Live blogging from Prague Czech Republic and Germany

FredHayek wrote: Sad to see the people of Dresden treat you this way. We were in a more northern formerly East German border town and found the people very friendly to us obvious Americans. Even paid for us to pee since we didn't have any coin Euros.
Part of the border was a river lake so hardy people were able to swim to the West German side at night every now and then. I still would like to see Dresden, maybe in a couple years.

I didn't really feel like anyone was treating me personally in any sort of "way," but I did feel that there was a lack of "fun" in some of these folks life.

There was a LOT of Russian tourist in the old town area, groups of them, with Russian speaking tour guides.

Between the Nazi era, the bombing of a civilian town, the Russian era and only 25 years years recently of relative freedom (at least in the way the West measures freedom)... these folk probably have a lot to be scornful about.

But I have found that a little bit of humor, a little bit of having fun with fellow humans... fellow travelers on this ship... well... that can go a long way to healing any long festering wounds.

Just my opinion.

It's now 2:48 am, I'm wide awake, I still have a 4 hour drive to Bochum when the sun comes up and then Wed. evening I get to see the most amazing mounting of Andrew Lloyd Weber's "Starlight Express" at the Bochum Starlighthalle.

I'm going to have a lot of fun with 1600 other people tonight at that show. Peace out.

Very interesting, thanks for sharing!

Thanks Walter. Enjoying the reads. I don't have a fb account so look forward to your pic posts when you return.

RidgeWay wrote: Thanks Walter. Enjoying the reads. I don't have a fb account so look forward to your pic posts when you return.

Danka,

I almost never use Facebook for anything. It's annoying and of course everytime I post a new picture, the 20 or so friends that I have responded to over the years gets an email... "Walter posted a new picture," "Walter juust ran off the road" or "Walter wants you to join him in the next town on his vacation... ve know vere he is."

I think that's bad form.

But I discovered a Iphone based Facebook app that let's ou take pictures, tag them and then pload them to Facebook. It's a quick way to get pictures posted on the internet.

When I get home, I will actually download some pictures to my server and link to them from there. And I haver MANY more photos then just the ones on the Iphone. I probably have over 400 right now on a digital camera.

I get around to it after I get over the vacation when I get home.

It's 5:19 AM as I post this and today I have a 6 1/2 hour drive from Bochum Germany to Kalek Czech Republic (Kalek is just over the German east boarder, in Kalek you can walk to the boarder in 1 minute). So... I'll try to get a lot of info packed into this post.

Sick... this is the second time in a row I came down with a head cold in Europe. Last time was in Paris. I NEVER get sick, in any way in Conifer. Plane ride home should be horrible. Stuffy nose, cabin pressure, stale air... yuck.

If you go to https://www.facebook.com/walter.newton.50 you can see the pictures of our "budget" hotel in Leipzig.

It was Autobahn ("A" routes) all the way from Leipzig to Bochum Germany... 4 hours of what can appear to an American not use to these road like a Grand Prix or something. It actually wears at you. One hundred and thirty kilometer an hour and higher top speeds. Leap-frogging in and out of the left passing lanes, hundreds of 18 wheelers in the right lane (oh... so much fun when one of them decides to venture out into the left lane to pass). If you are not use to those speeds, or you simply value you life... it's a grueling haul. And I have to go back today to the Czech Republic.

Of course... having a Czech Skoda (made by VW) on the Autobahn is like driving a roller skate on a race track. Next time if I do a car trip like this 3 day venture, and I'm on an Autobahn, I'll make sure I rent something that won't attempt to take wing and fly.

"Starlight Express" here in Bochum was wonderful. It was a bucket list item and I finally managed to do it. My girlfriend still thinks I'm crazy to drive from Prague to Bochum and then back just to see one musical theatre show, especially since I saw the road show version twice in the 90's.

It was worth every minute of travel time on the crazy Autobahns. If you want to read all about the show, you can Google "Starlight Express Bochum" and you'll get more websites then you need, but try to go to the official site (it's in German but they have a link to translate).

I have a few pictures (of course you can't take pictures during the show) and I will post them tomorrow or the next day. I'll probably not have an internet connection in Kalek or the pension we are staying at tonight, so I'll get something up on Facebook in a few days.

Ok... time to shower, wake up the girlfriend, have the Ramada Inn "free" breakfast and head back to the Czech Republic. The show and hotel was a package deal and I recommend it. You get a good deal on the room, the Ramada is about 200 feet from the front door of the Starlighthalle and they have free parking.

Pray for me. The Autobahn is really crazy as far as I'm concerned. You (or anyone) can't make a mistake. At those speed no one is going to walk away from an accident... except maybe a truck driver.

I actually learned to drive in Germany. Army brat. Grew up in Germany pretty much. Graduated High school everything over there. Mother is German. Had a good time.

I actually remember taking the Duty Train into Berlin before the wall came down.

As expected I didn't have wireless access when we got to Kalek Czech Republic, so I just got around to this post now that we are back in Prague.

This head cold has been vicious. Hacking, chest pains, runny nose... the gamut, but no headaches or fever... be thankful for the small things.

The visit for one night in Kalek was lovely. We met with Zdenek Franc and his wife Ava. Zdenek is a long ago friend of Tom Locke, the editor of The Flume, and that's how this little overnight visit got started.

Zdenek has a second home in Kalek, his primary residence being in Chomutov. It is a 150 year old house, which he has been refinishing slowly. Currently the kitchen and the living room is totally built out.

We had a traditional Czech dinner of mash potatoes with barely, pork steaks, salad and wine (well... I didn't have the wine, Zdenek was amazed that I didn't want to even try a glass, I may have made a little social fauxpaus) but it went ok.

We stayed in Nacetin (a town next to Kalek, really in walking distance if you wanted to walk) at a restaurant called "Inky" which had a room for rent above the bar. It was warm, cosy and cheap, with a breakfast included.

There was a new 1/8 inch snow on the ground the next morning, a perfect ending to our stay in the northern Bohemian "mountains."

Don't ever bring a car into Prague. It was crazy parking the rental car near the hotel last week and even crazier when we tried to return the car. We had run out to the airport a week after arriving to pick up the car for our 3 day trip to Germany, parked it in a very expensive parking garage near our hotel in Old Town Prague.

The lady at the car rental place at the airport told us we could return the car at the Budget rental office at the central train station in Prague, instead of the airport. That sounded good since the train station was in walking distance to our Prague hotel. No a good idea. After riding around the central train station about 3 times (easier said then done), and not finding the place (we had the address and a GPS), we drove all the way BACK out to the airport and took the bus and subway back to our hotel.

Street parking (or even stopping) is harder than any city I've ever visited in Europe. And it's an old city, with lots of small street, cobblestones, trolleys (trams), bumper to bumper traffic, people walking and a general "you can't get there from here" sort of layout.

Anyway... I was so sick feeling that my girlfriend went to the Prague Castle complex all by herself, I stayed in my room and slept all day Friday, and most of the night (it's now after in the morning Sat.).

I'm not sure I'm going to venture out today, still coughing and hacking. My girlfriend may have to finish the visit on her own. Tomorrow we fly out to London, one night in London and then home Monday.

I hope this head cold clears up a bit before I spend 9 hours in an aluminum tube, in coach, cramped and hacking.

It's Sunday morning around 6:19 AM Prague time as I post this and today is a travel day. But we will probably keep our bags with the hotel because we don't fly out to London until around 5 this evening, so... I guess we will use a few hours after checkout to take a tram ride or something, to kill some of our final hours in Prague.

Last night we walked around Wenceslas Square (really a very long 12-13 block rectangle). I got some pictures (see Facebook page). This square has become a monument to the Czech's embracement of capitalism and freedom... to the level of conspicuous consumption.

The square is composed of street after street of upscale stores, pricey places to eat, small casinos and right down to strip clubs, pizza places, pickpockets, street busking and McDonalds.

For those who politically lean to the far left... like a few degrees from communism, this "miracle" will seem ludicrous. For those in the center and right politically, it will be seen as a victory of western thought and economics.

I've never been to London and we get in about 6:30 PM this evening and have to be back at Heathrow by noon Monday (London time).

We have a room for one night in town, White Chapel area... you know... former home to Jack the Ripper.

I guess we could stay up all night roaming the nearby streets of London, visiting sights that we can't get into, and then sleep all the way home across the big pond flight?

We are taking the "tubes" from the airport to our hotel in London, but I want to take a cab or something back to the airport. I've always wanted to traverse the streets of London going the opposite direction. That must be an interesting feeling coming from a "right" sided culture.

I do want to get in a breakfast of typical bangers and mash. I've always wanted to taste banger. My girlfriend, who has been to London in the past, say I don't want to taste bangers (British sausages).

But a cab ride will probably be quite expensive... versus a subway ride back to the airport for about $1.50 per person.

On Monday morning we do plan to walk down about 9 blocks from our hotel to look at the Tower of London. No time for a tour, but we can get in some pictures and look around at the Thames River. Then right to the subway for the ride back to the airport.

This will probably be my last entry in this thread until after I get home. Won't be any time to play on the internet for the short stay in London.

I'll continue with entries after I get home, when I have the time to go into humorous detail about some of our adventures on this trip.

Nothing like traveling when sick. The wife got a horrible cold in Italy and our Italian is nil like the pharmacists English. And then you had to figure out dosage levels. Hope you get better soon.