Adventures of an Anxious Traveler. Part 3.

A Friend Joins the Travelers

October 9 Vysehrad

Today we planned a visit to Vysehrad, which is a historical fort located just over three kilometers southeast of Prague on the Vltava River. Don’t confuse Vysehrad with Prague Castle, which sits on a high bluff overlooking the city. Vysehrad was built in the 10th century and within its walls are the Basilica of St. Peter and Paul, the Vysehrad Cemetery containing the remains of composers Antonin Dvorak and Bedrich Smetana, and Prague’s oldest Rotunda Church of St. Martin built in the 11th century. The fortress has a history deeply rooted in Czech culture.

We bought our 24-hour tram tickets at a newsagent and then boarded the Tram #2 for the ride to the fortress.

Getting off the tram, we could see the high walls of Vysehrad in the distance but there were no signs pointing the way to get inside. As we neared the hill, we noticed a small street going in the right direction but we remained unsure if we were going the right way. The road ended in a path which eventually split in two near the top where we stood paralyzed. Which way to go? A young woman dressed in a business suit and wearing bright red lipstick appeared from behind us. She asked us in English if we needed help and she pointed to the right path to take. We continued our upward slog while she moved up the hill like a gazelle and was soon out of sight.

We reached the main entrance to Vysehrad, a little winded from the long climb. A wide cobblestone road led into the fortress. Almost every street in Prague is cobblestone. Cobblestones are beautiful and lend a Medieval charm, but after walking on them for hours, my ankles, thighs, hips, and back were a little sore. I sighed with relief when I saw a cement sidewalk next to the cobblestones.

We walked around the entire perimeter of the fort enjoying the panoramic views of the city, the river, and the countryside. We found the famous cemetery and located the grave of the great composer, Anton Dvorak. The Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul was next door, and we were delighted to learn that we only had to pay the senior rate for entrance. I wondered how the lady knew we were seniors without checking our ID.

No More Dumplings

After a few hours, it was time to leave, and we followed a group of school children through the gates of Vysehrad. At the bottom of the hill, we took the Tram #18 back to our area. We ate so much beef, pork, gravy, and dumplings in the past three days that we were longing for some vegetables. Just down the street from our hotel was a Vietnamese Restaurant, Bao Bao. The restaurant was in a building and through a courtyard of cobblestone, of course. We asked for the menu in English and 2 Pilsner Urquell beers, “Prosim!” (Please). We both enjoyed two huge bowls of vegetables and rice. The bill with tip came to $16.

The Grand Orient Café`

In the afternoon, we boarded the Tram #9 and headed for the House of the Black Madonna and the Grand Orient Café. The House of the Black Madonna is a famous Cubist building in the center of Old Town Prague, constructed in 1912 on the corner of Celetna and Ovocony streets. It is the first example of cubist architecture in Prague. We got off the Tram just past the train station. I was immediately disoriented as usual, and Mary, who is generally good with directions, was having trouble too. We were using our well-worn hotel map and screenshots from Google Maps. After walking a few blocks in the wrong direction, we found our way. Walking past the Art Nouveau Municipal Building, the crown jewel of art nouveau architecture in Prague, we found the House of the Black Madonna. A broad winding set of stairs led to a second-floor old-world European café highly decorated in green and white stripes. One of the waiters showed us to a table where we ordered coffee and Cubist Czech Cakes. The waiter was having fun with my efforts at using my five Czech phrases.

Animals in the Square

The route back to our hotel took us through the Old Town Square, where we found a giant costumed Panda and Polar Bear along with other buskers including painted human statues and musicians. It was like coming for a free classical and folk concert with giant bears dancing in the background. We walked down Pariska Street with all of its high-end jewelry stores and ample sidewalks. Then down Široká street and past the old Jewish Synagogue. By now, it was raining, and we decided to catch a tram back to our hotel.

We waited for a Tram #2 or #18. It was rush hour, and crowds of people stood with us at the stop. After a long wait, Tram #18 arrived, and everyone rushed to get on. On the trams there is a recorded announcement in Czech which informs every one of the next stop. With a map in hand, it wasn’t hard to make out which street was being announced. But this time, the Tram Driver got on the microphone and made a lengthy announcement, which we didn’t understand. We were happy to be out of the rain, so I got out my map and started counting bridges. At one point, we were two bridges past where the tram should have turned. But it didn’t turn until Dancing House, which was a mile beyond where we were going. Maybe the tram driver was telling us something important. I noticed on the ride a group of protesters on one street, and when we passed the Jiraskuv Bridge, there were ten or twelve trams lined up on the bridge just waiting. Police were everywhere. We had to get off soon and assess our position.

At the next stop, we followed a group of people who got off the tram and headed across the street where we discovered we could catch the Tram #6 back to our hotel.

After a long and circuitous ride we arrived near to our hotel where we bought some wine, cheese, and bread and ate a late supper in our room at 9:00.

October 10 Kelley Arrives

This morning we took it slow and easy. Walking down to breakfast, we found our usual quiet room was crowded. The receptionist seated us in an overflow area that still had a vast array of food but was full of people, most of whom sounded like they were from the U.K. What a shock to go from the peaceful breakfast we shared with a few fellow guests in a quiet room to what was like being in the middle of a feeding frenzy on a cruise ship.

After breakfast I googled, “What’s happening in Prague this weekend.” To my surprise, the city expected an influx of almost 500,000 people because of four major events which would increase the entire population and regular tourists by 50%. Here’s what was happening:

1. Czechia was playing England in soccer and the underdog was Czechia. About 40,000 English soccer fans were expected to come to Prague to see the soccer game in a stadium that only held 20,000. The city was girding its loins for problems by bringing in an elite team of police to control the English soccer fans who are known to riot, terrorize, and physically attack people.

2. There was a music festival and city-wide light display event, including a major display over the Vltava — 100,000 people.

3. Climate Change demonstration — 10,000 people.

4. Karl Gott died, and they expected over 300,000 devoted fans to pay their respects. Karl Gott was the Czech Frank Sinatra, and people in Czechia and Germany loved him.

We weren’t sure how all these events would affect our plans for the day. So instead of rushing out to see more sights we took it easy after breakfast and checked out of our hotel at noon. We hauled our luggage and backpacks onto the Tram #22 and made the short trip across the Vltava to Kampa.

The Airbnb

We waited outside our Airbnb for Mary’s friend from her working days, Kelley, who was joining us for the next ten days of our trip. When she arrived we took our bags up to the apartment and met the cleaner who showed us around, gave us the keys, and told us to go have lunch. The Restaurant Cervena Sedna was right below the apartment. It was a cozy place, and we found a table right away. We told Kelley about eating dumplings and beer for lunch, and she was eager to dive in.

Kelley and I ordered the large beer, which turned out to be a one liter stein of my favorite Pilsner Urquell beer.

At 2:00, we got into our apartment, Hlavni` Mesto Praha (Airbnb listing). It was the owners’ grandmother’s apartment, and it looked like it still had all of her furnishings and artwork. One entire wall had casement windows which filled the place with light. From the windows we could see the Vltava River and the Charles Bridge. Just below was a bustling square. The apartment had a kitchen, a living room, a big dining room with bench seats, and two bedrooms. We really felt like we were living in Czechia now. We wandered around the area until about 5:00 when Kelley and I walked through a light drizzle to a small grocery where we found snacks, breakfast food, and some wine. Mary was in the middle of a bad cold she’d caught and stayed warm and dry in the apartment.

That evening, we listened to the Karl Gott music I was able to find on Apple Music. He sounded like Frank Sinatra. Settling in for the evening, I felt a little unsettled about our trip going forward. We planned to take the train to Ceske` Krumlov in a few days, then to Salzburg, St. Wolfgang, and Innsbruck. I hadn’t booked any of the tickets yet, and some of the connections were a little weird. I decided the next morning to work on transportation for our future travel.

October 11 Prague

I spent the morning booking our tickets online. It was difficult because there were many websites offering train and bus tickets. Added to that, I had difficulty figuring out the timetables and connections. Here’s what I ended up with:

· October 13 — Train to Ceské Krumlov, early morning departure.

· October 14 — Salzburg

§ Flix Bus from Ceské Krumlov to Ceské Bujedoviche, to catch the

§ Czech Train to Linz, Austria, and connect to the

§ Austrian Train to Salzburg.

When the e-tickets arrived, there was a note that I had to have paper tickets for the crossing into Austria. There was no printer at the Airbnb and I hoped that the hotel in Ceské would be able to print the tickets. I was also not able to order seats on the train to Linz, the train numbering started with OS, and I couldn’t figure out what that meant.

Our Walking Tour of Old Town

Around 11:00, we all went out to explore Prague. Mary took us on a walking tour of the Old Town highlighting points of interest with her guide book from Rick Steves. We made our way through the crowds on the Charles Bridge and then into Old Town Square to look at the Astronomical Clock. Dominating the square is the Hussite church of St. Nicholas. It was the setting for a deadly conflict in the 15th century. The Hussites are a pre-protestant movement led by a catholic priest called Jan Hus. Their articles of faith included:

a. Freedom to preach the Word of God.

b. Reception of communion under both species — bread and wine.

c. Poverty of the clergy and the selling off of church property.

Wars were fought, and thousands of people died over these beliefs. The current church was built in the 1700s on the site of a 13th-century Gothic church, also dedicated to St. Nicholas.

Mary continued her tour of Old Town past the oldest bar in Prague and the second oldest in Europe, the Americky Bar. One hundred years ago, the Americky Bar was the first to allow women to visit unaccompanied. After all of that history, we were hungry. A little Italian Restaurant, the Bistro Na Nove Radnicí on U Radnicí street, was just the thing. We enjoyed a glass of wine instead of a Pilsner Urquell and an excellent pasta. We stopped again to admire the Art Deco style Municipal Building on the way to our real mission, which was to buy a coat for Kelley. She left her jacket in the airport and so a little shopping was on the schedule.

Afterwards, we strolled through the Franciscan Garden, created in 1604 by the Franciscan Friars to grow herbs, vegetables, flowers, and fruit. Like the rest of Prague, it’s history is one of plunder, misuse, and destruction. Restoration of the gardens occurred after the Velvet Revolution in 1989. I was in desperate need of a nap. We shopped for our evening snack, took the Tram #22 back to our apartment, and I fell into bed. It was 5:00.

Old Town Square at Night and Storm Troopers.

In the evening, we walked on the Charles Bridge again and into the Old Town Square to see it lit up. This was the night before the big soccer game between Czechia and England. The square was full of people. At one point, a police van pulled into the Square and out jumped a Squad of police in full riot gear. They reminded me of Star Wars Storm Troopers. They marched to one side of the square where they lined up in formation. On the other side of the square, we could hear English soccer fans singing team spirit songs in an Irish pub. As we walked back to our apartment, we noticed eight guys all handcuffed and facing a wall. We decided it would be better to get back to Kampa where we only had the music festival, light show, climate change activists, and Karl Gott mourners to contend with. This seemed mild compared to the 40,000 English soccer fans descending on the city.

In our apartment, we enjoyed the wine, cheese, crackers, and other snacks while listening to more selections from my new Karl Gott music library.