Well, just to back track to my Czec Republic trip during the last week of December.
It was pure fun and jolly. I visited my Czec friend, Slossy whom I met like 4 years ago in the states. He has kindly hosted us during our 5 days in Czec Republic.
As usual, he has never failed me as an ever so reliable and dependable guy. He got our itinery settled for us . Hence, we felt so relaxed during our whole trip- a good break from our Spain trip as our meals and acccomodation were all take care of.
With a local as our tour guide,we were lucky that we hardly get lost in our driving except the third day when we took a train out to Prague alone.Slossy knew his country's history very well and everyday he would flood us with endless information about each historical site we went to. I must say I have a better understanding of the European history, particularly the war history now.Ron who is an avid reader of war history knew quite a fair bit which allowed him to interact with Slossy more. Phew..so I just left the guyz talking and I quietly enjoyed the scenary throughout our tours.
The highlights of the trip mainly includes:
1) getting our lazy bums out in the mountains ( which we thorougly enjoyed as we experienced our first " Snow hike" together. We drove past the Germany border to do this!!!And of course, because we are Chinese, we spent more time than anybody else to clear the custom.Luckily, Slossy was super savvy enough to speak to the Germans in English and hence urghem...they decided to cut the hassle by speaking to us in English and let us go!!:))
2) Train rides with the locals which we enjoyed . We got to observe how countrylife was like. We heard so much about Prague. But I guess Czec Republic is more than just Prague. Away from this crowd attracting city, was a beautiful mountaineous landscape in the other parts of the country. More often, you will still get to see remnants of the 2nd world war and communistic era. Interestingly, these buildings, objects and way of life made Czec an attractive place to visit because there are so much culture and history to learn. There were tons of castles which we unfortunately could not get to go in as they were closed during Winter. Dear ron was disappointed.
3) But nevertheless, he was pleased ultimately by the widespread of Czec crusines which we got to try. We bugged Slossy to bring us to places where the locals go. So we got to taste all kinds of Czec food- Christmas Dinner with carp(prepared by sloss),the dumplings ( Not at all like our jiao zi or bah zang) ,goulaus, the sweet and sour red cabbage dish,the plum wine and Czec beer. Sweet Marcela ( Slossy's gf) prepared several homecooked dishes for us as well. This woman amazed me !!I told Slossy to marry her. She can bake and do handicraft very well. She can literally start her own shop!!!I love her personality. Even though she was down with cold, she was still so hospitable!!!Oh yah, did I not tell you that we went to this cool restaurant in Prague where Napolean was there!!!Cool place with long tables held out in true European beerhall style and lively music from the musicians playing the accordians.Of course, the menu was traditional Czec food which filled us to the brim!
4) Spa biscuits and Spa town-Karlovy vary!!!. Totally fascinated by the spa town. I do not know why it is called spa town but I guess there were lots of hot springs in these areas. I bought this cute little flask which I could use to store the spring water as we hopped from one Spring to another. The water from these springs were believed to have medicinal value and proven beneficial to health. Many rich Russians simply flew in to receive treatment for various diseases and hence you could probably meet more Russians than Czecs in this place. Ron chickened out and did not dare to try the spring water . Slossy and I were happily slurping the warm spring water. Though it has a sulphuric ,runny taste of a rotten egg, I must say I pretty enjoy it. I guess i am just too caught up in the belief that these spring water will make you more radiant and pretty !! Asides from this experience, I saw a few places which were shot in Casino Royale!!!Remember my Daniel Craig!!!!Gosh, in the movie, those places were supposed to be in Montgomery!!
5) Czec movies on Slossy's desktop!!Guess what??Ron and I got hooked and we asked for more!!According to Slossy, most Czec films were mainly based on war or the communistic era ,if not some famous people. It is hard to get funding to produce a movie.
5) And of course, let's not forget the post christmas sale shopping in Prague. I bought myself a pair of boots and a Zara overcoat.The beautiful Charles Bridge, the Prague castle, the clock, the Jewish Synagague,the old and new town and etc... Prague truely lives up to its name.
Thanks Slossy and Marcela for being such great hosts!Ron and I really enjoyed our stay and we hope we can be as hospitable as you guyz when both of you visited us in Singapore or the States.
p/s: Unfortunately, i seemed to have misplaced the disc which Slossy has kindly burned our travel pictures in Czec. They will be uploaded soon!!
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