Czech-mate

Von nzvr4poker, 15.06.2009, 1804 Aufrufe, 11 Kommentare | Kommentar hinzufügen

The trip from Austria’s capital city Vienna to Prague took four and a half hours by train. I had my first interesting experience of life in the Czech Republic when I withdrew some money from the ATM machine at the train station. I was approached by an old man who I presumed asked if I could give him money in Czech and I just pleaded ignorance and walked off. After a 30 minute taxi ride from the train station in the north of the city, I arrived at my hotel near the Old Town (Stare Mesto).

I wandered out from my hotel around 10 pm to see what Thursday night would be like in Prague. The friendly hotel receptionist recommended that I go to the famous Karlovy Lazne (famous five-floor night club which is Europe’s biggest club) and a smaller club called Roxy. I made my way to the colossal Karlovy Lazne club and decided to get my bearings. Each level was a different theme with floors ranging from 80’s hits, to heavy metal, dance hits and new chart hits. I settled on the 80’s floor and met some awesome groups of people including a group of Australian’s who were on tour and some local girls who were very friendly.

I decided to change scenery and go to Roxy. Three Italian guys were heading towards the club. I told them that I was from New Zealand and they had an interest in rugby and the New Zealand "All Blacks" just like me. Roxy was a bit of a letdown and so we decided to go on the hunt for some better clubs. Prague has a very large number of bars and clubs on its array of pavement-clad streets for tourists and locals alike to enjoy. One of the bars we stumbled across was called Coyote and was run just like in the movie with barmaids dancing on the bar. The maids would pour a drink mixture into the patrons’ mouths and they would squirt water on the boisterous crowd.

After retreating to my hotel room for some much needed rest I chose to sightsee on Friday afternoon. I took my trusty camera and started at the very famous Charles Bridge (Karluv Most). After grabbing a quick meal over the other side of the bridge I resumed my self-guided tour. I walked up a series of steep roads and then a big flight of stairs that led to the Old Royal Palace (Stary Kralovsky Palac). From the gardens of the Palace I was able to see some great panoramic views of the greater Prague city area. I hopped on a tram and continued on to check out the Prague Castle (Prazsky Hrad). The castle was a marvelous piece of architecture; grand and beautiful.

I took the tram back down the hill and back across the Vltava river getting off back at the Charles Bridge. Continuing with my tour I returned to the Old Town to the scene of my adventures from the previous night. I took some photos of the majestic St. James and Tyn churches as well as the remarkable clocks featuring on the Old Town Hall (Staromestske Radnice). While I was in the Old Town I registered with a pub crawl that was set to kick off one hour later.

I returned to my hotel to upload the photos on the computer and have a quick chat with the effervescent receptionist, before embarking on another night on the town. On the way back to the Old Town, I just missed seeing a robbery at a convenience store that had obviously shocked a group of bystanders leading to a large police presence in the area.

A small group of people were at the meeting spot near the town hall for the pub crawl and we all peddled on a circular multi-direction bicycle to the first pub location. On arrival, everyone registered their details and received a shot of Prague’s famous absinthe as well as a beer or house wine. For the first two hours vodka and cranberry shots, as well as beer and wine were all included in the small flat fee we paid prior to the tour commencing. Each of the five famous Prague pubs and night clubs that were on the tour would give us a welcome shot or drink.

After arriving at the first pub I got to know two younger guys who were from Norway. We spoke about the similarities of New Zealand and Norway and indulged in lots of alcohol. A guy from Australia started chatting to me and the two of us ventured over to another table. At the table three Argentinean girls chatted to us and told me of their love for New Zealand’s national rugby team - "The All Blacks".

Our time was up in the first bar and the group of 30 or so of us made our way to the second bar. I introduced myself to a group of Germans and a large group of American girls. The groups combined and we danced before moving on to the next two clubs. The final destination was the Karlovy Lazne, which I was already familiar with due to spending time there on my first night out. Because it was a Friday night it was packed and I was able to mingle with lots of people. After having some more drinks and dancing for a few hours I sensibly got some rest before my flight back to Italy.  

Saturday morning saw an early flight from Prague to Milan-Bergamo with low cost airline SkyEurope. From Bergamo I took the train to Brescia and then on to Venice where I stayed the night before my long journey back to Australia.

Here are my photos from Prague. 

Prague’s famous Charles Bridge (Karluv Most).

A Charles Bridge (Karluv Most) tower.

Another Charles Bridge (Karluv Most) tower.

The Old Royal Palace (Stary Kralovsky Palac).

A steeple rising above the Old Royal Palace (Stary Kralovsky Palac).

The front entrance of the Old Royal Palace (Stary Kralovsky Palac).

Prague’s Old Town Hall (Staromestske Radnice) clock.

The front of the Old Town Hall (Staromestske Radnice).

The grand Prague Castle (Prazsky Hrad).

A view out over Prague city from the grounds of the Old Royal Palace (Stary Kralovsky Palac).

Another view of Prague city showing the European Union and Czech Republic’s flags.

The beautiful St. James’s Church.

The stately Tyn Church.

A couple of views of Prague’s Vltava River.

In my next entry I will recap my recent trip to Melbourne to play at the Melbourne Poker Championships. Until then have a good week.