I really like Prague, but I find all the people there a bit overwhelming, but manageable with a quick retreat to the local parks. Great raw meat (Imke and I both love steak tartare) and beer. The local cuisine is very similar to food in Bayern.
Imke and I took a quick trip to Prague in the end of March. We left Garmisch at 10:35 on the Flixbus with enough time for beer and food at the Augustiner-Keller Biergarten near the bus terminal. We arrived at the Prague Main Railway Station at 18:00 after an uneventful journey. We walked to our hotel (King George's Residence) and tried to check ourselves in. We were tired from the bus ride and the reception was closed. It took us only a minute to figure out we needed to check in at the restaurant. The man running the restaurant was very nice and helpful. We got our luggage up to our room (fortunately we only had our camera bags and one shared backpack) and decided to go out to eat. It took us a bit to decide wether to search for an ATM or exchange our currency. We decided to use an ATM which took us a bit to find since I didn't trust the ATM's at the exchanges. I ended up withdrawing 2,000 Czech Koruna which came out to about 88 euro. We walked around a bit and got completely turned around. We were hungry, tired, and couldn't make up our mind on where to eat. We ended up at a restaurant around the corner from our hotel; luckily I figured out where we were because Imke thought the hotel was in another direction (she usually is the one with a good sense of direction in new cities). We got back to the hotel and crashed.
We got up the next morning and had breakfast at 07:30 at the restaurant in the hotel. A nice, simple breakfast buffet with different breads, sliced cheeses and meats, cereal, yogurt, and coffee. We headed across Charles Bridge and up to the old Prague Castle Complex. We didn't go inside, but we walked halfway around it taking a few photos on the way. We found a nice coffee house for a cappuccino on the way to Stag Moat. Unfortunately, Stag Moat is only open from April through October (it opened the day after we left). We ended up heading up Petřín Hill and enjoying the surrounding forests and birds. The birds were accustomed to people and went about their business without paying attention to us and being fairly close as well. We head back down to town for lunch and short break. Hoping for a killer sunset I head back up Petřín Hill to the climb the tower and Imke headed into town to climb the tower at the Old Town Hall. I saw a lot more birds on the way up and had a decent sunset to watch/photograph from the tower. On my way back to Charles Bridge to meet up with Imke I got myself turned around and walked quite a ways in the wrong direction. We ended up missing each other on the bridge and ended up on opposite sides by the time we figured out where each of us was at. I waited for her to join me on the hotel side of the bridge. The light on the castle are amazing; I decide to get up early the next day and photograph them (not enough energy and too many people to do it now). We finally got back together and headed out to find another place for dinner. We ended up at a restaurant that was more upscale than we intended and were the last to be seated. We ate a decent meal, but were disappointed because we wanted to find the Three Roses brewpub and we felt so out of place. Next to us sat some British gentleman and lady who spoke with the most proper accent. Off to bed to rest up for tomorrow.
I wake up at five or so in the morning and want to head out to Charles Bridge to get photos of the illuminated castle and the sunrise. Imke decides to join me. The bridge is almost completely empty and the castle is completely dark. What a disappointment, but at least they are not wasting energy and creating light pollution the whole night. I took photo after photo of the changing light from pre-dawn through sunrise from the bridge. As the light came up so did the people. I head back up to Petřín Hill to get away from people and Imke headed into the old part of town. We meet up at the hotel for check out and then we found the Three Roses. It met our expectations for both food and beer. Unfortunately we forgot to mind the our time. As we were waiting for our food the server said it would be late. We asked for it to go, but then it came out a little quicker and we decided to eat there. We paid our tab, finished our food, and rushed out the door to the bus station. We get lost. We are panicked and have no clue what to do. Luckily, I think "taxi" and I look up and see an available cab. We rush over to him and ask how much to take us to the bus station. We don't have enough Czech koruna, but he accepted half euro as well. We make it there with a couple minutes to spare. We would not have made it without the cab ride. We had a nice relaxing trip back to Partenkirchen. We had the German police do a border check on the bus that took about 45 minutes or so, but we had no problems. A few people were questioned and one guy had to make a trip to the bathroom for an inspection or something. A little delayed into München, but still time for a Maß and some food. Actually, we wanted only a Hoibe, but the only serve full liters in the evening. Back on the bus to Partenkirchen and then a short walk home.
The photos below are in two groups.
The first group are full 360 by 180 degree panoramas. By clicking on one of them you can zoom in and explore the detail. There a multiple copies of the panos with different color and exposure levels (HDR).
The second group are mostly wildlife that will open up in a Lightbox viewer. Just click on the photo.
