After our three-night stay in Berlin learning a lot about its history as well as the history of Germany it was time to continue onto Prague. We woke up bright and early at 4:30am and arrived at the train station an hour later at 5:50. Our train was scheduled for 6:25, but that day our train ran an hour late, so we were a bit bummed that we were not able to get an extra hour of sleep. Once we finally got on the train, we learned that the train would only run till Dresden because of track work and there would be a replacement bus getting us from Dresden to Prague.

There were a lot of people complaining about the inconvenience that we all had to be put on crowded buses and that they did not pay for that. We did not mind that much because we have had last minute change of plans for over 9 months at this point. Strange experiences and plan changes are a part of longe term travel as I written about here – we simply call the “the adventure continues”. We just put our headphones in and watched the scenery fly by. I have to say the land scape of Czechia was extremely beautiful and I know I say this for most of the places we visit but I really do mean it for all of them. I have learned this year that our planet is extremely beautiful even in the harshest of environments.

The rolling green hills where slightly different to Germany and the Netherlands where their landscapes are flatter. On the other hand a similarity with other countries was the lushe apple trees with big red juicy apples. As well as the fact that you could see and feel the seasons changing.

Prague (Praha) - Czech

Once we arrived in Prague, we walked from the train station to our accommodation and once we got there we needed to change clothes because where we had come from in berlin were it was cold but in Prague it was pretty hot. Europe at the time was experiencing a heat wave which made our time in Prague very nice and warm.

After we had settled into our accommodation and it had cooled down a bit, we set out to explore the city. We were able to see some old trams and amazing old buildings. We even walked all the way to Vltava River where we got our first really good view of the city. That night we even found a hotel that had the same name as my brother which is pretty cool since he has an unusual name.

A unique history

Whilst we were wondering this new place I learned a bit about history, the city of Prague surrendered without resistance to the Nazis in the second world war with no fighting so lots of the old buildings are still in great condition. Historical events and decisions can be double edged swords as the surrender meant tragic human consequences under Nazi occupation, but it also spared the city’s physical heritage.

A fairy tale city

Later than night we grabbed some groceries and went to bed for an early morning. We woke up at 6:30 and went to see Mariánský sloup (link) in Prague's Old Town Square. It was an amazing time to get out and see the city before all the tourists came out and filled the streets. It was mainly us the SQAD out and about and couples getting fairytale wedding photos made. We even got to walk over the Charles Bridge which was the oldest in the city without that many people. If you don’t get there early, then the whole bridge has heaps of people on it. The bridge connects the Old Town with Malá Strana which is where we decided to have breakfast. After breakfast we went to see Prague Castle, where the view of the city was amazing.

Before the day warmed up, we spent a bit more time exploring the old part of the town. After the heat set in we went home and I had a nap. In the late afternoon all of us went out again, my mum and I went out to get her some new shoes. Then my mum and I went and got some dinner at a Czechia restaurant. Which was nice but I can understand way Czechia food is not as popular as other countries. My brother and David went to another restaurant, and they had a similar experience. Don’t worry I’ll talk about great food soon as we are travelling to Italy.

Political views

Something interesting that we observed while in Czechia was that they had some strong opinions on Putin’s decisions and power in Russia. There were big signs in front of shops that read if you support Putin, you are not welcome in this shop.

Back on the train to another country

For context we stayed in Prague for two nights. The next day, we woke up between 4:30 and 5am for our first train at 6:20 to Linz. We got there at around 10am for our 10:20 train from Linz to Innsbruck. While traveling from Linz to Innsbruck we travelled past the town where they filmed the sound of music which was quite interesting and exciting.

Innsbruck - Austria

We arrived at Innsbruck at 1:35pm and walked to our AirB and B, the apartment was quite big we all got our own room for a change, but I think it was actually a little bit too big. We spent the afternoon walking around the city and decided to have an early dinner at around 5. We decided to get schnitzel because we were in Austria the birthplace of schnitzel and let me tell you it did not disappoint it was a lot better than the food we had in Czechia. My mum and David ate at a different place due to my mums Gallbladder diet. David did meet up with my brother and I after our meal to walk around the city with us.

We ended up seeing the inns river and the towering alps behind it. Unfortunately, there had been no snow fall yet because of the time of year we went. I thought however that the mountains still looked amazing, there is something so cool about seeing these wild places and being a part of it. These places make you feel small but in a good way. On the walk we also got to see the really big ski jump that are called Ski Flying Hills this specific one was called Bergisel Ski Jump (Bergiselschanze) and it was used during Olympic events in 1964 and 1976.Our full day in Innsbruck

Cable cars into the Austrian Alps

The next day we decided to spend our full day in Innsbruck going up to the top of the mountain with the cable cars. We wanted to be one of the first people at the top to have more space to enjoy the view without lots of people around. It was extremely windy at the top of the mountain it felt like if the wind was a little stronger it would blow one of us off. The wind also made it a lot colder up there, you were either freezing or cooking depending on where you where standing on the side the mountain. It was really rainy in the city so when we got up there and it was sunny it was really nice and the views were amazing. They where working on the mountain setting up for the upcoming snow season by lifting logs via helicopter to create snow fences, this was pretty cool to see.

When we were up there, my brother actually saw a mountain goat, and he was very excited. We had coffee and hot chocolate at the top, which was also nice. Chilly, sunny weather, a hot chocolate with a good view, what else could you ask for? On the way back to the city down the cable cars I made a time-lapse video. It was a fun experience and a very different way of using cable cards than what we had seen in Valparaiso (our first time in Valparaiso) and (Public transport in Argentina and Chile).

We arrived home tired after the eventful day of climbing up mountains, we just chilled for the rest of the day.

In my next blog, I will take you along on the journey were we continue to travel by train from Innsbruck to Bologna, Italy. The home of Spaghetti bolognese and where our trip gets interconnected with food – yum!

Prague’s Magic and Austria’s Alps