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The bartender taking a break from his chess game to fill up our pints.
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I had no idea what to expect from Eastern Europe and Prague. After having lived for many years under communist rule and most recently having suffered the misfortune of Van Diesel and "XXX", I'll admit to having some negative preconceived ideas. A dark possibly sullen city, few restaurants, and forced hospitality from the staff. But all this just goes to show my complete ignorance on current events. Prague was fabulous. It was, in fact, probably the most (or at least a close second) interesting city I've visited so far in Europe.
We plunged into the city hoping to chance upon some decent, cheap accomodations. We got that and then some. The first hotel we checked welcomed us all (Kona too) with a big room, luxury marble (ooooh, ahhh) bathroom, and breakfast for the same price you might pay for a scummy hostel in Paris complete with three drunk bunk mates puking at 3 in the morning. We were PSYCHED! Stepping out our front door we could walk to all of central Prague. On our way we passed by loads of restaurants, scanning the menus and dropping our jaws at the stupidly cheap prices. One thing was for sure, we would not be going hungry. Stopping to have a pint at one of the trendy bars... and then another, we realized we most likely wouldn't be going sober either. We had skipped buying the Rough Guide opting for the cheaper downloadable version of walking tours from Frommer's website. These handy mini guides got us through old town Prague, the huge castle and Charles Bridge with a bit of history to boot.
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Jamming on the Charles Bridge.
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Kona was in good company as the inhabitants seem to be quite keen on the canine companions. Almost all the establishments we tried would allow us to partake of their frothy brews with our loyal mutt sleeping happily underfoot. There were also big parks with plush grass for Kona and the Czech pooches to play about on. It was so hard to leave this city - so we didn't, we booked another night. The mix of untouched architectural eyecandy, huge mochas, delicious food, and the best exchange rate left in this part of the world made for a heavenly vacation. Our only mishap came in the form of a gaudy tourist trap restaurant where we overpayed for some muppet in a tux to fill up our water glasses six times in so many minutes. Lesson learned - never pay over six dollars for anything in Prague - most likely it's a rip off. Not to get discouraged, we left and headed for one of the many cafes strewn all over the town. With a couple 50 cent pints and dollar margaritas, we drank away all our memories of overcooked "river" cod and undercooked potatoes. Prague is a city to be relished, to ease in and out of mazes of small cobbled streets and even smaller cozy cafes. The people are genuine, friendly, and thankfully speak almost perfect english. It was really hard to leave, but we finally dragged ourselves out of town - driving past huge walled gardens that border the city.
(click on photos to enlarge)
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Ivo! My ex-coworker and fellow foosball cohort from back in the days of Zefer, and Randy enjoying some suds in a hilariously authentic Hamburg restaurant.
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In the beginning it was Pabst Blue Ribbon, then the Beast (Milwaukee's best!), graduating slowly to good ol' Bud light, and then that wonderful day when draught Guinness first passed these lips. Mmmmm, Guinness. Beer has always had a place in my heart and lots of hard work and effort (ha!) have gone into many years of thoroughly sampling the micorbrews and other such suds from around the states. I even was blessed with a skilled homebrewer for a roomate once! Yet I never knew the joys of Bavarian suds until I went to the Frankenjura. Of course I was there to climb, pull on pockets and slippery limestone slopers... but who in their right mind wouldn't spend every spare second in the local brew houses? So for the same price as a Pabst in a any bar in the states I was sipping away at the Hefeweizens, Bockbiers, and Altbiers brewed in the small private taverns in the heart of Germany. Oh, and the climbing was good too.
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Sloping pockets and fierce climbing.
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(click on photos to enlarge)
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Cruising
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Courtney, Kona, and I have a regular routine for the new cities we visit. We simply set off on foot, walking ourselves to exhaustion, soaking in the surroundings. In Copenhagen, there was much of the same, as we enjoyed this remarkable city. Trips to Christiania (the free city within Copenhagen), the riverside, harbors, each a visual treat. Hand in hand, walking in step, lots of smiles, happy romance. - rp
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A beautiful Copenhagen harbor
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(click on photos to enlarge)
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Happy, happy
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