Prague and Vienna

After finishing up my first UK contract at Manheim Auctions at the end of September, I decided it was a good time to go and visit a couple of countries in Europe. On this trip, I decided that Prague and Vienna would be suitable as both places had been recommended as ‘must see’ and they were connected by a train line. 

Arriving in Prague complete with my Czech Koruna I cleared customs and made my way out to the bus stop where I thought I had figured out how to get from the bus to the metro and then on to my accommodation. I thought wrong. Firstly I couldn’t understand how to get a ticket for the bus as all instructions were in Czech and did not accept notes was all I had. I person standing at the bus stop must have seen the look of confusion on my face and told me I could pay the driver for a ticket. I hoped on the bus and approached the driver, he waved me away, looked annoyed and said something in Czech so I took a seat and hoped I didn’t get caught as travelling on public transport without a valid ticket can result in some heavy fines! A voice then announced that there had been disruptions on the bus route so we would have to transfer. I got off the bus with everyone else and managed to work out the correct tram (no metro as this wasn’t working either!) to the correct stop. From there it was a short walk to the hostel. I managed to miss my hostel and turn a 20min walk into an hour’s walk. The street signs and numbers seemed to make no sense to me so I ended up asking a barman for directions, to which he pointed me to the right place. It was time for bed!

The next day I decided to walk around the city of Prague or Praha as it is known in the Czech Republic. I crossed over the Charles Bridge, named after King Charles IV and constructed in the 14^th / 15^th centuries.

From here it was on to the Old town square where the Jan Hus statue dominates the centre of the square and the Old Town Hall Tower, Astronomical Clock and St. Nicholas Church can be found.

I then walked to Wenceslas Square in New Town and had a bite to eat while sitting in the middle of the square (which is actually a boulevard) and watching a tour group point out some buildings. Unfortunately the tour guide was not speaking English so I didn’t get any free info! I then walked down to the statue of St. Wenceslas aka The Good King Wenceslas.

It was about time to head back to the accommodation before finding a place to eat dinner so I travelled back via the Jewish Cemetery. According to halakhah, Jews must not destroy Jewish graves or remove the tombstone. This meant that when the cemetery ran out of space and purchasing extra land was impossible, more layers of soil were placed on the existing graves, the old tombstones taken out and placed upon the new layer of soil. This explains why the tombstones in the cemetery are placed so closely to each other. This resulted in the cemetery having 12 layers of graves.

After a hearty meal of Beef Goulash, Czech style (which by the way is very tasty) I decided to have an early night in as I still had plenty to see in Prague the next day. Awaking to some light rain I was glad I had come prepared with my raincoat. I took a short walk up to Prague Castle. The Castle includes Gothic St Vitus Cathedral, Romanesque Basilica of St. George, a monastery and several palaces, gardens and defence towers.  Two guards stand at the entrance to the Castle and there is a changing of the guard that takes place. Having seen most places of interest I decided to spend the day walking around and going further afield then I did the day before.

Making my way to the central rail station in Prague, I boarded my train to Vienna. A note here, if in Prague, buy your ticket from the station in Czech Koruna as it is cheaper than buying a train ticket online. 

The train ride highlighted some of the poorer areas of the Czech Republic and was quite a pleasant journey through some beautiful country scenery. The train had a restaurant cart on board where I had a coffee and sandwich. Arriving in Vienna I got myself a 72hour public transport ticket which allowed me on all forms of public transport and made my way to the hostel. Once again I managed to turn what should have been a 5 min walk from the nearest station into an hour’s walk by getting off at the wrong station. I dropped my bag off at the hostel and headed out for dinner. I found a restaurant serving Wiener Schnitzel and Austrian beer! Perfect! After eating I started chatting to a couple over from Australia about their travels before heading back to the hostel and the hostel bar! I had a great night chatting to a couple from America, a guy from Leeds and a group of 18 year olds from Germany, the Austrian beer is  strong but thankfully also quite cheap.

Suffering from a minor headache from the night before I was very thankful for the sunshine and blue sky. I took a walk into the city and made my way to the following points of interest: The Imperial Palace – Hofburg, St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Inner City Parks, National Theatre, Vienna State Opera, Mozart Memorial Statue and the Austrian Parliament Building.

A lunch of Apple Strudel at Cafe Central, where Sigmund Freud and his friends used to meet to discuss intellectual matters was in order. It was a lovely building and I can see what you would want to spend some time there. Back onto the Tram to travel out to another park where I could just lie in the sun and watch the planes fly across the sky.

Feeling fully relaxed I hopped back onto the tram to be nearer my accommodation. This tram ride was a bit more eventful than the others. At one stop, 2 burley young guys in casual clothes got on and they looked like they spent a lot of time in the gym! When the doors shut they said something in German which I can only assume was ‘Show me your tickets’ and everyone pulled their tickets out for inspection. Luckily I had done the right thing and didn’t get in trouble as this could have been a different story if it had of happened in Prague!

I had a quiet night in as I was up early the next day to catch the train back to Prague and then a flight back to Leeds. My first real taste of Europe was eventful and educational so I’m looking forward to getting back there soon to experience the different cultures, especially the foods!