Short Walk in the Center of Pardubice

Pardubice, on the Elbe river is one of Czech Republic's most important industrial centers, historically focused on chemistry (this is where Semtex explosives come from), more recently electronics and machinery companies together with an oil refinery have brought new business here.

The city is known internationally for one of the most difficult horse races, the Steeple Chase and the indoor motorcycle race it hosts. But these are not the only attractions, inside the Czech Republic, the renown of Pardubice is linked to the gingerbread made here which saw a rise in production in the 20th century and the cultural life is also booming with music festivals and great theater. Well-known is the comedy theater festival held in the city's beautiful Art Nouveau theater house

If you stop by for an afternoon, start your trip at the information office, right next to the Green Gate, at Nam. Republiky 1. Here you can get your complimentary map and brochure where the main points are highlighted on and you can even follow one of the itineraries suggested there. Since the terrain is so flat, biles are very common with very good bike routes in and around town.

The city of about 90 000 inhabitants  has an old center reminiscent of the gingerbread that made it's fame and an interesting looking castle surrounded by gardens. Noteworthy is also the pedestrian area with cafés and restaurants, one being the Potrefena Husa in the Grand Shopping mall.


Passing the Green Gate, Pernštýnském náměstí the city's main square opens up to the visitor. It is a quiet square on a warm August after-noon but the imposing City Hall provides the background for the many fairs and festivals. A Marian Column and baroque houses complete the décor of one of the mot beautiful center squares in the Czech Republic.


Continuing towards the Castle, one will discover that it is surrounded by beautiful green gardens, a real heart of the city as many families meet here to enjoy the modern playground for children. Many sports events are held on the sports field close by.

The Castle itself is quite unique in Central Europe, a white, imposing Palace surrounded by castle walls, it used to belong to the lords of Pernštejn in the 16th century. Inside, it houses early renaissance murals as well as the Museum and the Gallery of East Bohemia, making it interesting enough for a stop over.



Pardubice is easily accessible by train from Prague or Brno, being an important railway hub in Eastern Bohemia or by car, following the D11 highway linking Prague and Hradec Kralove. Other day trips can include Kutna Hora, where there is a huge ossuaire and Kolin, where there is a Toyota plant. Both of these places are on the way to Prague, following quaint roads through villages.
 More information on www.visitpardubice.com/




 

Pornic, o felie de primavara la mare

Stiu, stiu, le cer scuze fanilor mei, adica celor 17 inscrisi la feed si probabil 3 care pica pe aici complet intamplator, stiu, nu am mai scris de mult. Asa ca ma revansez cu poze de la mare. Sau mai bine zis de la ocean, poze de acum vreo 6 ani (doamne, ce a trecut timpul), cand eram Erasmus in Franta si cu niste prieteni am facut o plimbare pana la ocean. Cum locuiam in Nantes, aveam de ales intrer mai multe statiuni si sate si imi amintesc ca am vizitat vreo 3 cu acea ocazie, Pornic, Pornichet si La Baule.
 
Pornic este un orasel linistit, cu port, castel si mutle stradute labirintice prin care sa te pierzi, urmand mirosul de clatite si vata de zahar. Ca mai toate oraselele de pe coasta bretona. Si ai mereu impresia ca vei da peste un pirat adevarat. Sau peste Barba albastra (Gilles de Rais care a servit drept inspiratie pentru acest personaj, a avut resedinta aici).
 

In aceasta zona sunt multe golfulete ascunse privirii. Nisipul este aici inchis la culoare si fierbinte. Cand ne-am plimbat noi pe acolo nu era foarte multa lume, fiind primavara tarzie, insa vara sunt destul chiriasi in rulotele de pe faleze si totusi te simti retras de lume.

Pe drum spre La Baule ne-am oprit la fortificatiile de la Prefailles - St Gildas, un pic de istorie recenta, ramasite al celui de-Al Doilea Razboi Mondial, acum doar urmele fortificatiilor de unde turistii privesc peste Ocean, spre New York.

Nu am mai gasit fotografii din celelalte locatii si tare rau imi pare. La Baule este o statiune foarte chic, pentru protipendada. Aici gasiti cea mai lunga plaja din Europa (12km, e lunga rau) dar si cel mai bun sorbet de fructe de padure. Ah si hoteluri in castele, e de vis.

Si cu acestea va las sa munciti si paote sa visati. Pe aici e zapada si totul e colorat de iarna dar sper ca v-am adus un pic de nisip intre degete.

Romanian Road Trip - Day 1 Oradea

I'm back after a wonderful week spent on the road in Romania. It was tiring but well worth it. The three of us (me and two French guys, lucky me), left From Prague on Friday around 2pm and we reached the Romanian border town of Oradea at 1am, local time. We got back last Sunday so in total we spent 9 days and a half on the road. The trip to Romania was quite Ok, except for a bit of a traffic jam in Hungary and the fact that the highways are not well indicated and I have a feeling there was a slightly shorter way to get to Oradea. The two drivers took turns behind the wheel and I did the navigating part, including the sandwiches and so time flew by.

When we arrived in Oradea, the hotel manager was already waiting for us. This was the only booking I made in advance because the trip was only roughly defined: I had in mind the general points of what I wanted to do and see and back ups to my plans so that the guys could also have a say in this schedule. The room was clean but the downside was the noisy street. We were still very much awake from the trip so we had some beers before going to sleep at 3am. In the morning we had brunch in the room: smoked Italian ham and salad and headed out to visit Oradea.

The usual gateway into Romania is Arad, at least for me, because the roads are better and the highway now passes Szeged and goes almost all the way to the boarder. But we had already been to Arad before so we wanted to see something new. And not to mention Oradea is closer to Cluj, you'll see why soon :) . Oradea is a charming town with many baroque and Secession style buildings and even, as the hotel manager told me, a pedestrian street. So keep this in mind for when you will visit Romania.

We started our visit on the pedestrian Republicii street. The weather was not very friendly, raining and unusually cold for this time of the year. The pedestrian street is a very nice touch, resembles a bit what we had already sen in Brasov, bars, restaurants and shops on both sides and bar tables in the middle. It would have been pleasant if it weren't for the rain. Here you have some views of the street, it was not very crowded yet, maybe because of the rain, but we soon found a lot of foreign tourists and some lively places. 

Oradea seemed to me to be emblematic of a trend in Romania: many thinks have been done to improve the quality of life but there are still many things to be done and the vision of the future is lacking. Behind the shabby facades you could see that the boarder town was once glorious. Indeed some buildings have already been restored to their former beauty, some are undergoing reconstruction work while others are still waiting. But Oradea is on the good path, maybe it's the western influence since many people here work in Hungary.

Since it was raining quite a lot, we hoped into the first bar we saw: The "retro lactobar bistro" as advertised by the cow outside. I  will talk about it in another post, the place certainly had personality and it was great fun, together with the pubs and discos around our hotel, I think the night life here must be at least worth a try. This proves that the airplane magazine that lead me to even consider Oradea as a stop over, was right: there is life outside Bucharest.

When we finished our coffee it was raining less and we managed to find enough courage to go outside. and wandered around the  beautiful Ferdinand square. We passed the State Theater, one of the best theaters in Romania, according to my artistically inclined friends.  Periodically there are theater festivals and the tickets are cheap compared to the quality of the artistic performance. 

Some more buildings in the area are nicely restored or under restoration. In a few year, when they'll finish the restoration work, the city will be splendid, as I'm sure it was during the Hapsburg. 

Actually, Oradea was meant to resemble Vienna, so many buildings here are in the same style as the ones in the capital of the Empire and were been built by Austrian architects.

The map I had had for free from the hotel pointed me towards the other side of the Crisul Repede river, where the center of the town lies as well as the citadel of Varadinum. 

Over the bridge, the Town Hall is looking along the river. Along the Crisul Repede river there are many green spaces, parks and other recreational spaces

As I said before, the proximity to the West is beneficial to the town which has good links to the rest of Europe: the highway in Hungary goes to Debrecen, not very far from Oradea, there is an airport here and the airports of Cluj and Budapest are not very far either. It took us 10 hours to come here from Prague, by car.

The main square with a Statue of Michale the Brave, the first to unite the Romanian provinces. I found it interesting to see a statue of him here, he is more of a symbol for the Southern part of Romania. 

With better weather, it's a nice place to sit down and watch the passers by but this was an atypical summer as you can see from the menacing clouds in the background. This is where we saw our first wedding of the day: with all the rain, there will be at least 5 lucky and rich couples.

 

  

The Black Eagle Palace, shopping gallery in the Art Nouveau style, named after a stained glass ceiling depicting a Black Eagle. Close by is the Church with  the Moon, where one can find an interesting astronomical clock which follows the phases of the moon. Interesting fact: the first Meridian was considered to pass by Oradea, long before it was established in Greenwich.

According to Wikipedia, there are over 100 sites of  religious service and many of them are in and around the square: Roman Catholic, Franciscan, Orthodox, Evangelical, Jewish, Baptists, all are represented and sometimes in close vicinity as you can see below.

The citizens of Oradea are 70% Romanian and roughly 28% Hungarian (some Roma and others make up the rest) for a population of over 200 000 people, a large town by Romanian standards. Don't be surprised to hear Hungarian spoken a lot here, as in other cities in Transylvania.

Oradea is not without it's importance in the history of Europe, having suffered hoards of invaders from the Mongols to the Ottomans. The ruins of the citadel testify to it's troubled past. 

The bastion fortress is being restored, much in the same way as the one in Alba Iulia has already been restored. When we were there the site was under heavy reconstruction but still some wedding parties were taking pictures in the park.

This is were we ended our walk around Oradea, we got back to the hotel to have a tea before heading towards our next destination, Cluj. There are more things to see and do in Oradea such as the Muzeum of  the region or "Tara Crisului", a baroque Palace with 365 windows. Just 5km South of Oradea is the spa town of Baile Felix with a beautiful waterlily reservation (again, the hotel manager proved to be a great source of information). If you want to make a detour, there is also the glacier cave of Scarisoara in nearby Alba County. But we had to be in Cluj by nightfall and you'll understand why soon.

Snow on the Charles Bridge

As I write this, Czech Republic is covered in snow and my only hope is that I will be able to take  my flight back home, next Wednesday, very late in the evening. Winter came early in this part of the world, it brought way below 0 temperatures and it seems that snow and cold are here to stay. Maybe I will eventually find the time to take some pictures until March.

End of November was a white hell. Snow storms almost every day, snow piling up to 30 cm very fast. And yet, the traffic was fluent, despite all the trucks breaking their metaphorical necks on the highways and people crashing into trees in the cities (First day of snow I saw 3 accidents). I find that the authorities reacted quickly, clearing the roads of snow (and the occasional truck). Now that the weather is a bit quieter, and the worst has passed, people are going about their daily business without minding very much the snow.

Tourists still come to Prague in large number, especially for the Christmas Market and I think that the City of 100 Spires is just as beautiful under the white coat of snow as it is in Summer. But the streets are full of melting snow and although not as dirty as I am used to see them, still not pleasant when you are on foot, running to meet a friend. Which is my usual situation. Personally, I like the snow but I don't like the effects it has on traffic, as it falls and on my shoes, as it melts on the sidewalks. The pleasant surprise is that people here do clean the sidewalks in front of their houses and so, after the first snow, in good Czech style, you see a lot of people with shovels in their hands, clearing paths for the passersby. No wonder Tolkien was inspired by Czechs in creating the peaceful, hard working and jovial Hobbits, I see this same spirit in these activities (and not to mention they love Fireworks too).

Luckily for me, so to speak, I spent most of my time at work or in cars, going from place to place so I don't have much to do with the snow on the sidewalks. I don't live in Prague, but for the holidays I find myself living more in Prague than in Plzen. With the end of the year close upon us, I have a lot of dinner parties to attend to, either related to my personal life or to my work place. It sounds as glamorous as it is tiring. In the past week I went to two office parties, one concert and one party with friends. All in the name of Christmas!

You will not see my on the Charles Bridge this Holiday Season, I am flying home for the holidays, but I did go to the Christmas Markets, in Prague and in Plzen and I did try the mulled wine and the Christmas cookies. Oh, Czechs love this time of the year so much. You should come and visit, it looks so different during winter, but still like a Fairy Tale, I expect to see the Snow Queen on her sleigh anytime.

I am sorry I didn't take any pictures of Prague but I think that from the picture you can see just how dramatic the scenery can look.

Source of the image: here.

The Remarkable Rocket

My eyes were on the sky, my breath was almost still, I was standing there, transfixed. The cracking sounds that made their way to me felt like thousands of champagne bottles popping and letting the bubbly fluid out. And the skies were burning, the air was green. Yes, fireworks!

The people of Plzen seem really set on chasing daemons away, almost every week there is a firework some where in town. This time there was a really big one to celebrate the liberation of the city by American troupes on May 6th 1945, the only city in the Eastern blocks to have seen the freedom bringing American tanks.

The festivities usually last for a week : you see tanks, army trucks, veterans, fighter jets scene reenactments, and at the end, fireworks, maybe a reminder of the guns and cannons heard during the war, but this time, friendly fire only.

I was really sorry I couldn't take pictures, we were out for pizzas only so I had no camera. As pretty as a picture is and even thought it holds a thousand words, my glee is not encompassed in it. I am a kid looking at the fireworks. I love the sound and even the smell they sometimes leave behind. Lucky me, I live in a town with a huge firework budget. If they also had Auroras, I'd be in heaven (maybe literally; the Eskimos thought that Auroras where the time when the dead came back to communicate with the living).

While watching the fireworks I had in mind the discussions between the fireworks in the story by Oscar Wilde I read when I was a kid. But these fireworks were not as vain as the one in the story and ignited to make a whole town happy to be alive and for an instant maybe, feeling like they are living good times.

PS. This year I plan to go here.

Back in the Czech Republic (2) There and Back Again and Christmas in January

My hoards of fans are on my case to continue the story of adventures on the bus, so where was I? Ah yes, leaving Prague. I got on the bus, I sat down next to a girl, considering this to be the safe choice, the other was some strange manele-listening, jerking off kind of guy. Besides, sitting next to her must be some sort of camaraderie as we were the only girls traveling alone, the other two or three girls were with boyfriends or husbands (there was one more girl traveling alone but she was one head taller than the tallest guy so she could fend for herself).

I don't know how this happens but I always find myself talking to the person sitting next to me in the bus or train. I guess I get bored. Maybe I want to know more about my fellow traveler because we are crossing roads for a while, be it shorter or longer. So I can tell you that the Czech grandma in the Student Agency coach was going to visit her 3 granddaughters from her daughter. They live in Prague and love cookies and being read stories. Mihaela, the Romanian girl on the coach home, also has a daughter; a toddler living with her grandma and aunt which hasn't seen her working mother in several months. The Romanian is working here in a laundry, with other Moldavian and Romanian girls, speaks no Czech, gets a minimum salary and lives in a Ubitovany (like all workers) with her husband, also a worker.

So off we are, one or two passengers more than the number of seats, but at least I have an OK place: behind the driver. Of course the drivers smoked all the way and so they kept the window ajar and I was cold and smoked almost all the way . Had some conversation with the girl but dosed off now and then, that's how it is when you're traveling by night. Ate the delicious sandwiches my boy had made for me, drank very little water, read a bit of my book, Czechs in a Nutshell and that was about it. But really, Bulgarian music and weird looking guys with strange names (Trifon, he had a number plate with a name, that's how I know), I was like in a mafia bus taking girls and pimps to the West (only I was going East).

And just like they would do on the way over, they stopped in odd places like in gas stations in the middle of the road (to let people off or change drivers) and gave no toilet brakes (I managed to snack out). Yeah, I know, I talk a lot about toilet brakes but people, it's a necessity, really basic stuff that Eurolines drivers have to give every 4 hours and these guys had to be begged to stop the bus.

On the journey to CZ, I took the bus from Brasov and not Bucharest because there were no more places so I had to take a bus coming from Chisinau. Ludmila, from Prague, the Orlan girl, was traveling with us, again bossing everyone around and spreading wafers. Luckily she did stop the bus more than the first time. The trip you've all been waiting to hear about, was boring people. I had a Slovak seat mate, a blond that spoke English so we did talk a very bit. And I can tell you my mom's chicken schnitzel sandwiches were delicious. Other than that: boring, nothing to read, cause too dark, I just slept, listened to some radio and called the police when I got bored. Well, yeah, there was a truck on the side of the road, with nothing to signal it apart from a dim blue light that I might have imagined, so I called the cops, cause maybe someone was hurt there, right? Yeah, you've guessed it, false alarm...

20 Hours later, after snow blizzard in Hungary and police stopping us after the border we finally arrive in Prague, right on schedule (it helps not giving pee breaks) altough it would have really helped being late: no bus to Plzen for about an hour and a half (and the one I got was backed) and no boyfriend (back home only in 6 hours).
Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you one last detail : no keys either. I had absolutly no keys of the flat or of the car so I would have been stranded outside in the cold if it wasn't for a friend who picked me up.

When the boy came and we finally went back home we had Christmas number 2, exchanging presents we had each got from the other one's parents. He got an apron fit for a chef and some scarves (he's French) and I got a lunch box and we both got tea mugs and a tea pot. I'll post pictures, promise.

That is more or less the account of my winter travels. Any questions? Feel free to ask.

Back in the Czech Republic (1) Going Home

Well, the holidays are over. No more mistletoe, no more holiday cheer. Gone are lazy days playing cards and all sort of games with friends. The food has been eaten; the champagne has popped and flooded our glasses with sparkling wonder. The last firecracker was heard and we are back to work.

What I wish you all is what I wish myself for this year, and for every year: health and strength to go through all that the New Year has to offer, good or bad. For me, 2009 has been a good year, as I already told you but I find it strange when almost everyone around finds it was a terrible year. The crisis may account for that I think. But even with the crisis (which at one point turned into a big personal financial crisis), overall I found the strength, humor and love to pass all the difficulties. So I wish the same for this year.

The holidays passed like a charm and here I am back at work, back home in the Czech Republic. Yes, home, because on the way over it hit me that I was actually leaving one home for the other. The flat in Plzen is not just "the flat" but it's "home" You're going to say I did a lot of thinking...well yeah, because on a 20 hours bus trip, there is little to do but think. And try to sleep. And call the police with unfunded warnings about turned over buses but more about that later.

My fans want to know about my latest adventures, so without further ado I will start from the top: Going to Romania for the Holidays. I think this will generate another post, but I'll see about that later. What you must know about this trip is that I did not plan it in advance. So here I am middle of December, without a ticket to get back home, planes and trains are too expensive, Eurolines are booked out so I find myself having to reserve a ticket from a strange bus company. Why strange? You'll see. And to make things even nicer, the three days before my departure I made so many miles, going to Prague, going to work from Prague (at 5 o'clock because I had forgotten some papers. Yes, AM), then going on a business trip, coming home, going to a Christmas dinner, going back home, packing...On the morning of the trip I was exhausted.

So here we are, December 23rd, I leave my nice flat in Plzen, and the boy takes me to the bus station, where I take a seat on one of the last places in the Student Agency coaches. First off let me tell you this: Student Agency is the way to travel in CZ. No pub here, just facts: comfy seats and a nice hostess giving you a free hot drink: coffee, good hot chocolate, tea, and putting on a movie for your viewing pleasure (with English subtitles). All for the price of a normal coach ticket. If you manage to find places that is. The trip to Prague: bliss, I even stroke up conversation with the lady sitting next to me, yes in Czech (well very poor Czech).

From there it all goes downhill. Picture this: me with a huge luggage, half empty but just as heavy as if it were full and a smaller bag meant to hold all the food I'd bring back (I had a large order of sarmale, carnati and other Romanian delicacies). The next part of the trip was so long and difficult (thank God I didn't have to change metros, from Zlicin to Florenc it's all straight and they do have some elevators but I still had to carry my huge coffin-like bag up and down) that I was glad to reach the coach station and hopeful that the worst was behind me. I still had some time to kill before my coached arrived so what do I think? let's get a burger and chips from Burger King, cause you know, I usually like the burgers here. Well yeah, the burger was ok (at 10 o'clock in the morning) but the chips were awful. Yes awful. Stale. And cold. And did I mention awful?

Being a bit nervous, and afraid I'll miss the coach (it could happen, especially with my track record: missing busses and trains is a specialty of mine), I go to the toilet for the last time and then I go wait for the coach on the quay. And a good idea that was: it was already full, mostly of my compatriots, but also Bulgarians, Ukrainians and Moldavians. All working here, more or less legally. And now you will understand why I said strange when talking about this company, you see, I had no ticket. Nothing. Just a phone call with a guy who said I had to pay 500 crowns up front, but if I couldn't, I can get my ticket from the Ukrainian girl that will be at the coach. And so I go to look for Irina who gives me my ticket in exchange for some crowns (cheaper than Eurolines) and also a business card with her phone number and those of the company. And she also sells me another ticket for the way back, with another business card. (it's a leitmotif that one).

Coming down from a coach with a hostess and getting on another coach with a hostess, I think to myself (mummy >:D<) I'll get a decent ride after all. And then I see the other girls, Moldavian, Ukrainian, hostesses like Irina (Ludmila and Iulia) and they are all nice, frail girls, well dressed and wearing make up, showing the Slave heritage very well. But they boss around the hordes of workers, telling the guys where to sit and the guys listening, despite some (futile) resistance. And they give candy too. But the trip was made without the Slavic goddesses, only the two drivers remained, the same who put the luggage in a very irrational way and then started smoking on the bus. By this point I was like in a mafia movie: strange looking characters, lots of men wearying big rings and a longer pinky nail, longer hair at the back and shorter in the front (80's style) or other strange hairdos and I've even spotted the blade of a knife (I was carrying an Opinel myself).

Half an hour later, bags packed in reverse order (Bucharest bags where somehow to the front of the pack), men put at their seats in the rear and girls traveling alone at the front, couples seated together, candies distributed, and we're off.

(to be continued...)

Happy Easter

Happy Easter from the Czech Republic for all the Orthodox Christians out there. I colored some eggs, got in the spirit of the holiday with some Romanian cuisine (and French wine). And tomorrow I plan to take a trip to a nearby town.

I wish you all, wherever you may be, far from your loved ones or (hopefully) in their arms, to have peaceful and sunny holidays.

Hristos a Inviat!