Czech and Slovakia

From Salzburg, I took the train east to Bratislava, Slovakia. I had exactly one afternoon there and I used it to give myself a completely unguided tour.* I had a map but I mostly ignored it to wander around and guess at what things were.**

The president might live here:

He overlooks this in his courtyard, a symbol of peace around the world.

You can buy high quality souvenirs here:

This gate marks the entrance to the Old Town, a cute formerly walled-in city with cafes, shops, and street performers.

There is a blue church!

After dinner I wandered back to the hotel via a free outdoor concert. They were celebrating the anniversary of Maria-Theresa's birth who did wonderful things for the renown of Bratislava. I have no idea what any of those things were. They played a lovely Mozart Divertimento and the Haydn Emperor Quartet.

The next day I went to Prague, Czech Republic, and rendezvoused with Jessica!

The old town of Prague looks like a fairy tale city with unique buildings that inspired Walt Disney and Magic Kingdom's Main Street. It's also known as the "City of Spires" because there are so many churches popping up over the city's roofline.

There is, of course, a castle. Prague Castle is actually a huge complex where all the various kings of the area took turns adding their own personal touch. The area includes St. Vitus Cathedral and a sprinkling of architecture from different periods.

We also ventured out to Karlstejn Castle, a more traditional castle that was built to house the jewels of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Though the jewels are no longer there***, there is a lovely castle atop a hill. You can even wear it as a hat!

The castle was built by Charles IV, who is so famous and beloved by the Czech people that we learned you are to laugh knowingly when the tour guide asks if you know who he is.**** Included in our tour were two of the chapels within the walls. My favorite things were the ceiling paintings and wall frescos. The room that housed the jewels was covered in gold and ready to stun.

That evening (and other evenings) we partook of some native Czech food. Namely ice cream served in a "chimney" of dough and the original***** Budweiser.

The next day we went to the town of Kutna Hora to see the "bone church." Technically called the Sedlec Ossuary, it is pretty unassuming from the outside.

On the inside, however, it is decorated with the bones of over 40,000 people. Rumor has it that a blind monk became obsessed with arranging the bones and, in doing so, regained his sight. The fact that I found the inside super cool and creative and not terribly creepy is something I'd rather not go into.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon back in Prague learning about the good works of Charles IV and a not-so-brief history of the Czech Republic.****** Highlights included the Velvet Revolution in 1989 when Czechoslovakia peacefully separated from the USSR and the Velvet Divorce in 1993 when the Czech Republic and Slovakia peacefully split into their own nations.*******

Today I am on my last train ride of the trip heading to Krakow, Poland. This ride has also been velvet-y.
-KT

*Or, as I will call my future travel company, MissGuided Travels
**All further Bratislava information is made up.
***They are in Vienna now, of course.
****We took our tours in the wrong order on this trip. The walking tour we took on the last day was way more informative about who Charles IV was and general Czech history. Had we taken that tour before the castle tour, we could have been a bit more with it!
*****Lawsuit pending.
******Or Czechia, as I have been told no one calls it.
*******Traveling = Learning