62 nights in Prage (2019#10)
May. 20th, 2019 10:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
geowenchTomorrow we head back to the little house on the prairie for two weeks. The last couple have weeks have been both very busy and very slow. The beautiful weather of April vanished and it has been much colder and often rainy (although, "storms" here are terribly cute compared to storms in OK - most of the state is closed today in anticipation of Category 5 tornados).
The biggest news is that we rented a lovely apartment in Vinorhrady, which is in a much nicer area than our current AirBnB. We got it through a "luxury" rental site, so it was a bit more than we wanted to pay, but considering it's furnished, utilities and internet are included, is in a quiet lovely area on a tree lined street, but just one block off a main thoroughfare, has a second bedroom, and we have it through December, we decided it was worth it. Our current apartment has been somewhat of a disappointment, largely because the furniture is just so dang uncomfortable. There is nowhere but the bed to comfortably sit (the couch looks cool but is ridiculously uncomfortable), and the table is a hip looking little "bar" with high stools, which isn't too terrible to eat at, but is pretty uncomfortable to spend hours working on my computer, which is my job. So the new apartment has a comfortable couch as well as an actual dining room table where I can work. I might also just buy a cheap table and chair from Ikea or a flea market to have a dedicated office work space, since the flat is large enough.
Since I last posted we have seen several more amazing places, let's see:
We went to Strahov Monastery, largely because we wanted to see their two medieval libraries and "cabinet of curiosities." We walked around Olsany Cemetery, which is close to our current apartment, and started out life as a Plague Cemetery. Dvorak and Kafka are here, I think, although we did not see their graves, as it is enormous. We went to the City of Prague Museum which is probably my favorite museum so far, largely because it talks about the city from an archaeological and historical standpoint.
The highlight of the trip so far has been seeing Hrdlicka's collections - it is not truly a museum since it is only open a couple of days a week and is just two rooms at Charles University, but OMG it is an amazing two rooms. I took a ton of pictures and will probably go again next time it is open to the public.
We also went to the small but very interesting Beer Museum where we tasted some Czech beers (not to be confused with the Beer Museum pub, where we have eaten a few times and is within walking distance of our new apartment).
And then yesterday we went with the director of E's institute to Konopiste Castle, about 30 km south of Prague, which was the residence of Archduke Franz Ferdinand d'Este, whose assassination is credited with starting WWI, or as the say here, simply "the war." The castle actually has all its original furnishings, and we took a tour of the living quarters, which makes is probably the most interesting castle I've seen.
And now today I'm packing. And trying not to fret about OK - it's is 6 years to the day since the horrible tornadoes that leveled huge swathes of the state. Because of EU laws, I cannot access the local OK stations to see how things are going, only the national and international news sites. So I am compulsively updating FB b/c honestly, that is the best way to see local news at this point.
The biggest news is that we rented a lovely apartment in Vinorhrady, which is in a much nicer area than our current AirBnB. We got it through a "luxury" rental site, so it was a bit more than we wanted to pay, but considering it's furnished, utilities and internet are included, is in a quiet lovely area on a tree lined street, but just one block off a main thoroughfare, has a second bedroom, and we have it through December, we decided it was worth it. Our current apartment has been somewhat of a disappointment, largely because the furniture is just so dang uncomfortable. There is nowhere but the bed to comfortably sit (the couch looks cool but is ridiculously uncomfortable), and the table is a hip looking little "bar" with high stools, which isn't too terrible to eat at, but is pretty uncomfortable to spend hours working on my computer, which is my job. So the new apartment has a comfortable couch as well as an actual dining room table where I can work. I might also just buy a cheap table and chair from Ikea or a flea market to have a dedicated office work space, since the flat is large enough.
Since I last posted we have seen several more amazing places, let's see:
We went to Strahov Monastery, largely because we wanted to see their two medieval libraries and "cabinet of curiosities." We walked around Olsany Cemetery, which is close to our current apartment, and started out life as a Plague Cemetery. Dvorak and Kafka are here, I think, although we did not see their graves, as it is enormous. We went to the City of Prague Museum which is probably my favorite museum so far, largely because it talks about the city from an archaeological and historical standpoint.
The highlight of the trip so far has been seeing Hrdlicka's collections - it is not truly a museum since it is only open a couple of days a week and is just two rooms at Charles University, but OMG it is an amazing two rooms. I took a ton of pictures and will probably go again next time it is open to the public.
We also went to the small but very interesting Beer Museum where we tasted some Czech beers (not to be confused with the Beer Museum pub, where we have eaten a few times and is within walking distance of our new apartment).
And then yesterday we went with the director of E's institute to Konopiste Castle, about 30 km south of Prague, which was the residence of Archduke Franz Ferdinand d'Este, whose assassination is credited with starting WWI, or as the say here, simply "the war." The castle actually has all its original furnishings, and we took a tour of the living quarters, which makes is probably the most interesting castle I've seen.
And now today I'm packing. And trying not to fret about OK - it's is 6 years to the day since the horrible tornadoes that leveled huge swathes of the state. Because of EU laws, I cannot access the local OK stations to see how things are going, only the national and international news sites. So I am compulsively updating FB b/c honestly, that is the best way to see local news at this point.
no subject
Date: 2019-05-20 11:47 pm (UTC)The cemetery looks good - I love cemeteries! I used to work next door to "the biggest cemetery in the southern hemisphere" and it was a great place for a run or walk. I hope OK is suitably welcoming :-)