Life in a year full of Saturdays: Czech Republic

Showing posts with label Czech Republic. Show all posts

Friday, May 26, 2017

Krakow (Poland) via Brno (Czech Republic) - Pre-wedding DAZE!

KRAKOW (Poland) via BRNO (Czech Republic)
26 May - 28 May 2017

Our migration north for our pre-wedding preparation had commenced. The much loved, and may I add, unfairly maligned 2002 Renault Laguna was to be our vessel of transit over the 1800kms to our new home away from home.

In all honesty I was glad for the move. Living next door to my mother, literally next door, had actually become a form of stress to me. Here I was, a 42 year old, about to be married man, was still have occasions when my mother simply walk through the front door at any time of her choosing, not announcement, no knocking - then there were the endless nonsensical needs to have 'serious conversations' every couple of days or so. These conversations ranged from a 'very serious' interjection about me losing too much weight, to queries as to why Inga didn't like them because we weren't showing up for our necessary quota of afternoons coffees or launches to a range of many other forms of inane and stupid items. It seriously did my head in and became so bad that many times I found ways of negating going there on my own because of the accusations I know I'd face. Seriously, it ended up being desperately unfair. Leaving gave me a lot of breath space.

On the way to Krakow - Poland

The Luneta Warszawska Hostel - Krakow - Poland

The drive to Riga was usually a two night affair for us. On this occasions we aligned our travels with a Bruno Mars concert that was happening at the Tauron Arena in Krakow on 27 MAY, as part of his 24K Magic Tour.

Our first stop was on the 26th of May in Brno. A small town (city) of some 400,000 inhabitants, located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers. Modern in part but still heavy in the former Soviet style, we didn't really see much of the city at all aside from stopping in for an early evening gym sessions.

The next day we had a short drive to Krakow, some 350kms and had accommodation booked at the Luneta Warszawska Hostel Krakow - a fabulous place located in what looked to be an old fort. Impeccable in terms of presentation, cleanliness, space and location. The only thing against it was that it was a 30 min walk out of the city centre, but in a large way that was part of its charm too. It felt like it was in the middle of nowhere and there was something extremely appealing about the feel.

Bruno Mars - 24K Magic Tour - Tauron Arena - Krakow - Poland

In many ways the Bruno Mars concert was quite the surprise. First, he's a performer and that something that aligns with his style of music, pop, funk and rock all mixed into his own style. He's a lot of fun and I guess sometimes that exactly what you need. Another surprise, and what Inga & grew to really appreciate during our Concert Series prior to getting married, was that Polish crowds really got into the spirit of the event. A large part of the atmosphere at concerts of this elk is the form of participation you get from the crowd. Krakow formed the baseline and the expectation by which all future Polish crowds had to live up to....and with that said, we had a few concerts planned, Coldplay in Warsaw (18 June) & Guns 'N' Roses in Gdansk (20 June). Additionally, we had the Foo Fighters planned for Riga (21 June) and Kings of Leon on (27 June) in Vilnius. Not that they were all in Poland but I figured passion for tunes was more a regional thing anyway.

Bruno Mars - 24K Magic Tour - Tauron Arena - Krakow - Poland

As for the concert - here's a set-list from that evening

Performer: Bruno Mars

Location: Tauron Arena - Krakow - Poland

Tour: 24K Magic

Set List

Saturday, August 20, 2016

Cesky Krumlov (CZECHIA) - Graz (AUSTRIA) - on the road to the Adriatic

Cesky Krumlov (Czechia) - Graz (Austria)
19 August - 20 August 2016

For years the town of Cesky Krumlov had somehow in my mind become interchangeable with Moravsky Krumlov. The reason, aside for them containing the same name component 'Krumlov', which Wikipedia also portends to by saying that Cesky (Bohemian) was a deliberate addition to distinguish is from Moravian Krumlov, is because my father at one point in his life lived in Moravsky Krumlov for several months during WWII. Hence every time I'd hear the name Cesky Krumlov I'd consider it to be one in the same with Moravsky - apologies to Cesky Krumlov, you are special for a reason, even though you’re only a short 200km drive away.

Cesky Krumlov - Bohemia - Czech Republic

Our stop in Cesky Krumlov was only a drive through, a few hours dedicated to seeing a town that has been called a mini Prague, and since 1982, has been a World Heritage listed site. Meaning simply that it is a town of cultural, historical or scientific significance, legally protected by international treaties. A funny thing UNESCO World Heritage listing. A few studies have in fact targeted the World Heritage convention as being somewhat of a toothless tiger, having little or no legitimacy under international law. For me and the little I know about international law I agree, World Heritage listing simply acts as a ‘rubber stamp’, it’s a type of honour bestowed on a place more as an identification credit or marketing tool for significance or importance. Great from a touristic perspective though, it assists in identifying places that you should see over others, so I guess that’s a bonus.

Cesky Krumlov - Bohemia - Czech Republic

Cesky Krumlov is an impressive place though. Without question, one of the most picturesque small towns in Europe, commonly mentioned in the same breath as Hallstat (Austria), Colmar (France), Bruges (Belgium), Dubrovnik (Croatia) or Sintra (Portugal), it would certainly challenge any of those places as being the headline on the list.

Charming and fairytale like, this town in Southern Bohemia has all the things that you look for in a place like this. The lovely Vltavy river bounding the town in an S-shape, providing an element of both fun and frivolity in the Summer months. Then of course there are the cobble stoned road, endless bridges, architecture and typical artisanal fair that always appears to make its way to the heart of places like this,

Cesky Krumlov - Bohemia - Czech Republic

As I mentioned earlier, our time here was only very short. It’s the type of place that you could easily dedicate a few days to and wind back your ‘speed of life’ to a 2 on the dial.

Cesky Krumlov - Bohemia - Czech Republic

Later that evening we made our way into Graz. Unfortunately we had absolutely no time to explore this town and somehow I’ve often found myself in the position, both before this day and after it, whereby Graz has become a transition city. It has never made it to ‘end-point’ destination status and it irks me a little as it’s the birthplace of one of my grandparents. For the record, the grandparent birthplace mix goes Vienna (Austria), Split (Croatia), Belgrade (Serbia) and Graz (Austria).

Apologies Graz, I only saw a few of your desolate streets through the lens of a weary late evening arrival and equally bleary eyed morning departure.

Friday, August 19, 2016

Prague (CZECHIA) - Kasparov says 'check mates'

Prague (Czechia)

18 August - 19 August 2016

Prague didn't really align with our 'attack vector' down to the Croatian coastline, but really, why would you dare to miss the opportunity to stop in a town of such wonder and beauty?

It was the 1989 Velvet Revolution that gave the world the grace and elegance of such a magnificent capital. When I say us I refer to all those from the other side of the Iron Curtain, the Western side, and with that said, most of my family knew what Prague had to offer already! In fact, there's two members of our family that were actually born there. So we were WAY AHEAD of the curve guys, decades in fact.

Our stay was only for one evening but that's enough to realise in a hurry that there's so much more to this city that needs to be seen and experienced at a later time and date. Prague it seems is tailor made for aimless wandering, a city built to be discovered at the leisurely pace of bliss or ignorance. The pace of ignorance is what we adopted. Admittedly we knew nothing of Prague other than the 'word on the street' which was high praise enough.

Prague - Czech Republic

The only error in judgement that we made was that we stayed outside of the centre of the Old Town and the accommodation we selected was crap .Prague Studios Andel is not worth what we paid for it, and with that said we didn't pay that much. For the budget conscious it might be an option but really, do some homework, go somewhere else.

I have to say that my initial perception of Prague was flavoured by my cousin Vladimir who for some reason has had it in in his head that Prague is an enduring black hole on his existence. Obviously this stems from sort of bad experience that he had when he was younger, either that or maybe he just has a vendetta against the Czech population. Simple fact of the matter is that Prague is stunning, end of story. I wish we had allowed ourselves to dedicate more time here than just one paltry night.

Prague - Czech Republic

We were fortunate to arrive on a balmy evening. There was a great energy about, people were obviously partaking in some good 'ole fashioned drinking, and with some of the best beer in the world at the prices they were going for its not difficult to see why the popularity of the city has skyrocketed. I'd probably add that discounted airfares from nearby countries would also be serving Prague very well.

Prague - Czech Republic

With a beautiful hilltop castle overlooking the city, the gorgeous stone bridge that is the Charles bridge, the Baroque, Gothic & Renaissance period architecture, music, movement, people and great energy, this city is a joy to wander through aimlessly. Having had the good fortune of avoiding destruction through the countless number of wars that have taken place around it, Prague can also be your own time machine, taking you to a number of eras with just a simple stroll.

Prague - Czech Republic

No doubt, Prague is a gem and is rightly purported to be one of the highlights of Europe. I'll certainly not make an argument against it.

Life in a year full of Saturdays

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Friday, May 26, 2017

Krakow (Poland) via Brno (Czech Republic) - Pre-wedding DAZE!

Saturday, August 20, 2016

Cesky Krumlov (CZECHIA) - Graz (AUSTRIA) - on the road to the Adriatic

Friday, August 19, 2016

Prague (CZECHIA) - Kasparov says 'check mates'

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A year full of Saturdays