Czech Republic with eyes and feet
Czech Republic... I wanted to get into this fairy tale country for a long time. It came true.
Preparation: flew from TO "Russian Express". I read a lot of information about the country and the city on all kinds of sites, filled up with questions from "experienced people", looked through the reviews, prepared a description of walking and travel routes to the desired places. In short, ready.
Hotel. In principle - as expected, an ordinary city hotel. Lacked a fridge in the room as the BB option was chosen. Inet paid, sorry. There is a TA in the hotel - a choice of excursions for promotions - on certain days excursions are much cheaper (for example, 65 euros for Vienna with them and 85 - in other agencies). Breakfasts are quite normal. Partitions are thin. In general, the hotel is only for spending the night), which we took advantage of.
Prague. It makes no sense to talk a lot about the city - you have to see it, hear it, feel it with your eyes and feet. A city on 7 hills. . . that's for sure. . By the evening, the legs were walking on their own. . almost autonomously. On the first day, a sightseeing tour was included from TA, so the next day we were already walking along the streets on our own, surprised and amazed. Everything was curious: the arrival of high-speed trams exactly on schedule (to the minute), drinking fountains on the streets, the famous word - "Shame! " (which means "attention" - like "Shame! Children! " or "Shame! Tram! ", tram), signal vests on children during the tour, the uniqueness of houses in the historical center, etc. It must be seen, it is impossible to describe.
Excursions (all entrance tickets are not included in the "travel" cost). Two were taken when buying a ticket: a survey and to Cesky Krumlov (with the castle Gluboka nad Vltava). Guide from the meeting party ("Crystal") Larisa. She spoke competently. We liked. The places are beautiful, inspired, even heavy rain during the tour did not spoil the impression.
We went to Dresden (45 euros) with the Navigator agency, guide Larisa. She has a special attitude towards tourists - condescending, like - "look to the right", "I won't go here" (and a group follows her). This is not a biased attitude, just as a guide she did not behave very professionally. The trip itself is interesting - a new country, its own mentality, historical buildings in the city center burnt by the bombing of 1945.2-story trams, an art gallery in the Zwinger, Raphael's "Sistine Madonna", Lyotard's "Chocolate Girl". There was little time for free time, alas. We paid attention to the large presence of rather elderly tourists and people with disabilities. I drank German beer * did not understand the difference)). I don't know German, it's problematic. I'm tempted to come here again.
A trip to Vienna (65 euros) from the "Express Tour", a tour guide Pani Galina who knows and loves her job (as she herself introduced herself). A small bus, my long legs did not fit, so a long trip - 4 hours one way - was overshadowed by this. The free zone between the Czech Republic and Austria is an "abalden" place for children)) A whole city of free entertainment. A free concert of organ music in St. Stephen's Cathedral (beautiful! ), and the cathedral itself was impressive. In general, it’s beautiful, but somehow I didn’t have time to see the city, everything was running and running. The general impression is erased. To return again does not pull.
We visited the famous Prague Zoo on our own (metro + 1 bus stop, entrance ticket 200 kroons, if you take the complex -280, one ticket for the zoo, botanical garden and Troy). We spent half a day. The largest zoo in Europe inspired me with its size (more than 50 hectares), its location on a hill (when going up or down you can see animals from different positions), the presence of huge enclosures with almost no fences, a large number of cafes for children and adults. And the animals are fed and cared for. I see.
Botanical Garden - within walking distance from the zoo (50 crowns and 25 student). Charm))) Absolutely not like those gardens and parks that I saw. Many people just relax on the silky grass, there are even sun loungers. Located again on a hill, the view of Prague from there is magnificent. We went down from the Botanical Garden down among the vineyard to the Troy Castle with an English park . . Beautiful)) *Closed on Monday, by the way.
On the same day (fortunately the difference is 2 tram stops) we visited the Singing Fountains. There were few people, ticket 220 kroons. It’s beautiful, but there is something to compare with (I saw it better in the Emirates). By the way, the same Larisa ("indulgent") told one of the tourists that it is very difficult to get to this place on your own, "you will get confused there, not knowing the city", offering an excursion from the agency for 25 euros.
Petrzhinsky hill (height more than 300 meters). We reached it on foot, walking from the Charles Bridge along the island of Kapma (at home, like in old fairy tale films). We got to it by funicular (public transport rides operate). Magnificent rose garden. We went up to the observation tower by elevator. The view of Prague from the height of the "Czech Eiffel Tower" is impressive. This famous red tile))))
We found a dancing house... Well, don't know... it somehow looks a little like a ballerina... just an unusual design.
Outcome. In Prague (and the Czech Republic) you can walk a lot and for a long time, there will still be some unexplored places. The city and country are great. They did not fulfill the entire program that we had planned before the trip - they wanted to go to Karlovy Vary and Karlstejn under their own power, they did not manage to try the boar knee (you can’t overcome it without a man, it’s unreasonable to take it with you - there was no refrigerator in the room), etc. Appetite broke out during the trip . . I wanted to get there and here. The muscles are tired, but now any walk after Prague feels easy for us))).
Conclusion - you need to travel, see the world, not look for problems (on a trip, in a hotel, in food), enjoy life in general and in particular.
Have a good rest, "experienced" and just novice tourists))).