Travels by Bus
See the world on bus, ON foot & on my own.
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What a difference a day makes
PRAGUE, BRUNO, MOLDAVIA
1993 and 2006
Woman shaving her legs in a sink, worthless money to modern day European comfort.
Prague
Part of my backpacking experience in 1993, Prague was the only eastern European country that I visited. And first, I had to get a visa in Vienna to get in.
At that time, tourism was still new. The only hostel we found was one in a dis-used gym i.e. large hall with military style beds lined in rows. There was no signs and it was a miracle how we managed to find it. The toilet/shower is a shared communal but people had the decency to wait till the other sex has finished using it before entering. However, I was shocked to see a stark naked woman at the sink shaving her legs. I'm not sure if she was trying to attract the opposite sex in this manner but at the rate her body shape is going, I think she must use drastic measures to attract attention.
Split up from Czechoslovakia, Prague becomes the capital city of Czech. It was under communist control & you could see in the attitude of the people in the bank for example. They would rather sit around and chat with each other than serve the customers. What can I say?! It was the only place I have seen such a sign as "Machine Break". It also looked as if the people had so much hardship that they forgot to smile. Honesty is not on their list. One waiter gave me a worthless 100 kronor in change. When I approached him about it, he said he can't take it back. As I came into the city by train, I had not seen an announcement that the old currency is now replaced with a gold print. The useless kronor has become a default souvenir.
OK, Prague is not with only unpleasantries, Prague has indeed beautiful sights & architecture that I soon forget about the bad.
These are photos taken back in 1993; 20 years later, the same bridge.
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Charles Bridge Karlův most
There are a few bridges crossing the Vltava river in Prague and the famous one is of course the Charles Bridge. It started construction in 1357 under King Charles IV, and finished at the beginning of the 15th century. It got its name Charles Bridge only in 1870. It was the most important connection between Prague Castle and the city's Old Town and adjacent areas, connecting Eastern and Western Europe.
There are enough photos of Charles Bridge so I decided to post the picture of Legion Bridge (Most LegiÃ) which connects the National Theatre and Újezd and get to StÅ™elecký Island, an island in the middle of the Vltava river with very interesting shops.
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Many from the neighbouring countries like Poland come to Prague to sell their handicrafts- paintings, handmade pendants, bracelets - and girls who braid hair.
Today, there are still many street buskers so the whole city is so full of life.
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After crossing the Charles Bridge, the buildings are gothic and pretty. We followed a walking guide, possibly Frommers, and looked at a few recommendation like The Three Violins. Plenty of Gothic, Baroque and mid-18th century structures which a few have become restaurants or embassies.
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Car enthusias are in for a treat as the city is full of old-timers and even soviet-times cars. This is an emblem of the Praga car, the First Bohemian-Moravian Machine Works based in Prague that was founded in 1907.
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Pražský hrad Prague Castle
Founded in around 880 by Prince Bořivoj, the Prague Castle is the largest coherent castle complex in the world according to the Guinness Book of World Records. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
I remember after crossing the Charles Bridge, for 10kronors, a funicular car will take you up to the top of Petrinska Rozhledna and you can have a view of the city. This is also about the highest point in Prague.
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Tyn Church, or The Church of Our Lady Before Tyn,
Inspiration for Walt Disney Sleeping Beauty castle, the two spires of this Gothic church can be seen everywhere in Prague. It was founded in 1385 when the Hussites were slaughtered by the ruling Roman Catholics.
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Å vejk Restaurant U Karla
Good Soldier Svejk offers traditional Czech cuisine with "grandma" recipe and homemade. We liked the food and the interesting atmosphere.
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Tram
The old and the new living side-by-side in Prague. We love the Prague Trams.
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Statues
A lot of statues dotted the city but this one spoke to me the most: freedom! Be free! That's how we felt.
The way to Brno
Fast forward a decade later in 2003, as a student in a MBA programme in Germany, my summer train ticket entitled me to free travel as far as Fürth im Wald - a German border town with Czech Republic. Since I was afraid that Euro is not accepted on the train, I bought a ticket from this border to the nearest Czech town of Domazlice for €3.
When an old Czech inspector came onboard, he accepted Euro and charged only €1 for this strip so I bought the rest of my journey - from Domazlice to Brno - from him. We couldn't really communicate because of the language differences but he was extremely friendly!
I had the most interesting conversation with my fellow passengers: a German and an Italian.The Italian asked me what is there to see and do in Plzen. Well, how would I know?! I can only guess that Plzen is the place where Pils is produced. The German replied that if that's the case, it's not good to go there because if you have an alcoholic problem, it will be terrible. Hm, sounds like someone had been through an alcoholic rehabilitation programme.
After both of them had gotten off, new passengers came onboard and I was left with this homeless looking Czech - long uncombed wavy hair & a 2-day-old stubbles! BUT he didn't reek of alcohol, instead, he was carrying a small portfolio & kept sms-ing on his phone.
We didn't talk until the train arrived into Prague. As I wasn't sure if that was my stop, he just said that Prague hlv is the next station. Great! That is his stop too.
The thing was, that started us talking. His English wasn't very good but he told me that he's a graphic designer. He was not a homeless guy! ha! He was actually very kind and tried to give me some tip and even bought me a city map as a parting gift. After walking in the same direction for about 200m, we said goodbye as he turned right to go home.
A decade meant a lot when you see the changes Prague made! It has transformed into a western european city. Very clean and also very commercialised. I got lost in the shops having summer sales instead of sight-seeing. The best buy was Kofola, a Czech Cola which I was "hooked" for the remaining days of my stay.
After 2 hours' of walking, I got on the train again, to go to Brno where Jiri lives. This time, I shared a cabin with a Czech woman around 50 years old. She is very nice and we "spoke"! When we called into a station, she wanted to know which station it was & I misread the itinerary. She "protested" and when I read the right one, she agreed. Very funny actually. When it was her stop, she said something which I think is "goodbye" in Czech but since I didn't know how to say that in Czech, I said, "ahoj" and she laughed.
3 hours later, Jiri was waiting at Brno's train station. It felt a bit like home to see my old friend again!
The Second largest city in the Czech Republic, Brno was the capital city of the Moravia/Silesia Province, the centre of industry & commerce and education & culture. Famous personages who have worked in the city include Leoa, Janácek, Viktor Kaplan, Jirà Mahen and Bohuslav Fuchs.
The Second World War caused serious damage to Brno. During the Nazi occupation many Czech citizens were executed in the city at the Kounicové Koleje (a student residence); the result of these atrocities was the evacuation of the German inhabitants in 1945.
Once a Great Moravian Empire, Staré Brno is the Old Brno. Jiri said that many cities were built on top of the old one that there was a report once a street opened up, a woman fell through it and was never found! Under the city today lies many underground labyrinth. Something quite hard for me to imagine!
Brno has many tales, like the one about The Brno Dragon. Some says that it was a gift from foreign kings or noblemen but I liked this story best: that it used to live in the River Svratka tormenting the people. People were scared of the beast but did not know how to get rid of him until a journeyman happened by. He sewed lime into an ox-pelt which the "dragon" ate. As the "dragon" filled itself up with water, the lime inside began to boil and the "dragon" kept expanding until he burst. The butcher got his reward and continued to wander the world.
And there is the story of The Twisted Pinnacle of the Old Town Hall:
When the Old Town Hall was being built, the aldermen promised Pilgram - the well known stone-mason - a wage of 3 pounds of silver and some money for his workers and for the building material.
However, after a period when Pilgram asked for an advance payment,
they did not want to give out a single groschen before the Town Hall was completed. This enraged the master so he instructed his stone-cutters to make the highest pinnacle on the portal crooked.
When asked to correct it, Pilgram merely smiled and said: "Dear Lords, your words have been just as crooked as the pinnacle on the portal, and so no one can ever rectify it. For ever it shall reveal to the world how perfidious you were."
He also crafted the central pinnacle in Vienna's St. Stephen's Cathedral in the same fashion.
More tales can be found on Tales of Brno.
Tales aside , because of the history, the city was surrounded by fortifications which had five gates - MenÃn, Zidovská (Jews' Gate), Starobrnenská (Old Brno Gate), Veselá (Merry Gate), and Behounská). There are two parish churches - St. Peter's and St. James' (Jiri means James), and several monasteries and a convent.
Jiri took us to the Capuchin Church which has a crypt underneath showcasing the preserved bodies of dead monks. Many had teeth intact still - rather scary!
More ill-feelings were to be had in the Å pilberk Castle. It was a medieval caste founded in 1270 but later converted into a Baroque fortress and in the 19th century became infamous as "the dungeons of nations". The people imprisoned there included French revolutionaries, Italian carbonari, Polish rebels and Czech opponents to the Habsburg monarchy. On displays were torture equipment and dark rooms.
The tour gave me an ill-feeling actually, and I'm glad that we were outside again to take in the marvellous view of the city below!
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Back to street level, you can find the Parnas Fountain, which is a Baroque fountain built in 1690-95.
In the centre of the fountain is a three-sided craggy rock. Sitting on top of the north-eastern side is an allegoric statue leaning against a quiver with arrows. Down beneath it is a winged dragon. On the north-western rock sits the figure of Babylonia with a crown on the right foot and to the right is a winged lion. On the southern rock is the allegoric statue of Persia with a horn of plenty and underneath to the right a bear crawls out from the rock. At the top of the grotto stands the statue of Europe triumphantly holding a sceptre over a vanquished dragon. The whole thing comes to life with miniature creatures and dragons.
Hard to see all that in my small picture but it is a good meeting point for sure!
The Moravian Karst
Not far from Brno is The Moravian Karst, a world famous karst region. It is a protected area in hilly landscape with deep valleys about 100 km2 of limestone of Devonian age. No wonder the hitch-hiker we picked along the way was going hiking out here.
It was left by the sea long ago, and with time, the karst canyons with sink and abysses are cut deep underground. So far, Cavers discovered 4 caves - Sloup Sosuvka Caves, the Punkva Caves, the Catherine Cave and the Balcarka Cave - which are open to public.
We chose the Punkva Cave - the famous of all - discovered by Prof Karel Absolon. Its credit is due to the Macocha Abyss (138m deep) and the cruise on the subterranean Punkva River.
Luckily Jiri planned ahead and called to book the tour because all tours were booked out. We strolled through the nice forest and even had time for another Czech beer for the guys, before the tour started.
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Finally the visit is at its end. I had to be back in Ingolstadt earlier so I took the bus back on my own - yes, this photo was taken when I was on the bus! It's a bad quality but it reminds me of them in a special way. Jochen, Markus and Jiri drove back 2 days later. Thanks to all three for making this one a memorable trip, and thanks to Jiri's mother as well for letting us stay in her apartment and fixing my teeth! She's a great dentist.
