of horses and carriages all in a range of colours, i think i counted around six unique carts. At midday the astronomical clock in the square did a rather under whelming display, consisting of a miniature skeleton and man pounding a bell. The crowd that showed up to see it was surprisingly quite large, with camera's blazing from all directions at the spectacle.

I decided to do some more exploring and really get a feel for the city and its people. This sometimes means walking off in a random direction to see the inhabitants of a city going about their daily lives. Having walked through the Jewish quarter and northern district i found myself at a bridge leading to the more urban parts of the city. It didn't hold much appeal to me but i thought id have a look as apparently there was a skate park in the vicinity. It just so happened there was a BMX bike competition being held that day, with youths around the high school age everywhere. They had two sections set up for separate comp's: the skate park with its ramps and fun boxes for ticks and a flat paved section where the emphasis was more on style (known as Flatland BMX). They rotated between participants practicing and timed runs where they were judged. The skill level i saw varied quite considerably but i didn't see any real amazing tricks which is not surprising as they were only kids. I enjoyed however seeing them interact with one another and there accompanying dress sense, noting tight jeans seemed to be a necessity. 

 

 

After a while it became obvious the enjoyment factor was gradually decreasing so i decided id depart and plan tomorrow's adventures. I made my way back towards the hostel through the east end of the city and stumbled across the national military museum in the process. It was much like any other military museum and therefore wasn't particularly interesting.

 

Day 13

Id read about Karlstejn Castle in my lonely planet and having been not really been to a 'castle' that encompassed everything I imagined, I thought it would be worth checking out. I had an early start to the day and headed once more to the train station to buy a ticket for the 40 min journey. After getting off at the station it was a short walk before arriving in a valley where the streets where lined with typical tourist food and for lack of a better word, junk shops. In the distance I could see the huge castle looming ominously over the small buildings below and was the exact picture in my mind of what a typical castle should look like, situated on a hill. As I walked up the path around the back I occasionally looked up to see what sort of things were luring sightseer's from the reason from coming here in the first place. Among a few oddities was a man in a medieval costume holding a bird, charging people to have their photograph taken with him. This was a ploy i hadn't come across until that time, thinking what sort of person would pay for such a service.

Upon arrival at the entrance i realised that an English tour was just departing but opted to go on the later one in order to have a look around the walls and check out the 80m well which was apparently not even used. The tour group was large, around fifty people which gave a good indication this was quite a popular tourist sight. The guide took use through the rooms giving us a rundown of its history (built in 1348), its occupants and what its purpose was. It was in fact built to house the crown jewels and the room used to house them has walls 7.5m. To make it even more secure the room requires seven separate keys to enter, each held by different people i.e. President, Prime Minister etc. You can see a replica of the crown, made of solid gold and weighing a hefty 25kg. Can't be very comfortable! Back in Prague I dined on some pizza and spent the rest of the daylight sitting on some church step, reading and people watching. Eventually I collected my luggage then headed to the train station in preparation for my overnight train to Krakow in Poland!