We took the tram out to St. Marx's Cemetery, a huge, sprawling place with unbelievably ornate grave stones. It has three different stops along the tram line, that's how large this place is. We walked around for a bit just admiring all of the unique memorials, but out real goal was to find the Zentralfriedhof, the central part of the cemetery that includes a group of famous composers. After a bit of searching, we stumbled upon it almost by accident.
Beethoven:
Strauss:
Brahms:
Schubert:
Mozart:
The next day we spent the morning wandering around the Museumsquartier, an area of Vienna known for its interesting and diverse architecture. We also went into St. Stephen's Cathedral, but we didn't have time to go through the catacombs or climb the towers. It was fun to just get a feel for another city. Compared to some of the other places I've been to over the past few months, Vienna felt much more like a working city rather than a tourist destination. It wasn't industrialized to the extent that Belfast is, but I still got the sense that most of the people we saw were doing something or on their way somewhere. They weren't rushing though, so the city didn't feel busy and hectic like New York does. We didn't have much time since we were taking a train to Prague that afternoon, but we still had a very enjoyable morning.
Having fun with Jumbo's cousin, perhaps?
The first train we were on that afternoon was fun: we were in our own little compartment, and more than a few references to the Hogwarts Express were discussed. Our second train was nice too, but we sat in a cafe-type car with tables instead of a compartment. While it was fun to listen to the different languages surrounding us, it wasn't as cozy.
We picked up a map of Prague while we were in the train station, but since we only had an address of our hostel and not exact directions, navigating through the winding, cobblestone streets with suitcases got a bit tiring. We managed to find the hostel soon enough, and after several trips in the claustrophobia-inducing old-fashioned elevator, we settled into a very nice room.
While the weather wasn't as nice as Vienna (actually, it was pretty miserable), we still elected to take a walking tour of the city the next day. Our guide was a really nice student from the nearby university, and she took us all over the city, pointing out interesting sights and telling stories of the history of the Czech Republic along the way. At one point we all stopped in a cafe for a bit to warm up with some delicious hot chocolate.
One of the most interesting things was the Astronomical Clock, which is famous for disappointing tourists with its hourly puppet show. It's built up quite a bit as a must-see attraction, but I had read enough to not expect too much. Still, it was fun to see and I'm glad we were there at the right time. To be honest though, the clock is so ornate that it's almost difficult to read the time, and I certainly couldn't figure out any other information the clock is supposed to display.
And a closer look at the puppets:
Since the weather miraculously cleared up a bit, we spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the Easter Market. I think my favorite thing about Europe is probably the infinite number of open-air markets selling everything from fish and meat to jewelry and scarves. This one focused pretty heavily on beautiful hand painted eggs, touristy knickknacks, and crystal jewelry.
I bought an egg and carefully carted it around, even carrying it on my flight rather than checking it, but I somehow managed to lose it between getting off my plane in Dublin and getting to the hotel. It was pretty disappointing, but it was really inexpensive, so in the long run it doesn't really matter all that much.
There were several stands selling a simple pastry made by wrapping dough around a wooden pole, cooking it over an open flame, and coating it in cinnamon and sugar, which crystalizes onto the dough.
It was DELICIOUS - definitely rivaled the fresh doughnuts I ate in Galway.
The next day we hiked through the city, over the river, and up a massive hill to visit the Prague Castle. We were greeted by the self-proclaimed 'World's Smallest Orchestra' at the entrance:
The name 'Prague Castle' is almost a bit of a misnomer, since it's really a huge complex containing a number of different government buildings, a massive cathedral, and a small village. It's no longer used on a regular basis for executive functions, but I guess they still hold important government ceremonies there.
Part of the outside of the cathedral:
And the inside:
Since the castle is up on top of a hill, you get an amazing view of the entire city and all the red roofs:
We spent some time that afternoon going through the Communist Museum, which was pretty interesting. I knew absolutely nothing about the Czech Republic's political history, so I definitely learned a lot. There was so much reading though that it was almost exhausting.
The next day we wandered around a bit more in order to pick up some last minute souvenirs, and then we headed out to the airport to catch our flights to the next stop: Copenhagen for Michelle and Katrina, back to Dublin for me!
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