Christmas in Prague

Christmas was a very different experience for us this year - no big family dinners, no Mothers cooking our amazing Christmas lunch and no Church! I'm not sure that I would always want Christmas' to be like this, but this year was definitely an experience to remember.
Jon's brother Nik was able to come over for the Christmas and New Year period and it has been really nice having him here. He is representing the 'Family' part of Christmas for us. Lina and Tom, our Kiwi friends who we met on our TELF course, came back to Prague to spend Christmas and New Year with us too. So our apartment is full to the brim right now and we are loving every minute of it. It is so nice to have special friends around at Christmas time.
We spent Christmas Eve running around getting the last minute things ready for Christmas; food, drinks and fireworks of course! Lina and Tom arrived in the afternoon and we spent the night catching up on what we have all been doing over the last few months. Long after the sun had gone down we decided to head out to the local park and try out some of the fireworks we bought. We were like children with new toys. It was loud, exciting and probably dangerous too, but we didn't care. Only after we were asked to move on by a local resident did we decided to call it a night. No damage done and we all still have all of our fingers so we considered it a success.
Christmas morning was full of Skype calls to family back in Australia and opening the presents that our families sent over to us. We said we didn't want any presents, but everyone knows that it's nice to have something to open on Christmas morning. We were successfully spoilt, even on the other side of the world!
We had a big 'fry up' for breakfast which consisted of croissants, eggs, bacon, baked beans and bramborak (Czech potato pancakes which we had as hash-browns). Tom and Lina had made some sloe berry gin while they were in Italy and had brought it with them as a Christmas present for us to share. Sloe berry gin is basically gin with sloe berries in it to give it a delicious berry flavour and colour. It has to steep for three months, and they had prepared it exactly three months ago. Prefect timing! So after breakfast we all shared a few glasses of gin and decided that it was one of the best things we have ever tasted.

Sloe Berry Gin

A trip into Old Town was next on the agenda for our Christmas day as we wanted to get a board game as well as check out the markets. The Christmas markets were full of people drinking, eating and being merry. It was a really nice atmosphere and definitely something different for us! Nik brought us Czech Monopoly as a Christmas present and we all shared some Prague Ham in the markets. The ham is smoked over burning coals and has the most delicious flavour to it. I'm not sure we will be happy with ordinary Christmas Ham again!

Prague Christmas Ham

Old Town Square Christmas markets at night

Looking back, we probably shouldn't have had the ham, as we had the biggest Christmas dinner prepared and we were all feeling full already. We cooked it all up anyway; roast chicken, veggies and all the rest of the usual food. We were all so full after dinner that a quiet game of monopoly was in order. Anyone who has ever played a board game with me knows that there is not such thing as a quiet game of anything - I play for sheep stations and this game was not going to be any different. The game was made even more interesting, due to the fact that we couldn't read the "chance" or "community chest" cards! We had google translate up and running for the entire game. At least we had the chance to improve our Czech.

Czech Monopoly

Christmas Dinner

So now we can say we have had a European Christmas, even if we didn't have the traditional Czech meal of Carp and Potato salad for dinner. Things were different and it certainly didn't have the same 'Christmassy' feel, but it was a great day and we enjoyed spending the day with Nik, Lina and Tom.
We had also been hoping for a white Christmas but that unfortunately didn't happen. Oh well, there is always next year!

The 'Family' 

Ginger Bread House

Sad Times and Happy Times

We have had a roller coaster of a week last week as Jon's brother Nik arrived and our house mate Josiah had to leave. It was very sad to see Josiah go, after all of the hard work he put in to being here and getting a good job. It was just not meant to be for him and he left the Czech Republic with his head held high. We will miss him very much in our apartment and the Czech life already feels very different without him here. So the process begins for us of looking for a new room mate! This could be interesting...

On the other hand, Nik arrived the day before Josiah left and it is so wonderful to have him here with us over Christmas and New Year. He has taken up residence on the couch and is enjoying his time here so far. We have already tested out the Czech fireworks and are looking forward to the New Years tradition of setting off fireworks in the centre of town! Lets hope none of us lose an eye.

On Nik's first night and Josiah's last night here we had a big family dinner. It was a "Hello Nik" and "Goodbye Josiah" with a little bit of "Merry Christmas" thrown in too. It was a really nice night and a great way to spend Josiah's last night in Prague.

Dresden Christmas Markets

Nobody does Christmas Markets quite like the Germans. We realised this when we visited Dresden for a day a few weekends ago. We wanted to experience the Christmas markets we had read so much about, and seeing as though the bus ride was only a few hours, we decided to tackle it in one day.
The markets really were something else! Everything that could possibly be decorated was and every stall had it's own specially decorated awning complete with moving figures or giant sized replicas of whatever they were selling; be it food, toys or decorations. We decided to try a hot chocolate with amaretto, which was delicious, and we kept the special "Dresden Christmas Markets 2011" mugs. When you buy a drink at the markets you pay a deposit on the cup (about 2.50 Euro) so you can either return the mug and get back your deposit or keep it as a souvenir.
The smells coming from some of the stalls were to die for and we enjoyed sampling some of the culinary delights Dresden had to offer. We had these bread bun thing (I don't know the name sorry) stuffed with cheese and smoked bacon, baked in a hot coal oven then served with sour cream and chives on top - amazing! Hot roast beef rolls with gravy, stollen, potato chips (hand cut) and all the German Christmas biscuits you can eat.
We stumbled upon a Medieval Christmas market too which was fantastic - lots of hot wine, hot meat and blacksmiths. We bought a few presents here and enjoyed soaking up the atmosphere. Everyone who worked in this market was dressed up and all of the stalls kept with the theme; it was like stepping back in time! We even saw a medieval play complete with a jester and an ugly mask on the 'bad guy'.

Blacksmith working at the market

Medieval Christmas Markets

As we went on the last possible weekend before Christmas the markets were stuffed to the brim with people. Toward the end of the day we were battling though people just to stay together as, it seemed, the entire population of Dresden were finishing off their Christmas shopping.
After a long day we hopped back on the bus and headed home to Prague. It was a great day trip and one I think we will be doing again in the summer time.

Dresden Christmas Markets

View over the Markets to the left

View over the Markets to the right

Black Light Theatre

One of my students recently offered me some free tickets to a black light theatre production which he is involved in. Jon, Josiah and I all went along to see the show which was by a company called "Image", one of the bigger (and better) black light theatres in Prague. Black light theater is basically a performance done under UV, or black light. Although Black Theater originated in Asia, it has become a speciality of Prague and a tourist must-do. The costumes are designed so that only the parts which are fluorescent show up on stage. This creates a magnificent optical illusion which can make it seem as though the dancer has only one leg or even extra arms!

We went to see a show called Africania, which was about two tourists who travel to Africa, an old and washed up husband and his flirtatious wife. The show was a bit of pantomime acting combined with the actual black light dancing. The dancing numbers were all African themed, with our particular favourites being the Zebras and the Grasses. The dancers are also connected to wires, which you can't see, which enable them to be lifted into the air giving the illusion of them flying! It took me a good half of the show to work out how they did this without tripping on the wires. I needed an explanation from my student involved in the production in the following class.

The pantomime was quite funny, but with a multinational audience it was hard to please everyone. Just to be a good sport, Josiah decided to laugh extra loud in the parts which he thought were supposed to be funny. In his defense, this was supposed to help the actors along and give them some confidence. However all this lead to was one really loud fake laugh from one member of the audience and a snickering laugh from the two people sitting next to him, Jon and I.
Jon found the whole production rather tiresome and I think if it had gone on any longer he would of had to consider leaving. All in all it was a good night, and the coffee and cake which followed were well deserved, especially on Jon's part.

I have attached some photos of the Africania production, which I sourced from the Image Black Light Theatre companies website.

The Zebras

Monkeys

Grasses

The Wombats

After much anticipation, we finally got to see one of our favourite bands, 'The Wombats', live in concert here in Prague. Jon had known about this concert long before we moved to Prague and we had been looking forward to it ever since we read "Prague, Lucerna Music Bar", on their list of tour dates. Needless to say, we were not disappointed! The music was first rate and the band put on a good show with plenty of interesting antics by the bass player. The concert was full of underage 'hipsters', flaunting their fluro colours and screaming madly for the band. We had prime position for the concert on the balcony overlooking the stage with a full view of all three band members as well as the crazy 'mosh pit'.

The band really was as good live as they are on their CD, which is always a good sign. Although their new music was fantastic, it was the older songs that stole the show, with 'Lets Dance to Joy Division' being my personal favourite of the night. 

Before the show, we went out for dinner to a popular cafe called Cafe Lourve. Franz Kafka and Albert Einstein used to be regulars at this cafe, making it all the more popular for people to visit these days. The coffee is delicious and they have a great range of yummy cakes too, but on this occasion we were there for dinner. Dinner was delicious and we followed it with a walk through the Christmas markets in Old Town Square. This was our first experience with the Prague Christmas markets and the beautiful traditional tree in Old town Square really took our breath away (pictures to follow). 

We had a great night out and really enjoyed being able to see one of our favourite bands here in Prague.

Strahov Monastery

Last Thursday was another public holiday in the Czech Republic and, as such, we were wanting to get out and do some sight seeing. Having seen quite a lot of the main sights by now, we were looking for something different and new to check out. We decided to visit the Strahov Monastery which is just behind the Castle Complex, in Strahov.

I think the Strahov Monastery has to be one of the most under rated tourist destinations in Prague - it was quiet, full of interesting things to look at and best of all it wasn't expensive! We visited the monastery library which consisted of two separate halls, one called the Theological Hall and the other called the Philosophical Hall. Both of these halls were lined with magnificent old volumes, the Philosophical Hall being two stories high with secret staircases at one end on either side, hidden behind fake spines of books. This fact really interested us and we desperately wanted to explore these hidden staircases, but, of course, we were not permitted entry. The ceilings of the Halls were painted with amazing frescos depicting Biblical or other historical scenes. The fresco in the Philosophical Hall only took six months for the artist to paint and he only had one assistant!

The Theological Hall.
Note the globes in the centre for the Earth and for Astronomy
The book wheel on the left was used for studying multiple volumes at once as the reader could turn the wheel without the books falling off their stands

The Philosophical Hall.
The ceiling of this hall was particularly amazing
The hidden staircases are located at the opposite end of the hall in either corner

There are approximately 280 000 books in the library, covering a range of topics including theology and philosophy as well as science, biology and alchemy. We were only able to look into them from the door way as apparently having too many tourists walking through the halls causes excessive humidity fluctuations which was detrimental to the books. I think they just didn't want to have to sweep the floors.

As well as being able to look into the Halls, there were heaps of antique museum artifacts to look at including amour from the 13th century, collections of butterflies and beetles, wax collections of fruit and (my favourite) the xyloteka, a collection of 'tree books' made by Karel of Hinterlagen in about 1825. These were not actually books but book shaped boxes full of materials and specimens from particular trees, like leaves, bark, lichen and even insect pests found in the tree! The cover of the boxes are made from the wood of the tree and they are also covered in its bark. Unfortunately the boxes are behind glass in a cabinet so we could only see them through the glass. 

Strahov Monastery Gallery

The hall which you can look into the Libraries from, filled with interesting historical artifacts
That piece of amour on the left is from the Middle Ages!

There is lots more to see at the Monastery, however we figured out that you need to book a tour in advance to see these. Look out Mums and Dads, we are already planning your trip here when you come to visit! :)

Around and About

Not much has been happening for us over the last few weeks, we have been busy working and getting into the swing of things. The main reason for doing this trip was to live and work in another country - so I guess we are really living the dream at the moment! So far the experience has been fantastic with plenty of ups and downs, all that character building stuff people talk about. Here are a few little thoughts along the way:

We are both settling into our jobs nicely and are picking up more work by the week (which believe it or not is a good thing). It is a job that we are both really enjoying, even if we still find most of the grammar difficult to comprehend! It is such a rewarding job, I can see now why people who teach usually stay in the profession their whole lives. Meeting new people and hearing their stories is wonderful, I feel very blessed to be able to listen to their experiences. Most of our students are from businesses and are therefore all over the age of about 25, which means that they were all living through the communist occupation of the Czech Republic. The stories they tell are amazing, both good and bad. I have always thought of communism in a purely theoretical, factual way from what I learned at school. It is a totally different experience to hear the perspective of someone who has lived though it all.  I feel like I am learning more than my students are!

Yesterday was the 11/11/11, a special day all over the world, but in Europe it was St Martins day. There is an old saying that if it snows on St Martins day then "St Martin arrived on a white horse." I was eagerly anticipating snow, but alas, no snow yet. Most people don't think it will come for a few weeks yet, but that doesn't stop me checking out the window every morning to see if it has miraculously snowed over night. Both of us are already struggling with the cold weather and I think we will need to invest in some woolly socks and thermal singlets. Not suprisingly, it doesn't make us feel any better when our students tell us that this is 'warm weather' and wish us 'good luck' for winter!

There is not much else to add at the moment, but here are some photos we took last weekend. 

I think this was the last sunny and slightly warm day of the year so we made the most of it by a long walk around the city and up to the Castle. 

Fishing on the Vltava

Up at the Castle, a tree losing all of its leaves

St Vitus Cathedral

Looking down through an alley to Mala Strana

Karlovy Vary

     Karlovy Vary (English: Carlsbad) is a spa city situated in western Bohemia, Czech Republic, on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá, approximately 130 km (81 mi) west of Prague. It is named after King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, who founded the city in 1370. It is historically famous for its hot springs (13 main springs, about 300 smaller springs).

     Last weekend was a long weekend in the Czech Republic and we decided to make the most of it and see some of the beautiful Czech countryside. We decided on Karlovy Vary as it is close to Prague (about 2 hours bus ride) and boasted some of the best mineral springs in the Czech Republic. Perhaps we should have heeded the warning from a few of my students who said Karlovy Vary is very...Russian, for want of a better description. Little did we realise that the majority of people who travel to Karlovy Vary are from an older generation and are generally either German or Russian. Our first impressions of the city, however, were very much positive. The city is situated in a valley, with beautiful 19th century buildings lining the river and creeping up the hills on either side of the valley. The view from out hotel was breath taking as it was situated on a rise overlooking the city and the Grand Hotel Pupp (featured in the movies Casino Royale and Last Holiday). 

Main Promenade; note the steam coming from the river

Steam rises from the mineral rich river which flows through the town. The water that supplies this river is 'geothermally heated groundwater', and it is the same water that emerges from the city's 12 mineral springs. This water is high in minerals such as Magnesium and it known for its healing and therapeutic effects. Many people travel to Karlovy Vary to sample this water and the plethora of other spa treatments available all claiming to heal every ailment from gout to irritable bowel syndrome. We tried the water and even brought a special sippy cup to sample it! We came to the conclusion that no matter what the benefits are of drinking the water, it is just not worth it. It tasted remarkably similar to having a blood nose and the treatment used to prepare oneself for a colonoscopy. Disgusting. We were more fond of the other Karlovy Vary tradition of wafer biscuits made with fillings such as chocolate, cinnamon and eggnog. We figured they were therapeutic enough for us. 

      Karlovy Vary uses it's mineral water for other purposes other than just drinking; such as mineral baths and spa treatments. We opted for the mineral bath, which in essence, is just a swimming pool. We will just have to believe them when they say there is actually mineral water in the pools, they just smelled like chlorine to us. We sampled two 'baths' while in the city, the first being the Thermal rooftop pool. The pool was about 30 degrees and the air temperature was sitting at about 12 degrees. Needless to say, it was nice in but not nice to get out. It was beautiful to be in the warm pool in the open air and I have heard that there is nothing quite like laying in the warm pool while it is snowing. We certainly got our fair share of European culture just from using the bath changing rooms. Nudity is not an issue in Europe and this is amazingly refreshing! Admittedly, it took me until the second visit to the baths to feel comfortable 'bearing all' but once we realised that no one cares about you and your naked little body, I didn't care either. I do, however, wish that I had purchased a larger quick dry towel before we left Australia. I opted for the small size (about the size of your average tea towel) and that sort of sized cloth just doesn't make the cut when walking around in your birthday suit. 

The view from the Thermal Mineral Bath

     We made the obligatory visit to the Becherovka museum, as the herbal liquor is originally from Karlovy Vary. We are now in love with the stuff, and after being brainwashed that is good for you we now use it as our 'daily tonic'. The liquor was originally manufactured as a medicine by Jan Becher, a local Pharmacist from Karlovy Vary and was used as an aperitif or digestive, used to treat a wide range of different ailments. The tonic was soon combined with alcohol to make the famous liquor we drink today. With 20 different herbs and spices it tastes fantastic and is good for your health too :)

Karlovy Vary

     We decided to visit the Diana lookout on our last day in Karlovy Vary as we had read it was well worth the visit. "Well worth the visit" is an understatement; the lookout tower on the top of the hill provided panoramic views of the city and the surrounding countryside and the view at this time of the year was of orange, yellow and golden trees dotted with conifers and filled with a thick mist. Even though we had bought a ticket down on the funicular we decided to walk down the hill through the forest. This was easily one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. I have never really appreciated the beauty of Autumn until now. It felt like magic with the kaleidoscope of colours in the trees, the soft bird calls, the quiet pitter patter of rain drops falling on leaves above our heads and the swirl of leaves falling slowly from the trees. 

The Autumn Forest

Walkway down to the city centre

     All in all it was a lovely weekend, even if Karlovy Vary doesn't offer up much for the younger traveller. I think this city holds its own charm, but we weren't there long enough to discover exactly what that is! We were happy to be home after the weekend and are already thinking of where to go for our next trip.

Ceska Posta

For most expats, just the very thought of having to do anything at the post office is one we would like to avoid. Unfortunately it is something that, for me anyway, is unavoidable. Today however, I was on a very different errand, I needed to post something very valuable and it had to be done by Registered post. This would require me to actually talk to someone - not just show them a pickup slip or say 'stamp'.
As I entered the main Post Office in Prague 1, I selected the correct number on a little machine and it printed a ticket for me. The main Prague post office is in a building with an interior the size of a small shopping centre. I was apparently standing at the wrong end of the 'hall' waiting for my number to be called. When my number was called I proceeded to walk up to the counter with my paper work when, oops sorry! Next number was just called...get a new number. So i stood waiting where I thought I would definitely NOT miss my number, only to miss it again! Here is me now thinking that in order to get to the counter in time I will need to sprint and elbow any passerby's out of the way.
Third time to the ticket machine and I am well and truly fed up and I haven't even seen the lady whom I share no common language with.
Eventually, I made it to the counter before they called the next number to be greeted by a friendly, smiling lady! "Nemluvim Cesky, prosim prominte" I say to the nice lady then show her the little dialogue I had google translated saying exactly what I wanted. She was very patient with me and even though we didn't speak each others languages we communicated and got the job done! I was pleasantly surprised by my trip to the Ceska Posta and I think I may be over my irrational fear. Dekuji!

Fakt!!

Literally meaning 'Really', this is by far the funniest Czech word we have come across. It is pronounced like 'far-kt'. Lots of people use it in every day conversation, but until we knew what it meant we thought the Czechs were just avid users of the common swear word usually heard in pubs, clubs and the average High School.

I am not altogether sure why processes here are so complicated and inconsistent. It certainly works to keep us on our toes and like I said earlier, things are never boring! We went on a much anticipated visit to the local government 'take your ticket and sit down for an hour until your number is called' building where they sort out things like payment of bills and Opencards. An Opencard is a travel card that you put money on for public transport and it also works as a sort of discount card for certain places. After the said waiting period out numbers were called and we approached the desks that our tickets corresponded to. The process wasn't all together hard as we had done some serious research before attempting it, but it was difficult for something so simple. I couldn't understand the lady helping me and she couldn't understand me, which is typical for any sort of bureaucratic process here. We got there eventually and I stepped outside to wait for Jon...10 minutes later he comes out. My entire process had only taken 3 minutes! We have no idea what took so long. I had been given a dicky little piece of paper along with my card (which I think it s free parking ticket but I have no idea) and for some reason Jon had pin numbers and info leaflets! Who knows what went on there, but we were not going back inside to ask. This happens everytime something gets done here - someone will do it one and way and the next person another. As long as the end process is the same that all that matters, right? Fakt!! And I used to think that Centerlink was bad.

Autumn has officially taken hold here now which was a bit of a shock for the both of us. There was no warning, no preparing ourselves, just 30 degrees one day and the next it's 10 degrees! It has been rainy and cold for the past week, with the weather being just like Perth in the middle of winter. The only difference is that it is going to get much colder here. Everywhere is warm though, even the trams have heating which is weird but nice. All of the leaves are starting to turn and are falling off the trees, it is really beautiful. Bring on winter! :)

Here are a few snaps from around the city over the last few weeks:

Letna Park getting ready for Autumn

In Mala Strana by the John Lennon wall. They are padlocks 

Mala Strana

Charles bridge and Old town

New Apartment

Nearly a week ago, we moved into a new apartment with our roommate. After what felt like weeks and weeks of apartment hunting and planning we were down to the last 12 hours before we needed to move out of our old apartment. Stress levels were high and none of us felt like staying in a dingy hostel with all our lifelong belongings nestled under the bed of some stranger. We managed to view a beautiful apartment in an area called Liben, in Prague 9 with fantastic access to the city by both trams and metro. This was at 5pm on the night before we all had to leave our respective apartments - so maybe decisions were slightly rushed but we weren't waiting around to find another option. We took it there and then! We moved in the next morning and were delighted to find cable t.v, internet AND a microwave. Doesn't get much better than this for the poor and desperate English Teacher :)

One thing to note about Prague is that until 1989, it was still under Communist ruling. Therefore the only languages that were taught were German or another Slovak language. English is not widely spoken, especially among the older generation (where there is next to none spoken). So, a bonus of our new apartment block was the "24 hour security". This consists of a rotational shift of 80 year old men who 90% of the time are asleep in their security room and the other 10% of the time are interrogating us (in Czech). I don't think we have earned their trust yet. It didn't help that upon moving in, Jon and I were stopped with our bags by one of the security 'officers' who begun questioning us and to this day I don't know what he was saying. We had to call our real estate agent and ask her to please speak to him! At least you can't say things are dull here, there is always something entertaining going on.

Melnik Vinobrani

Around the September/October time of each year, the vineyards of the Czech Republic pull out their best and the country is filled to the brim with various wine festivals, or Vinobrani which celebrate the years wine harvest. Stalls line the streets, selling wine (of course) as well as grilled cheese, Prague Ham, Trdelnik and just about anything else considered Bohemian. Just about every town has its own Vinobrani and the Old Town square in Prague has had its going for about 4 solid weeks now! 




We had heard that a small town north of Prague, called Melnik, put on a fantastic Vinobrani each year and was well worth visiting. Melnik lies at the confluence of the rivers Vltava and the Labe and is known for its cultivation of grapevines and its annual celebratory grape harvest. The festival runs for one whole weekend in September, complete with carnival atmosphere, all the gingerbread you could possibly eat and the young Moravian wine, Burcak. Burcak tastes just like grape juice as it is only slightly fermented, fizzy and is sickly sweet. Don't be fooled though, it doesn't taste like an alcoholic beverage but it most certainly is, with its alcohol content being between 5-8%. There are apparent health benefits to this drink, but I really don't think people are too concerned with them. 
We arrived in Melnik around lunch time to find the festival still in the process of being set up. We decided to take a walk through the main town area and explore a little, which led us to a nice little cafe for a pot of tea. The festival covered the majority of the main town of Melnik with the 'side show alley' area taking up most of the space. We spent some time then walking through the festival, sampling some of the wine and some of the local food and enjoying the vibrant atmosphere. We had forgotten how much joy balloons and bumper cars can bring to people, even if I wasn't allowed to have either of them on the day. In half an hour we had seen everything in the festival and decided to head to the Melnik Church. When we thought to come back in a little later for another glass of Burcak, we were asked to pay 200Kc each ($11) for entry! Since we had already been in (for free) and seen everything we chose to go home. We like to look at the decision as being one of 'money conscious people' :)




Melnik has plenty more to offer than first meets the eye. It boasts one of the oldest Churches in Bohemia, the Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, whose foundations date back to 1000! The Church, along with the Melnik Castle, overlook the confluence of the above mentioned rivers, with a spectacular view over the country side. 

A street in Melnik looking over to the Castle and the Church

Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul

Vltava and the Labe Rivers

Under the Church is the Melnik Charnel-house, containing the bones of between 10 000 and 15 000 people! These people were dug up from the Church graveyard to make more room during the plague of 1530-1531, while many others were added over the years. In the year 1787, all of the charnel-houses in Bohemia were ordered to be sealed for hygienic reasons. It was re-opened in the late 19th century and then again in the early 20th century for scientific reasons. The crypt is full to the brim with all kinds of human bones, arranged and ordered specifically. Jindrich Matiegka, an anthropologist and university professor began his study of bones and skulls in the Melnik charnel-house in the year 1913-14. With the help of two students, he studied and arranged the contents of the charnel-house. The charnel-house then became open to the public. While inside another group of people came in to have a look, only to finish up with one of them putting a bone in her mouth for a good 'ol facebook profile shot. We wanted to tell her how disrespectful she was, but we couldn't get past the fact that the person the bone belonged to probably died of the plague. We figured she would work it out for herself sooner or later.

Berlin

After 30 minutes of forethought we booked a quick 4 day trip to Berlin to visit some friends and to see a bit of the amazing city. 16 Euro got us return bus tickets from Prague to Berlin, complete with movie and free coffee! Who would have thought a bus company would be better than our JetStar flight from Perth to Singapore?


Berlin is a city where it seems 'survival of the most alternative' is their motto. Every bar, cafe, restaurant and boutique has something about it which is quirky and cool, weather it is a cleared out old Theatre turned bar/cafe or a Sushi train restaurant where the sushi is actually floating around the room on little boats on a stream! Most people who live in Berlin seem to have a lot of disposable income, something we don't see much of in Prague, so everyone is always out and about having coffee or a drink with friends. Bars are packed every night of the week and in the morning almost everywhere is deserted until at least 10:30 in the morning!

'Kjosk' Bar. A double decker bus turned kiosk selling snacks and drinks. Seating in the gardens under umbrellas. Amazing!

Berlin is a combination of buildings with varying degrees of history. Buildings that survived WWII are few and far between and any that did stand the War have since been repaired to their former glory. The difference in building design between East and West Berlin is very noticeable. East is full of concrete blocks functioning as apartments, hotels or business buildings. West is composed mainly of new looking buildings, with obvious western influence. Both sides of Berlin are beautiful in their own right, if anything, East is more exciting and alternative, full of interesting boutiques and bars.

An artist alley way, one of many. Leading to an art store, cinema and little bar

We visited the Reichstag, which in itself is an imposing structure, even without knowing its history. We managed to secure a place in a tour of the Cupola (glass dome on top of the Reichstag). If you ever find yourself in Berlin, make sure you secure a spot to go and visit the Reichstag. A few emails were required, but thanks to our friends, we were able to get our names on the 'list' to go and see inside. The views from the Cupola are amazing, and with a free audio-guide to help us along, we fast became experts on the buildings making up the Berlin skyline! This is one of the best things we did in Berlin and it was free!

The Reichstag - German house of Parliament

Inside the Reichstag Cupola. Mirrors reflect light down into the  Plenary Room  (under the mirrors, with the glass roof) to help reduce the need for unnatural lighting. 

The best way to see a city is to hire bikes for a day and just ride around - which is exactly what we did. Riding around a main city is unnerving, especially when you're not familiar with the road rules! Some roads have bike paths on them, but most didn't. You just have to brave riding on the side of the road, which is barely big enough for the car, let alone us as well. The experience was fantastic though and we were able to see so much of the city. From Alexanderplatz, past the Brandenburg Gate, down to the Victory monument, though the Tiergarten and around to the Reichstag! A big day full of interesting sights and ending with dinner at a Mexican place with 1 euro Tacos and Tequila. Amazing. 

Berliner Dom (Cathedral)

Brandenberg Gate

Berlin is a mecca for artists of all kinds, particularly East Berlin. Kunsthaus' (Art Houses) are ripe in Berlin, with a really popular one on Oranienburger Strauss called Kunsthaus Tacheles. The building itself was originally built as a Jewish department store in East Berlin. After serving as a Nazi prison for a while it was partially demolished. Once the Berlin wall was taken down the building was taken over by an artist collective who called it Tacheles (Yiddish for 'straight talking'). You can now find a building with huge colourful, graffiti-style murals painted on the exterior walls and a modern art Ghetto inside. The artists sells their works and are all squatting illegally. We all agreed that this is the weirdest place we have ever been to. The overwhelming smell of urine when you enter the building and make your way up the stairs to the artists area is really something else!


The East Side Gallery is well worth a visit too. The Berlin Wall East Side Gallery is a 1.3km-long section of the wall near the center of Berlin. Approximately 106 paintings by artists from all over the world cover this memorial for freedom and make it the largest open air gallery in the world. Being open air, the wall is therefore not protected. From its initiation in 1990, the wall is constantly being restored from graffiti, vandalism and erosion. The most recent project was in 2009, so most of the wall is still in great condition. 

One of the paintings on the East Side Gallery

Overall we had an excellent time in Berlin, it is well worth a visit for its crazy mix of alternative fashion/culture and its sobering history. Make sure you head out from the city centre though if you want to experience the 'new' Berlin!

Karlstejn and Vysehrad

About 45 minutes out of Prague lies Karlstejn ("Karl - stein"), a small town with a beautiful Castle. Karlstejn Castle was built by Czech King and Roman Emperor Charles IV as a place for safe keeping of the royal treasures, especially Holy relics and the coronation jewels of the Roman Empire. The first documented stay in this Castle by Charles was 1355, when he came to supervise the building works. The construction of the Castle was finished in 1365, when the Chapel of the Holy Cross, situated in the Great Tower (the most heavily fortified with walls 3-7 meters deep!) was consecrated.

Now it is a busy little tourist destination and holds one of the most unique positions among the Czech castles. The walk from the train station up to the Castle was interesting, with almost every house on the main street being converted to some tourist shop or restaurant. It seems everyone here makes their living off of the tourists! The 30 minutes climb is all uphill, but the Castle is situated on a hill, so what did we expect!
The Castle is fairy tale material and would not look out of place in Disneyland's main promenade! From the old stone rampart walls of the Castle you can see for miles out to the green rolling hills of the Czech Republic. A truly beautiful sight.
The interior of the Castle was amazing, however little of it was original. The interior was redecorated in the 19th century, new floors, new ceiling, new walls and new decorations. Apparently a lot of the original furniture and also the Czech coronation crown are now located in Austria.

We also made a trip to Vysehrad one afternoon, an area just south of the city, close to Prague 2. Legend has it that Vysehrad (High Castle) is the place where Prague was born. The area holds importance as King Charles IV decreed that the coronation of Bohemian Kings should begin with a procession from here. The area was almost ruined in the following centuries until the Czech National Revival generated new interest in Vysehrad as a symbol of Czech history. From 1866, Vysehrad graveyard became a national memorial, the fortifications were dismantled and various buildings were restored. Vysehrad today has peaceful green parks with great views across the River Vltava. We saw mothers with their children, old women with their dogs and people laying about enjoying the peaceful atmosphere.

Looking out over the southern areas of the city to Prague Castle in the background

St Martins Rotunda in Vysehrad

The Vltava River, looking over to Smichov and Petrin Hill. Prague Castle to the far right

The Church of St Peter and St Paul, in Vysehrad