PRAGUE TO PARIS

Prague to Paris Saturday January 8, 2011

Well, the tour ended officially this morning when Milan put us into our transport to the airport. It was a tremendous job to sort out all the various destination and flight times from 04h25 this morning until quite late in the afternoon. We were on the one o'clock flight to Paris so left the hotel at  in the company of none other than Suitcase John, still bemoaning the loss of their luggage and setting out who he was going to sue. We felt quite sorry for them because they were finally ostracized by the group, many of whom had shown him a good deal of sympathy initially. But he simply refused to get on with his life and insisted on playing the martyr until everyone avoided him before he cornered them like the Ancient Mariner.

The cabbie didn't say one word on the way to the airport and we knew we had reached our destination when. She stopped the vehicle and opened the boot! It turned out the Prague airport is not logically designed and we discovered the initial problem when we made our way to Terminal One Departures (right next to Terminal Three Arrivals). Turns out we needed to be at Terminal Two Arrivals and Departures Czech Airways which was about as far from where we were as you could get. We were sharing a luggage 'chariot' and all the way John was muttering about the stupidity of the driver in not telling us where to go. I finally responded by asking rhetorically how many Melbourne cabbies would be able to tell a Czech passenger where to book in for VirginBlue at Melbourne airport.

We went to collect our tax refund - all of $60- so didn't go through to the lounge with John and Carole. What a circus the refund process turned out to be. There was a Russian woman at the Travelex counter when we got there and only one staff member on duty. It took all of an hour for her to collect her refunds - over US$3,000. We finally got through and who should be bump into but Leon and his missus so we had a good long chat to them.

I had a bit of a mishap when I board the aircraft. Rab was travelling Business Class while I was in Economy (long story) and I had my passport in my hand as well as our two packs. As I swung her pack into the luggage rack, I dropped the passport but only discovered the loss when I got to my seat. After searching my immediate area, I made my way back up the plane against the incoming tide of passengers and there was the missing passport, as John pointed out to my chagrin.

Nice short flight to Paris and we had booked a room at the Airport Sheraton, which was fortuitous as we were able to walk to the hotel from the arrival terminal. Very nice room. We just had a snack for supper in the Club Room and are now having an early night ahead of our flight tomorrow. 

Just after I wrote that we had a bit of an odd experience. There was a knock on the door and someone pushed it open. This at 9.00 pm! I had put the chain on so they couldn't open the door fully. I shot out of bed and shouted "Who is there? What do you want?" I peered through the peephole, but the passage lighting was very dim and I could only make out the shape of a man who said he was just checking that the room was OK and then he walked away. Very odd and I mentioned it to the girl when I checked out, but she was busy and I guess nothing will be investigated. It may have been nothing, but I was glad I had the chain on.  

PRAGUE - DAY THREE

Prague Friday January 7, 2011

A free day today although Milan and Peter offered to take us to the Castle by tram and then walk down from the Castle to the Charles Bridge. I had looked at the various distances and there was no way that was for us! Those who braved the walk confirmed that it was indeed a loooong way.

The show last night was, as expected, a little long for our taste. Stirring, but somewhat deafening music and frequent foot stamping and Hi-Hi dancing, which always went on too long. The food was interesting - curiously enough, my first course was pea soup and, like the soup Rab had on Victoria Island it was sweet. We landed up sitting with some Emeralders (from the sister ship Emerald) after getting to the venue a little late and although the one couple were very pleasant the other three were a rum lot. One of them - Robyn- was VERY intense. Staring into our eyes, one after the other, she introduced herself and asked who we were saying how PLEASED she was to meet us. Just a tad intense! She was sharing a cabin with old friend and gay schoolteacher Jim who had laryngitis and who I found to be a bit of a dead fish. Rab said he was not to bad, but he seemed humourless to me.

Instead of joining the trek to the Castle, Rab went to Marks and Spencers and found a very nice coat. Much lighter in weight than her old Russian one which she has found to be a bit of a burden on this trip. I think it might not be enough to block very cold weather, although we have kept the lining from then old coat and together she will probably be weatherproof. I spent a fair bit of time people watching and trying to get some good shots of the decorations on the two gorgeous Art Deco hotels. Of course we had to then re- trace our steps yesterday in the forlorn hope that we might be able to recover the ear-ring Rab lost yesterday. No luck, unfortunately. 

As we were walking through the Old Town square we saw a bloke under a brolly advertising the Hop On Hop Off bus we had been looking for yesterday. Turned out he was a Namibian student, working his way through college! Anyhow, we decided to give it a try although it seemed a bit dodgy because they were a bit mysterious as to how we got to the bus, given the traffic limitations in Old Town. Well, we walked for about ten minute before getting to a corner where we waited for the train? Didn't know what they were talking about until a little diesel train and carriage came around the corner, ringing it's bell. We climbed aboard and bumped our way over the cobbled streets for several blocks until we finally got to the bus parking area and transferred to our red bus.

The courier was a young woman from Florida who was teaching English at high school. She seemed very nice and said she was enjoying her time there, mentioning that the English speaking ex-pat community numbered about 20,000. It was good to see a bit of the city. Parts are in very poor condition - magnificent old houses but falling to pieces - and there is an enormous amount of graffiti everywhere. We didn't hop off the bus, at least until we got to the Railway Station, which was the nearest one to our hotel. We paused to share a Prague sausage and a fruit drink and then headed back to the hotel for a snooze and to pack.

We had intended to just go out for a quiet meal on our own, but Ian called us at about 16h00 and invited us to join him and some of the others at a restaurant he had found. We agreed and after a couple of drinks with some of our other pals, ten of us went off to the Italian restaurant about 1 km from the hotel. It was quite a mild evening after the freezing one that had preceded it and Rab was warm in her new coat. The food was excellent and we had a good time. Everyone was exchanging e-mail addresses and telephone numbers. Based on previous experiences no one will be in touch, but maybe this time it will be different. (It was - a little. Two people contacted us - but only once each.)

PRAGUE - DAY TWO

Prague, Thursday January 6, 2011

We had a pretty good night in our eyrie, although I'm still coughing a bit from time to time. We made it down to breakfast in time and found a reasonable spread. The plan was to join the guide for a four hour walk this morning. I must say I was somewhat surprised at this decision of Rab's because that's a long walk in the freezing cold - it was about minus 8C today. As things turned out, Milan, the guide was not available and the local guide, a very nice young lass, took about 20 minutes to tell us what Milan had told us the night before about Wenceslas and his murderous family, as we stood in the chilly square that bears his name.

Rab suggested we move on without them and I was only too happy to do so. Group movements are not really what I want in foreign parts. We drifted down the hill into the borders of the Old Town to where we had turned back last night when Marj decided to march back up town and, as I expected, we were son in the Old Town. Magnificent old buildings and lovely shops to dawdle in everywhere. The main square is terrific and is dominated by the building with an extraordinary astronomical clock. I had no idea how to read it, but it has phases of the moon, zodiac sectors and the lord knows what else. Apparently one set of hands divides the day into 12 hours between sunrise and sunset, with longer hours in summer than winter. Extraordinary.

We moved on from there towards the Charles Bridge, passing some very nice shops on the way. They weren't open as it was only just gone nine (we had heard the trumpeter at the clock sounding off the time as we got to the square) and there was hardly anyone about. The Bridge is a wonderful example of beauty and form and we got some good shots down there. It was freezing cold standing above the water and my gloveless hand was quite painful in the end and took some time to warm up even when back in my thick gloves. We had a laugh because I wanted to get a shot of a local tram crossing in front of the church at the foot of the bridge, thinking it would make a god subject. Rab went down to the road to signal when a tram was in site and in due course she waved to me, I set up the shot - and instead of the distinctive red tram, the one that came along was pink and covered in advertising! Not what I had in mind at all. The second was not much better, so I gave up the idea and we went and had a cup of coffee and a slice of honey cake.

Opposite the coffee shop was an intriguing shop carrying very large stocks of local work. Not the normal touristic stuff, but some beautiful pieces. Amongst these were some pendants in the style of Faberge eggs and other designs. Beautiful, I thought, but never expected Rab to like them. I expected her to say they were too glitzy. Anyway, she didn't and as the shop was opening at 10 (some of the shops are open from 10am to 11 pm!) we shot in there. The one piece that she really liked was in the shape of a stylized crown (Rab thought it was a heart, which is more romantic, I suppose although I told her the crown was because she was the Queen of my Heart!) Turned out to be the only one of it's kind in the shop, or so it was claimed, and we duly bought it. We think it is lovely, but the one problem was that if did not fit on the chain that Rab had. As we walked back towards the hotel I got the bright idea of asking a local jeweller if he could alter the loop of the pendant without damaging the settings of the crystals in the loop. He did a great job and declined any payment. What nice people!

We grabbed a Prague Dog on the way back up the hill. A HUGE sausage, well done and very tasty which with an Ice Fruit drink (mangosteen flavour, of all fruit!) made a good lunch.

Rab drifted in and out of the shops on the way back up the hill, buying the odd item, while I stood out in the street watching the world go by. I noticed how many people had rather large noses - not so much fat as long. One mother and daughter looked for all the world like a pair of dachshunds, their long and pointy noses preceding them up the street.

Back in the hotel we are relaxing before the dinner tonight. I'm somewhat dreading that as it promises to be a local feast - that part is OK because we like what we have had of Czech cuisine, but accompanying that will be some local entertainment and I know that will mean loud mazurkas and Hi-Hi-ng from the dancing girls.  

PRAGUE - FIRST LOOK

Prague, Wednesday January 5, 2011

A fairly long day today, but not as long as we collectively feared.

After a last breakfast we clambered aboard our coaches at 08h30 for what we were told would be a nine hour journey to Prague, with an eta of 17h30. There was only room for our knapsacks (Hugh says they are most inappropriate for a grown man, who should never carry more than a briefcase) so we had to sit with our coats on our laps as we always found it too hot to sit in our coats. This made for a very crowded seat and I had half a cheek in the aisle - most uncomfortable. We stopped for a fifteen minute pee-break after about 90 minutes and since I had no local currency and didn't want any, I declined to pay the requisite fee and used the public ones. I was glad I didn't have to sit on the icy steel throne! We re-arranged the coats, but it didn't make much difference and I was resigned to a very uncomfortable few hours ahead. It was only after our lunch break that Hugh suggested that I ask the courier/guide if I could sit in the spare seat in the front row. I did and luxuriated all the way in to Prague.

The lunch stop was at a McDonald's. Milan the guide had warned us at the start that this would be the case as he said they were the only reliable food stops on the motorways. We were off the bus and in only just behind Hugh - no doubt we old travellers know the tricks of the trade. Hugh was paying with a credit card which delayed the works somewhat but once the staff had got that worked out, they battled manfully (or womanfully to be more accurate) to deal with the sudden rush of 66 foreigners, most of whom hadn't eaten in a Macs anyhow and didn't understand the rules! Milan told us there was only one woman in the kitchen and the cashier was on the job for first time that day. (We thought the cashier was bemused by the credit card because she only saw them rarely, but were way off the mark. We only learned later that countries like the Czech Republic jumped a couple of stages of technology. The problem with the cashier was that she had never handled a credit card that required a signature instead of a PIN. It was we Australians who had old technology, not the Czechs!)

Milan played the movie Amadeus on the coach DVD - which we didn't enjoy at all. We didn't have a very good view, but from what we could see it was not our scene. Maybe you had to know more about Mozart than we do.  As I say, I was quite comfortable in the end as we drove through the lovely snowy countryside, but the travels we have had on coaches have reinforced my long held view that I would not choose that method of travel. The seats are simply not designed for my size person. Incidentally the road surface in Czech are appalling for long stretches. They are concrete slab highways and as ever, they created a very bumpy ride.

We got in at about 16h00, considerably earlier than expected. Milan said this was due to the opening of a new bypass  which had taken all the heavy trucks off the road we were on and clear up a long standing problem that had created hour long backups. He seems an excellent guide - just what girl in Paris was not. He explained what we had in store, how he had arranged for our check in at the hotel so there was a minimum of fuss, what we were going to do.

As he had said, we were into the hotel and in our room within minutes of arrival. It is a very nice Art Nouveau building (THE style in Prague!) and decorated accordingly. We are on the eighth and top floor in a kind of attic Rome with sloping windows. It is very large and very comfortable and a HUGE improvement on the Paris room.

 

We went for a freezing orientation walk at 18h00 last evening and then left Milan and the group to do a bit of exploring on our own. Unfortunately we me up with Marj and Chris (I think they are a couple but Rab won't accept that). I say unfortunate because Marj is very bossy and thrustful (so to speak) and so although they were good company sitting on the boat, they are less so for a wander through town window shopping and looking for a Czech eatery. I missed a number of photo opportunities as we marched at speed from place to place and in the end, since we couldn't agree where to eat, they went their way and we went ours, ending up in a nice cellar restaurant where we had some good food and a couple of large beers. Just what we wanted. Rab had roast pork and sauerkraut and I had a grilled schweinhaxe which, while not up to the standard of the one in Koln, was nevertheless just what I wanted.

And so to bed.   

BUDAPEST

Budapest, Tuesday January 4, 2011

We opened our curtains to a wonderful white world again. The river was quite narrow and the trees which came right down to the water's edge were all covered with frozen snow. Clearly we were in for another cold day. I went up on deck as Frank had suggested for our arrival into Budapest and although it was a misty morning with light snow falling, it certainly was an impressive sight, as he had promised. The Parliament building was the first massive structure to come into view on the Pest side and then the hilly Buda crowned with the castle.

 

We duly assembled for our tour after breakfast and were surprised at how beautiful the city was, with magnificent buildings in all directions. I suppose we should not have been because after all this city was the centre of an enormous Empire for centuries. Our trip included a visit to the Castle and Cathedral high above the city. It was as cold as......up there with gentle snow falling from time to time. We followed the group leader for a while, but dropped out to examine the shops more closely. Rab lashed out on a little souvenir plate of all things - quite a surprise since we got rid of most of our collection in the Great Move back to Australia. She also finally succumbed to the cold (and my suggestions) and started looking for something to keep her head and ears warm. She found a snood like article in a market which is perfect. Fur lined it has long knitted side pieces that can be used like a scarf. Perfect for keeping warm.

We were back at the ship for lunch and it was proposed that we should spend the afternoon there - just like those old folks in Cape Town all those years ago. Fortunately one of the other couples, Barry and Diane, said they were going shopping and that eventually provided sufficient impetus to set us off with them. We caught the very cold and very old shuttle across to the Pest side, since we were tied up in Buda and the shops were in Pest. After fighting our way past some extensive building operations, we found ourselves in the Vinca (as I think the main shopping street is called). Rab was in her element and I spent a good deal of time watching the passing show in the street as she shopped. I preferred standing in the cold rather than the heat of the shops. There were some sights to see – clearly no 'Winter Fashion' had been established. There were many beautiful fur coats about too, which must really annoy PETA and it was the pale caramel ones that looked the smartest I thought. The young girls tended to wear something similar - tights with high boots or long stockings up to their knees and a mini skirt above with a short coat above that.

At one stage I was leaning on a lamp post reading the paper we had bought for Archie, when a voice said to me "Hello, kind sir." in a suitably foreign accent. It was Hugh and Richard, the gay couple who had proved to be such good company on the trip. They asked if I was waiting to be picked up? They were walking back to the ship across the Chain Bridge and invited us to join them. I said there was no chance of that happening, but we did walk as far as the remains of the Xmas Market.

After browsing around there we had a lovely cup of coffee and shared a homey cake before strolling back to the now very cold shuttle and on tom the ship to do our packing. Even though it was such a short stay and just a glance at this great city, we really enjoyed our stay. We also had a good laugh at a large banner at the Art Museum advertising an exhibition of art which used two very large people as models - I said I couldn't recall us posing as model for those pictures.

There was quite an atmosphere of frivolity as it was the last evening we were all together, with the first passengers leaving at 4.45 the following morning! Most people said they had enjoyed themselves thoroughly and counted the trip as a great success. Of course there were also those who found complaints to dig up but I think they were inn the minority.

They had some Hungarian entertainers on in the evening and whilst I am sure they were very good, I found myself nodding off in the first number and by the time the Hi-Hi-ing dancers had slapped their boots for the third dance I was happy to agree to Rab's suggestion to call it a night - Hugh and Richard having sneaked off even earlier.

RESTING - VIENNA AND BRATISLAVA

Vienna Sunday, January 2, 2011

There was a light sprinkling of snow in Vienna this morning when we went in to have our guided tour. A sharp wind got up and as everything was closed ( and we'd seen enough churches) we baled on the tour and headed back to the warmth of the ship by taxi. (In case this sounds somewhat crass, we had visited Vienna a couple of times in the past.)

Enough was enough for us and we spent the rest of the day at leisure as the brochures have it. Slept, chatted and read our books.

Bratislava, Monday, January 3, 2011

We were up bright and early for an 8.00 start for our tour of Bratislava. Turned out that the early start wasn't really essential as the inhabitants didn't get going until well after 10.00, by which time we were beginning to think of going back to the bus.

It is a nice little place, with a well preserved old town and some interesting buildings, but with no shops open, not much for Rab to do. One of the few shops that was open had a beautiful porcelain " Musicians of Bremen" ornament that I really liked. It was €690 and Rab had a fit when I said I would like to buy it. Needless to say that idea didn't get off the ground.

We headed back to the ship and spent the afternoon loafing around again. How nice to do nothing:-)

We set sail for the last leg of the trip - to Budapest - that evening and had a pleasant farewell drink and dinner with the Captain.  

NEW YEAR'S EVE ON THE DANUBE

Passau/Lintz Friday 31 December 2010

As I write this it is next year in Melbourne. As usual the Sydney fireworks display hit the headlines and Matt and family will be heading home soon after what seems to have been a great holiday down at Rosebud.

I woke up at 7.00 this morning after a solid night's sleep. I don't know why I was so knackered yesterday - but I felt a bit better today. We had signed up for a trip to Chesky Kromlov today - a wonderful old Czech town by all reports, but I bowed out and we canned it. I really didn'T fancy another 10 hour trip - 4 or 6 in the coach and another enthusiastic guide pouring facts into my ear through the Quiet Vox machine. I've had enough of castles and kings for the moment, although not of what they have left behind, of course. But I can admire the buildings without knowing the name of the architect or who the bishop was at the time or........ well, you get the drift. (Frank, the excellent guide, said that as far as Australian tourists were concerned this part of the trip was often referred to as the ABC part - "Another Bloody Castle/Cathedral")

We were in time for late breakfast today 8.40 before a 9.00 closing time, but for some reason the staff were packing it all up. Perhaps they thought everyone was going on the the tours arranged for today and that there were none of us slugs left. We got enough to eat, of course and they were pleasant enough, but not quite as charming as usual - the move has no doubt affected them more than us.

Rab and I went into town on our own and just strolled around, looking for shoe shops mainly, although C&A proved to be an attractive spot for good cheap tops for  Rab. I also went into the Post Office to send a couple of cards to the girls which we thought they might enjoy. The one to Stephanie featured a row of small bratwurst sausages and I asked her how many there were and how many she could  eat, adding that we had 12 sausages between us yesterday and asking if Granny ate four, how many did Grampa eat? Nothing like throwing in a small maths problem in a greeting card. Caroline's card was a three dimensional one showing a seahorse and I asked her if she had seen one at Rosebud, mentioning that the Dad seahorse looked after the kids, hoping she'd make the link between them and her Dad.

 

We were due to sail at 11.15 and were aboard before 11. The town was a pleasant one and had been cleared of snow which was stacked in great mounds here and there about the town. Passau is at the confluence of three rivers - the Danube, the Inn and the Ilk so it is very attractive and as we sailed out we saw some splendid views. Had an interesting lunch with Archie, the doctor from Mt Isa and then went back to the cabin. I had intended to catch up on my FaceBook entries, get my pictures sorted for downloading, catch up on this journal etc etc but landed up doing very little in the end. The bloody Internet link kept collapsing which is VERY annoying so I gave up in the end and Rab and I just skinnered about the other passengers and watched the passing show until she nodded off. Even though we are just over half way through this journey, we still find the views amazing. We're in another lock as I speak, so no doubt the Internet will be about to cut out again. No one better tell me that the European services are so much better than the Aussie ones.

We duly arrived at Lintz and met up with the returnees. All said it was a long day. Marjorie and Chris thoroughly enjoyed their visit to ....... While Hugh said he found the town of Cesky Kromof somewhat disappointing. All in all we were glad that we hadn't gone along.

The New Years Eve dinner was an excellent one although I still feel a bit crook so I didn't enjoy it as much as I might. For some reason they cranked up the heat in the lounge and dining room, so I was sweating bullets which didn't help. We had a jolly table with Hugh and the girls plus Shirley who is recovering from her hospital trip. The atmosphere in the lounge was good with everyone settling down for a party and old Tomas playing some decent music. We scuttled off at about 10.15 and were asleep before 11.00, although I was woken up at about 11.30 when KAK led a conga line down the passage to persuade Sandy to join them for a New Year toast.

And so the year ended with a bit of a whimper, for us:-)