Recently I have been doing a spot of tidying up around the flat. Among the items I came across was ‘City Walks: London – 50 Adventures on Foot’ by Craig Taylor.
It comprises of 50 walks in London. Instead of being a book, the walks are on individual cards which can be slipped into the pocket. Each walk starts from a tube or mainline railway station and usually last for a couple of hours. The cards point out places of interest to see as well as recommending places to eat.
The new challenge that I have set for myself is to complete the walks and write posts on each one. I will be starting tomorrow and hope to post my findings during the coming week. I am looking forward to this as I travel to London frequently and I want to share the not so obvious areas that you may miss out on.
Until the next post, stay safe, stay healthy and keep smiling.
More than half way through my trip and I am off to Bratislava. This is the first time that I have travelled between countries on my travels. It all adds to the adventure.
Maybe I spent too long in Prague but now I feel ready to move on. The whole process of boarding the coach was painless enough. No need to check-in, showed my ticket to the driver. Also got a free bottle of water for the trip. I have never been treated like that before.
I arrived in Bratislava at around 5pm. What a culture shock compared to Prague. It was like chalk and cheese. Trolley buses were running past the bus station. It was as though I had been transported back to old communist Czechoslovakia.
It was a short trolleybus ride to the hostel. Again the comparison was chalk to cheese. Hostel Blues is a proper hostel with a kitchen, bar and chill out zone. More importantly it in the middle of the city. So after finding my bed I decided to go out for a walk. To be honest my time in Prague had caught up with me and I did not want to go far. So after a quick bite to eat and a drink I called it an early night.
One of the most unusual sites in Prague is the Lennon Wall. It is home to graffiti inspired and dedicated to John Lennon. As yesterday would have been the former Beatle 72nd birthday it seems appropriate to write about the wall.
During the 1980’s the wall was used to protest against the communist regime. Today it is seen to represent peace and love. The ideals that we should all live by. When I visited the wall last month I found the whole experience to be emotional and I found myself overwhelmed with the tears flowing down my face.
Here are a few of the wall’s images:
As the great man sang “All you need is love.” Until the next post, stay safe, stay healthy and keep smiling.
Today certainly felt like after the Lord Mayor’s show. Everybody had left so I felt a little melancholic. I also felt dirty so it was time to a spot of laundry. That was the morning sorted.
I had not made any plans for the day so I decided that it would be best if I just wandered around the city. It took me to areas of Prague that were off the beaten track. This is something I enjoy doing a lot. You get to see how the city really breathes away from the tourist hub.
After lunch at the Pause Cafe I ventured back towards the centre of Prague. The Old Town Square is a good place to sit and observe the world passing by. Prague is not just about the tourists but also the street entertainers trying to attract the crowds too. Being a Saturday everything seemed so lively.
I made my way back to the hostel as I was meeting a couple of Australians to watch the Sunderland v Liverpool game on the TV. Upon my arrival I was greeted with a request to move dorms. The hostel had a party of four who would be split up unless I agreed to move to another room. I said that it would not be a problem and as a gesture of goodwill I was given a voucher for free breakfast for tomorrow.
That last night in Prague was good. So chilled out, though I may have drunk too much but it is a lesson to learn for the future as I may have gone over budget. Tomorrow, next stop Bratislava.
Until the next post, stay safe, stay healthy and keep smiling.
For a lot of people in the hostel today was their final day in Prague. The plan was to explore the area around Prague Castle. This seemed a good idea at the time. So a couple of us decided to head to the Old Town Square. The weather was good so we checked out what was going on. There were plenty of wedding parties. Of course the brides looked beautiful. There was a dixieland jazz band playing in the background. Plenty of people were soaking in the atmosphere. Some even brought the CD. I am not sure it would sound the same back home.
Dixieland Jazz Band in The Old Town Square
Eventually, we climbed the Astronomical Clock Tower. Once at the top space was tight due to the amount of people there. However, it did offer excellent views of the Prague skyline.
View From the Astronomical Clock Tower
We decided that we need to head up to the castle. So after crossing Charles Bridge and having something to eat we caught a tram up to the top of the castle hill. We did not plan to go inside but just potter around. We saw the absinthe shop and it was selling ice cream flavoured with the drink. One of us could not resist. I tried some, it tasted foul but then again I do not like the taste of aniseed. So I started to drink beer instead. Drinking in the castle grounds did not seem right with the tourists milling around but I felt relaxed about it.
Slowly we made our way back to the city centre and I eat the sloppiest burger that I had ever tasted. At the hostel it was decided as it was the last night for the majority of us we should go out and celebrate. Always keen to follow I went to my dorm, got showered and changed. We made our way to the nearest club. I am surprised how relaxed clubs are in mainland Europe are about letting people in. I was wearing a shirt, jeans and trainers and the doormen were happy to let me in.
While relaxing with a beer you could see panic behind the bar. The Czech government had during the day banned the sale of alcohol over 20% proof due to recent cases of people dying from drinking contaminated booze. So it was beer all night, no hardship.
The atmosphere turned ugly when a group of locals decided to move around us. I had my arse slapped then another person started dancing in front of one of the girls. Her boyfriend naturally to exception to this and made his feelings known. He was ignored and a fight broke out which was a shame. Still it did not stop our fun and we continued to drink and dance. I am better at drinking than dancing. At the end of the night we said our goodbyes and wished one another safe travels.
Until the next post, stay safe, stay healthy and keep smiling.
This week photo is a monument commemorating those people who were executed by the Communists in Slovakia during their rule from 1948-1989. The monument describes it as during the period of Communist terror.
On the inside there is the names of the executed. They were all shot by firing squad. This is represented by the bullet holes that are all over the monument. It is strangely mesmerizing and make you think about the sacrifice people made for freedom.
Until the next post, stay safe, stay healthy and keep smiling.
I should have not got out of bed so early this morning to make breakfast. Should have stayed in bed instead. I would have recovered from the previous evening’s excesses. Instead, I attempted to go for a walk Had to turn back as I was not in a fit state. After a further couple of hours sleep I was ready to take on the world again.
I thought that I would make my way to Charles Bridge. It was early afternoon and it was packed. Too packed with tourists. I was told that September would be a quiet month. Glad I was not there in the height of summer. I crossed the bridge and then decided to turn straight back and return to the hostel through Prague city centre. I ended up taking the route of yesterday’s walking tour though I was not aware of this at the time. The brain was not functioning properly at the time.
Back at the hostel for a quiet night, except it would not turn out this way. Met up with the gang from the pub crawl. There was a Man vs Food type challenge. Who could eat the hottest chicken wings and spare ribs. I could feel the heat from here. It was a good job that I did not join in.
Until the next post, stay safe, stay healthy and keep smiling.
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