#czech inn

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Art Nouveau Minolta SR-T 303b, 58mm f/1.4, Portra 800 

[fizzybottleofsunshine-blog]

Goodbye Berlin. Hello Prague.

Goodbye Berlin. Hello Prague.

I woke up the morning of my departure early. I wanted to make sure that I had plenty of time along the way to Prague to get lost, be confused, and make mistakes. The train journey was only four hours, but I had to catch the tram there, and then a metro and another tram on the other side too. I was really nervous that arriving in Prague would be just as frightening as arriving in Berlin had been.…

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yooo anyone bored and from dublin go to Czech Inn at Temple Bar at around 9.00 (p.m.) tomorrow (Friday) 'cause a band I'm in's playing a gig there and I don't want to ask people irl but I have to get people to come but ye

[thedarklightband]

Special Guests, Glass Gears, to Support The DarkLight at Czech Inn

Special Guests, Glass Gears, to Support #TheDarkLight at Czech Inn #DublinGigs

We’re really delighted to announce that the superb Glass Gears will be supporting The DarkLight at their upcoming gig at Czech Inn on Friday 25th April.

Glass Gears are a Dublin based rock band, who play a kind of dynamic, energetic rock, which we love, and which you’ll have to come along on the 25th to discover for yourself (if you haven’t already done so).  The guys have also announced that…

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Prague… Beer, So Much Beer

We had heard from numerous friends that beer is cheaper than water in Prague, and they were right. When we went to the grocery our water bottles cost 30 crowns and our beers cost 15. Not only that, there is no such thing as a normal size beer in Prague, everything was a ‘Tall-boy’. 

Once we checked into the Czech Inn (our first hostel of the trip) we were pleasantly surprised.  This place didn't seem like a hostel at all (We had a real shower.. say what!). Since we arrived late we went out to dinner and got a good night of sleep. 

The next morning we woke up and went on a free walking tour of the city. Tony, our tour guide, was great and told us about all the different myths and legends surrounding Prague (lots of ghosts roaming around the city). Tony, a native of Greece, studying in Prague (cheap education), gets paid solely in tips.  In fact he has to pay a company to give the tour, so sometimes he loses money.

After our tour we went to a traditional Czech restaurant. I had some meat and potato dumplings. Cameron tried to order a chicken sandwich, but the waiter refused to give it to him, instead suggesting some goulash. We washed our meal down with some Pivo (traditional Czech beer).

That night we went to club Roxy. Met some really nice Swiss people (a recurring theme on our trip), and a few Americans. I actually ran into some kids that are studying abroad from CU.  The music was terrible (no one ever enjoys drum’n’bass music).

The next day we traveled up to the castle and monastery. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to go in either of them. We had an incredible lunch a Maly Buddha (some of the best Thai food I have ever had, especially the spring rolls).

One of the days we ate on the Hotel Prince: rooftop bar. It was a little cold but the views from the top were amazing.

For our last night in Prague we were able to catch the first night of the “Signal  Festival”. There were over forty different art projects incorporating light set-ups all over town. Although we didn't see all of them, the best one had to be the projector mapping on the Macula church. 

Public transportation in Europe is great. 

Oldest synagogue in Europe. 

[turkdelights-blog]

Friday, December 14, 2012

Ahoj!

That’s "hello" in Czech. 

Praha: More widely known as Prague is a jewel of Europe. So what words can I use to profess my love for this gem? There’s none. Prague is a spectacle of Central EU too often underrated or not even rated at all. My fervor for Prague is rooted in inspiration from my Grandfather, who very recently took a 7-day trip to Prague and Vienna with his buddies. I didn’t hesitate to seize the opportunity to go on this trip for several reasons. One among many was because I have a travel bug and all I want to do is globe trot. Secondly, I had no expectations. Prague could have been the a nightmare of a destination or the city that won my heart over, and it indefinitely did the latter. If it’s good, it’s wonderful, if it’s bad, it’s an experience. So my advice to you: pick a destination and travel without expectations. I bet you every lira in my wallet you will have the time of your life and return home with a smile you won’t be able to wipe off for days. I would go back in a heartbeat.

The only damper, although rather unsubstantial in the grand scheme of things, was that it was brutally chilly. In my defense, I forgot what Chicago winters were like because of my 9 month summer this year. Unfortunately, my Northface parka and Uggs didn’t make it to this side of the world with me, but were continuously in my thoughts as I roamed the cobblestone streets of Malá Strana. The chill led to some snow, which inevitably resulted in a delayed flight home. We were on the runway when our pilot told us we’d be delayed until further notice upon which a passenger caused absolute mayhem. He demanded to be let off the plane because he was going to miss his connecting flight. Sir, how about you sit down and wait like the other poor souls who are bearing a similar burden. But no, he demanded his suitcase be taken out of cargo and asked to exit the plane. So that’s what happened. I didn’t even know that was allowed! Bad karma is coming to this man. The rest of the passengers took this opportunity to get drunk and drown their loathing of air travel in all the alcohol the cabin crew would give them. Which was a lot.

Anyway, back to Prague. It has everything: culture, history, and sheer entertainment. We explored every nook and cranny, that is, the Communist Museum, the National Theater, the world’s largest ice bar, the Jewish Quarter, a World War bunker, Lennon Wall, Petrin Hill, Prague Castle, Franz Kafka’s gravesite. The list goes on. We even got our hands on some bubble tea. By the way, I have become a great advocate for hostel travelling after this trip. Of course, find a good hostel like the one I’m about to recommend: The Czech Inn. Easily the best accommodations ever, great company, and delicious food for a price that doesn’t even require you to have a wallet. Comparable to a 5 star hotel, in my opinion. We were greeted on Thursday by being asked to assist in decorating their Christmas Tree and feasting on their holiday goodies. Hostels will give your travel a lot more character. The people you meet and the situations you encounter are priceless and make for the best post-trip stories. It’s located at the Krymska stop on the 22/4 Tramline. The sound of the Czech woman on the tramstop recording is still lingering in my ears.

Lennon Wall: The Lennon Wall has been masked by Lennon-inspired graffiti, teachings of love and peace, and excerpt lyrics from classic Beatle’s music. During the communist regime of Gustáv Husák in the late 1980’s, Czech’s used this wall to express social and political grievances. This began a movement by students that came to be known as “Lennonism” and this subgroup was deemed juvenile, deranging, and derivatives of Western capitalism ideals by the Czech government. An original portrait of John Lennon hides beneath layers of abstract graffiti art and paint. A subtle, intimate candle-lit memorial still stands at the wall as a testament to Lennon. On your way here you walk over a mini-bridge adorned by hundreds of locks. They say if you attach a lock to proclaim your love on this bridge, your love will be everlasting.

Christmas Markets: You pamper all your senses here. I experienced genuine Christmas cheer for the first time in my life. I know, it’s a bold statement coming from an American, but a declaration of how commercialized the holiday has become in America versus Eastern and Central Europe. The Czech’s have truly up-ed their ante when it comes to Christmas by capturing and preserving the essence of every Christmas sentiment. Every town square is illuminated with Christmas Markets populated with jovial shoppers, holiday enthusiasts, and enchanted tourists throughout the month of December. And the Rockefeller Christmas Tree in Madison Square Garden is no comparison to the tree sparkling in the Old Town Square, believe it or not. Ah, I felt so happy here! You know how in childhood you envision what the magical North Pole would be like with Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus along with all their little elves in a warm triumphant ambiance. All those Christmas myths kindle and come to life here. Christmas carolers and live symphony performances. There are shops of ornaments, wooden toys, Czech artifacts, warm ciders, hot wine, chocolates and teas. Baroque jewelry, handmade scarves and mittens, puppets, candles with the most fanciful aromas, delicate crystal, and the most appetizing selection of cold weather treats. We ate potato soup in bread bowls, chicken skewers on warm baguette, cinnamon sugar bread in hazelnut, nutella, or caramel flavor (think of this as the ultimate Auntie Anne’s pretzel), and savory garlic pastries with a tomato sauce and Czech cheese. A DELIGHT.

Orloj: An intricate treasure of the Old Town Square that glows in the night and gleams in the day is in the famous Astronomical Clock, The Orloj. The Orloj celebrated its 600th anniversary in 2010, but every hour a piquant clock show takes place that you’ll probably catch a glimpse of in the Old Town Square. It was installed in the 14th century, making it the only astronomical clock still functioning. The Orloj’s complex anatomy is medieval, design-- mystifying. Its mechanism is composed of three components, the Astronomical Dial, embodying the Sun and the Moon on the two clock hands; “The Walk of the Apostles” among them namely a figure of Death personified by the skeleton; and the third is the rotary outer, Calendar Dial representing months of the Zodiac with gold ornamental medallions. Perhaps the most intriguing component is the Astronomical Dial, reflective of medieval perceptions of the Universe and symbolizing all elements of nature. The three circles on the dial, if you observe closely, have Old Czech Time marked by numerals, Roman numerals show Central European Time, and Arab numerals show Babylonian Time. Time has accurately and flawlessly been represented for 600 years according to season and this is the only clock with capabilities to measure this data without any tampering to date.

St. Charles Bridge: The view of Prague Castle from this bridge takes your breath away. This bridge crosses the Vltava River and is the primary connection between Old Town and the Prague Castle, as well as any adjoining areas. Brace yourselves; construction of this bridge began in the beginning of the 13th century. With gargoyles and depiction of various saints, the bridge tower is considered one of the most grand, gothic-style buildings in the world. Although there’s never really a time this bridge is empty it feels really intimate. It feels as though you enter another realm-- a bubble of some sort as soon as you step foot on it. You feel as though you’re the singular entity standing on this bridge, and the people around you are merely white noise. It’s kind of cryptic, most probably due to the gothic architecture. I wished I went to this place at sunrise and witnessed the aesthetic climate. If I go revisit Prague it’s on my to-do list.

That’s it for now. I can ramble about Prague for pages but storytelling via blogging will do my visit no justice. These stories need to be heard real time. Or better yet, go to Prague and witness the luster yourself.

Na shledanou