I’m dubious about the claim that there is no mountain high enough to keep me from getting to you. Perhaps I’m just a milk and water lass but climbing mountains is hard work. I speak from somewhat pained experience. Having gone out under the false pretense of ‘a walk’, I ended up hiking both up and down a mountain. A real one (yes, I’m looking at you Mt Lofty, you falsely-named bump). A large mountain. 1300 metres or so to be non-precise. I trudged up and down arduous terrain, including snow drifts. It was six hours worth of walking. By the beginning of the downward route, every muscle in my legs was quivering. I felt like I had an electrical storm raging in each butt cheek (that should be fun but all it did was make walking difficult). So, having done that and discovered how much effort is required, I’m managing your expectations and telling you that you’ll have to wait for me until they work out an easier way to cross the mountain. That said, the scenery was quite breathtaking and that alone was worth the climb. As a bonus, I have now crossed “climb a mountain” off my bucket list. Photos (of the views, not my butt cheeks) to follow once internet speed improves.
Remarkably, the next day I was able to get out of bed. Much to my shocked delight. While atrophied muscles aren’t usually a tragedy on holidays (who doesn’t love an excuse to stay in bed all day?) I needed to be made of sterner stuff as the next day, I had to tour Prague. Let’s just pause for a moment and consider how cool that is - I went to Prague for a day-trip. Way cool.
So was Prague. Paris of the East they call it and I can see why. The river wending its way through the city is reminiscent of the Seine and the abundance of pale old buildings also echos the Parisian landscape. The old town of Prague is truly beautiful - aided in a large part to the recent flood which resulted in a massive investment in restoring the city. The city is vibrant, with lots of classical music concerts in churches, art exhibitions and tours of the city courtesy of classic convertible cars and romantic horse-drawn carriages (which incidentally, always look more romantic than they actually are - traveling that close to a horse’s behind is usually quite an aromatic affair).
One of the downsides is that the city is packed like a sardine can with tourists. I have major sympathy for any residents trying to live in the city - it’s a nightmare to walk through the hoards. One of the upsides of that is that it isn’t too hard to attach a listening ear to a passing group and pick up interesting tidbits of information without having to bother with an organised tour. Just follow the umbrella, or flower or briefcase raised above head-height to keep the groups together. Our tour leader wanted to bring a pair of undies on a stick as our guiding rod but the group over-ruled her in the interests of not attracting unwanted hangers-on. Who wouldn’t want to join a tour led by undies on a stick? We’d be inundated.
Another downside is the cost. Prague is a very, very, very, very, very expensive city. Someone reminded me of Switzerland when I said it was THE most expensive city I’ve visited. They may have a point - Switzerland was expensive too, but Prague seemed ridiculous even when compared to other European cities I’ve visited. That said, it’s still worth seeing so save your pennies and come over. Let me know when so we can share accommodation costs - there is a Mucha and Dali exhibition that I didn’t get a chance to see which is on the bucket list.
One last thing which deserves an honourable mention from the week that was relates to food. Someone needs to tell the operators of Chinese restaurants in mainland Europe that Chinese food is supposed to taste different to their food. That’s the point of an exotic cuisine! Twice (in two different restaurants) I ate Chinese food that, while was tasty in itself, did not even remotely resemble Chinese food in taste. Can you complain about false advertising in such an instance? So, dear friends, learn from my mistakes and check who is cooking before sitting down to avoid receiving Chinese vegetables that look remarkably like steamed mixed veg in gravy.
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