This morning we woke up and walked to a Backerei near our hotel, where we ate nice little sandwiches on 'brotchen' and had coffee. Then we packed up our belongings and headed to the Dresden train station, to find a train to Prague. We were both very excited, though also slightly scared, to visit the Czech Republic because of our absolute dearth of knowledge of the Czech language and because the culture is also slightly different than anything we had experienced before. Yet, on we boldly went. We even saw an interesting one-legged pigeon at the train station--the second we had seen so far. The train ride from Dresden to Prague was incredibly beautiful, as the train wound with the course of an adjacent river. We passed by steep cliffs, almost Meteora (Greece)-like in stature and nature, sometimes with grand old buildings perched on top. Little clusters of houses occasionally clung to the valley floor, nestled between the foot of the cliffs and the river. We went through several beautiful cities and a wondrous variety of countryside environments--sometimes reminding me of the Adirondacks, other times of rolling southern Maine or Holland. But on top of it all was blanketed a layer of freshly-fallen snow, adding the finishing touches of beauty to an already stunning landscape.
After arriving in Prague, we found our way to the U-Medvidku Brewery-Hotel, where we had a 'historical room' waiting for us. The brewery was originally founded in the mid-15th century, though the building it was housed in fell into disrepair during the land seizures of the communist period and had to be renovated in the early 21st century (probably the first time I've used the phrase "early 21st century"--weird). After renovation, the hotel built several 'historical rooms' with Gothic ceilings and old furniture--perfect for us! After checking in, we decided to take our now-traditional wander around the city in an attempt to find the old part of town. We got a bit more turned around in Prague than usual, but we didn't mind because the city was really incredible and still has a very distinct and charming old European character--everything from the tiny winding streets to the beautiful centuries-old buildings made for a wonderful someone lost wander. After a bit of a detour, we eventually found the old town square, the old church, clocktower, and Christmas market. We decided against perusing the Christmas market due to our lack of Czech currency (they are still on the traditional Kroner, or 'Crown,' having not yet switched to the Euro-more on that later). Joel recommended we see the clock chime on an hour and conveniently we got to the clocktower just before 4:00. When it struck 4, we were treated to a nice show complete with a trumpeter and old Papal-looking figures who mechanically moved in a circle and looked out a window.
Back to the hotel, we decided to see its old brewery and try out the restaurant. Before I tell about that, more must be said about the Kroners. They are a fairly inflated, archaic currency with an exchange rate of approximately 17 to the US$ (20ish to the Euro, 27 to the British pound). It is very weird to be in a restaurant and see appetizers priced from 60-100 on the menu, but after taking a moment to calculate, you realize you can have a pretty good meal for two (ours came out to 812 Kroner--26 pounds, about half the price of an equivalent meal in the UK)! And it was delicious, too! Allison had potato dumplings with cabbage and I had a Budvar goulash with bacon dumplings--both off the "Czech cuisine" section of the menu. We sampled a few of our hotel-brewery's beers, including one which was more of a dessert wine than a beer and we sipped it as a digestive after our meal. We bought some souvenir beer at the brewery shop, paying with a 10 Euro note and getting 175 kroner in return as change--it feels weird to hold a 100 note in any currency!
Allison's notes from the train ride between Czeska Trubovna and Brno: the countryside is so sad, dark, and beautiful. It makes one think of both war and fairytales at the same time. The broad fields, the deep forests, the small villages--filled with a kind of peaceful poverty not familiar in the West. I feel that I would write poetic novels if I lived here, full of sacrifice and love, all overshadowed by the sacred and terrible beauty of God's creation and the memory of things past."
Our fancy hotel room at the Hotel U Medvidku
Wandering Prague...
Christmas Market in Old Town Square and clock striking 4
The famous Czech 'Crown'...we felt so wealthy, though it was only about 10 US$
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