Czech out the SNOW!!
So this morning I woke up in Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic to screams of excitement over the fact that snow was falling from the sky. Not much, just little tiny flakes, but for those that had never seen snow, it was really exciting. Unfortunately this excitement quickly turned to complaining when these snow-virgins realized how cold it was out. Nothing a Canadian can't handle, but colder than most Australians are used to. I just laughed and rolled over to go back to sleep, thinking that it is going to get a heck of a lot colder over the coming weeks!!
Ok, so back to the begining, where I left off! I went to Munich on Monday with Ron, Tanja, and the kids. They went to the zoo while I did some exploring. Its a really pretty town, and I am excited to go back next fall for Octoberfest! I did a tour of the old Royal Residenz, then wandered around, had a pint (or two) at the Hofbrauhaus with an old German man (who bought me a pretzle and a pint!), then made my way back to meet up with the family.
On Tuesday I caught the train from Mittenwald to Munich, then caught another train to Plzen, Czech Republic. In total I traveled for 11 hours. It was really sad leaving Mittenwald, and yes, I did shed a few tears on the train. When I arrived in Plzen (birthplace of Pilsner beer), just before 6pm I was rudely told by the Tourist Information woman that they were closed and wouldn't give me directions to my hostel. This was the begining of the night from Hell. After that, I attempted to call the hostel where I had a reservation to get some directions, but the woman on the phone informed me that she only spoke German, and didn't understand English. After trying to find the right thing to say in my phrase book, she got frustrated with me, so I said goodbye and let her go. I then went into the Exchange Office to change some of the money I had on me into Czech Crowns, and the two women there were amazingly helpful. They drew me a map, told me which tram to take, and where to get off. I then was helped by an older woman who told me which tram stop to go to to catch the right tram. When I ended up in the wrong direction, two students were really nice and pointed me in the right direction. Unfortunately, when I finally arrived at the hostel, the same woman from the phone kept telling me that they had no beds left, and while I once again tried to use my phrasebook, she blatantly ignored me and chatted with a man that was in the lobby. Finally she dismissed me by telling me that there were beds available over at the public pool (weird, but true). When I arrived there, the woman at the desk, with the help of two students in line behind me who spoke english, told me that she had to call the manager to see if there were beds available for the night, and then appologized profussely when she wasn't able to get him on the phone. It was the last straw for a tired girl, and as I left the pool I broke down in tears. But with the help of the two students, I was able to find another hotel where I could get a private room for only 600 CK (around 30$ Canadian) with a TV and a phone. I took the tram back to the train station, then grabbed a cab and was there in under 20 minutes. The place was old, but really pretty. I was able to take a shower, have some dinner, and then called mom & dad.
Yesterday I did a tour of the underground brewing and storing rooms in Plzen, then took a bus to Cesky Krumlov for 2 nights. Last night, it was free beer night in the hostel, so we all shared a keg, then I had dinner in the restaurant with some of the other people staying here. One of the guys turned out to be a the brother of a guy that I went to high school with, and who I switched names with on our OAC student cards. So random!
Today I wandered around town and was planning on going to the castle but it closed on November 1st, so I just wandered around the town for the day. So cute!!
Tomorrow I am going to go to Prague for a few days, then into Poland and then back into Germany.
I am getting bad looks from the other people at the hostel who need to use the internet, so I am going to go for now! Love to everyone at home!
Ok, so back to the begining, where I left off! I went to Munich on Monday with Ron, Tanja, and the kids. They went to the zoo while I did some exploring. Its a really pretty town, and I am excited to go back next fall for Octoberfest! I did a tour of the old Royal Residenz, then wandered around, had a pint (or two) at the Hofbrauhaus with an old German man (who bought me a pretzle and a pint!), then made my way back to meet up with the family.
On Tuesday I caught the train from Mittenwald to Munich, then caught another train to Plzen, Czech Republic. In total I traveled for 11 hours. It was really sad leaving Mittenwald, and yes, I did shed a few tears on the train. When I arrived in Plzen (birthplace of Pilsner beer), just before 6pm I was rudely told by the Tourist Information woman that they were closed and wouldn't give me directions to my hostel. This was the begining of the night from Hell. After that, I attempted to call the hostel where I had a reservation to get some directions, but the woman on the phone informed me that she only spoke German, and didn't understand English. After trying to find the right thing to say in my phrase book, she got frustrated with me, so I said goodbye and let her go. I then went into the Exchange Office to change some of the money I had on me into Czech Crowns, and the two women there were amazingly helpful. They drew me a map, told me which tram to take, and where to get off. I then was helped by an older woman who told me which tram stop to go to to catch the right tram. When I ended up in the wrong direction, two students were really nice and pointed me in the right direction. Unfortunately, when I finally arrived at the hostel, the same woman from the phone kept telling me that they had no beds left, and while I once again tried to use my phrasebook, she blatantly ignored me and chatted with a man that was in the lobby. Finally she dismissed me by telling me that there were beds available over at the public pool (weird, but true). When I arrived there, the woman at the desk, with the help of two students in line behind me who spoke english, told me that she had to call the manager to see if there were beds available for the night, and then appologized profussely when she wasn't able to get him on the phone. It was the last straw for a tired girl, and as I left the pool I broke down in tears. But with the help of the two students, I was able to find another hotel where I could get a private room for only 600 CK (around 30$ Canadian) with a TV and a phone. I took the tram back to the train station, then grabbed a cab and was there in under 20 minutes. The place was old, but really pretty. I was able to take a shower, have some dinner, and then called mom & dad.
Yesterday I did a tour of the underground brewing and storing rooms in Plzen, then took a bus to Cesky Krumlov for 2 nights. Last night, it was free beer night in the hostel, so we all shared a keg, then I had dinner in the restaurant with some of the other people staying here. One of the guys turned out to be a the brother of a guy that I went to high school with, and who I switched names with on our OAC student cards. So random!
Today I wandered around town and was planning on going to the castle but it closed on November 1st, so I just wandered around the town for the day. So cute!!
Tomorrow I am going to go to Prague for a few days, then into Poland and then back into Germany.
I am getting bad looks from the other people at the hostel who need to use the internet, so I am going to go for now! Love to everyone at home!
posted by Traveling Amanda @ 7:19 AM
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