Dodging the Dodgies in Prague

(Written June 20)

Mum and I arrived in Prague four days ago, after a pleasant 5 hour train ride from Nurnberg. Upon arrival, our first impression of the heavily-touristed city was the rather sleazy area immediately adjacent to the main train station. The area looks like the sort of place that you definitely do not want to hang around in after dark. The park itself is nice enough, but dodgy characters are present aplenty. Nevertheless, I opted to walk to our hotel because I knew that it was not very far, and it would be nice to stretch the old legs a bit. Half an hour later we arrived safe and sound to our nice hotel.
The old part of the city (though much larger than, say, the old part of Nurnberg) is still rather manageable. All of the main sites that tourists are drawn to are located within a 15 minute walk from one another. The main square, Charles Bridge, St. Nicolas Church and, of course, the castle (with its incredible cathedral) are all more or less in a straight line and so can easily be accessed on foot.
As for the city itself, Mum and I agree that the best thing about it is that nearly every building looks like a museum of one sort or another. Some are adorned by statues, others feature brilliant murals, but most are just a simple splash of one bright color or other; quite lovely to look at. The downside is that the secret of the city's beauty is definitely out. There are hordes of tourists EVERYWHERE. And where there are tourists, there are tourist shops, overpriced restaurants, and dodgy characters looking to feed on less-than-vigilant visitors. It has actually become a source of amusement for Mum and I, watching those scoundrels. Here's how the game works: First, we pick a spot to eat where that has a clear view of the main square. Then, we see how long it takes to identify someone who is clearly up to no good. More often than not, we spot at least one or two of the devils even before our food arrives from the kitchen. I mean, these guys look like they took a page out of the "How to Be a Criminal" handbook: grungy-looking from head to toe, hunched over with ratty hat pulled down low, shuffling walk, and eyes constantly scanning the purses, pockets, and wallets of everyone they pass. Furthermore, they pace back and forth in the main square with obviously no destination in mind, and occasionally gesture discreetly at other guys across the square who look like they were cast from the same mold as Criminal Number 1. It is actually quite funny to watch. I mean, come on, anyone who falls prey to these buffoons must be one socket short of a set!
Anyhow, it has been fun travelling with Mum. We have managed to see everything that we wanted to see, and do so with a minimal amount of hassle. As always, we have also engaged in a hilarious laughing fit or two over some stupidity or other. On a noteable aside, we managed to drag our butts up 278 steps to the top of the castle's cathedral tower. Back before Mum quit smoking, I wouldn't have even considered trying to get her up there but she did it, and it was a small source of pride for us both to be up there together.
Tomorrow we head back to Nurnberg, where we will hang out with Melli and Matthias (who will be coming back from a work trip to Singapore) for a day. Then, on the 23rd we take the train back up to Frankfurt in time for our flights back overseas: hers to LA, and mine to NY.

Inbound Mothership

The Parental Unit is en route to Germany! I am a bit surprised that I was able to convince Mum to come to Germany, but I am glad she gave in (with hardly a fight) because I know she's going to love Nürnberg. How could she not? There's no way around it, this city rocks! I will train it to Frankfurt this afternoon, pick her up hopefully around 5pm, then take the three hour train back down to Nürnberg. Here we will hang out for a few days, explore the city, and give her a chance to recover from the jet lag. Woo hoo!
On an irrelevant tangent, I have just uploaded a BUNCH of pictures onto my flickr site, including those from India (which were deleted when I upgraded my account...grrr!!), Germany, and Poland. I wonder how many people check them out. Ah well, it's fun for me.
Oh, and I just realized why there have been only a few comments to this blog since I created it. Apparently, the default setting is to only allow register blogger members to post comments. How lame is that? Well, that should be amended now so please, let me know if you read this rubbish!

The Alps

It took 13 hours to get from Krakow to Nurnberg, but I decided to head straight back here to allow myself some time to prepare for the much-awaited hiking trip in the Alps. It was, as always, lovely to see Matthias and Melli again. I also had time to buy a few things that turned out to be very useful on the trip, including new hiking boots (my first pair!) and a new rainjacket. The weather forecasts showed plenty of rain at the time we were due to be in the mountains, so it was necessary to be prepared for that. Then it was time to head south...
M & M and I first drove for three hours down to Schwangau, which is the village made famous by Schloss Neuschwanstein. The white castle is rumoured to be the inspiration for the well known "castle" that greets visitors upon entrance to Disneyland, and it would not surprise me if it turned out to be more fact than fiction. The resemblance is hard to miss, if you've ever been to the "Happiest Place on Earth". The castle itself was interesting, but lacks the charm and timelessness of the medieval castles found elsewhere. Construction of the castle began in 1861, under the watchful eye of King Ludwig II. Though it's purpose was entirely romantic (the castle location couldn't be much nicer for a king's vacation home), the building costs very nearly bankrupted the Bavarian state. In 1886, King Ludwig II died in a mysterious accident in the nearby lake (some say he was murdered in order to save the region). It took workers 3 years to wrap up whatever unfinished tasks remained, but any plans to complete the king's grand design were unfulfilled. Today, the castle has a decidedly unfinished (and rather unbalanced, if you ask me) look to it. Though it is still nestled in the midst of beautiful mountains, I couldn't help but feel like there was something missing regardless of which side I viewed it from. On a side note, Schloss Neuschwanstein is one of the 21 candidates being considered in the "New 7 Wonders of the World". It's cool, but it is just not in the same category as Ankor Wat, the Great Pyramids, or Machu Pichu.
The next day was the start of the four-day backpacking trip in the Alps. We averaged about 3 hours of hiking per day, and spent each night in a different mountain lodge. Though some parts of the hiking got our heart pumping pretty good, the itinerary (well-planned as it was by Matthias's friend Christian) was very manageable. Melli (who had never really been hiking before), admitted beforehand that she was nervous about whether or not she could complete the route. It turned out that she not only kept pace with all 13 of us, but she even led the way a few times. Best of all, she was smiling and laughing from start to finish. I was proud of her for doing something so out of character, especially because it required climbing up, over, and around a few good sized mountains!
Now I am once again back in Nürnberg, hanging out until Mum arrives in Frankfurt in two days. I'm excited to see her. Though we sometimes have different interests when it comes to travel, I am quite optimistic that we will have a great time in Prague (the focus of our trip together).
On a somewhat disappointing note, the one thing that I didn't anticipate saying on this trip is now true: I want to go home. After the trip with mum to Czech Republic, I will go to my father's place for a bit, then drag my tired ass the rest of the way back to Santa Barbara.