Exploring Prague, Czech Republic

Once we took care of our London housing needs, we booked travel to Central Europe.  With a few bucket place destinations in mind we booked flights (to Prague and back from Budapest) and booked a few hostels in advance.  14 days of backpacking awaited us.  The rest of the trip was a Tableau Rasa, our blank canvas.

A view of Old Town and Charles Bridge.

Why Prague?

We choose Prague for its beautiful architecture, trendy culture, and tremendous value.  Prague is now a poorly kept secret as an up-and-coming place to visit.  It is quite popular with celebrities and backpackers alike.  The tourism boom has made it full of tourist infrastructure (tours, hotels, transportation) to accommodate the massive hordes of travelers.  While it is not quite as cheap as it used to be, it is still a great bargain relative to western Europe.

Hostel Life

We stayed close to Old Town (main tourist area) at the Advantage Hostel.  The hostel provided a good location from which to walk to many of the attractions.  We also got involved in a number of free activities they offered: cooking night, sangria night, BBQ, walking tours.  It was a great way to socialize with fellow travelers.  We met a couple memorable guys from Australia, Ireland and Scotland.

Exploring Old Town

Prague has an amazingly well preserved Old Town that is remarkable in terms of architectural diversity, size, and density.  In the center of the Old Town is the Town Square.  The Town Square has interesting monuments and historically signicficant buildings.  One of the most popular attractions is the astronomical clock.  It is an incredibly complex contraption that tracks the time, sun, and moon phases through completely mechanical mechanisms.  A few urban legends exist around the clock.  One is that the original builder became distraught with the government and tried to break it.  He died in trying to do so.  It took them around a hundred years to get it operational again.

The Astronomical Clock on the Town Hall

Another more recent legend is that they added elements (like a trumpeter) to the show because many tourists were underwhelmed by the clock experience.  We were not amazed but we appreciated it none the less.

Also in the square was a large and beautiful sculpture of Jan Hus.  He was an outspoken Catholic priest who tried to reform the Church.  He was a key predecessor to other protestants such as Martin Luther.  His followers schism-ed from the Church after his death, leading to three Crusades.  Hus's impact on Prague and the Czech Republic is quite profound.

The Charles Bridge is another popular attraction.  It is both gorgeous and practical as it connects the Lesser Town with the Old Town.  The bridge dates back almost 700 years.  It has on it over 30 Baroque style statues depicting key figures in Christianity and Czech history.  As you cross the bridge on a summer's day you will encounter many tourists, artists selling their artwork and street performers.  The artwork was quite nice and almost too tempting to pass up.

A shot of the Charles Bridge and the Old Town side.

The main attraction on the other side of the bridge is the Prague Castle.  It is the largest Castle complex in Europe and contains a cathedral, a basilica, the presidential offices, small town shops and the former palaces of past Kings and Queens.  The Castle is upon a tall hill that overlooks the city.  This provides many opportunities for great photography.

View of the castle from the Bridge.

View from the Castle looking back at the Old Town.

We took a free walking tour to the Prague Castle.  Our guide was an eccentric local who brought his dog around from the trip.  Our guide also drank no less than 3 large beers and he stopped to talk to almost every local street performer (making our trip a long and memorable one).  His knowledge of the architecture and area was impressive and greatly enhanced our understanding of Prague.

Sneak shot of our Prague Walking tour Guide

The Cathedral was the most impressive part of the Castle complex.  The exterior exhibited a diversity of architectural styles as it was build over the span of 400+ years in fits and spurts.  It's in extremely good condition.  Inside is the resting spot of famous Czech Kings.  The ornamentation, artwork and stained glass windows were impressively detailed and beautiful.

The Cathedral at Prague Castle.  The Gothic Arches were magnificent. 

A sample of the stain glass windows of the Cathedral

Our exploration of the Castle took the better part of a day given it's scope and detail.  Definitely worth a trip if the weather is nice as the views are gorgeous and the exterior detail is something to be appreciated.

Paddle Boating - Better than expected

Megan convinced Jeff to try Paddle Boating on the Valta River.  It turned out to be a fantastic time.  The views were great of Prague Castle, the Charles Bridge, the Old Town and a couple islands in the river.  We enjoyed a few local beers and some local snacks while just enjoying the weather.  It was certainly a fun/silly tourist thing to do.

Czech Food and Beer

Throughout our Central/Eastern Europe trip we wanted to sample the authentic local food and beer.  The Czech food we found was extremely filling and hearty.  Beef Goulash was a popular favorite.  We also had a really good rack of ribs.  In general the tastes were simple with only light seasonings.  The Pilsner style beer owes its origins to the Czech Republic.  We had plenty of those as really reasonable rates.  We both definitely loved the Czech Beer.

Sooo much food and beer.

If you don't like Czech food it's ok.  Don't let that deter you from traveling to Prague.  Prague had a wide selection of restaurants serving quality foods from other cultures: greek, italian, and asian.

KGB Museum - a must see for fans of the strange

Through TripAdvisor we found a few attractions that were off the beaten path.  The first was the KGB Museum.  It's not as much a Museum as it is one man's temple to Stalinism/Soviet Militarism.  You cannot enter the museum until it's host lets you in.  He speak with a Russian accent so strong its comical (think Boris and Natasha from Rocky and Bullwinkle).  Whenever he feels like starting the tour he starts the tour.  First up was photo opportunities.  We took these two gems and many others.  It was intimidating as he repeatedly mentioned how the rifles were so light; simultaneously Megan and I struggled to keep them steady for the photos.

His retelling of Soviet history was unique in its entertainment value as well as it's portrayal of Joseph Stalin as a hero.  The owner iterated that Stalin was still the most popular man in Russia.  During the course of the tour the owner would demonstrate how secret knifes, guns and pens would be used.  It was the least safe we have felt in a while.  But fortunately we came through the tour intact with a greater appreciation of the efficiency and leathality of the KGB.  We also go to see some of Lenin's personal belongings.  As a history buff Jeff loved it and as a connoisseur of bizarre experiences Megan also loved it.

Memorial to the Heroes of the Heydrich Terror

Another Tripadvisor gem was the National Memorial to the Heroes of the Heydrich Terror.  During World War II, Czechoslovakia was occupied by Nazi Germany.  Reinhard Heydrich was one of the key Nazi administrators.  He was one of the most brutal and twisted Nazi Leaders.  The Czech resistance with support of the British government devised a plot to assassinate Heydrich.  They launched paratroopers into the country.  The paratroopers then spent months working with the underground movement to set up their operations.  The assassination was carried out in May 1942 and despite the gun jamming, circumstances worked in the Allies favor and the attempt was successful.  The assassins were far from safe though and they had to hid in a Church in Prague.  The Nazi retaliation was swift and many Czech resistance fighters and their families were killed.  After a lengthy search, the assassins were found in the Church and a lenghty shoot out commenced.  The Czech resistance fighters were forced into the crypt where they ended their lives.  The museum is in the Church and you can enter the crypt where the final moments were.  It's a very well done museum and the crypt was incredibly moving.

Nightlife in Prague

One of our last nights in Prague we explored the nightlife.  We started at one of Prague's traditional beer halls U Fleku.  What we encountered was a legitimate tourist trap.  We were guided to a small room full of tourists and an accordion player.  As soon as we arrived they gave us pints of beer without us ordering.  This was a suspicous sign.  Then came the standoff.

Our waiter came around with shots and gave us two.  We politely declined by saying we were just drinking beer.  Our waiter then insisted we have them because "it was Czech tradition".  Again we politely decined saying we were not interested.  At this point the waiter's tone became hostile and he demanded that we drink these shots. He hovered over our table starring at us.  We stared right back and again refused to take the shots.  For about two minutes this back and forth continued until finally he went away.  It was an incredibly awkward and bizarre experience. We highly recommend everyone avoid U Fleku.

Later that night we went to Karlovy Lanes in the Old Town.  This is Prague's most famous club.  It has five floors and an ice bar.  Each floor had a it's own music and vibe.  For example there was a techno floor that had a sunken dance floor with a Laser show.  There was also a hip hop floor with a dancer (practically a stripper) on a raised clear platform above the crowd.  Our favorite floor was the oldies floor which played a delightful mix of music and had an awesome disco floor that providing limitless entertainment.  We had a great time with our friends Mark and Ryan.

 Megan handing with Ryan and Mark (friends from our hostel)

The Disco Floor!

This club concept gave me an idea for a movie.  In the action genre there is an archetype for a movie where an action hero must ascend a many-storied building defeating bad guys on his way up (see Raid and Bruce Lee's Game of Death - where he battles Kareem Abdul Jabeer!).  What if they combined this format with the dance genre?  Our protoganist is an accomplished dancer who has to dance his way to the top (battling different dancers of different genres on each floor) to win the love of his life?  Well this idea was definitely better in my head, but I think it could be at least as successful as some of the other wacko concepts that come out.

London Highlights from our first week

Before school started we had a bit of time to explore London.  These are some of our initial observations.

The London Eye is in the background.  Note the nice blue sky.

The People

We have found Londoners to be generally friendly.  This friendliness is a bit surprising, as we assumed the British temperament was more pessimistic and closed.  Instead we’ve experienced countless examples of random kindness and warmness.  A few examples: the busy immigration agent who took time to ask us about our trip and education plans, the National Express bus driver who helped us with our luggage on the bus, the random shopkeeper who cracks jokes with us as we checkout, the helpful lady at the Dr's office with a nice sense of humor.  Maybe some of it is the abnormally nice weather or maybe they enjoy our accents or maybe they are just very nice.  We’ll keep our eye on this trend.

We’ve also noticed that everyone has an accent and most of the times it is not British.  The city is incredibly diverse.  Our real estate agent was a mid-twenties woman who came from Poland with her brother with less than $400 and no place to stay.  The local barber is from Algeria.  The landlord is from the Middle East.  London is extremely diverse which makes it a great place to explore new ideas, meet new people and try new customs. 

Carphone Warehouse: Antiquated Name – Great Service

One of our secondary goals for our first week was getting cell phone service.  There are a myriad of companies offering plans of all types (pre-paid, pay-as-you-go, bundled, etc.) from different carriers.  The most helpful vendor ended up being a store called Carphone Warehouse.  These stores are similar to a Radioshack in the US: founded decades ago, carrying all sorts of electronics, and trying to adapt to new technologies.  Fortunately the Carphone Warehouse also serviced mobile phones.  We were able to get a good deal on a SIM card along with helpful service. 

THE Cutting edge in UK shop names.

Sky is the Limit

In the US is it common to groan and complain about cable companies.  Comcast is notorious for horrendous customer service.  Well the British telecom companies don’t appear to be much better.  Since we’ve moved in, we’ve tried to setup internet access.  The plans are opaque, confusing, and structured against a customer’s best interests.  Worst of all installation takes 3-5 weeks.  So for the next couple weeks until Sky installs our internet, we will be getting our connectivity via phone or Wifi from school and coffee shops.  Thanks Sky!  We are also super pumped for that landline we will never use!

Plenty to do

There is a quote “when a man is tired of London, he is tired of Life.”  This seems to be spot on.  We’ve found there is plenty to explore.  On our To-Do lists are the plethora of free museums.  We already visited the Museum of London to learn about the history of our new home.  We also explored some of the weekend markets.  The Portobello Road markets were a mad house of locals and tourists searching for the perfect antique, outfit or tasty treat.  The Camden markets were a mixed bag of overpriced junk and exceptional international food.   Megan got Peruvian ceviche and Jeff got a combo of Jamaican food.  Both were excellent.  We took our food to go and enjoyed it at Primrose Hill with a great view of the London skyline.  

The view from our picnic at Primose Hill.

With so much to do I’ll finish and bid you adieu.

Moving to London

This summer has been busy for us with many new and novel experiences.  Quick recap:

• Mid June - we both quit work

• June 14th - we get married

Our wedding at St. Clement's Church in downtown Chicago.

• Late June – we had our honeymoon in Puerto Rico

We surfed, ziplined, kayaked, snorkled and ate our way across Puerto Rico

• End of June – we began nomadic life with a temporary move to the Osowski lakehouse

Enjoying a bonfire on our last night in the US

• July 4th – we celebrated the wedding of our friends Dave and Kristin in Green Bay Wisconsin (Lambeau field!)

• Early July – we relaxed at the lake cottage while sorting and packing

• Mid July – we vacationed at Cape May for the weeklong Franke family tradition

Hanging with Cece!  One of Megan's amazing nieces.

• July 19th – we celebrated the wedding of Megan's cousin Laura to Eric

At Laura and Eric's wedding with Lucy (the other amazing niece).

• Late July – we finished packing and boarded our flight to London

So that's where we were.  We had a bit of relaxing but also quite a bit of being on the move and off-schedule.  Paradoxically that lack of structure can be exhausting.  We'll look back on it as a special time when we could bond together and spend much of it with family and friends.

London Move Plan

We moved to London during the last week of July.  Our primary goal was to find a flat once we arrived in London.  Afterwards we would utilize the time before school starts to explore London, prepare for school, and travel Europe if time allowed. 

Flat Search

London flat searching is a consuming process that is quite different from US apartment hunting.  The property market in London moves very quickly; for example, flats are listed and rented in the span of days not weeks/months.  This makes online search tools useless as their information is quickly out of date and not representative of the market.  Many folks asked why we didn’t have our housing situation settled before we left, that is why.  There are some of our classmates who rented out places without every stepping foot in them; however, we were not willing to take that risk. 

Thus to avoid being homeless, we rented a temporary private room through Air BnB for eight nights.  The private room rental was underwhelming.  Firstly, we found that this wasn’t a normal apartment but rather an old unit chopped into 5-6 guestrooms that were rented.  So throughout our weekly stay, many other people would come-and-go and also utilize the common space.  Secondly, the common space was tiny.  There was a kitchen with seating for four, and there was a bathroom and a separate shower room.  That was all.  Thirdly, the temperature control was broken.  Our week stay happened to be abnormally hot for that time of year.   Outside it felt like 80 degrees Farenheit, but inside our rental it felt like 95.  Lastly, many of the appliances and household fixtures did not work.  For example, the toilet would break regularly.  The rental’s rough conditions encouraged us to deeply explore the neighborhood and quickly find a flat.  The temporary rental was useful as it was near LBS and our target area. 

Flat Search Process

We found the most effective way to search for flats, was to window shop the rental agencies.  In their windows they would show the units they had for rent with size, location, price and images.  If we liked what we saw, we would enter the agency and begin discussions on what properties they had.  Typically they would then take us on tours of the flats.

Our first day we decided to drop by the rental agency closest to LBS to learn how things worked.  Little did we know that this would end up being the primary agency we would use and the agency that would find us our eventual property.  That first day we saw four units.  Not bad for having landed from our red eye at 7am.  After each flat tour the realtors give you a hard sell by saying “Wow this is such a great deal.  You should make an offer today otherwise you might lose it.”  While this sounds like total salesmen bullshit, it is actually rooted in some fact.  We loved the second place we saw which made us both apprehensive of making an offer without seeing other properties yet nervous about waiting too long.

Eventually we saw eleven properties through four different agencies.  The thoroughness of our search helped us adjust our expectations to the reality of renting in London (small space for really expensive rates).  We ended up still really liking the second place we saw, so we decided to make an offer a few days later.

Making an offer on a flat in London is complicated.  Almost any aspect is negotiable such as: payment amount, deposit amount, payment frequency, furnishings, and utilities.  And once an offer is accepted, there is a period where both the landlord and potential tenants negotiate over a contract through the rental agency.  It took two to three days of waiting with interspersed negotiation.  Just as we were nearing the end of our planned time in London our offer was accepted.

We finally had our London home situation sorted. It took a little over a week with some highs and lows.  Next we were off to explore Europe before school commenced.

Proof we made it to London.