The home of Pilsner Urquell

Friday last week we took the train from Berlin to Praha, a journey of about 4 hrs and 40 min. It was a lovely trip mostly along the river Elbe and between hills. It had been very cold in Berlin and there were still piles of snow in front of houses along the way. The towns along the river Elbe look like lovely summer holiday getaways and somewhere we would like to come back and explore or just have a chilled break away.

Saturday dawned bright and clear (but very cold!) and we kicked off exploring with a visit to Prague Castle. There are quite a few things to do and see around the castle such as St Vitus’s Cathedral, St George’s Convent, Lobkowicz Palace and the Golden Lane. We didn’t go into any of the palaces as it was such a beautiful day we didn’t want to spend it indoors. We wanted to go into the Golden Lane but it was closed for renovations and will only be open in a year’s time. We did pop into St Vitus Cathedral though. It is a Gothic style cathedral complete with gargoyles for water spouts on the outside making it quite spooky but it is also very pretty with golden and tile mosaics. Inside the cathedral feels less gothic and is beautifully decorated with many stained glass windows.

We made our way to castle square just outside of the castle grounds where there are many more palaces such as the Schwarzenberg Palace with its scraffitto decorated façade. There was also a changing of the guard type procession going on with much trumpeting and beating of drums. We made our way to Strahov Monastery which was closed for lunch when we got there but we managed to peer through the door inside this beautiful monastery.

From the monastery, we walked down the famous Nerudova Street with amazing views over the city. The houses here have mostly been converted into gift shops for tourists and restaurants now but it still gives a feeling of the old Prague. We made our way past St Nicholas church and strolled over the statue-lined Charles Bridge. The building of the bridge was commissioned by Emperor Charles IV in 1357 when the previous bridge was destroyed by floods. The towers on either end of the bridge mark the beginning and end of the bridge and add to the scenery of the old part of the city.

The Old Town Square is home to the Church of Our Lady Before Tyn and the Old Town hall with its astronomical clock. We were there at 5pm when the clock chimed the hour and the dolls danced around, very kewl. We made our way back to Charles Bridge to experience the scenery at night with the street lamps on.

Snow was predicted for Sunday and we were not disappointed! It snowed on and off all day on Sunday but apparently it was too warm in the city (0°C) as the snow melted as soon as hit touched the ground and didn’t settle and cover everything in white. It was very cold but we enjoyed walking in the snow. I’m sure we will be over it by the end of next winter though!

On Sunday we visited Vysehrad, a fortified area with a Cathedral and cemetery. We enjoyed the view of the city from a different angle on this side of the hill. We made our way back to the old town and walked around the Old Jewish Quarter. There are many beautiful synagogues, old and new, which can be visited and the Jewish Cemetery. We skipped going inside and just enjoyed the atmosphere of a different part of town. We had one last walk across Charles Bridge while munching on traditional Czech pastries and drinking hot chocolate! Bron is going to turn into a pastry and hot chocolate soon and Justin is going to turn into a beer! It’s a close competition between Guinness and Pilsner Urquell.

On Monday Justin had the best Valentine’s Day ever when we visited Plzen, the home of his favourite beer, Pilsner Urquell. We were disappointed when there was no evidence of Sunday’s snow in Prague but were pleasantly surprised to discover the winter wonderland that awaited us on the train! The entire country side was covered in a fine layer of snow all the way to Plzen. It was very pretty but also very cold!!

In Plzen we only had time for a tour of the brewery, the highlight of Justin’s day, complete with a tasting of Pilsner Urquell. The beer they offer for tasting is unfiltered and unpasteurised and so still contains the yeast used for brewing which they say is ‘healthy’ because of the vitamin B content. Hm. I’m sure people drink it for other reasons! You can only get the unfiltered beer at the brewery and in one pub in town otherwise it is not for general retail. The tour itself was quite interesting and it was quite kewl to see the brewery and how it has changed or stayed the same since the first brew in 1842. We also saw the bottling and packaging plant where 120 000 bottles and about 35 000 cans are filled an hour. After a quick traditional lunch in the pub at the brewery we charged back to the station just in time for our train back to Prague. On the train on the way back we had a brief glimpse of Karlstein Castle which was built by Charles IV in the 14^th Century.

We really enjoyed visiting Prague and it is a city we hope to come back to, preferably when it is warmer! The hotel we stayed in was quite interesting. It is a boat hotel, or botel, called Vodnik. Initially we thought this would be cool but it was actually really cold! Apart from the leaking shower, leaking basin and tiny towels, we enjoyed the breakfast and views of Vysehrad across the river Vltava from our room. We watched the ice on the river moving along and break up. There were also many swans on the river and other birds which look like seagulls. For whatever reason they roost on the ice at night. It is quite funny to watch them land on the ice as they skid for a few metres before coming to a stop. It gets interesting when they are all crowded together and one wants to land in the middle!

It is quite interesting when you cross the border from Germany to Czech you know you are in a poorer country. The use of the land and the houses are completely different. Also in the city we saw many people begging for money and we were approached by beggars a few times. The trains and some tourist attractions also have stickers up warning people about pick-pockets. The people here seem less friendly but maybe it is just because of a language barrier, not many people speak a lot of English. Also, we stand out as tourists. Not because we are in the tourists spots or because we are wearing bright orange jackets and have a camera with us. It is because we wear hats and gloves!! The locals do not wear either, it is quite amazing in this freezing weather! There is a public transport system but it is not as well connected as London or Berlin are. But Praha and Plzen are very kewl cities and we highly recommend a visit!

Today (Tuesday) finds us on a train to Munich, a journey of about 6 hrs. There is still snow on the ground but less than on our trip to Plzen yesterday, must have only been a thin layer. Further out of the city the fields and trees were still mostly covered in snow but once we were in Germany there we only saw small piles of snow in some places. In Czech we saw a dam that was completely frozen over, it was quite amazing. Another dam was frozen except for a small patch close to the weir where water was still flowing over. There were also other dams partly or mostly frozen over along the way. We still find frozen bodies of water fascinating!

We will be in Munich for 3 nights before heading to Innsbruck for one night on Friday. On Saturday we head to Hopfgarten for a week of skiing with Michelle and Graham. Still no plans for after skiing but we will probably head into Italy. Guess we should start organising that soon!

Hope you are well and having a good week! Until next time.

x

PS: As you can imagine Justin took zillions of photo's! Below is a selection, for more see his facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=271909&id=520347650&l=4043b76543).

Gargoyle water spouts on St Vitus's Cathedral

St Vitus Cathedral and Stained glass windows below 

Strahov Monastery

View of Prague from the top of Nerudova Street

Nerudova Street 

 Tower and statues on Charles Bridge

 Metro Station

Old Town Square with the Church of Our Lady Before Tyn 

Old Town Sqaure with the Old Town Hall

Astronomical clock

View from Charles Bridge at night

Map Reading!  

View across the river from Vysehrad

 View of Vysehrad and ice floating in River Vltava from our hotel room

Traditional Czech pastries! 

 To those that recognise this archway, na Zdravi!

Copper kettles in the brew house at Plzen 

Tasting unfiltered Pilsner Urquell in the old cellars of the brewery 

Traditional Czech fare at the pub, goulash served in a bread bowl

Traditional Czech fare at the pub, pork in beer with dumplings and cabbage

Check Point Charlie

On Tuesday we took the train from Rotterdam to Berlin, a journey of about 7hrs. It was a beautiful sunny day, still cold but at least clear and non-gloomy. The scenery was farm lands most of the way, the train tracks are clearly built out of the main cities and traffic. 

We arrived at Berlin Hauptbahnhof which is the main train station in Berlin and made our way to the hotel close by. The interesting thing about the station is that it has solar panels which supplies 13% of its required energy. Exploring Berlin started on Wednesday with a visit to Check Point Charlie and the Check Point Charlie Museum. Check Point Charlie was one of three allied border crossing points between East and West Germany during the Cold War when Germany was divided. The other two check points were Alpha and Bravo. There is a lot of history in this area which the museum covers quite well. The photo's in the museum are quite moving and help to portray what it was like during that time. It is quite amazing how the wall came about in the first place and why people do these things to each other, it boggles my mind. There is so much history in Berlin and it is amazing how events chain react to cause the next all the way from before the First World War. Bron felt a bit cheated that it isn't the original Check Point building in the street or even the original sign. Those were removed when the wall was taken down and a token building and sign erected later. The original sign and piece of road with white markings denoting East and West is in the Check Point Charlie Museum. 

The next stop was to see the remains of the Berlin Wall and the Art on the Wall which was done since the fall of the wall. It is quite hard today to imagine the city divided but there is a row of two bricks all along where the wall used to be as a reminder and about three places in the city where sections of wall still stand. Sometimes I believe that forgetting is a better to way to move forward as a united people but I guess remembrance is a way to ensure it doesn't happen again, bit of a catch 22. 

After the wall we made it to the Brandenburg Gate in time for sunset. There was some kind of protest going on about the situation in Egypt and Bron was not impressed when Justin just carried on walking like a real tourist with his camera! We went back to the gate twice after that and preferred it without the protesters! It was quite nice to see the gate at different times of the day. After Brandenburg Gate we wandered on to the Reichstag or Bundestag. We wanted to go into the dome of the Reichstag but apparently you have to book 7 days in advance which we didn't know. But at least we saw it from the outside. After a short walk in the Tiergarten or park we headed out for a yummy traditional German dinner complete with sauerkraut and spaetzl! In Berlin we also saw the airlift memorial, the Soviet war memorial and the memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe. 

On Thursday we took the train to Potsdam and walked around Park Sanssouci. Meaning 'without worries' or 'care free', the park has many palaces and a church from the time of the Prussian kings. It was really pretty walking around but also very cold! The pond near the church was half frozen over and we felt sorry for the swans, although they are quite strong and managed to break the ice to get to some food. Our favourite saying in Berlin was 'it must be really pretty in summer!'. And crowded with tourists.

Thursday night was our last night in Berlin and on Friday we took the train to Prague, a trip of about 4hrs 40min. Today we have had a great day exploring Prague but more about that next time!

Have a kewl weekend!

x

 Bron at Check Point Charlie 

Check Point Charlie 

A Trabant, the mode of transport in East Germany 

Bridge over the river Spree

Bridge over the river Spree

Berlin wall art 

  

Brandenburg Gate 

Tiergarten

 Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

TV Tower

Park Sanssouci 

Yummy traditional German fare

The Berlin Bear, the symbol of Berlin

"This could be Rotterdam or anywhere. Liverpool or Rome...

...Cause Rotterdam is anywhere. Anywhere alone"

On Friday last week we signed the lease for our new place, yay! All went smoothly and we met with the landlord at the apartment yesterday to collect the keys and do a check-in or snag list. So all is ready to go when we get back. Our furniture hasn’t left Cape Town yet but should be leaving in the middle of Feb to arrive in Rotterdam in the middle or end of March. So hopefully it will be well timed and we will arrive back from our travels at the same time as our furniture!

Below are some pics of our new place. The apartment is fairly modern as you can see in the kitchen, bathroom, down lights, aircon and walk-in wardrobes. However, you will also notice that the walls are not straight but are at an angle which will make hanging pictures interesting! Will post more pics when we have arranged our furniture in it. The apartment feels bigger than our place in Wynberg but still wondering where things like golf clubs and bicycles will go… at least there are no boats to worry about! Not yet anyway.

An interesting thing about our apartment is that the landlord is not entitled to automatically increase the rent by 10% each year. The government dictates how much the rent should go up each year and apparently it is only 2% or 3% a year, not 10% like SA. Also, the landlord can choose whether he wants to put it up or not and apparently not everyone does. Our lease contract also states that we may not grow cannabis or use drugs on the property. So long as that is clear!

Amsterdam is an hour away on a slow train or 20 minutes on a speed train so we headed out for a visit on Saturday. The city was really busy with many tourists even on a windy winter’s day. From the train station we wandered through the older parts of the city, through the red light district, over many canals and through the flower seller-lined street towards the Rijksmuseum. Amsterdam is a beautiful old city and we loved the old buildings; so narrow and tall. For Bron it was really good to be back in a city she had been before with her sister on Contiki almost 7 years ago.

Walking through the red light district was pretty weird, you don’t know where to look! We weren’t sure whether it was rude to look or to look away. There were also many ‘coffee shops’ with the smell of herbs floating past. We were saddened by this area though. You can’t get away from sex and drugs anywhere in Amsterdam, it really is in your face everywhere you go. An interesting thought is how to bring up children in that area and how the Oude Kerk in the red light district manages to reach people when it is surrounded by easy access to instant satisfaction.

After queuing for about half an hour and passing the airport-like security, we made it into the Rijksmuseum. There were quite a few visitors to the museum and we wondered how long you would have to wait to get in during the peak summer months. You would think they would have the security and ticket thing down by now. Hoping the museums in the rest of Europe are a bit more organised!

The museum houses a vast collection of art ranging a few centuries and including famous Dutch and other artists. There are also various temporary exhibitions. The main attraction is probably Rembrandt’s original The Night Watch. We enjoyed the museum but it is much smaller than the National Gallery in London. Sadly, we would probably go back to the National Gallery before going back to the Rijksmuseum.

After the Rijksmuseum we took a walk along the Prinsengracht past the Anne Frank House to Dam square and then along Dam Rak Straat back to the Central Station. We stopped in at a local bakery and tried a croissant filled with ham and cheese, very yummy! But we still miss the Viking Bakery and parcels we used to get! =) It was a fun day out and we are looking forward to going back, especially in the summer! Places on our to-visit list include the Anne Frank House, the Van Gogh museum and the Rembrandt House. We also want to pick up some tulip bulbs and grow our own tulips on our new balcony! =)

After a slow start on Sunday we headed to the Boijmans van Boningen Museum in Rotterdam. This museum is similar in size to the Rijksmuseum and has similar collections. Also, not as impressive as the National Gallery but worth a visit. Next time we will probably go back on a Wednesday when entry is free ;-)

Monday was an admin filled day including picking up the keys for our new place. Today, Tuesday, we caught a speed train from Rotterdam to Berlin to start our exploring holiday! The trip was about seven hours but the train was pretty comfortable with much more leg room than on an aeroplane! It was good to get an idea of what where we live looks like and to watch the scenery change as we went past. We passed a lot of rural farm like places which varied from open fields to quite wooded areas. Travelling by train certainly beats flying! The journey itself might be a bit longer but it is definitely more relaxing and no security checks! The group of business men next to us even brought their own beer. So next time we know what to do!

So we have three nights and two days to explore Berlin before heading to Prague on Friday for four nights. Thereafter we head to Munich for three nights and Innsbruck for one night before joining Michelle and Graham in Austria for a week of skiing! Our accommodation is booked to the end of the skiing week but after that there are no fixed plans. We will probably head to Italy, Spain and France; time and money permitting. 

We are feeling more relaxed after organising a place to stay in Rotterdam and signing a lease this week. Other admin to sort out when we get back is registering at the IND, opening bank accounts and organising our furniture to be delivered. But for now we are happy to be travelling =) We had dinner in a pub-type-place last night and made friends with the barman/waiter dude who happens to captain the third cricket side at a local club. Justin was very stoked at this meeting as he is keen to get back into his cricket! Cricket and watching live cricket is definitely one of the things we will miss about SA and Cape Town. So we were happy to have a chance meeting with someone in the local cricket world even if we have to meet and play with Australians and Kiwi’s ;-)

Until next time when we will bring you news of Berlin, the Brandenburg Gate and Check Point Charlie, have a good week!

x

Not your typical South African museum...

Amsterdam street art

More Amsterdam street art

Amsterdam houses

Bron in Amsterdam

More photos of Amsterdam

The old harbour in Rotterdam

Some of the interesting architecture in Rotterdam

and some more

and still more

and more

and still more

A windmill in the old part of Rotterdam

Mathernesselaan (our new address)

Some photos of our new apartment

And the view from the apartment