It is so nice to be working on a full-sized screen again. The Acer is very portable, but hard to work on when you are trying to do layout.
This was our second trip using Rick Steves books. We've been very pleased with the hotel recommendations, and a bit less impressed with the restaurants. Tastes differ. We would definitely stay at the Jederman Hotel in Salzburg again. Not in the old town, but a short walk. Very nice room and OK breakfast (Who can remember back that far!?). Very helpful staff. We would not stay at the Leo Panzio in Budapest again. Although it is very convenient, the toilet was just plain strange and the breakfast was marginal for someone like Michael who has problems with dairy.
Steves does not cover Romania so we were on our own there. The Best Western in Baia Mare was nice with a good restaurant. The Hotel Marmatia in Sighet was great. Nice setting. Reasonable walk to town, generous breakfast and a good restaurant that is open all day. The Senator hotel in Eger was centrally located. Nice room and OK breakfast. We'd stay there again. The Admiral hotel in Vienna was fine. Again, short walk to many of the museums and other sights and a good breakfast. The apartment in Prague was another Steves recommendation and we would definitely stay there again. Good location; Lida is wonderful; and good restaurants in the area. The hotel in Cesky Krumlov was another Steves recommendation that we would stay at again. Big room overlooking the river with a good breakfast. Now if I could just remember the name.
All in all we had a great time. There were a few frantic moments when we weren't sure where we were going; and of course you never get to see and do everything you want to. I spent part of the flight home yesterday poring over the records we photographed. There maybe nothing to find, but the hunting is fun. I hope you enjoyed traveling along with us.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Cesky Krumlov to Munich
Kinda gloomy this morning. Trying to decide whether to try for a tour of the Castle. The only way you can get inside is with a one-hour tour. Most are in Czech - the ones in English sell out fast. There is also one of the two existing Baroque theaters in the world here in Krumlov. Again, you have to take a tour and the groups are limited in size due to the fragility of the theater.
I read something of the history of this area this morning and I think I know why the towns in this area are so different from the ones we saw in Hungary and Romania. This is the area known as the Sudetenland. Before WWII, this area had a population that was 75% German. This was Hitler's argument for annexing the area - and moving all the Czech's out. In fact, Hitler celebrated the annexation of the Sudetenland here in Krumlov on the town square. After the war the Czech's decided turn about was fair play and expelled all the Germans - so the people living here are relative newcomers. The people who inhabited this area historically are gone - along with their traditions.
One thing I did not mention last night. Krumlov is situated at a place where the Vltava river makes 5 turns, creating a couple of ox-bows - and a natural moat. The earliest settlement was about a century BC. It was owned by a couple of families in Medieval times, then sold to the Hapsburgs around 1600. The hotel we are staying at is built into the old fortifications, just like the restaurant last night. Breakfast was downstairs in a "cave" like the one in the picture from last night. Better lighting, however.
The scenery this morning was wonderful. We convinced the GPS that we were not taking any really back roads today and we headed for the lake in the SW corner of the Czech Republic. Even with the drizzle, the view was great. I was able to get a couple of pictures. Up and down hills. The architecture became Tyrolean - white stucco with dark brown wood on top - window boxes and balconies. With all the rain, it was very green. Michael was asking yesterday about where the farm animals were. Apparently they are kept at higher altitudes as we saw several herds of cows today. Lots and lots of pensions so this must be vacation country.
We were looking for a place for lunch so went through Passau - another disagreement with the GPS. We did not find a good place to stop and got on the Autobahn, where we had found sandwiches on our previous forays. Not on this one. So we ended up eating at a Movenpick hotel a few miles from ours. It was the closest one the GPS recognized. Very nice buffet at a reasonable price. The Munich airport is out in the middle of farm country and for those of us from the US who are used to a bunch of hotels, restaurants and gas stations surrounding the airport, all I can say is, not here.
So we have turned in the car and are almost ready to fly home tomorrow. Dinner at an Italian place within walking distance of the hotel. Nice bookend to the Italian dinner we had in Salzburg on the first night. Sat next to a couple of Americans, one of whom was born and raised in Serbia. Now living in Chicago.
Thus endeth the excellent Eastern European Adventure.
I read something of the history of this area this morning and I think I know why the towns in this area are so different from the ones we saw in Hungary and Romania. This is the area known as the Sudetenland. Before WWII, this area had a population that was 75% German. This was Hitler's argument for annexing the area - and moving all the Czech's out. In fact, Hitler celebrated the annexation of the Sudetenland here in Krumlov on the town square. After the war the Czech's decided turn about was fair play and expelled all the Germans - so the people living here are relative newcomers. The people who inhabited this area historically are gone - along with their traditions.
One thing I did not mention last night. Krumlov is situated at a place where the Vltava river makes 5 turns, creating a couple of ox-bows - and a natural moat. The earliest settlement was about a century BC. It was owned by a couple of families in Medieval times, then sold to the Hapsburgs around 1600. The hotel we are staying at is built into the old fortifications, just like the restaurant last night. Breakfast was downstairs in a "cave" like the one in the picture from last night. Better lighting, however.
We were looking for a place for lunch so went through Passau - another disagreement with the GPS. We did not find a good place to stop and got on the Autobahn, where we had found sandwiches on our previous forays. Not on this one. So we ended up eating at a Movenpick hotel a few miles from ours. It was the closest one the GPS recognized. Very nice buffet at a reasonable price. The Munich airport is out in the middle of farm country and for those of us from the US who are used to a bunch of hotels, restaurants and gas stations surrounding the airport, all I can say is, not here.
So we have turned in the car and are almost ready to fly home tomorrow. Dinner at an Italian place within walking distance of the hotel. Nice bookend to the Italian dinner we had in Salzburg on the first night. Sat next to a couple of Americans, one of whom was born and raised in Serbia. Now living in Chicago.
Thus endeth the excellent Eastern European Adventure.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Prague to Cesky Krumlov by way of Trebon
We left Prague this morning with no problems. We aimed the GPS at Cesky Krumlov and took off. No problems getting out of town and we figured it would take about 2.5 hours. Then we remembered that everything is closed on Monday, so we regrouped.
Michael had read about Trebon. It's a Medieval town in the middle of a group of lakes that were created in the 16th century from a swamp. It's supposed to have the best fish in the country so we thought we would stop there for lunch. The promised rain did not materialize, but it was COLD and windy - wind chill of 45. By this time we had also realized that the GPS was taking us on a different route than we had expected, but it looked like Trebon would not be a problem, so I reprogrammed it. Hah. We found ourselves on some pretty secondary roads. I still don't know why, when it looked like we could take main roads all the way. The Czech countryside was very pretty. Lot of farm land, but also some nice vistas. As you can see, narrow roads with few places to stop for pictures. Towns were Quite different from the towns in Hungary and Romania. No front gardens; few people outside chatting; no cows in the street and few bicyclists. No carts and horses, either. Better roads.
Anyway, we got there. There is a modern town built around the old one. GPS did not have any addresses, but we found the Information depot on the main square and he gave us a map and directions to the restaurant. We each had a bowl of fish soup and we split the pike-perch on garlic and spinach. Quite nice.
Off to Chesky Krumlov - only 25 miles away and the GPS got us within spitting distance of the front door of the hotel. Very cool room with unfinished pine furniture and a huge tub and a view of the river. The river that runs through Krumlov is the Vltava - the same one that runs through Prague. Much smaller here. In warmer weather we would try one of the kayaks.
We wandered around town. Krumlov has a nice castle so we walked up there. One of the features of the buildings in this part of the Czech Republic is the fascinating trompe l'oiel plaster work. The stucco or plaster is painted, then some of it is carved away. It looks like the stone has been carved, but it is almost flat. In some cases, all the work is paint. Here is an example from one of the castle courtyards - all of that decoration is paint. And those walls are flat. Not stacked blocks.
We wandered around town. Krumlov has a nice castle so we walked up there. One of the features of the buildings in this part of the Czech Republic is the fascinating trompe l'oiel plaster work. The stucco or plaster is painted, then some of it is carved away. It looks like the stone has been carved, but it is almost flat. In some cases, all the work is paint. Here is an example from one of the castle courtyards - all of that decoration is paint. And those walls are flat. Not stacked blocks.
We did get to the castle in time to climb the tower. First pic is of the castle from the town. Second is a view from the top of the tower. Only 162 steps. Great views.
We had dinner in a restaurant next door that is built into a "barbican" in the old fortress. Those of you who have been to Carcasonne know all about barbicans. The rest of you will have to look it up. :-) This is the group of 10 Germans sitting next to us. Honey cake for dessert was yum.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Praha, Day 2
The day started out a little rainy, but not too bad. Not enough for an umbrella. Michael was able to move the car slightly so we will have a much easier time getting out of the parking lot tomorrow.
The line at the Pinkas Synagogue was pretty short. We bought tickets for 4 synagogues, the cemetery and the Ceremonial Hall of the burial society. These sites constitute the Jewish Museum in Prague. Unfortunately, none of them allow photos of the inside. We bought a permit to take pictures in the cemetery. There are probably 1000 stone, but since they ran out of room, they piled more dirt on top of the older burials and buried more people. So there may be 7000 people actually buried on the site.
Third stop was the ceremonial hall of the Prague Burial Society. This site is dedicated to the rituals associated with death and burial. There is a series of paintings depicting the stages from death to the meal in the home of the bereaved.
The fourth stop is next door. The site of a really old synagogue that was destroyed and this Baroque one was built later. The original site also had a school. Now that we have done 3-6, it's time to go back and do the first stop, the Meisel Synagogue. This is another old building - 1700s. There are a lot of display cases with materials from the various holidays and rituals.
Michael has been reading Rick Steves again and has decided he wants to see the Old New Synagogue. This is actually the oldest one - it was the new one at one time, but after others were built, it became the old new one. It is built several steps below the street level, like the one in Vienna. It feels very Medieval. Here's a picture of the outside. And a link to wikipedia with a pic of the inside. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_New_Synagogue. One site says Kafka attended this synagogue, which is still in us
Time for lunch at the Kafka Cafe. Sandwiches seem to be kind of a new thing here, but tuna on baguettes are good and besides, it has started raining again so it's good to be inside.
After lunch we decide to hike over to the newest Synagogue on Jerusalem Street. This one really looks like a mosque on the outside. And the inside. This one was finished around 1906 and has a definite Moorish feel to it. Here we are allowed to take pictures. This is one of the outside and the second was taken inside.
Last one on our list is the Spanish Synagogue, so named because, like the Jerusalem Synagogue, it was a Moorish style. No pictures, which is really too bad as it is the most dramatic of them all. Here we learn that the Jewish Museum of Prague includes materials from all over Bohemia and Moravia. For some reason the Nazis decided to allow the Synagogues in Prague to collect materials as other Jewish communities were destroyed. There are photos of the collection during the war. Most of it has survived. A sad commentary on the loss of all those people. Here's a link to a site with a picture of the inside. http://jbuff.com/shul%20prague%20spanish_synagogue.htm. Wikipedia also has a page.
We decide to have dinner at a Kosher restaurant near the apartment. The Middle Eastern cuisine is a nice change from the heavier food we have been eating. Grilled vegetables, hummus, and salmon in a tomato sauce. This last one was a bit of a surprise as the menu said salmon with tomatoes and onions. Turned out to be a rich tomato sauce - very good.
We are off to Cesky Krumlov tomorrow. A small town in the south. Should be interesting. Back to Munich Tuesday night for the flight out on Wednesday.
The line at the Pinkas Synagogue was pretty short. We bought tickets for 4 synagogues, the cemetery and the Ceremonial Hall of the burial society. These sites constitute the Jewish Museum in Prague. Unfortunately, none of them allow photos of the inside. We bought a permit to take pictures in the cemetery. There are probably 1000 stone, but since they ran out of room, they piled more dirt on top of the older burials and buried more people. So there may be 7000 people actually buried on the site.
Third stop was the ceremonial hall of the Prague Burial Society. This site is dedicated to the rituals associated with death and burial. There is a series of paintings depicting the stages from death to the meal in the home of the bereaved.
The fourth stop is next door. The site of a really old synagogue that was destroyed and this Baroque one was built later. The original site also had a school. Now that we have done 3-6, it's time to go back and do the first stop, the Meisel Synagogue. This is another old building - 1700s. There are a lot of display cases with materials from the various holidays and rituals.
Michael has been reading Rick Steves again and has decided he wants to see the Old New Synagogue. This is actually the oldest one - it was the new one at one time, but after others were built, it became the old new one. It is built several steps below the street level, like the one in Vienna. It feels very Medieval. Here's a picture of the outside. And a link to wikipedia with a pic of the inside. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_New_Synagogue. One site says Kafka attended this synagogue, which is still in us
Time for lunch at the Kafka Cafe. Sandwiches seem to be kind of a new thing here, but tuna on baguettes are good and besides, it has started raining again so it's good to be inside.
After lunch we decide to hike over to the newest Synagogue on Jerusalem Street. This one really looks like a mosque on the outside. And the inside. This one was finished around 1906 and has a definite Moorish feel to it. Here we are allowed to take pictures. This is one of the outside and the second was taken inside.
Last one on our list is the Spanish Synagogue, so named because, like the Jerusalem Synagogue, it was a Moorish style. No pictures, which is really too bad as it is the most dramatic of them all. Here we learn that the Jewish Museum of Prague includes materials from all over Bohemia and Moravia. For some reason the Nazis decided to allow the Synagogues in Prague to collect materials as other Jewish communities were destroyed. There are photos of the collection during the war. Most of it has survived. A sad commentary on the loss of all those people. Here's a link to a site with a picture of the inside. http://jbuff.com/shul%20prague%20spanish_synagogue.htm. Wikipedia also has a page.
We decide to have dinner at a Kosher restaurant near the apartment. The Middle Eastern cuisine is a nice change from the heavier food we have been eating. Grilled vegetables, hummus, and salmon in a tomato sauce. This last one was a bit of a surprise as the menu said salmon with tomatoes and onions. Turned out to be a rich tomato sauce - very good.
We are off to Cesky Krumlov tomorrow. A small town in the south. Should be interesting. Back to Munich Tuesday night for the flight out on Wednesday.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Praha/Prague/Prag
The tower is undergoing reconstruction/preservation or something. Hordes of tourists on the bridge. This is more tourists than we have seen anywhere else. Including a group of what sounds like American high school or college kids. Snapping pics while wandering along.
There are a lot of vendors on the bridge selling everything from jewelry to artwork. And a jazz band. We manage to get across the bridge and head into the Little Quarter. I think it is actually meant to be the "lesser quarter". Or the quarter lower than the Castle? We see one group setting off on Segways - looks like fun.
We walk up to the St Nicolas church. The first entrance we try is just for the tower. 218 steps. Sure to be great views, but maybe not. The inside of this church is amazing. The definition of Baroque architecture - marble and gold everywhere. Except most of it is fake - imitation marble. Very good imitation, however.
We stop for lunch at a cafe on the street leading up to the Prague Castle area, then start the hike uphill. Nice view from the top. When we get to the top we see a really long line and hope that is not the ticket line. Lots of people. Michael decides there has to be away to avoid this long line and walks through the gate. We find a place that sells tickets and the audio sets. The ticket seller convinces us we have to have the audio as there is very little English. This turns out to be true in some cases, but not everywhere. We are advised to do the New Palace and the Basilica first and leave the cathedral for after 4 as there are too many people right now. (It's only 1:00) We are supposed to get the audio sets back by 3 - but no problem if we don't.
Did I mention there is no room to get a shot of the front of this Cathedral?
There are 25 audio stops in the Cathedral. I don't listen to all of all of them, just enough to know what I'm looking at. There are probably 20 chapels around the outside of the nave. Although we took pictures of all of them, I'll just post a few. This is really the national cathedral. The oldest part is Gothic, but it has been added on to. Some very old tombs of early kings and Archbishops. Each side chapel has its own style of stained glass - most post WWII as the original glass did not survive. As I have found in the past, stained glass is very hard to photograph well. Michael takes over taking the photos, but I'm not sure it's going to help. As you can see, some of the altars are very ornate.
At about 3 we are able to turn in the audio set and head back down to town. Having taken the long way up, we take stairs down and cross the river on another bridge, closer to the apartment.
Walking back we pass by 3 possible restaurants for dinner. Mr iPad checks them out and we decide on Cartouche - grilled meat on skewers in a basement "cave". The entrance is a bit dark and not enticing, but the food is wonderful. The had an appetizer of goat cheese with warm apples. Dessert was a chocolate lava cake with a side of berries and lemon sorbet in a chocolate cup. Should have taken the camera.
Tomorrow there is an 80% chance of rain so we "ll see how it goes.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Munich to Prague - or Praha as it is here
I decided to listen to David Siegels presentation on market segmentation - or how the marketing department may not know what they are getting with all these analytic analyses. I am typing on a Czech keyboard. The z is where the y is on a QWERTY keyboard, but it is typing a y. I cannot figure out how to get an at symbol - or quotes or an apostrophe for that matter. I see them on the keyboard, but cant find the keys. The at symbol is on the v key.
Anyway, we got the car - a Citroen - with a TomTom and diesel, and managed to leave town at about noon. It was a nice day and we had a good drive to Prague. When we got here the GPS wanted us to turn right, but there is a lot of construction and the right was not allowed. It eventually figured out another route and got us here. Lida - our landlady, ended up parking her car and taking a tram to get here. Crazy traffic. The Czech countryside is very pretty - mostly farmland.
We are staying in a 2 room apartment in the old town. Lida is really nice and pointed out where to find an exchange and the grocery store and a couple of restaurants. After the long day, we ended up grabbing a pizza. Czech food tomorrow night. Weather is calling for rain, but we are hoping it will be intermittent.
The old town square is very cool and the architecture seems more consistent here than in Munich, or even Vienna. Ill get some pics up tomorrow - probably with my own computer so I can use the right keys! Aha - found the " key - uppercase 2. And the '. Whoopee! : - )
Anyway, we got the car - a Citroen - with a TomTom and diesel, and managed to leave town at about noon. It was a nice day and we had a good drive to Prague. When we got here the GPS wanted us to turn right, but there is a lot of construction and the right was not allowed. It eventually figured out another route and got us here. Lida - our landlady, ended up parking her car and taking a tram to get here. Crazy traffic. The Czech countryside is very pretty - mostly farmland.
We are staying in a 2 room apartment in the old town. Lida is really nice and pointed out where to find an exchange and the grocery store and a couple of restaurants. After the long day, we ended up grabbing a pizza. Czech food tomorrow night. Weather is calling for rain, but we are hoping it will be intermittent.
The old town square is very cool and the architecture seems more consistent here than in Munich, or even Vienna. Ill get some pics up tomorrow - probably with my own computer so I can use the right keys! Aha - found the " key - uppercase 2. And the '. Whoopee! : - )
Munich Day 2 and 3
Slipping up here. We did not get back to the hotel until midnight last night so no blogging.
We did go to a museum yesterday morning. It's about "modern" items, but we focused on the industrial design and architecture sections. And the bookstore.
We did some wandering around the Marienplatz then went back to the hotel to change for the reception. UPA does a nice job with good food and a drink coupon for one drink. We finally left the reception at 9 and headed out to dinner at the Ratskeller. We decided to eat outside and they turned the lights out at 11, but still no pressure to leave. The young waiter did a yeoman's job of dealing with 3 pairs who were not sitting together and a single. They will split the bill, but it's a bit of a hassle. I'm beginning to get tired of the Bavarian food and have a salad.
The first day of the conference is interesting. The keynote speaker strikes me as a bit naive, but she makes some interesting points. The session on stories is fun. I can't find Kath or Elisa, but I do connect with Susan Dray and a couple of others. and we have a nice lunch at the Augustiner - mushroom ravioli.
The afternoon is hectic. The sessions are only 30 minutes and there is only a 5 min. break between sessions. I attend one session on complex forms - I should just buy her book. Another on UX and Agile development and a third on "intentionally biasing users" - in other words, persuasion. The last long session I went to was Pieter Desmet on Designing for Happiness. I had read some of Pieter's work when we were looking at rating some web sites for their emotional impact about 18 months ago. The first half of his talk is about that research, but he has been extending his thinking and research and is actually working on some products that are of interest to me.
We finally round up the group. I call Michael at the hotel and we go back to the place I had lunch for dinner. Much earlier than last night.
Sorry this got lost in the shuffle.
We did go to a museum yesterday morning. It's about "modern" items, but we focused on the industrial design and architecture sections. And the bookstore.
We did some wandering around the Marienplatz then went back to the hotel to change for the reception. UPA does a nice job with good food and a drink coupon for one drink. We finally left the reception at 9 and headed out to dinner at the Ratskeller. We decided to eat outside and they turned the lights out at 11, but still no pressure to leave. The young waiter did a yeoman's job of dealing with 3 pairs who were not sitting together and a single. They will split the bill, but it's a bit of a hassle. I'm beginning to get tired of the Bavarian food and have a salad.
The first day of the conference is interesting. The keynote speaker strikes me as a bit naive, but she makes some interesting points. The session on stories is fun. I can't find Kath or Elisa, but I do connect with Susan Dray and a couple of others. and we have a nice lunch at the Augustiner - mushroom ravioli.
The afternoon is hectic. The sessions are only 30 minutes and there is only a 5 min. break between sessions. I attend one session on complex forms - I should just buy her book. Another on UX and Agile development and a third on "intentionally biasing users" - in other words, persuasion. The last long session I went to was Pieter Desmet on Designing for Happiness. I had read some of Pieter's work when we were looking at rating some web sites for their emotional impact about 18 months ago. The first half of his talk is about that research, but he has been extending his thinking and research and is actually working on some products that are of interest to me.
We finally round up the group. I call Michael at the hotel and we go back to the place I had lunch for dinner. Much earlier than last night.
Sorry this got lost in the shuffle.
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