Thursday, 10 May 2012
Tomorrow....
Friday, 23 July 2010
Day 9 - Prague
Today we headed out from our campsite to explore Prague.
Before that though, it would be wrong not to mention the tiny frogs that covered the ground at said campsite. When we got there last night we were lucky to get a space, the campsite being one of the only ones near Prague and certainly the only one in any of the campsite guidebooks we have with us and it was explicitly recommended for it's "European-style" toilets. We were allocated pitch 143, which seemed pretty nice, shady, nice view across a field etc. However after parking up and getting out the van, we noticed the ground seemed to be moving...it was, it was jumping up and down and literally covered in tiny frogs. I suggested they were probably frightened of us and would soon move away, but Jojo was having none of it. She high-leg marched back to reception and 5 minutes, and a couple of frog impressions later we had been reallocated a different frog-free pitch.
So into Prague. We caught a bus and a tram into the city centre and headed straight to our first planned stop - The Museum of Communism. This was a fairly small museum with a few exhibitions and quite a lot of written information. I was unsure whether it was going to presented simply as a nostalgic look back at a former life showing some of the artefacts and history, or whether it was going to be more political and look into the struggles to break away from communism etc. It quickly became apparent that it was very much focussed on the political aspects, and probably more interesting and shocking for it. No trendy hammer and sickle T-shirts in the gift shop here.
The museum followed a timeline from World War 2 and the Soviet seizure of power through to the Velvet Revolution. Memorable exhibits were the mocked up interrogation room showing how the secret police worked, the propaganda posters explaining how well the state and the workers were doing (even as they hung outside empty shops) and a documentary video with footage of the protests in 1989 & 1990 and the savage behaviour of the police trying to repress them. It was a very interesting museum and a somber counter point to the rising commodification of Sovietism as a brand. It opened my naive eyes a little more to the brutality of life in a communist state.
After the museum we went to a place called CountryLife for lunch. A vegan buffet attached to a health food store. Loads of choice and some great food.
Next was to wander through some of the old squares and see some of the famous architecture. Prague is undeniably a beautiful city and Wenceslas Square et al lived up to expectations. At the risk of sounding like a broken record (a skipping cd?) the number of tourists was truly staggering. Some of the squares were almost impossible to walk through - think Oxford Street on a Saturday afternoon - simply due to the mass of tour groups congregating. The sights were impressive, but nothing felt very alive, it very much felt like tourists had taken over and we were looking at long abandoned relics whereas Prague's citizens were lurking somewhere else. I think we would need to explore some of the areas not in the guidebooks to get a proper feel for the city.
By this point the heat and humidity were reaching their customary oppressive levels and Jojo and I decided to head back to the frog-less shade of our campsite. Besides, I'd read all the warnings in our guidebook, campsite signs & official tourist guide about pickpockets in Prague, and by this point my keys, wallet, phone, passport and money were all beginning to chafe my feet a little...
Thursday, 22 July 2010
Day 8: National Park to Prague (part 2/2nd attempt)
We got out into the countryside today and took in some stunning views. But before that a quick mention must be made of the campsite we stayed at. It's in Cool Camping as I said, and it's called Thorwaldblick. We arrived there at 7pm on a Sunday night, and were met by a man who checked us in and allocated us a space in a jovial and friendly manner. He then asked us if we wanted "rolls". Jojo and I looked at each other confusedly and explained to the man that our german really isn't very good. He repeated his question: "Do you want bread rolls? In the morning. To eat." The penny dropped. He was asking us if we wanted bread rolls, in the morning, to eat, presumably as breakfast. Yes we did want rolls kind sir. What a dude, found us a spot at 7pm on a Sunday and then offered us bread rolls. We like him a lot.
We were informed by our guidebook that in the national park we stayed in there was a place called Bastei which it describes as "one of the most breathtaking spots in the whole of Germany". A pretty bold claim and one we decided to test out.
When we arrived the omens weren't great. Coach upon coach of tour groups and signs pointing us to the lookout point as well as the gift shop and Panorama Restaurant. Hmmm. (I'm not sure why I expect all tourist sights to be empty apart from me and get annoyed when they're busy. Probably something innate within me to do with Britishness and empires).
Once we got there, even despite the crowds it really was breathtaking. Like a german version of the grand canyon. I sadly found it more breathtaking than most, the combination of lots of steps and a fairly severe fear of heights (over active imagination, what would falling off feel like, my legs wobbling & various other manly traits) rendering me slightly useless. So I sent Jojo off to conquer the bridges and gullies alone while I made my own pilgrimage up a much smaller set of steps and sat on a rock thinking about how long you have to sit on a rock before you get piles. Still I hope the photos (I've learnt how to add more than one!) give some idea of the place. I'd recommend a visit if you're in the area.
Here's a shaky 18 second video of the view!
http://www.youtube.com/v/LdLMHqQUXvk
After the breath taking views we headed in the van towards Prague. We camped just south of the city and spent our first evening relaxing and planning what to czech out in Prague tomorrow (sorry, I had to). More on that next time...
Tuesday, 20 July 2010
Day 7: From Berlin to Sachsische Schweiz National Park
No photos of Germany today, just some photobooth shots of us honeymooners!
We got up and got out of our hotel in good time today. Wanting to make up for a late start yesterday and the call of a buffet brunch dragging us from our bed.
Despite check-out being midday, the hotel were kind enough to keep the van parked out front, meaning we could make the most of our final day in Berlin and explore some more.
We'd heard good things about the vegan brunch at a place called Cafe Vux. It was a bit of a trek out of town into the suburbs, being as it was just off Karl Marx Strasse (east or west of where the wall stood you reckon?!). A few U-Bahn trips later we made it there, only to find all the tables full, the staff surly and the whole place reeking a little too much of attitude. So sadly we didn't get any brunch there, but managed to substitute it with yet another burger at a place called Roots.
We made our way slowly back to the hotel to our van taking in a few shops and a couple more sights (The World Clock, an impromptu exhibition in the square) along the way. Then with a mixture of excitement to be back in the van, and sadness to be leaving Berlin, we set off to the countryside.
We aimed for a campsite we found in the book Cool Camping. It was located just on the German side of the border with the Czech Republic in a national park some 50 miles south if Dresden. The park was amazing, stunning scenery of hills, pine trees, rivers and valleys. A really beautiful place. I can only imagine how amazing it must be in winter covered in snow.
We arrived at our campsite at about 7 after Dermott and I had had a brief spat. He'd given us good directions the whole way, but announced our destination when we were clearly at the wrong campsite (the cool camping one in fact being our second choice). I was a little annoyed that Dermott had just randomly chosen a different campsite and vocally let my feelings be known. It was only after a couple of minutes that I realised that I was perhaps more to blame than my good Irish friend. I'd used the Cool Camping campsite's address to get a rough idea of the distance while we confirmed the location of the site we actually wanted. It seems that perhaps I never updated Dermott with the new address. Sorry mate. Still, the best thing about Dermott is that he doesn't hold a grudge and we all went to sleep on good terms.
Tomorrow we explore the park some more and then head to the Czech Republic.
Monday, 19 July 2010
Day 6 - Berlin!
Our day of sight seeing got off to a late start. I think we both enjoyed the space of a hotel room bed a little too much, and lamely didn't get out of the hotel until midday!
In our defence, the humidity from Cologne caught up with us in Berlin and our lie in was slightly justified as it meant we'd ridden out yet another nasty thunderstorm indoors. By the time we emerged the sun was breaking through the clouds on a nice day.
Our plan was to hit the sights, (should it be sites? Anyone who knows please tell me!) then have lunch. But after our late start we swapped it round and went straight for lunch at a place called Hans Wurst. Burger and chips for me, Seitan Steak for Jojo. Not a whole lot of healthy eating going on on this trip, but plenty of yummy food. Our lunch was slightly elongated when we discovered the cafe had free wifi, allowing us both to feed our Internet habits. It's been eye opening on this trip to see just how much I've come to take having the Internet in my pocket for granted. Having to write things down to google them later rather than on the spot has been an unusual but revelatory experience. I've had to use real maps made of paper, and guide books printed with ink. I feel very retro.
After we finally finished our long online lunch we headed out to the traditional Berlin tourist spots. First stop was the Holocaust Memorial, a field with over two thousand concrete "stelae" arranged around it. The stelae (big slabs of bare grey concrete) vary hugely in height and width and this combined with the undulating ground creates an illusion from outside that they are all uniformly waist height, but as you walk amongst them you quickly get overwhelmed by them and inevitably a little lost. I'm no art critic, and plan to do some googling (it's on the list) to read more about the artists intentions etc. I found the experience of wandering through the memorial disorientating and despite it heaving with other tourists, you often found you could see no one else and were seemingly alone. The area is open to the public in a square in the middle of the city, and I was also surprised to find no graffiti or litter anywhere. Either they take great care to keep the area clean and tidy, or more optimistically, people simply treat the memorial with the respect it deserves.
We wandered up the street from the memorial to the Brandenburg Gate, one of the world famous symbols of Berlin. After taking a few pictures (including one with a lovely young German gentleman who posed - uninvited - with me and even showed us his nipples!) and walking through from west to east and back we headed to the Reichstag for some more touristy snapshots. It was great to see these famous historical landmarks, but sightseeing with huge throngs of other tourists is never going to be Jojo's or my favourite thing. Maybe it makes us philistines, I'm not sure, but I think we'd agree we are more interested by people and neighbourhoods than historical buildings. One benefit of being awkward vegan eaters is that it forced us to move outside the centre of Berlin into the neighbourhoods to eat. It was these bits of Berlin that I enjoyed the most, and I know we only scratched the surface. Berlin and its Berliners seem lively, friendly and interesting and my favourite part of our trip so far. We will be back for sure.