Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Czech Please!

Today was a day that was full of logistical challenges.  We needed to find a way to get from the residential neighbourhood we were staying at, to the Salzburg train station.  When we opened the main door of the apartment, it looked like this outside.
We had to walk the entire length of this road pulling our carry on bags.
After that big long road, we still had to walk about 15 mins before we found a taxi.
We were hoping to catch the 8:48 train from Salzburg to Linz, Austria, then connect to a direct train to Prague, which would land us in the Czech city around 16:39.  

Despite the early morning challenges, we arrived at the Salzburg train station about 5 minutes before the 8:02 to Linz, so we sprinted to the platform, and jumped on the train.  On the ride to to Linz we decided that we would take a chance on a tight connecting train from Linz to a Czech town called Ceske Budejovice, so we would arrive in Prague earlier.  We would only have 9 mins to connect in Ceske.  If it all worked, we would arrive in Prague at 14:39.

Bronwyn and Fin weren't bothered by the tight connections.
This never happens, but all of our connections were successful!
Bronwyn doing some sketches on the way to Prague.
Happy train travellers.


Fintan staring me down for taking his picture.
A chilly looking Czech train station on the way to Prague.


I'm not sure who named this Czech town, but I am guessing she's no longer single...
All things considered, we had very little trouble navigating our way to the Prague apartment.   We were greeted by our hostess, who explained a few things about they city, and showed us around the apartment.  Our apartment is super cool (and super cold at the moment!).  It dates back to the 14th century!  I think it must still have the original heating system....um, and the original wifi setup....ugh.






After we freshened up, we headed out for some dinner, and a very, very cold walk.  I'm not going to bore you with talking.  I'll let the images speak.
These tasty treats are everywhere.  Kinda like a churro. 

Welcome to the Chug Republic.

Chug Chug!!
Our apartment is within the Old Town.  A short walk away is the Charles bridge. These two towers are on the on end of the bridge, once you get on the bridge your eyes are assaulted with views from all angles.... and this is at night!!!






View from up in the tower on the Charles Bridge, on the opposite side of the river from our apartment.

It's amazing when you get up there, all you see are church steeples.  So many of them are right across the street from each other.  It's kinda like the old school version of Starbucks in NYC.
Amazing view looking at the Charles Bridge, the Prague Castle and who knows what else!  Our apartment is located just to the the left of the central dome in the picture.





Amazing architecture everywhere you turn.


Old Town square with the Easter Market booths.



Yawn....
This pic reminds me of a pic we have from our "Frog in the Well - Paris" trip.  We were frozen at the end of the night at the Christmas Market's along the Champs.  That's right CHRISTMAS market... it was the end of November, and it was suppose to be cold, it wasn't March 27th....

That was one cold evening.  Walking across the Charles Bridge was savage.  The wind was howling, and it cut right through you.  

It really was an attack on the senses last night.  There is so much to see in this city, we will have to consider adding an extra day to our visit.  

For now, we will enjoy the warmth of comforter....