Whirlwinding in Prague

Continuing from my Budapest travel recap.

The next stop on the itinerary was Prague. Adam and I took an overnight train out of Budapest which arrived in Prague around 6:45 AM the next morning. (The overnight train is a whole other story. In short, it was a harrowing experience.)

After arrival, we had a bit of a rough start to our Prague visit. The weather was unexpectedly cold. We hadn't slept much. The place at which we were staying wouldn't be available until mid-afternoon, and in the meantime we couldn't shower or change clothes. Needless to say, we weren't feeling 100%. But we stored our luggage at the reception desk and set out to begin exploring.

Rough start aside, I found Prague to be a stunningly beautiful city. The castles, churches, and architecture were spellbinding. I felt like I was in a fairy tale. Let the onslaught of pictures commence:

View of the Prague Castle overlooking the Vltava River 

The Charles Bridge, which was filled with statues, musical performers, artists, and TOURISTS.

Old Town Square view of the Church of Our Lady before Týn and the Jan Hus Memorial 

Typical street view in the Malá Strana neighborhood

Random hotel, just to give a sense for the ornateness of all of the buildings

Old Town Bridge Tower

St. Nicholas Church in Malá Strana

Nighttime view on the Charles Bridge

Clearly the world has discovered Prague's beauty because it was crawling with tourists. In some streets, there were so many tour groups jamming the paths that you could barely walk. Adam visited Prague 11 years ago, and he says back then it was much quieter.

That first morning in my sleep-deprived, unshowered state, I didn't have a lot of patience for the throngs of tourists. But later, after I was able to get some sleep and clean up, I was in my element soaking in the city's atmosphere.

Here are the highlights of what we saw and experienced:

Prague Castle
The castle area is a complex that includes various areas of worship, a palace, gardens, stables, museums, etc. Here's the entrance, manned by armed guards:

Adam and I spent an afternoon wandering through a circuit which included St. Vitus Cathedral, Old Royal Palace, St. George's Basilica, Golden Lane, and Daliborka Tower.

St. Vitus Cathedral
The outside of the cathedral:

The view after walking through the front entrance:

One of the religious shrines (very much along the lines of what you'd expect to see at a castle, yes?):

One of the stained-glass windows, with a fresco painting on one side wall:

Old Royal Palace

Ceiling bedecked with coats of arms:

View from one of the palace's overlooks:

St. George's Basilica
The apse:

Golden Lane
This area housed a very cool display of armor and armory:

Adult armor and toddler armor???
Or maybe this mini armor is for Tyrion Lannister?

Daliborka Tower

This was a medieval prison. Here, we got to see a wide display of medieval torture devices from the dungeon (literally). The mere sight of these devices gave me the heebie-jeebies:

Adam got a kick out of this chair:

The design gives a whole new meaning to furniture ergonomics, yes?

I am suddenly very, VERY grateful to live in the present-day era.

OK! Now moving on from the Prague Castle...

John Lennon Wall

The John Lennon Wall is a symbol of freedom and rebellion against the communist regime in the 1980's. It's got some interesting history. 

The wall was tricky to find, but worth the search, in my opinion.

Me trying to emulate the expression on the faces of John Lennon painted above me.

Adam liked the "Save The Humans" motif

Side note: There was a number of, uh, obscenities painted on the wall. For purposes of being politically correct, I did my best to pick a photo spot that didn't include anything unsavory - but it wasn't easy!

Astronomical Clock

An ENORMOUS crowd of folks gathered in Old Town Square to watch this clock change every hour, during which miniature figures came out of the little doors. The viewers were similar to a concert gathering.

Food

Adam and I enjoyed getting some local eats from an outdoor market near where we were staying:

A trdelnik stand. Trdelnik is a Czech pastry comprised of dough wrapped around a stick, grilled, then
topped with sugar. It can also be filled with ice cream or other goodies. I had some with Nutella filling.

Similar to Budapest, the outdoor dining scene was very prevalent in Prague. Everywhere we went, there were restaurants loaded with al fresco seating.

For dinner one night, we stumbled upon a local restaurant called U Zlatých nůžek near the John Lennon Wall. It had fantastic Czech food. 

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Here's what I had:

Pork loin with red wine plum sauce and potato pancakes

The next night, we popped into dinner at a restaurant called Kings Court, which was also excellent. Instead of paper menus, they handed out iPads with the menus on them! Very progressive.

This was the view of my dinner companion, along with the restaurant's house-made lemonade:

Old-New Synagogue
We made a quick stop here after seeing some street signs pointing towards its direction. I later learned that this is Europe's oldest active synagogue:

Everything else

To continue my pattern from my Budapest recap, here is a shot from one of Prague's subway trains (their public transit system is also fantastic):

and here is Prague's version of the decorative manhole covers:

[deep breath]

Quite another onslaught of pictures, eh? Once again, thank you for sticking with me if you made it this far!

In summary - I was completely beguiled by Prague. I had heard amazing reviews about it from so many people, and even with high expectations it still captivated me. What an incredible city!

Next on the vacation itinerary: Three days in Vienna

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I am inaugurally linking up with Lauren, Van, Isabel and Marcella for Wanderful Wednesday; and I will be linking up with Chris and Heather; Lauren; Ashley; Amanda and Brian; and Carolann and Macrae for Weekend Wanderlust.

Saying hello to Budapest

Hi friends! Adam and I got back from Europe yesterday afternoon. We were both up and at 'em at 4 AM this morning due to jetlag. It was really nice to be able to knock out an early-morning run without having to drag myself out of bed. In a perfect world I'd hold on to this schedule. But in reality, I know I'll be back to my normal schedule within the next couple of days. Ah well...

The travels to Budapest, Prague, and Vienna were very enjoyable. I have so much that I want to share. And thus begins the challenging process of reflecting and trying to put all the experiences into words and pictures. All around, I am officially in major catch-up mode.

In an attempt to keep things somewhat manageable, I'm going to recap each city individually and in chronological order.

Let's get started with Budapest.

The Budapest Castle overlooking the Danube River

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Budapest. In summary, I found it to be a very beautiful, walkable, livable city. Several travel experts had described it as a hidden gem. Indeed, it has not yet been hit by the mass tourist crowds. However, I strongly expect that will change in the near future as people discover its offerings.

Are you ready for an outpouring of photos? Brace yourselves...

Castle Hill

As the name implies, the area where the Castle is located is called Castle Hill. It includes a bevvy of Baroque architecture, Gothic arches, museums, shops, and restaurants. Adam and I spent an entire afternoon walking around and soaking it all in. Here are some scenes:

Fisherman's Bastion

Typical Castle Hill street

Changing of the guards in front of the Budapest Presidential Palace

Castle Hill is on the Buda side of Budapest. The keyholes at Fisherman's Bastion offered a great view of the Pest side.

Hilltop view of both sides of the Danube River

One of the stunning arches

Fountain in front of one of the museums (I think it was the Budapest History Museum)

Mátyás Templom

The Great Synogogue (aka the Dohány Street Synagogue)

Budapest's Dohány Street Synogogue is the second-largest Jewish house of worship in the world behind New York. Adam and I took a tour of the synagogue, grounds, museum, and surrounding sites, which included a former World War II ghetto, mass graves, and Holocaust memorials.

The outside of the synagogue:

The interior:

During our tour, we also visited the nearby Rumbach Street synagogue - here is its interior:

As you might expect, the Holocaust themes were sobering. In the former ghetto, we saw where groups of 30-35 people were forced to live in a single 1-bedroom apartment. Similarly, I didn't take pictures of the mass graves out of respect, but it was heartbreaking to see the hundreds upon hundreds of memorial symbols standing upon each grave site.

These are two of the many Holocaust memorials:

The Carl Lutz Memorial
A metal plaque next to the monument says:
“He who saves but one man is as if he had saved the whole world”

Side note: Our tour guide was quite an interesting man. He was 98% blind, was originally from Brooklyn, and spoke with a thick New York accent. He was quite knowledgeable while also being humorous. He joked about being able to conduct the tour despite his vision impairment since the buildings never moved (unlike the tourists). In retrospect, I wish I had gotten a picture of him because he is the first thing I remember.

Parliament
Adam and I spent some time hanging out in the neighborhood surrounding the Hungarian Parliament Building. The atmosphere reminded me a lot of Washington DC.

Unfortunately, we didn't have time to tour Parliament, but we did enjoy seeing the gorgeous building. It was also fun to observe all the locals striding around purposefully on the surrounding sidewalks.

Hungarian Parliament Building

Thermal Baths

Budapest sits on a group of of thermal springs, and visiting the thermal baths is extremely popular. Adam and I had to be careful when selecting a thermal bath to use, as certain spas have gender-specific admission days (e.g. men on Mondays, women on Tuesdays, et al). We decided to visit the Gellért Baths (which had recently gone co-ed 7 days a week) based on rave reviews of the cathedral-like setting.

I didn't take any pictures at the baths. Therefore, here are some pictures from the Gellert Baths' website:

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The thermal baths were probably my favorite of all the activities we did in Budapest. It was heavenly to relax in the hot spring water amidst such pretty backdrops.

Food
Adam and I didn't do anything fancy for most of our meals, but we had dinner at one restaurant in particular which was noteworthy. It is called Karpatia and was recommended for its ornate decor and affordable local Hungarian dishes:

Adam and I tried some Hungarian goulash soup and Hungarian stew, among a few other items. Everything was delicious. Here's a picture of the stew, which came with a side of potato dumplings:

Public Transit
As I've mentioned before, I like riding public transit when I'm traveling because I think it gives a nice sense for local life. Budapest's transit system is outstanding. It really puts Chicago's systems to shame.

From the Budapest subway:

Subway station platform

The subway is VERY deep underground. It's a little dizzying to look at the escalators leading into them.

The inside of the train

Everything else
I had mentioned Budapest is a very walkable city. The streets are filled with squares, outdoor cafes, and people milling about. Here's a picture of Váci utca, which is one of the lively main pedestrian streets:

The love for local sports is alive and well:

Since Budapest straddles the Danube River, it's got a lot of bridges. Here's one example:

Adam said Budapest's bridges reminded him of his hometown Pittsburgh.

The landscape even includes castles built into the hilltops:

It looks like Budapest was hosting a White Party when we were there:

Hungary is famous for its paprika, and sure enough there were ample opportunities to buy it:

And finally - just to cap off how beautiful Budapest is, even their manhole covers are artistic:

WHEW!!! That is definitely enough pictures for today, yes? Thanks for sticking with me if you made it this far!

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the two days in Budapest. The explorations there went by very quickly before it was time to head to the next destination.

Coming up: Two days in Prague

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Linking up with Chris and Heather; Lauren; Ashley; Amanda and Brian; and Carolann and Macrae for Weekend Wanderlust.

Aug 29 - Sep 4 training recap

Greetings from Prague! After spending a few days in Budapest, Adam and I took the overnight train to Prague and arrived yesterday. Tomorrow, we are off to Vienna.

The travels have been very enjoyable. Budapest and Prague are both beautiful cities with warm and friendly locals. I'll share more details later on. In the meantime, I posted a few pictures on Instagram.

Since I've been on the road, I missed all of the workout recap link-ups for last week - but here is my belated summary:

MONDAY - 10 minutes stationary cycling, lift 45 minutes
TUESDAY - Yoga class
WEDNESDAY - Mobility 101 class, run 5 miles on the treadmill
THURSDAY - 10 minutes stationary cycling, lift 30 minutes
FRIDAY - Run 3 miles on treadmill
SATURDAY - Rest (traveling)
SUNDAY - Lots of walking in Budapest

Heads up that next week's workout recap isn't going to be very interesting. Every day will just be "lots of walking." Taking a break from the usual gym regimen has been nice. =)

More to come!

Coffee Talk - September edition

Fall is definitely starting to come to town! There's a cool breeze shifting through the air, the days are noticeably shorter, and my eyes and throat are starting to itch from my seasonal allergies. The body knows!

I will be linking up with Coco and Deborah for the September edition of the Ultimate Coffee Date.

The link-up asks, "If we were having [insert choice of beverage here] together, I would tell you..."

Today's post is going to be short because...

It's vacation time!
Tonight, Adam and I are catching a flight to eastern Europe. We'll be visiting Budapest, Prague, and Vienna. Adam's been to Prague before, but I've never been to any of these three cities. I am really excited to be able to experience each of them for the first time. My travel bug has been biting me like mad for several months, so this trip couldn't come fast enough.

While there are certainly plenty of amazing sights to see, I would also be plenty content with just hanging out at sidewalk cafes, absorbing the atmosphere, and watching the world go by.

Side note: I probably won't be blogging much, if at all during this trip. We'll see how things shake out during my down time.

Chicago Local and Hyatt Centric Explorer
On the flip side of vacation, I've talked at length about how much I enjoy exploring all the nooks and crannies of my hometown Chicago. I absolutely love sharing the discoveries with friends, family, and visitors. Therefore, I am so thrilled to be working with Hyatt Centric on a program to provide local arts and culture recommendations to their hotel guests. What a great match!

If anyone needs anything, I am here to help!!!

Getting my running legs back
After undergoing a mobility assessment a few weeks ago, I've been working with a fitness instructor to target some of my weak points. I think it's helped, both physically and mentally. I've learned a few new strength exercises, which has helped shake up the routine and alleviated some rising boredom. My hamstrings, while still chronically tight, are not the daggers they used to be. The slowly expanding range of movement is like a huge breath of fresh air. I'm ready to boogie!

This past Wednesday, I knocked out 5 miles on the treadmill. Normally, 3 miles is about the max I can comfortably tolerate on the treadmill before I start to lose my mind. Forgetting even about the treadmill, this was the best-feeling 5-mile run I've had in months.

All in all, I'm starting to feel like my old self again, and it is wonderful. Thumbs up in all directions!!!

Happy Labor Day weekend, everyone!!!