Very pretty towns
We’re camping in Prague and the weather is hot hot hot. I’m sure there must be some storms a comin’
We sorted our Mongolian visas while here in Prague which is great. Only our Chinese visa to sort out now and we’re hoping to do that when we get to Warsaw or maybe in Russia.
Prague is gorgeous and we did a walking tour so learned a little bit about the history. Also visited the Museum of Communism, which was very proud of the fact that it was housed right next to McDonalds. The museum was really critical of the communist regime and also of the Soviet Union which violently crushed a move to more liberal politics in the 1950s. I loved the poster for the museum – a Russian doll with sharp, pointy teeth. They had t-shirts and jumpers for sale with that image on, and I was tempted to get one, but thought it might not go down so well in Russia.
We bought our first souvenir in Prague – a cd from a Czech bluegrass duo who played ace Mississippi music on the Charles bridge (the Midnight Special sample above).
We also visited Tabor, a gorgeous small town a few hours from Prague. It’s the town where the Husites based themselves in the 1400s. They were followers of Jan Hus (whose statues are very prominent in Prague and Tabor). He was an orchestrator of the Reformation in this part of the world and very against the Catholic church’s method of collecting indulgences.
Tabor also has some lovely countryside, walks and wildlife which unfortunately we didn’t have the time to explore. We’ll have to try to come back one day if we can.
The Odyssey
I finished reading the Odyssey the other day. I’m glad it’s over to be honest – found it to be a bit of a drag by the end what with the constant feasting and bragging – I’m only glad it wasn’t in real time. I shouldn’t be so harsh I guess… I thought the most interesting thing about it was that it was translated by T.E. Lawrence, aka Lawrence of Arabia. I didn’t even know he was a real person – which just about shows how unknowledgable I am. I explained all this to the guy in the bookshop where I traded it in (for The Book Thief by Markus Zusak because I think I deserve an easy read now) and he told me I should read The Seven Pillars of Wisdom sometime. Maybe I will one day…
Anyway, Prague and Tabor have been great. There’s a lot of tourists here but it’s easy to see why. Walking around Prague feels a bit like being in a fairy tale at times. We had to remind ourselves yet again that we can’t see everything – there’s simply too much to see and sometimes it’s nice to just sit in a park or a square and watch people (even if they are Scottish football fans).
You managed to get another Kombi into the picture Pete!
Maybe you can’t get to do everything, but you sure are giving it a go, and having a great time.
Hi Susan and Pete,
Its great to have the opportunity to follow your trip and get a real sense of the places you are traveling to. I particularly like the audio clips. Fantastic! Speak soon x
How weird, the anti-spam word I had to enter was a certain city in Northern England where you used to live and work (and I still do).
Just wanted to say how much I loved the Charles Bridge audio clip. The quality of them is just great anyway, but that one was something special.
Take it easy.