CzechRepublic - Blogabond

my stay in Prague wasnt d most beautiful 1 but definitely memorable. as much as d city is really beautiful, d people seems to b very unhappy n dissatisfied... they dont seem to like tourists or juz any1 who doesnt speak czech.

we didnt find a host here too so we went to a hostel. it was d 1st time we went to a hostel for this trip n it was such a bad experience! this dated back in Berlin. they called n told me d hostel is overbooked and i cant have a room for 4 nights as per my CONFIRMED BOOKING email says. johannes was with me when that happened n he said that is not my problem. so he helped me speak w d hostel n then called up the booking center (a different site) n made a complaint. the booking center managed to confirmed my booking. when we were checking in, a guest at the hostel told us all his money n valuables were stolen from his room. on the 2nd night, i was back from sightseeing and went back to my room. i was shocked to see the room now has 4 beds (instead of 2) and all our belongings were no longer there. we went to the reception to ask about it and d staff says we need to change our room. i was upset n say why didnt anyone tell us. d staff said someone tried to contact us but we were not contactable. this is an absolutely lie cos we only left the hostel at 12pm, and they have my phone number from the booking form. d staff then said he just started his shift n know nothing about it n brought us to our 'new room'. our stuff were all over d room, things throw in whatever bags n bundled together. this is absolutely repulsive as i had stayed in many hostels and never had any experience like such! i had to worry about whether my stuff will go missing from this room again everyday i am there. and every morning, we hear some1 complaining about missing stuff. very very unsafe hostel and the management has no respect for the guest's property n privacy. i will never go back to this hostel n i urge everyone not to go there if u have a choice... hostel name is Sokolska Youth Hostel in Prague.

great experience so far isnt it... d city was definitely a hot tourist spot cos i think i saw more tour groups here than all d other cities combined! from all over d world!!! u cant get any photos WITHOUT any tour groups in them. let's put it this way, u r lucky to be able to move from 1 sight to another! Charles Bridge has soooooo many people dat we were stuck in 1 spot for 20min... i worry for my safety on d bridge. it is sooo packed, i dunno if d old bridge can take it. but thank goodness for d good old QUALITY of ancient builders, it stands strong n firm of cos! but i got really tired easily fr trying to get fr 1 pt to another pushing thru d crowd n queuing for entrance... it was really crazy!!! juz see 4 urselves...

National Museum in Prague

Powder Tower

Stare´ Me?sto - main square in Prague where EVERYTHING is!

the Jews' High Synagogue

at the entrance of the Jewish Cemetery - crowded

St Vitus Cathedral

The Astronomical Clock at Stare´ Me?sto

a HUGE crowd waiting to see d Astronomical Clock chime at the hour

Charles Bridge - still F***ING crowded!

on Charles Bridge - it was F***ING crowded!!!

i took part in the Free Hug Campaign in Prague!!!

but there is some good thing of cos... at d square, there's some people doing d free hugs campaign. these people comes from all over europe. of cos we have to be part of such a meaningful project!

czech is also known for its honey cake. i understand it totally cos it is absolutely delicious!!!

Honey Cake - a famous cake in Czech Republic

just looking at d photo makes me drool.... yummmmmmm...

The Prague Castle

of cos d prague castle is another big spot u have to go. b4 goin to d castle, i saw many postcards of d Golden Lane in d castle. building in d lane looks soooo nice n colorful n picture perfect! i was really looking forward to that. but... of cos i could never get d perfect picture as in d postcards.. cos there were... yes u guessed it... lotsa tour groups again!

changing of guards at Prague Castle

overcrowded Golden Lane in the Prague Castle

Rotunda of St. Martin at Vys?ehrad - a little chaple/church

we went to Vysehrad. it is a very nice area every visitor should go. it's free n u get a really nice view of d city. we juz sat there for an hour or so i think, enjoying d view n peace (no tour groups there!) it's a piece of heaven!!! ok i am exaggerating but after 4 days of squeezing thru ppl trying to get to places, it really is nice to not have to push or be pushed! it is a nice end for our stay here.

view fr a stone window in Vys?ehrad

view of Prague from Vys?ehrad

the Vltava River - taken from Vys?ehrad lookout

at The Vys?ehrad cemetery

sunset in Prague

Plzen, Czech Republic

i need to talk about d bus.. we so arrived in style to Plzen... NOT!

our bus to Plzen &^@%@&(

we were at d bus station, waiting for our bus while looking at all other buses, thinking "maybe ours will be like that new 1, or that 1 over there with Wifi! dat'll be so cool!" then when our ride came, our jaws dropped! it really dropped!! it was this old bus that looked like it belongs to d 80s in Singapore! not d most comfortable or nicest smells! but we made it!

Plzen is pretty much a small student town. so things are not so expensive compared to Prague. our host Miguel is a Young medicine student from Portugal. correction... our host is a cheeky smart alec who has d answer to everything! it was fun thou to see eve n him squabbling over d littlest things! we also attended 1 class with Mig. d lecturer was kind enough to let us sit in... althou i suspect his intention was to make fun of us by asking us questions on acute appendicitis (d topic of lecture that day)...

Mig made dinner - steaks

mig n us each cooked a meal for each other. no i didnt make curry this time cos it was really making me sick! i cooked stirfry veggies with oyster sauce n beef slices n steam egg. a nice n simple meal. mig loves d egg so much he insisted i gave him d recipe... which are juz eggs n water n some salt to taste....

our dinner for Mig - soup & stir fry vege with beef

Velka´ Synagoga

d Synagogue n d memorial left d deepest impression i guess. d memorial has loads of Stones. each Stone has d name of 1 victim of d Jewish massacre. it was a lot!

stones with names at Old Synagogue

memorial at Old Synagogue

we only stayed 2 nights but it was really fun n i really enjoyed d stay n Mig's bringing us around. he invited us to go to Portugal as well. so now i have a definitely place to stay in Portugal! yeah!!

nicely painted benches at a park near where we stay

sunset from Sky Cafe

u get drinking water from the springs in the mountain here

Town Hall

Plague memorial at town square

The West Bohemian Museum

a gate at St Bartholomew

St Bartholomew Church

inside St Bartholomew

view from top of St Bartholomew

our last meal in Plzen - pork knuckle & ribs! yum!!!!!

Brloh, Czech Republic

on the bus to Brloh

Brloh is a very small village about 45min bus ride away fr Ceske Krumlov, which is where we wanted to stay initially. but cos there's no host from Krumlov who actually respond to our requests, we decided to go with brloh. besides, how often do u get to stay in a village in d mountains... just d bus ride to d village gives u magnificent n panorama views!!

nice landscape - on way to Brloh

nice view from bus to Brloh

frank, our host stayed with his parents (retired), who are very open-minded, generous and warm people. d parents only speaks czech so it was impossible to really speak with them much. we managed however, to 'chat' with mum pointing n lots of actions. it was quite fun actually!

breakfast by Frank's mum

mum is a typically stay home mum who cooks n look after d family. d whole time we were there, mum was always baking or preparing food. so we had home cooked food n freshly baked desserts all d time!

Cesky Krumlov - another view fr tower

o yes, we went to Ceske Krumlov for a day trip. it is a very small town, very beautiful like Prague, but not nearly as much tourist as Prague. we did d usuals, went to d castle, went up a tall tower to get a 360 view of d town, walked thru d long stretch of souvenir shops, n had a really good lunch!

The Castle

The Castle tower - nice colors!

Ceske Krumlov - view fr castle tower

partial view of river fr castle tower

Church of St. Jos?t at d Castle

i want windows grill like these too!!

castle garden

d chef cooking my order

big lunch in a restaurant in d castle garden

Frank & dad with me

our last full day in brloh, we did d mountain trek around the area. frank n parents will drive out n go trekking furtherer away fr d village. they showed us d starting point for d trek/walk. it is pretty simple, we just need to follow d sign.

just follow the sign!

start of trekking route

it was not a difficult except for 1 hill that was really steep. i think it's a 45-degree slope! but besides that, it is not too difficult n we get really nice views all d time.

it was really difficult to leave this time cos i had such a great time here. d sceneries but mainly d people. frank n his parents r really d nicest people. we also met frank's neighbor who is 2m tall (darn should have taken a photo)!! he is also a very nice person to hang out n chat with. i felt like crying when i left Brloh. this was d most drama moment for me on d trip so far! but being traveller, saying goodbyes r usual so i juz had to go n be thankful that i had a great time here, n maybe secretly wish/plan to be back again someday...

written by

wangyng on May 8, 2008 from Brloh, Czech Republic

from the travel blog: Hello Europe!!

tagged CzechRepublic, Brloh and CeskeKrumlov

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Prague - beautiful city, unhappy people

Prague, Czech Republic

Plzen - student town

Plzen, Czech Republic

Brloh & Ceske Krumlov

Brloh, Czech Republic

Heading South?