Dresden and thence to Praha (Prague)

Thursday, July 24, 2014
Dresden, Prague, Opatov, Vysočina, Czech Republic
First of all a reflection on 'grunters'. We're now in Prague (Praha) but not before we stopped off at yet another delightful campsite for our visit to Dresden. More about Dresden later. Campsite Ferienpark Ortrand was wonderful. We were the only mobilehome in the six special MH sites and it was all very picturesque. But, now onto the reflecton . . . wonderful showers with plenty of hot water were lovely but even better was the floor show. Now some of you dear ladies may or may not be familiar with men who grunt in showers but Peter will tell you that between the Army and cruising yachts he's heard some really good ones. The point of this story is that he's now heard the King of Grunters. He could be heard at the shaving basin but when he retired to the shower the performance went to unheard of heights. Ooh, ahh, och, uff . . . . slap, slap, slap . . . ufffff, ahhh, ochhhh, ussss (for a change) . . . slap, slap, slap . . . repeated for the whole eight minutes. It sounded like someone washing trees in the Black Forest!
Dresden is wonderful . Kathy immediately suggested staying an extra night instead of the three we had planned on but we'd prebooked our Praha site and as it only had very limited availability we decided to just use our one full day to the best effect. Dresden is amazing because of the way it has been rebuilt from the ashes of the 1000 bomber raid. One example is the RC Cathedral which was all but destroyed. It has been rebuilt using whatever material could be savalged and is now back to all its late-baroque glory. A truly amazing experience. Having only the one day meant that after a walk around the Old Quarter we spent it at The Zwinger - a trio of amazing museums (an art gallery, a porcelain musuem, and the museum of mathematics and physics. Effectively that took the rest of the day and we totally missed sights such as the "Blue Bridge". And, any number of sights and experiences up and down the River Elbe.
One more night at the Ortrand and we heigh hoed for Praha. The drive to Prague was very different to our journey through Northern Germany . It is far more hilly and interesting. Most of the drive was on the autobahn but a 45 minute detour took us on some beautiful country roads. Striking scenery, small villages and just a few vehicles. Our welcome to Prague was a bit different! First of all, Le GPS, took us through the outskirts of the city where we witnessed an intersection smash. Bang! Right in front of us as we waited at a traffic light. One of the vehicles obviously did not see the light and went straight through. Lots of damage but both drivers got out of their vehicles so hopefully no injuries.
Our campsite, Camping Oase Praha, is on the outskirts of a small village about 25km from the City centre. There is a bus, then another bus, then a tram service to the centre. We were told it would take about 50 minutes but that's if all is perfectly aligned. Closer to an hour and ten minutes. But, the buses are comfortable and the trip interesting so it goes pretty quickly.
What to do in a fantastic city when you only have three days? A week would not be enough . Maybe three. So, we planned to do a walk-around the old quarter, and river cruise, on Day 1, a day centred on the Jewish Quarter and city centre, and, the final day visiting Prague Castle. Make no error, this is one fabulous city and deserves its reputation as a cultured, friendly and beautiful place to be. The people were lovely, every site we visited was worth ten times the time we had available, and the weather was glorious. Well, maybe that last bit was an exaggeration, it was actually "bleep" hot! So, searching for shade was of prime concern. 
What were the highlights? Just about everything we saw and did but if we had to choose it would be the colour, activity and friendliness of the Town Square. Everything was there and apart from a band playing doof, doof music on Day 1, the sounds were wonderful too. A band playing dixie, another playing local folk music and a variety of musicians showing the wares, including one 80+ bloke playing the violin. Haunting! And to top it all we found a great little street-side restaurant serving the most delicious paninis . Another thing to mention is that we found absolutely the best croissants we've tasted, France included. They were delicious. Where did we find them? Hold onto to your hats folks! Starbucks!!!! Yes, that coffee shop that Peter swore was worse than Maccas and KFC combined, not only served an out-of-this-world croissant but also a very acceptable coffee. What is the world coming to! All the old shibboleths of his youth are being torn down. No matter - this is what growing older is all about i.e. growing up.
By the way, thanks Kate for the pocket guide, it was invaluable in getting around.
So much for Prague, now we're on our way to Vienna (Wien). Our intermediate stop is at a little village - Opatov. Camping Vidlak - Opatov - is run by a Dutch couple and is now the very cleanest, neatest most beautifully sited campsite we've visited. On the shore of a small lake it is deep in the countryside and surrounded on all sides by tall forests with just the odd clearing to be seen. After a another very hot day and shopping at Tesco we settled down to a lazy afternoon towards the end of which we decided to do a load of washing. Having taken an hour and a half we had just hung the stuff up (no dryer available) when a big storm assaulted us. Hail, the works. So, what else to do but get the cossie on and clean down Le Van who now looks a lot more presentable.



 




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Comments

turandot
2014-07-29

Enjoying your travel notes. You're both looking super.

Sheila
2014-07-29

There are two very green people sitting in Simon's Town, enjoying the armchair travelling you are providing with your wonderful descriptions. Just keep on having a great time and making memories that will stay with you forever.
Much love to you both, Sheila and Peterxx

Alex
2014-07-29

Hi from the Whitsundays! Peter, you would be proud of us, We have managed to manoeuvre from Hamilton Is to a few interesting coves over three days so far with three more to go. Airlee Beach at the moment about to take off to maybe Nara Inlet. Fortunately Tom, Meri and Brian are manning the helm while Diana and I are holding the G&Ts horizontal (can't say the same for us!!! - one VERY rowdy night on Tanqueray, so far, and that was just Diana and me...oh dear). Just love your blog and I so bet you DONT wish we were there, but we do! Sounds fabulous and love all the pics. xxxxxxx

Carolyn
2014-07-30

Hi my Darlings - it all just sounds so wonderful & relaxing. You will never be able to settle at home but that's ok as you can always go back to Europe - your time is yours. I have been sending emails with updates to your email Kathy. Big hug to you both

Sue
2014-07-30

This is getting better by the minute! Love Suse

Joan McMurray
2014-07-30

"The campsite XXXXX is run by a Dutch couple and is now the very cleanest, neatest most beautifully sited campsite we've visited". That sounds like a campsite of note and my style. I'm enjoying my holiday in spirit with you. Wow those trucks either side looked frightening. Luvvies Joan

Joan McMurray
2014-07-30

Just a thought. For those of "me" who are terrified of flying will never have any fun in life. I've seriously limited myself. Even the thought of flying to CT is just aweful. Luvvies to you serious itinerants. Joan

Veronica Mortimer
2014-07-31

If Sheila and Peter are green then there is no color to describe her sister! Brought back some wonderful memories of our holiday of a lifetime in 2009 when visited Scotland! So enjoying reading your blog and seeing places through your often humorous eyes!

2025-02-16

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