journal entry: Český Krumlov

Riding a bit of the high after writing my last Side A post, so I decided to post another travel journal entry. See, you would think it is as easy as typing what I wrote on a notebook. But it definitely is not. Not for me, at least; not with how this weird over-thinking mind works. As I type, I remember bits and pieces of that trip so I look at the pictures from that trip. And then now, I have to pick the pictures I want to include in the post. And then, this all makes me want to travel again, so I look for where I might want to go, and end up going down this rabbit hole of looking at all the possible places I want to travel to. And on and on. You get the point, right?

Anyway, this specific place (Český Krumlov) felt and looked like a place from a fairy tale; in fact, I think this whole trip felt magical if my memory serves me right (they rarely do these days 😅 so take that with a massive grain of salt). Anyway (again), on to my journal entry.

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10 October 2023, 8:12 PM - Český Krumlov

Ah, Český Krumlov, you are gorgeous!

Today was not as busy or as tough on my feet as yesterday. Mainly because most of the morning was spent on a bus from Prague to Cesky Krumlov. This is how my day went:

• Left the hotel around 7 AM via an Uber to get to the bus station. Pretty uneventful but the car ride did show me how much of Prague I didn't really get to see. Oh well, maybe next time.🤞🙏

• The bus ride to Cesky Krumlov was also pretty uneventful. See, sometimes I like uneventful days like this. Sometimes. Scenery-wise though, there wasn't really anything eye-catching. It actually reminded me just of regular US highways. There was even heavy traffic in some parts. Ha!

• Arrived in Cesky Krumlov a little after 11 AM. It was about a 600-meter walk from the bus stop to the hotel. Not far at all, except it felt like 600 miles when you're dragging a wheeled luggage (albeit a small-sized carryon) on cobble stones making an embarrassingly really loud clop-clopping noise, as if to announce to townsfolk, "hey, look! a dumb tourist!" 😓. (Side note: look up if there are rubber sound-dampening covers for luggage wheels later.) It just made me question my life choices so far.

• The person at the reception of the small hotel I'm staying at was out, but left me a key to the lobby door in a lockbox so I at least got my luggage inside.

• I was hungry so I foraged for some (late) breakfast. Found a place by the river (Tavern of the Two Maries) with relatively good reviews. I ordered a roasted duck with potato dumplings and cabbage -- duck and dumplings were good, didn't really care for the (fermented?) cabbage.

 

• Then went for a walk around town. It's a pretty small town so it didn't really take long to get my bearings. By the time I came back to the hotel, I pretty much stopped using Google maps to get to places. Some notable spots:
• Seminární zahrada - nice little park with a beautiful viewpoint. You can see the castle in the not so distant... distance. 😏
• Church of St. Vitus - beautiful little church on a hill.
• Fountain and Plague Column in a pretty town square.

• Came back to the hotel a little after 1 PM to checkin. I have this room on the top floor (penthouse, baby! but third floor, really. 😁) with a sloped ceiling (this is one of the rare times I am thankful not to be tall) and a tiny window with a view of the castle tower. Nice and cozy for one person, a little too tiny for more than that. Although, I guess you probably will not get this room if you're not travelling solo.

• Castle and Garden - most of the outside area is free to visit, which was nice. I did pay for a tour of the Baroque theater because I read that it's supposed to be worth visiting/seeing, and indeed it was. If I remember correctly and if I was paying attention, I think the tour guide said it's one of only two Baroque Theaters in Europe (or maybe the world?) -- need research here (Note: I just checked and there are others, but this is one of the oldest, rarest, and best-preserved). They still play opera a few times a year (six maybe?). But it was really interesting how the special effects -- both visual and sound -- were all done manually. As in, there are gears and platforms and parts and other objects pushed and pulled and turned and dragged by actual human beings underneath the stage! It was amazing! 😍 

The Castle Garden was just fine. It was huge but not a lot of flowers this time of the year.

 

• Went for another walk around town and to look for some snacks/desserts. I found a cafe/restaurant at that town square I went to earlier, and had some Bohemian pancakes (that's what they were called on the menu). They were okay.

 

• Came back to the hotel again to rest my feet for a bit, and then went back to that small park to take some sunset (or almost sunset) photos.

• And now finally back at hotel to log in a few work hours. 😇

view from my room

According to Google, I walked for a total of only 4 miles in 4 hours and 40 minutes today. According to Fitbit (which is also now owned by Google, so actually, according also to Google), I walked 16,440 steps and 6.72 miles. Boo!

journal entry: Prague

9 Oct 2023, 7:51 PM - Prague

It's been a while, crocodile. (Note: I actually wrote this in the journal entry, but this is also true as far as travel entries in this blog go. 😁) Anyhoo...

I arrived in Prague last night, around 10:20 PM. But it was a really long day and felt like an even longer flight delay; I was too exhausted to write. So now I will recap the last two, well 3 days actually.

7 Oct

• I left the house early (8 AM) and was already at the airport 2.5 hours before my flight. I guess this is just the first hours of what will be many spent in airports that day.

• Arrived at the Toronto Airport around 2:30 PM, a comfortable 3-hour layover before my connecting flight to Vienna, or so I thought. After spending about 2 hours at a lounge (thank you, Priority Pass and Chase!), I thought I'd head over to the gate early in case there were announcements. Indeed, after a few minutes, there was: Flight delayed for 2 hours. There was an engine malfunction with the plane (not good), and they had to have another plane fly in from Winnipeg. They gave us a 15 CAD meal voucher as a peace offering... hurrah! *sarcastic cheer*

I thought I'd just go back to the lounge but the line to go in was about a mile long (not really but the exhaustion at this point warrants some exaggeration, I think). Lacking the patience to wait in line, I decided to walk for a bit. Plus, I thought I could get some steps in. After a few minutes of wandering aimlessly, I received another text update: Flight delayed 30 more minutes. Not long after that, another update 30 more minutes of delay. Well, crap.

I was going to miss my train to Prague. I booked it with almost 3 hours between my flight arrival and train departure, which I thought was plenty of time for the transfer, accounting for an hour or two of delay; but alas, it wasn't enough this time. 

After frantically looking for another train, I eventually found one; the earliest next available train actually leaving 6 hours after my original one. I was torn between booking right then in case they sold out (there were only a handful seats left) and worrying if we'd be delayed even more and I'll miss that also, and without refunds. So I waited a couple of hours and having received no additional delay updates, I booked the train. Looks like I will have a lot more waiting to do at the train station. Oh, well.

The hotel I booked in Prague didn't have 24-hr reception so I had to inform them that I will be arriving late. Fortunately, they had lockboxes for late checkin.

I am not going to bore you further with details of what I did at the airport for more than 6 hours; the important thing is I survived. 😄 

Man, even recounting that day is long. hahaha!

8 Oct

• After a restless plane ride (I never sleep well on airplanes anymore; unless, maybe if I'm in Business Class haha I wish!), we finally made it to Vienna around 12 PM. Immigration was fairly quick and uneventful (thank God!).

•  Took the train to the Vienna hbf (main train station) and... you guessed it, waited some more! At this point, I looked and felt like I haven't slept and showered for days. So I tried to look for a restroom... err, excuse me, a WC. And of course, when in Europe, you pay to use public toilets. Why, people, why?!! Anyway, after doing by business in the WC, I felt a little better but still looked like crap (can't be helped, I suppose haha). To make me feel a little bit better still, I decided to have some strudel at a cafe. It was ok.

strudel and some drink at a Vienna Hbf cafe

Got some Euros from a bankomat (ATM) -- see you gotta adapt to their words. 😏

Tried some leberkase (some kind of meatloaf [?] in a bun). Yummy!

After dozing off a few minutes at a time while seated and hours and hours of waiting, it was finally time for the train to Prague. *whew* 

•  The train to Prague was pretty good. I got a free bottled water and a choice of orange juice or prosecco. I picked the juice because I thought the wine might make me sick on the train. I realized later I should just have saved the wine to drink at the hotel. Oh, well.

• A little over 4 hours later, our train arrived in Prague. Got some Czech Korunas at the bankomat I googled days before -- no fees... sweet!

• Booked an Uber - the first one looked like it got lost a few time on its way to me so I waited a while and then had to cancel. Boy, when it rains, it certainly does pour. *sigh*  Anyway, the next Uber got to me pretty quickly so all's well that ends well. I guess.

• Arrived at the hotel - lockbox instructions were easy to follow, and had never been happier to see my room than I was at that moment. Shaking with exhaustion, I brushed my teeth, showered, and fell dreamily into bed. I would like to say, I fell asleep right away and woke up hours later well rested; but as usual, my mind was still busy planning the next day as well as, pointlessly overanalyzing the day's events.

9 Oct (today)

• My alarm was set to 6 AM. Because I lost the hours I would have been able to spend in Prague the day before, I now only had one whole day to do all the things I wanted to do in Prague. So after sleeping for what felt like only 2 hours (but it actually was 4.5 hours - I checked Fitbit hehe), I begrudgingly got up at 6:20 AM.

• Walked to Mustek Metro station -- I wanted to get a few single trip tickets in case the tram stops later won't have ticket machines. Then started Rick Steve's Prague City Walk (but starting in the middle because I planned to do the first part later that day): Prikope Street, Municipal House, Powder Tower, Old Town Square (really nice architecture around the square), Astronomical Clock (looks interesting and very complicated. From Wikipedia: "The clock mechanism has three main components – the astronomical dial, representing the position of the Sun and Moon in the sky and displaying various astronomical details; statues of various Catholic saints stand on either side of the clock; "The Walk of the Apostles", an hourly show of moving Apostle figures and other sculptures, notably a figure of a skeleton that represents Death, striking the time; and a calendar dial with medallions representing the months.", Karlova Street, Charles IV Square, and finally... (next entry please)

 

 

 

• Charles Bridge - lots of really beautiful statues on the bridge: the green cross, statue of St. John the Baptist, statue of another St. John who wouldn't tell the King the Queen's secret and so was thrown off the bridge, a statue with a plaque you're supposed to touch and make a wish. (I had planned to come back and go up one of the towers on the bridge later that day to view the sunset, but it rained so no sunset view anyway so I didn't go back.)

• Went back to the hotel for breakfast - it was good and had lots of choices for food.

• Took the tram to Prague Castle. (I got a free tour of the castle as reward from booking.com, along with the cruise that I missed the night before.) St Vitus Cathedral is beautiful - really nice arches inside and wonderful stained glass windows.

•  Took the tram again to Cafe Louvre to try some Svickova (braised beef with creamy sauce) -- good!! 😋 -- and some Royal Crown cola (their own version of Coke); and the service was excellent as well. Plus, Einstein used to go there so I feel kinda smart by association. 😅

• Walked to the rotating Kafka head sculpture but it was closed off temporarily to get fixed. 

•  Walked to the "Man Hanging Out" sculpture - David Cerny's statue of Sigmund Freud. It represents uncertainty and the question of what the millennium will look like. Fun Fact: this statue travelled a lot and in 2007, was in Grand Rapids, MI and caused some firefighters alarm - people got confused and thought it was a real man committing suicide.

•  Havelské tržiště - open market selling local fruits and vegetables and arts and crafts. There were also some souvenirs sold - found my magnet, as well as some cooked food - there were sausages that looked really good but I was still too full so I had a trdelnik instead -- yum!

• My legs and feet felt as heavy as lead so decided to go back to the hotel to get a bit of rest.

• Went back to the Astronomical Clock to see the hourly (9AM-9PM) "show". Oh and I got a kolache also.

• Walked to the Mustek station and took the metro to the start of Wenceslas Square (which is the start of the RS City Walk that I skipped earlier). It was raining most of the day but it was pouring at this point. Good thing I had my trusty travel umbrella. Started from Wenceslas statue on a horse - there was some sort of rally happening so I couldn't get a decent photo. Ended right at Mustek station. Took some pictures along the way.

And now I'm back at the hotel getting ready for the next stop of the trip tomorrow: Český Krumlov. I also need to log around 4.5 hours of work. boohoo. But what a long and busy day! And yet, there was a lot more I didn't get to do. 😢  Maybe I will come back someday. 🙏

Tomorrow, early bus (8 AM) to Český Krumlov.

Total walked today (9 Oct): 8.3 miles / 4 hr 13 min / 29, 296 steps

I cannot feel my feet.

Dalawang kisapmata

Dalawang buwan.

Kasing haba ng dalawang taon sa dami ng kaganapan.

Kasing ikli ng dalawang kisap-mata sa kabilisan.

Dalawang buwan.

Kay tagal hinintay,

Kay tulin naman kung dumaan.

Sa lahat ng nakilala, nakitang muli, pati na din sa mga na-stalk ng bahagya,

Sa lahat ng nakapiling, mabilis man o matagal,

Sa lahat ng pinlanong pagtatagpo, natuloy man o hanggang drawing lamang,

Lumipas man ang dalawang kisap-mata, buwan, o taon,

Sana’y di maging kasing lamig ng aircon

Ang kasing init ng Pilipinas na pagsasamahan.

Hanggang sa muli.

"I am never happier than when I am alone in a foreign city; it is as if I had become invisible."

-Storm Jameson

Euro trip - Nov 2019 - Part 6 (Scotland Day 4)

I can't believe this trip is about to celebrate its 2nd anniversary. Talk about slow. 😜 Already, I can feel the memories of this trip slipping through my grasp. So dramatic. But also, true. Because, you know, senior moments. 😂  Anyway, here's the last day in Scotland for that trip.

21 Nov 2019 - Edinburgh

We had a 3PM flight to Stockholm that day, so we figured we had about until noon to explore Edinburgh one last time (for this trip, for sure). 

First on our list was to finally get some traditional Scottish breakfast, at the Edinburgh Larder.

Tummies satisfied and extremely full, we walked on the Royal Mile all the way to the Holyrood Palace since we hadn't seen this part of the Royal Mile yet.

We also went inside Saint Giles' Cathedral as we headed back up on the Royal Mile.

On our way to the next stop, snapped a quick photo of this street... can't remember what street this is now.

And then to the statue of Greyfriars Bobby - the most loyal dog that ever existed. 😄 Man, sometimes, I wonder how we ever got so lucky to have them. We definitely don't deserve them sometimes, I feel like.

As any Potterhead would know, JK Rowling wrote most of the Harry Potter books in Edinburgh and it is said that she got a lot of her character names from the names on tombstones, of all places. So naturally, we just had to check out Greyfriars Kirkyard and scour the graveyard for familiar names - the most sought after being Tom Riddle, of course. 😂

In that same kirkyard, you will find to this day a part of the old Flodden Wall, built in the 16th century to protect the city from an English invasion that never came. Still makes for a great photo though.

And that was all the time we had before we had to hustle back to our AirBnB, pickup our bags, and head to the airport (on a black taxi - my first time ever in one).

Later that night, we arrived in Stockholm, reunited with Meann. And thus, our trio was complete -- to start the Amazing Race-ish part of the trip.

The post for the remainder of the trip will be one big photo dump. I'm too lazy now to do a day by day anymore. Even this post feels forced, to be honest. 😂