Tuesday and Wednesday

June 25th and 26th

We started the day on the 25th with breakfast at a local bakery with the usual surly curt service, but the food was great.  Once again it rained all day long, with a few brief periods in which we could put away the umbrella.

 We took a tram loaded with noisy school children to the area near the castle and walked up a long flight of cobbled stairs. At this time the wind was blowing and raining hard and it completely destroyed our $3 umbrella. We deposited it in a garbage can that we noticed was already full of cheap umbrellas.

On the Charles Bridge.

After the castle we stopped and had a beer at one of Vaclav Havel's favorite little bars, Hostinec U Kocoura. Then we explored the area of shops around the Charles Bridge and the bridge itself. Afterwards we had lunch at U Medvidku (by the bear cubs) and remarked that most of the food matched the color of the beer but it was delicious.  After lunch (it was already about 3:30) we wandered around for a while and tried to visit the Mucha museum but it was closing soon so we decided to try tomorrow.  Back to the hotel for a nap, run, shower and then off to dinner.  We returned by tram to the castle area and decided to try a place recommended by Rick Steeves called Certovka. The atmosphere was nice but the food was terrible.  We'll have to post a negative ating of that one on Rick's site. 

After dinner (around 9 pm) we had made plans to visit a jazz/blues bar nearby recommended by a friend of a friend called U Maleho Glena.  This turned out to be a great choice.  The music section was a small two room basement bar that housed a small stage, tables for about twenty people, and a small bar area that could hold another ten or so.  That night there was a harder edged blues jazz group with a guitar, bass, drums and a guest trumpeter and pianist. They had a great sound and the atmosphere was tight and crowded but perfect.

Greta working on a drawing of the band.

 

On a break, the guitarist took a look at the drawing and asked if he could buy it.  His reaction was great.  He showed it to all the band members and noted that the drummer looked like a truck driver, which he thought was hilarious.  After a good conversation, Greta took a picture of the drawing, signed it and gave it to him.  He said he was going to have it framed.

Wednesday we got up late, headed to the same bakery for breakfast and then off to the Mucha museum.  It was still a bit overcast but at least not rainy.  Spent the day wandering around the old town, lunch at Beas Indian Cafeteria, and exploring the Jewish quarter with a stop at the Museum of Applied Arts.  After the museum we found a restaurant on the river and sat drawing from a view of the castle on the other side of the river.

After a rest at the hotel we head back to the old town for a 9pm reservation at our favorite restaurant, Lokal.  We worked on drawings in between bites of cheese, sausage, salami, potato salad, spinach (some green!), and bread...along with fresh half liters of Pilsner Urquell. 

The progression....

The old town at night.

We arrived in Prague without too much trouble on our flights.  A little late out of Cedar Rapids due to some storm activity but nothing major.  The stewardess on the flight from CR scared everyone by telling us that the landing was the roughest she'd ever been on, and that they tried to land the plane twice before making it down on the third attempt - so that's why they were so late.  This caused one person to want to get off the plane...further causing delays, but she was finally convinced to stay and we were on our way. 

Arriving in Prague we took a 20 min bus to the subway, and the subway to the center and after some trouble located our hotel.  Rick Steves mentioned in his guide that a map is very important in Prague, and that has proved to be absolutely true.  The streets are mostly all on angles and the names change every couple of blocks.  Add to that the overcast and rainy skies and we could rarely tell which direction we were going. I think we are both typically pretty good navigators but we had our map out yesterday after every couple of blocks.

We are staying at the Dahlia Inn in the New Town, which is about a 15 min walk to the center. Our host, Mark, is great...very outgoing and full of good information.

After a shower and a nap we headed out to explore and get some dinner.  A couple of highlights were:

One of the best brewpubs in the city, Pivovarsky Dum, is right across the street from our hotel.  Warmed up the journey with two fresh brewed 0.5 liter beers.  They has some nice open fermentation vats going in the room next to the pub and the whole place smelled like yeast and fresh brew.

Coffee at the Municipal House cafe which is an old style high ceilinged place with big chandeliers. 

Dinner at a place called Lokal on the north side of the old town.  Fresh Pilsner Urquell, sausages with mustard and horseradish, potato dumplings, garlicky cheese with pickled onions, and fresh potato salad.  There was some very interesting artwork in this place that we will post photos of.  A long (smoky)beer hall with surly service and great atmosphere.

After dinner we walked to the center and looked around for a bit and eventually made our way back to the hotel.  So far it has rained constantly, and I mean without a 5 min break.  Looks like more rain today and tomorrow.

 Municipal House Cafe

 An interesting back lit drawing showing how beer is made on the wall at Lokal

 smoked ham cart in the city center

Preparations Completed!

Years of experience and attention to detail going into the arrangement of this small bag.  If we forget something who knows what could happen.  Do they have toothpaste in Europe?  T-shirts?  What if one of us gets a pimple?  Do they have the same wicked gnats?

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Some last minute crafting projects to take along including a custom travel pillow.  Who knows what conditions one might find on an economy class pillow?

With a little bit of squishing this bag should fall nicely within the "45 inch" regulations.

Here is the itinerary for our trip!

• Depart - June 23rd from Cedar Rapids - Chicago - Zurich - Prague
• Arrive in Prague on June 24
• June 24 to June 28 - Prague - Dahlia Inn
• June 28 - Depart Prague - head to Hostalkova, Czech Republic
• June 28-30 - Hostalkova - staying with John's cousin Eva, in the village where his great grandparents John and Mary were from.
• June 30 - Depart Hostalkva, head to Vienna
• June 30-July 4 - Vienna - Pension Kraml
• July 4 - Depart Vienna, head to Ljubljana, Slovenia
• July 4-7 - Ljubljana and Lake Bled - B&B Petra Varl
• July 7 depart Ljubljana, head to Rovinj, Croatia
• July 7-10 - Rovinj, Croatia  - Groznjan, Motovun -Villa Baron Gautsch
• July 10  - depart Rovinj, head to Piran, Slovenia
• July 10-12 - Piran, Izola, Trieste Italy - Hotel Max Piran
• July 12 - back to Ljubljana - B&B Petra Varl
• July 13 - Fly Home - Ljubljana - Munich - Chicago - Cedar Rapids

Rovinj, Croatia