The Jewish Quarters (sometimes called the Jewish Ghetto) is one of the oldest in Central Europe. Trini and I went on our own since the tour that we took yesterday did not include the tickets to get us inside the museum, the synagogue and the cemetery.

Trini and I started before 10 a.m. and the forecast was rain around noon; however, it started early. The precipitation did not deter the tourists like us. Colorful umbrellas and waterproof jackets seemed to be the norm today.

In the Jewish Quarters is where the high-end shopping stores are found – Hermés, Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Ferragamo, Robert Coin, Breathing, etc.

Founded in the latter part of the 9th century, Prague became the seat of the Kings of Bohemia. The city flourished during the reign of Charles IV in the 14th century who ordered the building of the New Town, the Charles Bridge, St. Vitus Cathedral and the Charles University.

Prague was under a communist rule for more than 40 years and seldom visited by tourists until the Velvet Revolution on November 17, 1989. From the moment freedom came into the streets the city enjoyed an economic boom. Today, tourism is the number one income generating business in Prague.

Trini and I joined a package tour yesterday which basically took all day until the evening. It was very tiring as it included a 3.5 hours walking tour over uneven cobblestones. We visited the awesome St. Vitus Cathedral with its Gothic façade and spires designed by a French master builder Mattias of Arras. When Mattias died the construction was continued by a German master builder, hence, the combination of French and German Gothic styles.

Trini went inside the cathedral (there was long line but we were told this is nothing compared during the summer months!) while I went to the presidential palace to witness the changing of the guards.

The walk took us along quaint neighborhoods with narrow streets. We bought a ginger bread and I tried a glass of the local hot wine. By now, there were so many different tour groups there was always a “collision” between groups trying to outmaneuver each other. Our group only had ten people – six of us from the U. S., two from Germany and an Indian couple.

Our group made our way to Charles Bridge which only pedestrians were allowed. All sorts of artists and caricaturists plied their expertise and positioned themselves on both sides of the bridge. Selfie-takers and other tourists who wanted to immortalize the moments blocked the only remaining inches of walkable surface.

Our group continued on to the Jewish Quarters which now houses the most expensive real estate in the country. Trini and I will be going back here since the tour did not include tickets to go to the synagogue and the Jewish cemetery. We browsed the high-end stores, the usual – Hermes, LV, Ferragamo, Robert Coin, Prada, Patek Philippe, etc.

We ended our walking tour in the Old Town where Trini and I ate our lunch – Old Prague ham and sausage with Czech beer. The place was crowded and many people just sat on the square to consume their foods.

After the light lunch, Trini and I went to our hotel to rest and get ready for the boat cruise with dinner later that night. The tour company picked us up at 1745 and we did a half-hour tour of the city before we got dropped off to join the others for the boat cruise.

Our boat went through a “lock” similar to that of the Panama Canal where the water level was dropped to a certain level to allow us to pass.

Trini and I are so impressed with this Bohemian city. Although we expected it to be very affordable we were a little disappointed to find out that it is not (food and drinks)! However, the warm friendly people and the unforgettable experience we’ve had during the past two days more than made up for this “disappointment”.

Prague is one of the most visited destinations in the world and now I can understand why. The history behind this lovely city is unsurpassed and the fact that it was almost untouched during the bombings in WWII makes it the most preserved historic city in Europe.

Some call it the Paris of Eastern Europe and I can vouch for that, especially, when we did the night boat cruise along the River Vitava. Walking through the redeveloped Baroque, Rococo and Art Nouveau streets is indescribable!

Ah, the allure of Praha….

 

Trini and I grudgingly ended our 8-day stopover in Wiesbach where Manfred and Miriam (Trini’s cousin) lived.  It was hard to say Auf Wiedersehen but move on we must. Until next time…

We woke up at 3:15 a.m. so we can have a head start since our flight to Prague was in Frankfurt. Poor Manfred had to get up early too to drive us there. The drive was almost two hours although we weren’t flying in the autobahn like the other drivers. Manfred dropped us off at Terminal 2 and we bade him goodbye and expressed our sincere thanks for being a very gracious and kind host.

The Czech Airlines counter was still closed when we arrived at 6:10 a.m. so we sat for another hour or so. At 7:15 a.m., a lone employee started to check us in. When we proceeded to the gate we noticed there weren’t that many people flying with us. After boarding, we were all bused us to the plane. Trini and I stared in “horror” at our tiny turbo prop airplane! No wonder there were not that many flyers and the counter guy tagged most of our hand carry luggages since it was going along with the checked in baggage.

 

Trini has a fear of flying on small airplanes, luckily, the flight only took an hour and twenty minutes (15 minutes of that taxiing in the runway). After retrieving our baggage we exited the customs area and found our shuttle driver holding up my name. A curt hello with a smile then he took over our cart and we followed him with two other ladies who shared the shuttle with us.

The shuttle driver was a speed demon with a lead foot. At least he did not run over any red lights. He drove us around the city and we were able to see the beautiful UNESCO Heritage and Cultural Site. I was surprised to see so many tourists considering it is still winter. I’ve been following the European countries’ weather forecast for the last couple of weeks and we are lucky to have this spring-like weather now whereas it was 20 to 25 degrees Fahrenheit colder two weeks ago! I observed that the people were dressed in extremes – some were in shorts and t-shirts only and some were bundled up to the hilt.

After checking in, these two seniors took their afternoon nap. We only had three hours of sleep and our old decrepit system is begging us to rest. After a power nap, we went exploring the historical center. There were people from all over – Asians snapping photos of their kids in store fronts, young Americans discussing where they had lunch and where their next destination will be, Swiss gentlemen with their feathered hats licking ice creams, locals just trying to dodge the tourists getting from point A to point B.

We noticed that there were a lot of gambling casinos outnumbered only by McDonalds.

We plan to join some tours today to get a better tourist-view of this Bohemian city. More updates later…

 

 

 

 

Having rested for a few days and with the temperature slightly warmer, I asked Manfred if he would like to accompany me walking as it was such a beautiful day to walk. He eagerly agreed as he has not walked since we walked in the snow (he too caught the “bug”).

I thought Manfred would take me to the same hiking trails but he surprised me with a different one! This time the trails took us partly on tree-lined trails, along paths with a view of the surrounding communities and alongside the highway. There was a long moderate uphill that surprised me but enjoyed it anyway.

I noticed that the towns and villages were so close together and Manfred named each one of them (which I will not repeat here as most of them are tongue-twisters). He pointed at an abandoned German WWII bunker which was filled with moss by now.

Our walk was really energizing. The breeze was biting cold but after a half hour of walking my body started to get used to it. The walk took us a total of one hour and twenty minutes (my phone app showed 3.6 miles). Feeling good and ready to move on to the next country.

                      DIE FAMILIE (THE FAMILY)

Tonight will be our last night staying with our very hospitable and kind hosts – Manfred and Miriam Jost. Miriam’s younger sister, Marie and hubby, Aryan arrived from Amsterdam last night as they were going on ski vacation with the Josts in the Italian Alps starting this Sunday.

The Jost’s two daughters (Yvette and Nicole) and their families were there too. Miriam, cooked up a storm and baked the best apple pie and cheesecake that I’ve ever tasted! Manfred took out his loyal grill from storage and showed off his culinary expertise with it. The lamb was cooked to perfection – a little pinkish and even a dull knife would cut through it easily. The pork chop was just as good and juicy. But I was more impressed with the sausages – they were lamb sausages and very tasty!

 

Miriam’s different salads and veggies are “to die for” – delicious would be an understatement to describe the banquet! Manfred completed the feast with his Italian reds!

The night was filled with stories reminiscing our long gone youth, laughing at funny anecdotes that only Filipinos will understand, comparing exotic places we’ve visited, and grateful to have been successful in life and most importantly, that we were still healthy to do what we are passionate about – traveling.

Trini and I can never thank Manfred and Miriam enough for we know that without them inviting us to their lovely and comfortable home, we would still be recovering from the dreaded cold somewhere in a hotel in Spain.

The Germans are very warm, friendly and helpful people! Trini and I vowed to return again but when that time comes it will be on a warmer weather!

Vielen Dank für lhre herzliche Gastfreundschaft, Manfred und Miriam!

We drove to Bernkastel-Kues which is about 50 km (31 miles) from Trier. We passed vineyards that were growing on steep (really steep!) hills that only a mountain goat can traverse. Manfred explained that machines do the harvesting.

Bernkastel-Kues is a famous winemaking region along the Moselle river. I fought the urge to go wine-tasting as I was still medicating myself due to my colds. When we arrived in Bernkastel-Kues it was like walking into one of the Grimm Brothers fairy tale story. I would not have been surprised had I encountered Hansel and Gretel.

The architecture were similar with that of the old houses in Trier but there was a distinct difference in the air and I didn’t know what it was. Unlike Trier, the people seemed more laid back here. We saw young couples pushing baby strollers chatting with friends; matronly women walking pedigreed pets at leisure; shoppers taking their time to browse. In Trier, everyone seemed to be in a hurry to be someplace.

Finding a place to eat at 4:00 pm was almost impossible. First because the restaurants do not open until 7:00 pm or so; second, many are closed for the winter due to lack of tourists at this time of the year. We found a pizza place finally. What? eating pizza in Germany, you ask. I agree but when you’re famished and have no other options, then pizza it is!

I spotted another scallop shell symbol of the Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James). It was pasted on a pipe and was advertising a Camino tour.

We walked around a little bit more after eating pizza. Bernkastel-Kues is not a very big city so we ended our day as the clouds started to gather and obscure the sun. We decided it was time to go home….

A really bad cold accompanied by an equally bad cough kept me and Trini in the warmth and comfort of the Jost’s beautiful home in Wiesbach (yes, we’re still in Deutchsland).

Before we started our European vacation, I have been contacting many of the friends I’ve made during my two Camino de Compostela pilgrimage (please visit my Facebook page – Walking The Camino to learn more about this). Two of them Victoria and her mom live about 20 minutes away from the Josts. We agreed to meet last Monday, March 5th. Victoria even had to take a day off from work just to make it happen. Regrettably, I was so sick that I had to call it off. My apologies, Victoria and Ga All. I know you follow my blog.

Yesterday was a “perfect” day to go play tourists. Perfect in the sense that the sky allowed the sun to come out all day and there was no rain or snow in the forecast. The best thing was the temperature was in the high 40’s. Only small patches of brown snow are left from the last snow fall.

Manfred was our designated driver and unofficial tour guide for the day. He made a stop at a nearby gas station. For the U.S. gasoline consumers – count your blessings! Gas here in Europe costs around $6.50/gallon (about 1.30 euros per liter). We headed into their autobahn and unlike in America there is no speed limit. Well, not exactly – there were a few speed limits posted where the autobahn cuts through towns (noise prevention) and other safety reasons. But generally, you can drive as fast as your BMW or Audi can take!

Trier is the oldest city in Germany and is located northwest of Eppelborn approximately 72 km (43 miles) away. This is also the birthplace of Karl Marx, the father of communism (“Religion is the opiate of the masses”). It was founded by the Celts in the late 4th century B.C. and was conquered by the Romans in 1 A.D. This became one of the largest cities of Rome with an estimated population of 75,000 to 100,000!

We climbed the stairs and slowly worked our way to all the levels and it was very impressive on how it was preserved and rebuilt to the original designs. Unfortunately, I noticed that almost all the walls had etchings of names and initials!

After our self-tour of Porta Nigra we went to the nearby Trier Cathedral, again the oldest cathedral in Germany. The cathedral is well-known for its pilgrimages as this is where the Holy Robe of Jesus Christ is kept. I was not surprised to see the scallop shell symbol of St. James (St. Jakob in German) in the cathedral’s bulletin board as this pilgrimage is very popular in Germany. It was popularized by a German comedian-actor, Hape Kerkeling who completed the pilgrimage and wrote a book then a movie was made after that.

The cathedral, compared to those that I’ve visited in Spain (Burgos and Sagrada Familia) is unimpressive; however, there was no ostentatiousness in contrast with those I mentioned. The vast interior is equally simple except for several sculptures along the columns and walls. The cathedral’s bishops were all buried in the cathedral. We visited the crypts below ground and it felt spooky due to the lack of lighting.

We ventured out into the cloister where I noticed that it was also a burial place for the city’s rich residents.

At this time, we felt we needed some energy-booster so we sauntered into the center of the old town to grab something to eat. Trini wanted to try the local sausage sandwich. As we waited for our sandwiches a small group of Hare Krishna followers passed us chanting accompanied by a drum and what looked like a keyboard. People just seemed to ignore them.

It was amazing how some of the buildings were preserved for hundreds of years. There is one that was built early 13th century and is still lived on. The contrasting pastel colors are very beautiful.

After the much-needed break, our “bosses” went to do what they do best – shopping! At first, Manfred and I followed them like love sick puppies but eventually gave up. I did what I do best – people watching. I noticed that the women are pretty fashionable here like anywhere else in Europe. Their clothes and shoes are trendy.

After Trier we went to Bernkastel-Kues which I will be talking about in Part Two.