I have been here five days now. Here are some highlights:
After Diana got into town, we wandered around the new town (new only compared to the old town) and admired all of the art deco architecture and a crazy sculpture of a horse. Then we managed to find an amazing vegetarian restaurant called Clear Head, where we lucked into a private room and ate gourmet dishes (I had a burrito) for less than 10 euros a piece, including drinks and after dinner coffee.
Day two, Tuesday, we got up to go on a free tour of Prague, which was good, except it was cold and our guide's English was not amazing. But we saw a lot of the city, got some more history, etc, etc. After leaving the castle, we stumbled upon a cute coffe shop (Cafe Ebel) that I had seen recommended but didn't realize was also at that location, so I was a little confused. In any case, we got good coffee and apple cake and then went to try to go to a Cubist museum, which failed because it was under construction. Instead we shopped (or rather, looked in stores) and then went back to the hostel to change to go to a concert, as we had heard the opera house was beautiful. After some confusion/ misdirection, mostly due to my mistakes, we ended up in the correct place and managed to see the second half of the show, which was a French opera about Helen of Troy, except they were just singing it, not performing (I actually think I would have gotten bored if we had seen the whole thing). Then dinner, which was nothing too exciting, due to various things not be open to us.
Day three we did the Castle, which involved more cold and impressive baroque architecture. Also some very awesome stained glass windows. Our favorite part in the old palace was this door handle shapped like a little bird man. After a traditional Czech lunch, we ventured into the Jewish quarter, but ended up just going to the decorative arts museum, which had an interesting exhibit on fashion from the 1970s and some great typography/ graphic design stuff. Then dinner at Country Life, and old-school vegan buffet (all kinds of whole grains and lentils), traditional Czech drinks at a tiny pub, and then checking out a little more of the nightlife.
Day four Diana and Anja got up early to go to the Jewish cemetery, but Sahar and I slept in a little bit, bought a picnic lunch and got caught in the snow, and then we all caught a bus to Kutna Hora, a town about an hour away which has some Italian architecture and another very large cathedral. There is also the Ossuary, an old church with tons of sculpture made out of human bones. There was supposed to be some sort of message, but mostly it was creepy. When we got back to Prague, we decided to find a nice place for Anja and Diana's last dinner, and ended up at another Czech restaurant. My food wasn't too exciting, as we got "beer cheese" as an apetizer, so my main dish involved more vegetables, but everyone elses' was great. Then we went to a good, non-touristy dance club that played some really random music, and stayed out too late.
This morning we slept in a little and then Sahar and I said goodbye, investigated bus options, and went to a contemporary American art exhibit at the concert hall that overall was really good, especially one video that involved a weird dough-making process. We got lunch at a bio-cafe (bio means organic in most of Europe... I really wish the cafe chain existed in France because it was delicious) and then made our way to the bus station, which was way out in the middle of nowhere. After a cold three hour trip, we ended up in Cesky Krumlov, a small town in the south of the country. Its dark now, so we haven't seen a lot, but it seems really beautiful. Our hostel is cheap and cute, but our room barely fits our beds (luckily we are both short). We went out to a midiveal restaurant for dinner, which didn't do stupid stuff with knights and jousting, but instead focused on diet and spices and it was really good. I had a lot of interesting grains and some old time beer.
Tomorrow we will explore the town and then Tuesday morning we go back to the Netherlands.
samedi 16 février 2008
mardi 12 février 2008
I'm in Prague! We got here pretty easily, after spending ages in the Amsterdam airport and then almost missing our flight because we got bored of Haarlem (we saw a lot of stuff, we just had a full day there). We had to buy some really disgusting tea to get change for the bus ticket machine. Then my PIN code for my ATM wasn't working, but now it is. (Hopefully my French bank won't charge me lots of money for my withdrawl in Czech Crowns, but at least it was a one time thing.)
Diana's flight was delayed because people in Orly were striking, so this morning we wandered around our neighborhood, seeing this old TV tower (it used to block foreign signals but now it broadcasts reality TV) that was covered with weird alien babies, an awesome modernist church, and lots of cemeteries (an old Jewish one under the TV tower, the big Christian one, and a new Jewish one where Kafka is buried). Then we ate a pretty fancy lunch in a park cafe (I had some fried cheese) that was still really cheap, and now we're drinking free coffee, using free internet, and chilling at our awesome hostel. I hope Diana gets here soon, so we can see some of the more famous stuff.
Diana's flight was delayed because people in Orly were striking, so this morning we wandered around our neighborhood, seeing this old TV tower (it used to block foreign signals but now it broadcasts reality TV) that was covered with weird alien babies, an awesome modernist church, and lots of cemeteries (an old Jewish one under the TV tower, the big Christian one, and a new Jewish one where Kafka is buried). Then we ate a pretty fancy lunch in a park cafe (I had some fried cheese) that was still really cheap, and now we're drinking free coffee, using free internet, and chilling at our awesome hostel. I hope Diana gets here soon, so we can see some of the more famous stuff.
dimanche 10 février 2008
Hello from the Netherlands!
I arrived safely, though a little later than planned (I missed my train). Yesterday Sahar and I went to the botanical gardens, which she said reminded her a lot of Texas (all of the greenhouses) and then we took the train to her mom's place in Zaandvort aan Zee, which is a touristy seaside town. The apartment looks over the North Sea, which is really cool! Today we are going back into Amsterdam (its only about 30 minutes away) to go on a canal tour and the contemporary art museum.
Tomorrow night we leave for Prague.
I arrived safely, though a little later than planned (I missed my train). Yesterday Sahar and I went to the botanical gardens, which she said reminded her a lot of Texas (all of the greenhouses) and then we took the train to her mom's place in Zaandvort aan Zee, which is a touristy seaside town. The apartment looks over the North Sea, which is really cool! Today we are going back into Amsterdam (its only about 30 minutes away) to go on a canal tour and the contemporary art museum.
Tomorrow night we leave for Prague.
jeudi 7 février 2008
Holidays, pt 6
Okay, where was I?
The next morning (after our delicious dinner and then a cold night in a hotel that was very well designed for hot weather and not so much for the cool) we ate a rooftop breakfast of bread, cheese, and jam. Here is the view:
Then we met our taxi driver and drove up above the city, where we got nice views of the valley.
We drove for a while, winding our way north and east, until we got to this very picturesque view of a casbah with palm trees. It was right next to a rug-sellers' shop (they usually play the middle-man between nomads who make rugs and the market shops, but they also had a few for sale), so we stopped and learned about rug making and drank tea (while Sara and Clare bought rugs).
Then, after more driving and winding, we ended up at the Gorges of Todra, a canyon of towering rocks with a little river fed by snowmelt. It was very beautiful and striking, but also odd, after years of national park going, to see it filled with people selling things, dying cloth, and even some graffiti. Unfortunately, we only had half an hour to walk around.
Then more car riding (the taxi was getting more squished, and the landscapes more boring as we approached the desert).
We arrived at the camel outfitters just before sunset. After randomly selecting things to bring (they said we would have blankets and tents, but we didn't really know how warm they would be), we mounted our camels (mine was the friendliest) and set off.
Soon the sun set all the way, and the sky was filled with more stars than I have ever seen (I think more stars than it is possible to see anywhere in the USA, since the Badlands are supposed to have the lowest light pollution anywhere). We were going up and down huge sand dunes, and our guide joked about being lost, but eventually we arrived at a little camp. There was a large communal tent, where we were served even more mint tea, a delicious tajine (sort of like a stew), and some weird cake for desert. We decided plans for the next day (get up around sunrise, take the taxi to the nearest town, then try to catch an early evening bus to Fez) and then found our tent, got bundled up, and went outside to star gaze.
That night there was a small sandstorm (I was on the edge of the tent, so I got the worst of it, but it was fine once I put my head under the blankets), but in the morning when we woke up early, it was nice again.
That is all the pictures I have for now, but I will try to finish the last three days before I leave for my next vacation. (Tomorrow!)
The next morning (after our delicious dinner and then a cold night in a hotel that was very well designed for hot weather and not so much for the cool) we ate a rooftop breakfast of bread, cheese, and jam. Here is the view:
Then we met our taxi driver and drove up above the city, where we got nice views of the valley.
We drove for a while, winding our way north and east, until we got to this very picturesque view of a casbah with palm trees. It was right next to a rug-sellers' shop (they usually play the middle-man between nomads who make rugs and the market shops, but they also had a few for sale), so we stopped and learned about rug making and drank tea (while Sara and Clare bought rugs).
Then, after more driving and winding, we ended up at the Gorges of Todra, a canyon of towering rocks with a little river fed by snowmelt. It was very beautiful and striking, but also odd, after years of national park going, to see it filled with people selling things, dying cloth, and even some graffiti. Unfortunately, we only had half an hour to walk around.
Then more car riding (the taxi was getting more squished, and the landscapes more boring as we approached the desert).
We arrived at the camel outfitters just before sunset. After randomly selecting things to bring (they said we would have blankets and tents, but we didn't really know how warm they would be), we mounted our camels (mine was the friendliest) and set off.
Soon the sun set all the way, and the sky was filled with more stars than I have ever seen (I think more stars than it is possible to see anywhere in the USA, since the Badlands are supposed to have the lowest light pollution anywhere). We were going up and down huge sand dunes, and our guide joked about being lost, but eventually we arrived at a little camp. There was a large communal tent, where we were served even more mint tea, a delicious tajine (sort of like a stew), and some weird cake for desert. We decided plans for the next day (get up around sunrise, take the taxi to the nearest town, then try to catch an early evening bus to Fez) and then found our tent, got bundled up, and went outside to star gaze.
That night there was a small sandstorm (I was on the edge of the tent, so I got the worst of it, but it was fine once I put my head under the blankets), but in the morning when we woke up early, it was nice again.That is all the pictures I have for now, but I will try to finish the last three days before I leave for my next vacation. (Tomorrow!)
Inscription à :
Articles (Atom)
