Pete and Scott's trip to Central Europe in September, 2006


Central Europe Trip


Updates:
  • Sept. 9 -- we've arrived in Prague -- what an amazing place. Haven't made it to our hotel yet, but I'm having coffee at KavaKavaKava and have uploaded a few pictures from this morning: Gallery 1.
  • Sept. 9 -- our hotel (Hotel Grand) is in a delightful little town that is so beautiful. Here are some pictures of Revnice: Gallery 2.
  • Sept. 10 -- We spent the day on Sunday exploring Prague castle and old town with Eva and Silvie (some wonderful people we met because of Scott's Czech class). Here are some pictures of the Castle area, old town, Wenceslas Square, and Charles Bridge. Gallery 3.
  • Sept. 11 -- Monday, Scott and I took the funicular up the very steep hill to the highest vantage point in Prague and then climbed hundreds of stairs up a tower for an amazing view. We also went back to the castle area, where we saw some incredible hunting birds (peregrin falcons, owls, and others). We also explored areas to the west of the castle and north of old town. Pictures: Gallery 4.
  • Sept. 12 -- Tuesday. Lots more fun in Prague, accompanied for part of thet day by Silvie and Eva. Time along the river, the dancing building, national theatre, a fun lunch... Pictures: Gallery 5
  • Sept. 13 -- Wednesday. We took a morning trip to Karlstejn castle -- a beautiful spot up on a hill, and then back to Prague for more fun. Gallery 6
  • Sept. 14 -- Thursday. Morning trip to the town of Kutna Hora, complete with a church where they had so many bones buried that they commissioned an artist to do something creative with them, including huge organized piles of bones, chandeliers, and more. Afternoon back to Prague -- and our last night in Prague for a while. Gallery 7
  • Sept. 15 -- Friday. We're on our way to further parts, starting with a day in the town of Litomysl. A little geneology research for Scott, and we visited this amazing old private theatre in the castle. By luck, we ended up with an amazing hotel room with a full view of the square and the castle and churches, and a view of some kind of firefighters auxiliary groups national event and parade in the square (we didn't know it was happening tonight). Gallery 8
  • Sept. 16 -- Train trip to Slovakia from the Czech Republic. Great views. Wonderful trains. All photographs taken through train windows! Gallery 9
  • Sept. 17 -- Rained in the morning, but cleared up enough in the afternoon for us to reach the top of the tallest mountain in Slovakia, through a series of cable cars and more... A view from the top of the world: Gallery 10
  • Sept. 18 -- Took a train to Hungary, but missed a connection, so we had a delightful afternoon in Kosice, Slovakia -- a wonderful town with a great square and a fountain. Got to Budapest later that night. Gallery 11
  • Sept. 19 -- First day in Budapest. Some rain, but we discovered an amazing indoor market, and started exploring. Gallery 12 Note: We didn't even learn about the riots in Budapest until I read a comment on my blog the next day. Since then, we've seen plenty of news reports, and even some police presence in limited locations, but it hasn't affected us in the slightest, nor is there ANY reason for concern. It's all very well bahaved all around the city -- and we're smart enough to stay away from the people throwing rocks at police at specific protest places!
  • Sept. 20 -- Full day around the palace, including a very interesting labyrinth that would make a great haunted house. Gallery 13
  • Sept. 21 -- Scott and I split up and explored different areas. I spent some time up north, on top of Gellert Hill, through a university, and down to some areas further south. Gallery 14
  • (Note: While I had internet access in my room in Vienna, I could not get to this site to finish uploading the photos. I had to wait until I got to Prague. All galleries should now be uploaded.)
  • Sept. 22 - Hydrofoil ride up the Danube River to Vienna -- what a trip! When we got to Vienna, we discovered a street fair near our hotel, and a major celebration down at the canal, complete with fireworks. They seemed pleased at our arrival! Gallery 15
  • Sept. 23 - Our one full day in Vienna -- so much to see. (For an amusing aside, you can check out this unique photo study of people's reactions to an... interesting billboard.) For the main photos, in addition to a wide range of stuff around town, there are some night photos. Gallery 16
  • Sept. 24 - Very nice train ride back to Prague and an exquisite dinner on the river. Gave the camera a break. Tomorrow we fly back to the U.S., although I won't actually make it back to Bloomington-Normal until late Tuesday morning.
  • Sept. 26 - My wallet was stolen in Prague on the way to the airport (but I didn't lose much), and my cat died while I was gone (not unexpected), but I got home safely, and had an amazingly wonderful vacation. Now I think I'll sleep.
Everything is subject to change, of course -- we've got plenty of flexibility built in to the trip.
The time is now

(Central European Summer Time)


Keeping in touch:

I'll be taking along my laptop and will check email when I can.

We'll also have a GSM phone with us that works everywhere we go in Europe. It'll allow us to make reasonably-priced local calls for arrangements and to call home if we need to. Feel free to call us if you need to (or would just like to chat -- you'll be charged international rates and it'll be free for us). It's a Lichtenstein number -- the full number to dial from the states is:
011-423-663-120112



1 -- We leave Chicago on Friday, September 8 and, with a stop in New York, arrive in Prague on Saturday, September 9.

10:55 am Continental 1166 O'Hare to Newark 2:20 pm. 5:35 pm Czech Airlines (CSA 73) to Prague (Ruzyne Airport) 7:45 am on September 9.

We'll spend about a week in Prague (Praha), Czech Republic and the area. We'll actually be staying in the small town of Řevnice at the Hotel Grand. We'll take the train and metro into the city each day to explore, and may also make a side trip to Hrad Karlštejn (old castle)

Click for Prague, Czech Republic Forecast

2 -- On Friday, September 15, Scott will be doing some genealogy research in the town of Litomyšl, which has a fascinating castle with a very old theatre in it.

3 -- Saturday, September 16 is a travel day by train. We start at Chocen and we'll cross the border into Slovakia at Horní Lidec. We'll continue in Slovakia, following the river by Púchov to Zilina, then east along the mountains toward Poprad. We leave the main route at Štrba and take a cogwheel train into the mountains up to Štrbské Pleso. Then we take an electric train east through the mountains to the resort towns of Starý Smokovec and then Tatranská Lomnica.


4 -- There, on Sunday, we'll be able to take a cable car all the way to the highest point in the region -- Lomnický štít -- and also do some hiking. We may stay there an extra day.


Click for Lomnicky Stit, Slovakia Forecast
5 -- On Monday or Tuesday (probably Tuesday), we'll take the train to Košice, then cross the border into Hungary, pass through Miscolc and end up in Budapest.

6 -- We'll stay in an apartment in Budapest and explore the town until Friday, September 22.

Click for Budapest, Hungary Forecast

7 -- We take a 6+ hour hydrofoil ride up the Danube River, from Budapest, through Bratislava, and into Austria to Vienna.

8 -- A weekend in Vienna, Austria. We'll be staying at the Hostel Pfeilgasse right downtown. (Very inexpensive -- it's essentially a residence hall.)

Click for Vienna, Austria Forecast

9 -- Sunday train back to Prague and then a flight home on Monday afternoon.
12:35 PM Czech Airlines (CSA 50) Prague to JFK 3:50 pm. 5:48 pm Delta Airlines 598 to Cincinnati at 8:14 pm. 8:55 pm Delta Airlines 5456 to Chicago O'Hare 9:12 pm. Then Peoria Charter Bus 10:15 pm to Normal at 12:55 am.