After Jonathan had left Yerevan for Milan after our two week trip, I had a wait at the airport before flying to Prague. Here’s a rather lovely artwork that was recovered from the Spitak earthquake in 1988.
There was a large seating area at arrivals which had comfortable seats, tables and power points. It wasn’t clear whether this was part of the seating area for the restaurant, but I thought that if it was they’d come over and I’d buy a coffee. One hour and twenty minutes later, a staff member came over asking what I’d like, so I requested a menu. Twenty minutes later the menu was delivered to the table, and as no-one had returned for another forty minutes, I left for my flight.
It’s not possible to use a digital boarding card as in most airports, so I had to wait for the bag drop desk to open to collect my boarding card. This is a free process and it was all suitably efficient.
After a lounge visit, which I will return to in another post, it was time to board.
Boarding the aircraft, which was registration HA-LDH, an aircraft that I don’t think that I’ve been on before.
Waving goodbye to Armenia, after a really fascinating trip to the country.
In the background is the Government’s aircraft, an Airbus A319-100 which the Republic of Armenia has used since 2007.
I had been a little disappointed that the seating Gods had given me a middle seat, but with some rearrangement, I was able to move to an aisle seat.
The airline’s planned new routes and I hope to go on some of these.
The flight was, yet again, without any incident. It was over three hours, which is about as much as I can cope for in a Wizz Air aircraft, but the crew members were professional and it was all clean and comfortable. I have very little to comment on here as Wizz Air really have everything done to a fine art and nothing was of note. The pilots gave useful updates in their announcements, including an update en route and also details of the weather and other such things.
After having arrived in Prague, the introduction of the EES system was causing delays at the border for, mostly, UK residents from other flights. I’m already registered on the system and I was at the desk for just twenty seconds, but there was a wait whilst others were processed.
And safely through border control and ready for a couple of days in Prague.
After a quick visit to Carrefour for snacks, I embarked on what was the longest rail journey that I’ve taken in Europe (I went for over 24 hours in the US….) from Warsaw to Budapest. Here’s the display screen at Warszawa Centralna, with the departure being second from top on the right-hand screen.
Waiting at Platform 3.
Here’s the train layout, and I had gone for first class as it wasn’t much more expensive as I’d booked it at the last minute.
It’s all happening now with the departure board on the platform updating to show the train. I had a flight booked for very early the next morning, so if something went wrong here, it would be hard to resolve. Well, hard to resolve cheaply anyway.
The train after it had pulled into the station and I was glad to see it.
I was disappointed that it was a compartment train, it wasn’t meant to be and I assume it was swapped in at the last minute. These are old fashioned and being removed from the rail network with a preference for open seating which feels safer. It transpired that the lady in the window seat (who had briefly left the compartment when I took the photo) was only going a short distance, so I had that window seat with table for nearly all of the journey. This did make me happier at matters as I do like a table for my laptop.
I switched this down to cold at the first available moment.
A view down looking at the compartments. There was a refreshments carriage next door, but it didn’t look very exciting.
For a long time, it was just me (and my bag and laptop) in the compartment, although a couple came in later on and were annoyed it was a compartment train.
Being in First gives no luxuries other than a free bottle of water and a little more space. It was a nice bottle of water to be fair as far as these things go.
Not only was I going from Poland’s capital to Hungary’s capital, but the train also stopped in Slovakia’s capital of Bratislava. I must admit that I was tempted to get off here as it’s one of my favourite cities, but that would have caused me some logistical issues….
And here’s the train in Budapest Nyugati railway station at the end of the journey. I did take a lot of photos of stations en route, to remind myself I quite fancy going to some of those locations (Ostrava in the Czech Republic looked interesting which has the nickname of Black Heart which I like), but there were no great pieces of scenery that I felt the need to photograph. There were a lot of fields though.
And safely in Hungary.
Overall, I rather enjoyed gazing out of the window for hours, but there was no wifi and the phone connection was poor for much of the journey. It’s generally cheaper by plane, it’s obviously quicker and ultimately much more convenient. Flying isn’t though very environmental and there is a push towards more long-distance trains, although this was 11 hours in total so it’s hardly a fast-paced arrangement.
The cost was relatively expensive for European rail at £50, although as an experience it was worth it. But, there’s going to need to be modernisation here, basic things like allowing for ordering food and drink on the train for either collection in the refreshments car or delivery to the compartment. I had no idea when meal service was, they needed to be clearer about that. They also do need wifi, although they did have power outlets and they were useful.
I had eight ticket checks during the journey, which is excessive by any means. The US system is better here, they check tickets on entry and write the journey on a card above the seat. I also didn’t like the compulsory reservation system, I was lucky to have a quiet carriage because there were no-shows, but I’d rather just sit where there’s space and not be tied to a certain seat (although I had moved across one from my middle seat I had been allocated). I thought that it all went quickly, so I certainly enjoyed the restful nature of the whole arrangement.
The whole thing felt a little old-fashioned and there’s a place for that, but I can’t see passenger numbers ever soaring for services like this unless they can speed them up a bit and make them more comfortable and modern. However, there is a sleeper version of this service so you get a choice between the two trains and that makes more sense in terms of time efficiency. However, I wanted to look out of the window at things as this was more of an experience.
The train arrived into Budapest just twenty minutes late, which isn’t bad given the complexity of going across four countries, namely Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. There were announcements throughout the journey, just about all of them in English. The service is run by České dráhy, who are the national rail operator in the Czech Republic, and I’d say that this sort of long-distance train service is certainly an experience worth trying at least once. So all really rather quite lovely and a reminder that I’ll take more trains on the European mainland.
Carrying on from the previous post, this is now late Wednesday evening. After a hot day of public transporting around Prague, I arrived four hours early at the airport, ready for my 21:15 flight back to London Heathrow with British Airways, albeit operated by Finnair.
The security process at Prague Airport is just before boarding, so I was able to get to the Mastercard Lounge quickly and without delay. The staff member politely mentioned that entry was only allowed two hours before my flight, but then she asked who I was flying with and when I said British Airways, she said I could enter immediately. I don’t know whether BA offer a higher rate than lounge pass schemes such as Priority Pass, but I was very appreciative.
I was here a few months ago with Richard, but that was a morning flight and this was one of the last flights of the day, so there was a different feel to the arrangements. It was all clean and organised, there’s a self-serve soft drinks machine, snacks in the fridges and self-pour alcohol. They had a separate beer fridge with a couple of choices in it, nothing exceptional, but perfectly acceptable given it was free. I’m not at all picky when stuff is free, I’ve noticed I’m more inadvertently generous on Untappd. Nathan would no doubt tut at my lack of consistency….
The two hot options were pasta and chicken drumsticks. It seemed an odd choice for a lounge, as the chicken was a little greasy and they were going to end up with bones dotted around the place on places. However, I wasn’t let down with the taste of the chicken, although the pasta was a bit bland.
The food menu and the meat platters were rather lovely.
It’s a relatively large lounge, although it wasn’t particularly busy when I was there. They have very few power outlets, although I was fortunate to find one as I did need my devices fully charged given that I might not get chance later on. They had views over the runways, although no power points in those areas of seating. They also have unlimited popcorn…..
The seating was comfortable, it was practical for those with laptops and the like, although there were some more comfortable chairs for people who prefer just to relax and not always sit and stare at a screen as I seem to.
The flight was showing as delayed by one hour, but after three hours in the lounge I thought that was enough, so I meandered over to the gate. There was plenty of seating available, with a few power points dotted around.
The boarding process was efficient and customers were called in group order.
There’s the Finnair aircraft, which BA are wet leasing as they seem to have managed to not have enough of their own, a situation which seems far from ideal.
And as it was the Finnair aircraft, I opted for my favourite seat with lots of legroom.
Excellent crew again, although the Finnair cabin crew nearly always seem very professional and personable. I had the entire row of three exit row seats to myself. Whilst I was in the lounge, I had received a message from British Airways saying that there would be no catering on board the flight due to operational reasons. I had another chicken drumstick to fill me up in case there was no mini bags of crisps and water on board. It transpired they had water, but no crisps, which I could manage without, although I’m not sure that the Club Europe passengers would have been quite so impressed as they get meals provided. The crew said that the catering lorry couldn’t reach the aircraft due to a crash at Heathrow, which meant that they didn’t have their food either, so they were wondering where they could eat at nearly midnight at Heathrow.
We arrived into C Gates of London Heathrow about thirty minutes late, although I was in no rush. It’s not ideal to be at C Gates usually, as it’s quite a walk as the internal trains don’t run when it’s close to midnight. But I was in no rush and I like walking.
The UK border was moderately busy, but their automated machines were rejecting a lot of people, including myself, which meant a bit of a queue as there weren’t many border control officers. They were doing some quite detailed checks on some people entering the country, but I was waved through after a cursory check of my passport. I tried to look and act as British as I could in case they thought I pinched someone else’s passport or something.
As my flight was arriving late, I decided against a hotel in London, which at the moment are ridiculously priced compared to what they were. I had a great idea of just getting the 06:00 train from London to Norwich, which was £10, and getting the night bus from Heathrow into central London. That meant I wanted my devices fully charged, so this was the arrangement I set-up for myself, I found the chair and moved it towards the power points and refused to leave (not that anyone asked me to) until everything had full battery. This travel isn’t as easy as people think when there’s a fear of devices without power….
The arrivals floor at Heathrow T5, not very busy at night. For anyone who wants to stay the night at the terminal, it’d be on this level, they remove people from the departures floor. It’s not particularly comfortable, but there’s power, wifi, toilets and I think one of the shops stays open overnight.
I was pleased that the weather was overcast and not too hot.
Heathrow still have no date of when pedestrians can walk into the terminal, something they’ve currently banned from doing, although cyclists can cycle in from next year when the tunnel reopens. The free travel zone has been scrapped and they’ve introduced this new drop-off fee, all adding to the expense for many people. But, Heathrow have shareholders who need cash…..
I’ve never caught the night bus N9, but it’s a bargain really at £1.65 to get from London Heathrow to Trafalgar Square.
The bus timetable if anyone should want it, but the services are regular throughout the night and it’s an 85 minute journey from one end to the other.
On time and not very busy.
The passengers who boarded were just using the bus to get to T3, so I was on my own on the bus for a while after that. Well, with the driver obviously as I’m not sure what my bus driving is like…. (although, I have driven a bus without incident when the driver let me near Cromer, but I’m not sure that was entirely within the rules so I best not go too far down that line). It was a very peaceful journey and it’s actually really quite nice to be able to watch the city go by without stopping at literally every bus stop. There was a mixture of night workers coming back from work, going to work, some early morning commuters, party-goers and travellers.
The pub was badly damaged by fire a couple of weeks ago and it looks very serious in terms of the repairs that will be needed.
It was gone 03:00 by this time and I was surprised just how many people were still around Nelson’s Column and Trafalgar Square. It all felt safe and non-threatening, although I was careful taking photos as I didn’t want any mugging incidents.
The Royal Courts of Justice. I had intended to pop into the 24 hour McDonald’s on the Strand to kill an hour, but it was at near capacity and I didn’t want all that raucous noise and party excess. I’m over 30 now and can’t be dealing with that.
St. Paul’s Cathedral and it was a real treat to walk across the city when it’s so quiet, it feels like such a different place. Buses still shuttle around the city, so it seems alive and energetic, but yet with a sense of calm.
The Royal Exchange.
It took me around 40 minutes to walk across London, so I arrived at London Liverpool Street at 03:45. I’ve never seen the railway station all locked up, but the side entrance to McDonald’s was open so I thought that I’d get a little snack.
Back in the day, there used to be seating in this McDonald’s, but this is it now, just self-ordering kiosks. They were all switched off and I wasn’t sure what to do, but a security guard came up when I looked confused and got a crew member to come and take my order at the counter.
McDonald’s probably wondered what they’d do with the £1.80 I gave them for two burgers….. But just as I had finished, the gates of London Liverpool Street railway station swung open at 04:00.
It’s not often the concourse is so quiet.
By now it was 04:02 and the first train out is at 04:40 to Stansted Airport, which is where most of the waiting passengers were heading I think.
It’s very hard to get a photo of this statue as there’s often rubbish on or around it, and it’s also used as a seat or somewhere to lean against. I don’t entirely like this sculpture here, it’s not prominent enough and I hope they can rearrange things a bit. Note the uncomfortable seating behind it designed to avoid anyone homeless sitting on it.
I sat down for an hour in view of where the new Greggs will be opening soon.
There was nearly no-one around after the first train to Stansted Airport had gone.
I was pleased to see that this wasn’t the Stansted Express with no tables.
This wasn’t a busy service at all. I managed to fall asleep as soon as the train departed, but was conscious that the train guard was checking tickets nearly straight away as there were so few of us on the train.
And safely into Norwich Railway Station at 08:00. The blog will be quite quiet for the next month, with the exception of some odd random and irrelevant (not that they ever really cross the boundary into relevant) posts which I’m sure I’ll feel the need to make, as I’m doing nearly no travelling. Expect a few bits about the LDWA AGM weekend, the Summer Poppyline and some pub photos, but not much else.
My final day in Prague and there are more photos on Flickr.
My final breakfast at the Ibis Prague Mala Strana, which I accept looks very similar to those from previous mornings. Blue cheese and spicy chorizo though, why stray away from such fine choices?
I decided that I’d get an all-day transport card which cost around £4 and I needed to get to the airport anyway. Excuse accidentally photographing my own finger, but I decided to get whatever tram came first at the stop and that happened faster than I had expected. I like doing this on trams (getting the random one I mean, not photographing my finger), as buses can go all over the place and be a little unpredictable, whereas tram tracks make it hard for the tram to stray very far.
It happened to be tram 12, which went in the same direction that I had failed to reach the previous day because the riverside path had been closed.
I got off at the Chaplin square tram stop, which for reasons unknown to me is named after Charlie Chaplin.
There looked like an interesting park, but my attempts to have a little look were slightly thwarted by this. There’s a little bit of a story here, as someone (visible in the photo to anyone looking carefully) was having a substantial argument with the digger driver (or whatever they’re called). I assume the driver was annoyed that a random member of the public had breached his cordon, but at least it provided some momentary excitement for me and others.
The public transport day ticket includes trams, the metro, ferries and the funicular railway. It proved to be a little challenging to get to the ferries to use them, but I’ll do that next time.
I thought that this was powerful, the Memorial to the Victims of Communism, comprising of seven bronze statues representing those who suffered under the period of communist oppression and terror.
The statues represent the same figure, but they show a more decayed figure as they go backwards, representing how communism destroyed lives. The strip through the middle shows a series of numbers, namely that 205,486 people were arrested, 170,938 were forced into exile, 4,500 died in prison, 327 were shot trying to escape and 248 were executed.
The nearby plaque reads:
“The memorial to the victims of communism is dedicated to all victims not only those who were jailed or executed but also those whose lives were ruined by totalitarian despotism”
Not wishing to distract from the powerful nature of the installation, but one of the figures seemed to resemble a Labour politician.
I didn’t like the representation of a snake quite so much.
I was going to have a little trip on the funicular railway, but the queue was very long and I’ve done it before numerous times so it didn’t seem worth the wait. And it was too hot, which I don’t think that I’ve mentioned on this post yet. I expect I’ll mention it again though.
This symbol is I think used by the Czech military, and the text on this one reads “Sergeant Major of NSG Jaroslav Janis Veren, the founder of the National Rifle Guards, laid down his life for the freedom of the nation”.
There was an exhibition at Letná Park that I wanted to see, although to my slight annoyance I realised that meant climbing another great big hill. But, I didn’t complain of course, not least as there was no-one apparent to complain to.
There were some nice views of Prague from the top of the mountain that I climbed in what I considered to be the extreme heat. I had several sit downs during the summit.
The Prague Metronome, installed here in 1991 and it’s one of the largest in the world standing 23 metres in height.
Before the metronome, this site was the location of a huge statue of Stalin (the largest representation of him in the world), built between 1949 and 1955 and designed by Otakar Švec, who killed himself a few weeks before the unveiling. The monument was blown up in 1962 after the Soviets started a process of disowning Stalin.
The quite ridiculous monument during the few years that it remained standing.
This was the exhibition that I had been looking for that I had seen in some national newspapers, a number of Russian vehicles and equipment that had been destroyed by the Ukrainians. It took me around 45 minutes of looking around the park as I didn’t know exactly where it was, not an entirely ideal situation given the heat.
The display of destroyed military hardware had previously been on display in Warsaw for a few weeks.
“Be Brave like Ukraine”. Very powerful and inspirational.
This display is located on Letná Park plain, an important location for pro-democracy movements over recent decades.
I’ve looked in many vehicles like this over the years, but that’s usually in museums and they’re from conflicts some decades ago. It is sobering to think that Russian troops were seated in here just a few weeks ago.
There were a few locals looking around the site, but this very much remains a city that is in solidarity with Ukraine with the number of blue and yellow flags and anti-Russian graffiti being testament to that.
A quick trip on the Prague Metro to have one final craft beer experience before getting the flight back to London.
I stopped at the Muzeum station to have a little wander about above ground and I was reminded by the quirky interior design of these underground arrangements.
I’ve written before about this Catholic Church built in 1932, which I note was carefully locked up to avoid anyone trying to use it to get peace and solace in. God forbid that there might be an open church for individuals to pray in. I was sitting on the benches nearby and there was an almighty bang and lots of screaming, which caused some people to run away. It transpired they were doing road repairs and had dropped something, with that noise then scaring some nearby people and that promptly resonated far and wide. I never left the bench I was sitting on, it was too hot. I’ve never been one to panic without good reason though.
I had come all the way to Prague and ordered a Vault City Brewing beer from the UK, but it’s a delightful brewery and I wasn’t disappointed with the Raspberry Kir Royale. Suitably refreshing on such a hot day.
My second beer was the Extra Cocoa Bananas from the local Sibeeria brewery and I very much liked the flavours, indeed a banana stout is one of my favourites, although it wasn’t quite rich enough to entire surprise and delight me. I like the cellar set-up here though, it’s interesting to peer through, with the service being as impeccable as before.
With that done, it was time to think about getting back to the airport and that involved one final visit for the moment on the Prague Metro.
All very well signed to connect to the airport bus, although it’s a shame that neither the Metro nor the tram network reaches the airport directly. This is apparently something they’ve planning to change as some random point in the future.
It would be very hard to miss the signage for the 119 bus.
It was also only a wait of a couple of minutes before the bus swept in. This efficiency of the public transport network meant that my plan to arrive three hours before my flight (which I thought was cutting it very fine) meant that I arrived four hours before my flight.
Back at the airport, and I have to say I was quite sad to be returning, primarily as I have such a long gap before returning to the EU and my favourite countries such as Poland.
And at the departures terminal, where I will pick up this scintillating (or something like that) story in the next post.
I mentioned yesterday about the rather lovely breakfasts at the Ibis hotel, with the additional bonus on this morning of doughnuts. It’s a great shame that more hotels don’t offer blue cheese for breakfast. And doughnuts actually. I also liked that the hotel had glasses of a decent size for the apple and orange juices, rather than the little thimbles that some offer.
This intriguing piece of street art is by the Czech artist Epos 257, a series of traffic signs in a mosaic design. There’s probably a greater meaning to it than that, but I’ll take the stance of letting individuals decide what it means.
My plan for the day was to walk along the Vltava river for some distance and see what happened. It seemed like a good plan when I started off anyway.
The path started off nice and shady with quite a rural feel to what is still a city centre location.
It was far too hot, but there was a breeze from the river and shade from the trees, I thought that it was all quite relaxing and scenic. I accept it wasn’t quite as hilly as whatever mountain range Dave Morgan is sweeping majestically over, but it was still a little adventure of some sorts.
I sat here for a while, contemplating that I’d be in Norwich for an entire month within just a couple of days.
The riverside path ran out here and so I was forced onto the road, but I was then reminded that if I walked for another two miles, then I’d come to a KFC. I was sold on that plan.
It’s a shame that the river path diverts up a bit at this point, but at least the water was still visible so there was some breeze.
I liked that boat thing that looked like a car.
There was some more opportunity for me to sit down on those logs, contemplating how brave that I was being by walking in such extreme heat.
I scrambled down the bank a bit here, hoping I didn’t somehow slip and fall in. I probably wouldn’t have mentioned anything about this if I had of done though to be fair.
I’m pleased to say that I didn’t fall in, but it was nice being right by the river.
Bloody typical. The riverside path was shut off with a barrier.
There was a diversion by the road, but it wasn’t quite the peaceful riverside setting that I had been enjoying.
At this point I could only cross the river over the bridge, or take those steps down in the hope that they reconnected with the river path.
I took the steps down and it transpired they’d been blocked off as well so they didn’t go anywhere.
With no choice, I had to cross the river here. This wasn’t entirely ideal as I had wanted to stay on the same side and also run into the KFC I had managed to incorporate into my plans, so that was that plan wrecked.
But, I decided to make the most of it as I never complain about anything, so I crossed the river.
I saw a few of these signs, often in random places, but they didn’t seem to actually be obeyed by everyone shall we say.
This is looking back across the river at what I would have walked along if it hadn’t all been blocked off.
Some of the artistic elements of the bridge, although I think the visual impact might have been stronger if it hadn’t got graffiti on it.
My plan to walk further along the river on the other side was also moderately ruined by it being shut. Only slightly annoyed, I thought I might as well walk back into the city centre.
Back on the shady riverside path, I was pleased once again. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned, but it was too hot and I was in need of shade.
It was far too hot, so I decided on popping into a petrol station to buy a couple of bottles of chilled drink. I then had a little lie down to cool down.
All quite idyllic, I must admit to enjoying the walk back into Prague.
These are the sort of yachts that I might be able to afford. And I don’t mean the ones at the back of the photo.
Fish of some sort and there plenty of people fishing along the river bank.
Some of the city’s fortifications and the entrance to the Vyšehrad tunnel.
I channelled my inner David Morgan to go storming up these steps. They’re much steeper than the photo suggests.
And I then stormed up these ones, albeit at a slightly slower pace. More Stuart from the NEC sort of pace.
The Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul, with the current building dating from between 1887 and 1903, although there’s been a church around this area since the late eleventh century. There was an admission fee and I have to admit on past visits to not being taken by the churches in Prague, not because of their design or heritage, but because they seem to be treated as cash cows in a way that I’ve never seen in countries such as Poland. If the authorities don’t think there’s enough interest, they lock the doors, or that’s how it has felt during previous visits to the city. In terms of tourism, that’s their right, but they do have an obligation to the communities which they serve.
There’s a lot of moral authoritarianism coming from the Vatican about what individuals should do (sometimes designed to be hurtful), but not a great deal of what their churches should be doing. In Poland, a strongly Catholic country, there’s a welcome that is evident in just about every church I’ve been, even in the most tourist of locations, I hope in the future that becomes more apparent here as well. I at first thought that it was perhaps the communist authorities in the then Czechoslovakia that had changed the ethos of what churches can offer, but it appears to be issues within the Czech Republic itself, as is evidenced at https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/02/once-the-same-nation-the-czech-republic-and-slovakia-look-very-different-religiously/.
But, anyway, my random complaining and plunging towards religious debate aside, that’s why there are no photos inside the church.
The church’s graveyard was free to enter and was a peaceful environment which was well looked after.
The church from the side, it all feels well proportioned.
A memorial to those who died from communism.
Some artwork in the Vyšehrad complex, of which the church was part. It’s not known, but this might have been the fortified area from where Prague grew, it’s certainly located high enough up the hill to make it hard to attack (or walk up in the heat). Initially this area was a Royal Palace, but in the fourteenth century it was abandoned and the other fort on the other site of the river, Prague Castle, became the home of the Monarchs. Much of what exists now, including the church, is due to remodelling of the area in the late nineteenth century.
The fortifications, heavily repaired, as there are only small parts of the Middle Ages constructions still standing.
A little promenade on which to overlook Prague. I had been walking on that far riverbank in the morning.
I thought I was really quite brave walking to these dizzying heights whilst it was so hot.
Looking back towards the city centre.
I needed to head back to the hotel as there was an LDWA zoom meeting that I needed to attend, a handy excuse to get out of the heat. Actually, I should stop mentioning the heat, I think I’ve written twice now just how hot it was.
I had saved my welcome drink voucher for when I was back at the hotel. I had the choice of getting something from the bar area, or any drink from the little shop next to reception.
I had a quick walk around the city after the Zoom meeting, my final night in the European Union for what will be months…..
I very much liked everything about Ibis Praha Mala Strana where I was staying, a clean and functional room which was keenly priced and also included breakfast. Bearing this handy chart in mind, I went for the breakfast option at around 07:30, as often breakfast rooms can get quite crowded. I needn’t have been concerned (although I quite like being pre-worried) as there was plenty of space and the environment was calm and peaceful despite it being relatively busy.
A nice little selection of pastries and breads.
But this was one of the best Ibis breakfast spreads in terms of meats and cheeses that I’ve seen, this standard is drifting off towards Sofitel. The photo doesn’t really show the full range of cheeses (they were replaced soon afterwards with a fresh board), which included a blue cheese that I became very fond of. And that spicy chorizo type meat arrangement, quite delightful.
This is how a day should start.
Some sort of memorial to František Ringhoffer II (1817-1873) who was a Prague businessman with commercial interests in brewing and railways (sounds a rather nice little mixture). He was also the Mayor of Smíchov, a district of Prague, and I had decided to stay in this area for the day to see what there was to see. It’s an area of the city that I haven’t much explored before, once quite an industrial area, but today it’s got a more on-trend feel to the arrangements. Smíchov was a city in its own right between 1903 and 1921, although it has now become as just a suburb of Prague.
It was too hot, but I decided that I’d just have to be brave and explore the city anyway, reminding myself that this was the day of the heatwave in the UK and so at least it was cooler here. The building in the background is Zlatý Anděl, an administrative and commercial building, that was completed in 2000 and was designed by Jean Nouvel. Trams sweep through the city and people seem unconcerned by them, rushing across just before they go by.
I had a little meander along the Vltava River.
The Palacký Bridge, constructed in 1876 and still standing. Mainland Europe lost so many bridges during the Second World War when they were destroyed to slow down various military movements, but fortunately there wasn’t quite the same level of destruction in Prague. The damage that did take place was mostly by the United States air force who managed to miss all the military targets and caused huge levels of damage to residential areas. That was primarily because the air force had got Dresden and Prague muddled up, not an arrangement that was ideal and it caused much anti American sentiment for some time.
There were a disappointingly low number of benches not in the fierce heat of the sun. It’s a reminder of just how important tree cover is in cities and although Prague has many parks, there’s still a need for more trees. And craft beer bars.
I became moderately obsessed with the paving they use in Prague, which is hand laid as individual blocks. Doing that sort of thing must require a lot of patience and I saw a couple of separate road repairs where they were carefully sitting there placing them down in intricate patterns.
There are little heaps of the rocks near a number of construction projects.
There are a number of these floating hotels, or botels, in Prague, this one is the Botel Admirál. The room rates are reasonable, although looking at the reviews, there’s a problem with internal noise. I might still try and book onto one of these if I return to Prague in the future, something a little different.
The big industrial site still in the area is the Staropramen Brewery, first opened here in 1869 and with the beer starting to flow from 1871. I can imagine a day in the not too distant future that production will be moved out of this city centre site, just as it has in numerous other locations in the UK where the land is worth more for residential. It also gives the brewery chance to build purpose built new facilities rather than working around the limitations of the old buildings.
The entrance to the Staropramen factory.
With all that walking about in the hot weather, I felt that I deserved a little drink and this is the beer selection at Beertime. This is one of the advantages in confining travels to a limited area, I wouldn’t have noticed it otherwise, but it’s actually a delightful bar which was already busy when I arrived at 11:30. The staff were friendly, pro-active and helpful, it was a really comfortable environment.
I started off with something more refreshing than anything else, the IPL Strata from Pivovar Permon.
Some teriyaki chicken wings to go with the beer and it was at this point that I realised all of the food and drink was 30% off at lunchtime. This made things very agreeable indeed. The staff were asking for tips and so I gave 10% on the machine, still feeling that I had paid less than I had expected. The chicken wings were delicious incidentally, even though they provided that mound of celery and carrot to the side.
The Mole Stole My Bananas from Sibeeria Brewery, this had a slightly artificial edge, but was still delicious, a 10.7% imperial stout with a taste of bananas running through it. I was impressed at the beer selection, it crossed a number of different styles and was reasonably priced, especially given the lunchtime discount. I think if I lived in Prague this might be a regular lunchtime spot to visit.
Kostel svatého Václava, or St Wenceslas Church, which was constructed between 1881 and 1885, designed by Antonín Viktor Barvitius.
This is all that visitors to the church can see at the moment in the porchway, as the building is kept locked. I had some concerns about the Catholic Church in Prague last time I visited, it seems that they feel churches should be inaccessible, unwelcoming and used primarily as cash cows. It’s unfortunate, although if that’s what they want, that’s up to them.
I poked my camera through to the inside as the authorities had carefully locked it up. I can’t help thinking how sad it is that anyone wanting to speak to someone, to find some solace or to pray quietly is shut out. This is another church that I felt was run by the authorities for the authorities, not for the community in which it serves.
There’s no shortage of international brands in the city.
Indeed this was useful knowledge the following day where the temperatures reached quite ridiculous levels and I needed to find refreshment.
I rather liked the design of this building, built in 1908 as a market building although later converted into a shopping centre and then partly changed into a library.
I thought that I’d have a little recover in the hotel room before meandering back out in the heat, it’s much cooler during the early evening.
Dětský Island, which is still in the Smíchov area, which I was careful to stay inside. It takes its name, translated to Children’s Island, as they’ve built a playground and sports facilities here.
There were lots of people walking along the river, it’s a lovely little stretch.
My plan to exit the island at the other end failed, it’s blocked off. I pretended that I already knew this and walked back in a manner where I didn’t look surprised. I did this by casually looking at my phone throughout (to suggest I was messaging and not looking at a map) and walking calmly without an annoyed look. I thought that was very British.
This party boat looked a little raucous to me. Actually, I’m not sure the people on it would describe themselves as party goers, but this looks like something my friend Richard would enjoy, sailing down the river, drinking wine and shouting.
I opted instead for another bar rather than sailing down the river. This is Craft Beer Spot, a handily named bar which had entirely passed me by until I was near to it and suddenly it appeared on Google Maps. I suspected that it might be busy as it was well reviewed and it was a warm evening, but I got there and there were no other customers. Indeed, it took a good three minutes for a staff member to arrive at the bar. The service was though friendly and conversational, so it felt like a welcoming environment and I liked it here.
The tap list was chalked up on two blackboards as well as being printed. Another well balanced beer menu, with lots more options in the beer fridge. Actually, the beer fridge options were very tempting, but I didn’t have my bag and I didn’t want to balance a random selection of cans (although they would have been decadent cans, but that might not be obvious to others) along the street in case people thought that I wasn’t a sophisticated drinker and instead looked more like a British yob.
Hot dogs go very well with beer I find and there was a bit of heat behind this one. Inexpensive and delicious, what more could I want?
The red sky. Someone walking by looked up at what I was taking a photo of, they appeared disappointed and they probably thought I was an idiot.
The Fall of Time Fountain. For a long time, this was where the communists shoved a tank to mark the Soviet ‘liberation’ of Prague although it became a laughing stock in 1991 when local artist David Černý painted it pink. He was arrested and it was repainted green, but then 15 MPs immediately painted it pink again, so they decided to remove the tank and instead the fountain sits in its place. There’s a lot more about this whole story at https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/monument-to-soviet-tank-crews-david-cerny.
As mentioned earlier, I like trying to stay within a confined area during a random walkabout, as it forces me to find things that of some interest to me that I might not have otherwise seen. Otherwise it’d be easy to head off for major tourist sites or the bars that I’d visited before, but there was more than enough in this district of Prague to amuse me. Plenty of craft beer bars, some history and a pleasant riverside walk, it’s an under-rated part of the city although easily accessible by public transport.
The weekend in Canterbury had gone quickly and the four of us in Carena House waved goodbye to the landlady. It was a clean B&B (actually, it was more of a B as there was no breakfast included), although quite quirky, but the welcome was friendly enough, even when Richard changed rooms for reasons unknown. But, I don’t get involved in these matters.
We walked to Tannery Field and had a little look at the bull, designed by local artist Steven Portchmouth. There’s a double purpose to that sculpture, it marks that this was a tanning site, but also that there was a tannery rail track, so they’ve replicated the rails in the artwork.
And there’s some more information about the bull for those who want to know even more.
It was a similar walk to the previous day, with West Gate in the background. It was still too hot.
Back in Wetherspoons, which I accept shows a complete lack of originality, but I didn’t have long and there was a power point here which was handy for ensuring my devices were fully charged for the day ahead. The poached egg was only just runny, they keep getting these wrong now, but that’s my fault, I probably should have gone to a local cafe.
Back again also to Canterbury West railway station, where we set off from the day before.
And the sizeable waiting room, with an absence of power points. I had another little debacle at this railway station, as I had stupidly used my Chase card to buy my rail ticket. The collection machine was having none of it, but this is a known fault with Chase cards on the network, as confirmed both by them and also by Great Western Railways. Chase had said the workaround was for the ticket desk to print the ticket (which isn’t really a solution to their dodgy arrangements in this area), but the man on the desk said he couldn’t do that. I wasn’t going to argue, although I’ve noted that other ticket desks have managed to, but he was helpful enough to wave me through the barriers so I could get to the platform.
My plan was to go and speak immediately to the train guard to tell him of my little predicament, which was a good strategy. The guard said he couldn’t print the ticket either as his machine didn’t have that functionality (there’s a lot of little issues in terms of consistency within the rail network), but that it didn’t matter, he’d wave me through the barriers at London Victoria.
Another routine complaint of mine, there isn’t space in a rail carriage for five seats across, and I am unanimous in that…. Anyway, we got about 100 metres down the track before the Southern ticket inspectors came to interrogate passengers, but fortunately, the train guard noted this and told the inspectors I had a ticket but the machine was broken at the railway station. The inspectors looked confused, as the machine wasn’t broken, just it wouldn’t print my ticket, but they didn’t pursue the matter. They came back through the train twice, with one of them forgetting they had spoken to me already, but the other was more alert.
That meant at London Victoria station I had to get through the barrier as I still didn’t have a ticket printed out. The customer in front of me told the gate guard that “the guard had forgotten to print my ticket” which was not an excuse that was accepted. For about two minutes there was an argument about this, with the gate guard saying that he didn’t believe the guard on-board had forgotten, and even if he had, the customer should have reminded him. Voices were raised and it was bloody clear that the customer didn’t have a ticket, but he was let through anyway. This is a fault with the rail network, what’s the point of this expensive set-up if people are just let through anyway? I was slightly worried that the gate guard would instead have an argument with me, but I showed him my booking reference for the ticket that I couldn’t print and I was let through without dispute. I think it’s fair to say, it’s not hard to get through those barriers without a ticket.
It was time then to get on the Victoria Line for a couple of stops, to then board the Piccadilly Line to get to Heathrow, a moment of excitement as that meant a few days overseas, the last I’d get for several weeks. No delays here, all was going well.
Back at Heathrow T5, which wasn’t particularly busy despite all the fears of overwhelmed airports. The flights that have been trimmed seemed to have helped operations though, with the wait at security being relatively minimal.
The BA lounge has gone from self-service to order via app, back now to order at a counter. Here’s the menu for the lounge, a choice of meatballs, pie, vegetable curry or vegan balls.
I opted for two steak pies with a can of Brewdog Jet Stream, living the dream…. These pies aren’t world class, but they’re moreish (as are many things with me) and sufficiently tasty for my needs, especially when I get chance to ask for extra gravy.
These raw juices were rather delicious, although I suspect I overdosed on fruit with them. There was no fruit health warning in the area which I felt that there could have been.
There’s the green sludge of the raw juice in the background. And another highlight, crisps have finally returned to the lounge, so what a time to be alive!
And even more excitingly (I don’t get out much), the ice cream has returned to the freezers.
The flight was departing from Gate A1 but I wasn’t entirely sure this was well managed, as there weren’t enough seats and there was a paucity of announcements. Standing there for thirty minutes was fine in terms of time, although the terminal in this area was quite hot.
None of these dispensers were functioning at the airport, another one of Heathrow’s little short cuts I imagine.
The interior of the aircraft and I had an exit row seat by the window. The flight was very busy and at near capacity, so there was the usual faffing around trying to fit ridiculous numbers of arguably oversized bags into the overhead lockers.
We took off over 30 minutes late, which is always slightly frustrating on a night flight, especially when I had plans to catch the last bus of the day in Prague. Fortunately, we landed on time as the pilots were able to make up the time during the flight. There was nothing much notable about the flight, which is always a positive as far as I’m concerned.
The standard in-flight snack of crisps and a small bottle of water.
At Prague airport and there was more queueing as UK travellers now need a stamp in their passport. Fortunately my fast walking had meant the queue wasn’t too long when I arrived, I think I was through border control in under ten minutes.
Rather random, but I liked the little aircraft shaped holes they had made in the benches. I had visited Prague a few months ago and remembered where the ticket machines were to buy bus tickets, something which saved a few minutes of uncertainty.
I caught the last 191 bus of the day, with just a couple of minutes to spare. It wouldn’t have mattered as a night service then kicked in, but this saved me over thirty minutes, so I pleased to be able to catch it.
The bus journey takes around 40 minutes and I was fortunate with my hotel choice, as there was a bus stop just a one minute walk away. It goes direct from the airport to the city centre, or at least the west bank of the river so that people can take another bus or tram to get elsewhere in Prague.
Off the bus and ready for my big one minute walk to the hotel. It’s rare that they’re such short treks at this time of night and I had already alerted the hotel that I’d be late. I’m not sure they care to be honest as they have 24 hour reception desks, but I like to let the hotel know of my plans in case they flog off my room to someone else and they replied promptly and politely telling me all was fine with arriving late.
And here it is, the Ibis Praha Mala Strana, a well reviewed Accor hotel on the west side of the river which isn’t an area that I’ve much explored before in my previous visits to the city. The entrance, for reasons unknown, is tucked away on the far side of the building, but the signage was sufficiently clear for me not to get muddled up.
Typically, someone had just checked in despite it being after midnight, so I had a little bit of a wait, but that gave me enough time to take photos of their shop area. The staff here were always friendly and welcoming, this transpired to be one of my favourite Accor hotels.
My welcome gift was doughnuts and I was very pleased indeed with that. I just knew that this was my sort of hotel.
And the room, the standard Ibis layout, all clean and comfortable. I’m still quite content with this sort of room layout, it’s functional, it has a desk, working wi-fi and space for storage. Given that I had such a late arrival into Prague, I was surprised that I was able to make such timely progress to be in the hotel just after midnight. That gave me enough sleep before breakfast, but more on that in the next riveting instalment of this blog as it transpired to be relatively memorable (or as memorable as a hotel breakfast can realistically be).
