Automne en Europe 2024

  I messed up with our travel to Zürich.   Initially I had a ticket for us to go to Linz and then onto Munich and from there to Zürich.     However, we had a conversation with an Aussie couple who said they were going a different route and catching the same train from Munich.   I checked with a rail person to ensure we were on the right train and was told to take the same route as the Aussie couple.   It was a bad move.   I thought we were going to Pilsen (where the pilsener beer is made) and changing trains to one that was going to take us to Munich.   When we got to Pilsen we had quite a surprise as   we discovered we were going on a bus.   It left late. We eventually found out that we were catching a train from a small village on the Czech/German border.     The bus went very slowly and we knew we had a train to catch at 10am.   Unfortunately, due to traffic hold-ups and a slow driver we misse...

Walking to the Old Town   It was another nice morning, and we decided we would amble to the old town to do some exploring of that area.   It intended to be a relaxed day.     We had thought of going to the café we had had a nice coffee the previous day but being Monday, it was shut.   A few hundred metres further on we came across another little basement café.   It turned out to have decaffeinated coffee as well as flat white, which seem to be ubiquitous in Germany, Copenhagen and Prague.   We stayed much longer than intended and as it was a nice atmosphere and the coffee was good.   Our coffee place   The Old Town was lovely to explore.   It was maze of narrow streets and alleyways.   It would be very easy to get disoriented and lost.   We came across a little outdoor market selling a mixture of vegetables and tourist tat.   There we purchased one or two small gifts. One of the view from the Da...

  Prague Castle The day dawned bright and sunny.   Our apartment was about two hundred metres from the Vtlava and being a nice day we thought we would walk alongside the river.   It was a good decision as it was a photographer’s paradise or at least this photographer.   The reflections on the water were great and undisturbed by either wind or boats.   It was clearly a place that lots of people walked.     About halfway toward our ultimate destination, the Charles Bridge, Bev spied a coffee shop which required us to take our lives in our hands and negotiate tram lines and car traffic.   The coffee was not too bad although I didn’t get a decaf coffee.   It was water for me.   Bev was happy. Happiness is a cup of coffee and pastry   Soon enough we were near the Charles Bridge and we had to stop for the Dancing House which was built in 1992 . Very interesting architecturally.   The Dancing House   ...

  First views of Prague from near our apartment Our train was due to leave close to midday. Our morning was therefore spent getting the apartment back into order so the Commandant would give us a good rating.   Then it was a walk to the tram stop.   We arrived at the Hauptbahnhof in good time to figure out from what station our train would leave.   Finally the platform was identified.     The train left on time and we had a largely uneventful journey southeast to the Czech Republic.   We had been told that we should visit Dresden by a couple we had met at the French Restaurant.   The train took us through Dresden on the way to Czechia and from a distance it did look quite interesting.   It was one of the number of cities that was devastated by Allied bombing.     The train followed the Vltava river I think all the way to Prague wending its way through a very pretty valley for a couple of hours before we arr...

  Our local residential street - typical of the area It was a relaxed start to the day.   A coffee at our new favourite café and then we caught to the tram to Alexanderplatz to have a look around this massive open area that serves as a gathering area, market area and tram stop.   It was rather colourful and busy. Bev's favourite café   Our destination for the day was the Jewish Museum.   I had heard an interview with a New Zealander who had had part in setting out the exhibition space.   We both thought it would be interesting to see given the impact that the Nazi regime had had on the Jewish community throughout Europe.   The museum consisted of two buildings, one older and another contemporary design.   We spent more time than expected in the museum.   One of the facts that I found interesting is how much the Jewish community had deliberately integrated into German society over the previous centuries.   They saw ...

  Relaxing in front of the Berlin Cathederal We started the day off with a coffee served by the lovely Susan at our local café.   It looked like they had really nice food but they were only open until 3pm and as we were going further afield we would not get to try any.   We took the tram to the Berlin Wall Museum.   It was on the same line that brought us to our apartment on our arrival.   It was interesting getting a bit more information about the wall.   I realised that for some reason the wall had held a lot of fascination.   So many films had featured going across that border adding tension to the movie or TV series.   It also featured in several books that I have read.   What I did not realise was that there were two walls; a back wall on the eastern side and then the larger wall on the western side.   In between was a wide strip of gravel with mines and alarms.   An apartment building next to this one ...