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Trip start
May 21, 2024
Czechia Traveler
Day 132: Vienna Sprint & Czechia Cats
May 21, 2024 in Czech Republic ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F
Determined to see more Vienna, we woke up early and executed a downtown speed round to see as much architecture as possible. The Hapsburgs and Austrians really love their grand buildings, gothic churches, and large plazas.

We hit all the spots within two hours, checked out, and grabbed a train to Czechia. Full disclosure: we had zero plans and expectations for Czechia. This country would be 100% last minute planning. The train snaked through the Moravian country side with little houses, farms, and rivers. It was serene and got us excited for the remainder of our time.

We arrived in Brno and hit a pub while waiting to check in. Our next accommodation was an Airbnb for cat lovers only. There were five cats: Muff, Indie, Morris, Rosali, and Frodo. Muff and Indie were the most friendly and snuggliest. They didn’t like closed doors so they entered and exited our room as they pleased. We didn’t mind.

Also attaching a picture of Dobby the friendly chihuahua who desired attention while we did laundry at a local mat.

Restaurants:
Café Stein in Wien
RESTAURANT&PUB PADOWETZ

Food:
Summer Omelet
3 Types of Schnitzel
Bohemian Beef Noodle Soup
Beef Cheeks with Potato Purée

Spots:
Rathaus der Stadt Wien
Votivkirche
Maria-Theresien-Platz
Ferdinand-Raimund-DenkmalRead more
2 likes
Czechia Traveler
1
Day 133: We Don’t Talk About Brno
May 22, 2024 in Czech Republic ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F
Brno, the second largest city in Czechia, is in the heart of the Moravian wine region and considered a UNESCO Creative City. Quirky might be a better adjective because we definitely got weird and explored it’s more unique attributes, thanks to Kieran and his research.

We started our day at the “vegetables only” market in the town square, which sold fruits, veggies, and plants. The lines were long as strawberry season hit the region and each person walked away with a basket. Eventually found a food truck that served crispy chicken sandwiches the Czechian way (pickled lettuce / mustard) while blasting American 90s hip hop and some Czechian rap songs.

Next, we hit an old air raid/nuclear fallout bunker 10-Z which opened its doors in 2016 for public tours. It had been classified top secret up until 1993. The tour allowed you to wear old coats and gas masks, and people could actually book it as a hotel accommodation. We loved watching museum videos explain each room and how it worked to sustain 600 people. Mary lived her best “Chernobyl” life and we accidentally scared some middle schoolers who turned the corner while we had the old clothes on.

Next we visited the St. James Ossuary which is the second largest catacomb in the world behind the catacombs in Paris. They discovered the ossuary in 2001 and left one portion completely intact so visitors could see how many bones were stacked up when discovered. Only 15-20% of the original contents remain after they cleaned the catacombs, buried the remains, and opened it for viewing. It was absolutely insane to be amongst so many bones and the government did a wonderful job respecting the dead while educating visitors to the ossuary. 10/10 experience.

While walking downtown, we found a craft brew store / tasting room and planned to hit it in the evening. The owner quickly noticed we loved craft beer and walked us through his collection, offering recommendations and giving great history on the creators. He had beers from Romania, Poland, Estonia, and local to Czechia. He also loved barrel aged stouts so Kieran hit it off with him naturally. He convinced us to buy 6 beers after our long conversations and each one was excellent. Our favorite was a Polish Brew Master who traveled around the world to find old barrels to bring them back and brew very small batches.

On the way home we passed a spontaneous nighttime sea themed event. It added more evidence that Brno was truly an individualized and quirky city.

Restaurants:
Būcheck
CRAFTBEER Bar & Bottle Shop Solniční
New Era Restaurant

Food:
Crispy Chicken Sandwhiches
Traditional Chinese Food (we needed a break from European food)

Spots:
Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul
Brno Vegetable Market
Bunker 10-Z
St. James OssuaryRead more
Traveler WOW
5/29/24Reply
2 likes
Czechia Traveler
Day 134: Hockey & Rest in Prague
May 23, 2024 in Czech Republic ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F
We took our time cuddling with the Brno Kitty Cats in the morning and the train to Prague was delayed so we got into the city quite late. However, we had no idea that the International Ice Hockey World Championships were being held in Prague. In Innsbruck, we saw the Canada vs Austria game and today the USA would face off against Czechia!

Found a pub two blocks down from our hotel that had the game on; snatched the last true dinner table while many young fans went downstairs to a standing bar only. We tried the local dishes and drank beer/Moravian wine while watching the game. Kieran decided to cheer for Czechia and it eventually became a betting competition with shots. Mary lost the bet for who would score first and then also lost the whole game. Hilariously, the TV upstairs was lagging behind so we know there would be a Czech goal when everyone downstairs screamed and slammed fists on the table. Thought the USA was good a hockey…guess not ⛸️🏒

Hotel: Hotel Assenzio

Restaurants:
Krušovický bar
Legenda

Food:
Kulajda (mushroom soup)
Schnitzel
ChurrosRead more
2 likes
Czechia Traveler
4
Day 135: Prague Old Town
May 24, 2024 in Czech Republic ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F
Despite weather forecasts for severe thunderstorms and “take shelter immediately”, we had a lovely day in Old town Prague.

We first visited the Astronomical Clock which was built in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world. It’s still in operation. We arrived at the top of the hour and enjoyed the little character show and bells. The Church of Our Lady before Týn and surrounding buildings around Old town Prague mixes gothic architecture with rainbow pastel; we really digged that vibe.

Crossed the Charles Bridge bridge and Vltava river and saw a weird beaver like river animal; it could have been a rat. After seeing the Prague Castle, we visited the oldest tavern in Prague which opened in 1375. The severs were gruff and created a medieval like atmosphere by insulting us and getting us to drink more dark beer. The pub was in the basement and lit with candles so we felt the 14th century atmosphere.

Restaurant:
Zrno Zrnko Coffee Place
Medieval Tavern "U Krále Brabantského"
Restaurant Na Brezance

Food:
Baked Camberete
Goulash with Dumplings
Beef Tartare
Gnocchi

Spots:
Prague Astronomical Clock
Church of Our Lady before Týn
Charles BridgeRead more
Traveler Interesting
5/29/24Reply
Traveler Is that TarTar?
5/29/24Reply
TravelerYes it is! The waiter made fun of me because I only ate the meat and didn’t use the bread basket he provided lol
5/30/24Reply
Traveler lol
5/30/24Reply
2 likes
Czechia Traveler
3
Day 136: Dêčín & More Hockey
May 25, 2024 in Czech Republic ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F
Reaching our big city limit, we ventured into North Czechia to access the Bohemian Switzerland National Park. Dêčín is the recommended home base for this region with its train and bus access as well as lively pubs and restaurant choices.

The World Ice Hockey Championships were still running and we knew Canada would be facing Switzerland while Czechia would face Sweden. We set out to explore the town and locate the perfect bar with food to watch the Canadian game in the evening. The Czechia game was on as we passed bars and could hear the locals cheering and celebrating. They beat Sweden 4 to 2.

We walked through Podmolky, up the Elbe river, and over to downtown Dêčín. The walk also took us along a huge highway and camping location that provides full tent set up and local tours. In total we walked aimlessly for two hours before heading back home for dinner.

The bar we selected for the Canadian game was locals only and had a townie feel. The best part was a very old drunk man who kept talking to us in Czechian. It didn’t matter how many times we said, “Nei Czechian”, he still wanted to talk. Kieran resorted to laughing and saying yeah every once in awhile and it made the old man smile and talk more! Eventually the old man’s friends sat down and he got distracted.

Sadly the Canadians didn’t too very well and it came down to a shoot out. Everyone in the bar cheered for Switzerland except for us. It could be a Europe VS North American thing or they wanted the Swiss to win so Czechia could clobber them later on. Canada lost in the end 😞 At least we only paid $12 USD for 5 beers, 3 glasses of wine, and a shot 🫠 Before leaving, we said goodbye and “Go Czechia” to our old man friend and he was elated.

Restaurants:
Bar U Prince

Spots:
Podmokly
Děčín
Tyršův Most BridgeRead more
Traveler The town seems so empty!
5/29/24Reply
TravelerThey were all at the bar watching hockey! I’m not kidding!!
5/30/24Reply
Traveler Hard core fans!
5/30/24Reply
2 likes
Czechia Traveler
1
Day 137: Bohemian Swiss National Park
May 26, 2024 in Czech Republic ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F
The “Switzerland” National Park shares its forest and geology between Germany and Czechia. In Czechia, the area is called Bohemian Paradise Swiss National Park while the German side is called Saxony Swiss National Park (don’t asks us where the Switzerland comes from).

We rode a bus up to a little town called Hřensko which is the last Czech town before the German border. The Elba river we drove along is a border as well, one side German, other side Czech.

We hiked up to Pravčická Archway which experienced major forest fires last year. It was devastating but also really cool to see all the burnt logs in this hilly area. They even used burnt logs to create trail borders for the hike.

Once you reach the top, there is a entrance fee and the ability to hike around the cliffs and arches. Unfortunately some hiking trails were closed due to the fire and the fear that trees could fall on people. We hike back down and decide to walk back to Hrensko along a little creek. The town was very cute, but also a tourist trap with lots of duty free stores. We swear Germans and Czechians probably come here often for the tax free alcohol.

Spots:
Bohemian Paradise Swiss National Park
Pravčická Archway
HřenskoRead more
Traveler Beautiful area!!
5/29/24Reply
TravelerImpressive rock features!
5/31/24Reply
2 likes
Czechia Traveler
1
Day 138: Into an Impromptu Canoe Trip
May 27, 2024 in Czech Republic ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F
We had the option to go back into the Bohemian Paradise National Park to do a few more activities, but struggled a bit to locate a new hike that was easily accessible (less than a two hour bus). Mary, with her love of water, started looking into canoe and kayak activities in the region and lucky enough, it was possible to canoe the Elba river. Furthermore, the camp we passed on the highway overpass two days ago offered canoe rentals!

The catch was the only canoe rental option had a set time and was starting in 50 minutes. GO TIME.

We scramble to brush our teeth, deodorize, pack our bags, hit the store for sandwich making material/beer, and walk 20 minutes to the canoe rental pick up. We kill it and arrive with 10 minutes to spare. No one else signed up for reservations so they asked us to wait until 1pm for the canoe guy to show up and unlock the canoe shed. It was no problem and we were extremely grateful; used the time to call Mary’s parents who were casually awake at 4am for no reason and was messaging us ☠️

With our paddle and canoe in hand, we floated down the Elba river and made jokes by switching over the German and Czechian border many times. We saw some good ducks, turtles, and cranes. There are ferries along the river that pedestrians use to cross between bus routes and train. At times, it felt like we in a model train set with the mountains, little houses, and trains bussling by the river. We ended in Schmilka, which was on the German side. We walked back over the border back to Hřensko and passed an abandoned border station.

Solid day of impromptu canoeing!

Spots:
Elba River
Schmilka
HřenskoRead more
Traveler Hard to believe you are in another country.
5/29/24Reply
2 likes

Trip end
May 27, 2024