Back from Europe 2!!
Dear all,
I will be extremely busy this week sorting out a lot of my personal stuff. Holidays to Scotland, Prague and Austria went well. Overall, the Scottish trip was a bit disappointing, probably because I have seen so many coasts and highlands already. The most impressive part was the bus ride through the overflowing Lochs and undulating hills but one which I was unfortunately not at the alertest of mental states - no thanks to a late night putting in a job application and then having to catch the 4am train. This, coupled with the Mi Goreng supper before leaving, meant that I went without sleep until I got onto the train to Glasgow, where I arrived at 11.28am.
Prague was architecturally very unique and quaint, with cobbled streets and narrow roads crisscrossing hidden squares and simple monuments. However the touristy bit made it somewhat soulless, and the final day's visit to the main museum sort of made up for the emptiness but it still felt a bit hollow. Views from the castle as well as Petrin Hill were well worth the walk, prices were quite low and (Czech) food got better and better as the days passed.
Austria, in the words of Qi "Chi" Ying, "Europe's best-kept secret", may actually be quite close to fulfilling that promise. Low-key international publicity belies the impressive history behind it, which I had not really been aware of previously. Suffice to say I have never really done enough research before many of my trips, and time and again this has come back to haunt me. In every city I miss one or two things which I feel are unmissable... and perhaps that is why I say that Prague felt a bit impersonal - cos I did not appreciate the long and sometimes troubled history of the lands.
Austria does a better job of informing the visitor about its past - except we almost have to pay through our nose for that. Many grand buildings dot the city centre, and the royal palaces/residences etc are grouped close together forming a megalopolis of stone, history and magnificence.
Salzburg was a bit small.
More on the trips hopefully. Later.
RSS feeds enabled due to "popular demand".
I will be extremely busy this week sorting out a lot of my personal stuff. Holidays to Scotland, Prague and Austria went well. Overall, the Scottish trip was a bit disappointing, probably because I have seen so many coasts and highlands already. The most impressive part was the bus ride through the overflowing Lochs and undulating hills but one which I was unfortunately not at the alertest of mental states - no thanks to a late night putting in a job application and then having to catch the 4am train. This, coupled with the Mi Goreng supper before leaving, meant that I went without sleep until I got onto the train to Glasgow, where I arrived at 11.28am.
Prague was architecturally very unique and quaint, with cobbled streets and narrow roads crisscrossing hidden squares and simple monuments. However the touristy bit made it somewhat soulless, and the final day's visit to the main museum sort of made up for the emptiness but it still felt a bit hollow. Views from the castle as well as Petrin Hill were well worth the walk, prices were quite low and (Czech) food got better and better as the days passed.
Austria, in the words of Qi "Chi" Ying, "Europe's best-kept secret", may actually be quite close to fulfilling that promise. Low-key international publicity belies the impressive history behind it, which I had not really been aware of previously. Suffice to say I have never really done enough research before many of my trips, and time and again this has come back to haunt me. In every city I miss one or two things which I feel are unmissable... and perhaps that is why I say that Prague felt a bit impersonal - cos I did not appreciate the long and sometimes troubled history of the lands.
Austria does a better job of informing the visitor about its past - except we almost have to pay through our nose for that. Many grand buildings dot the city centre, and the royal palaces/residences etc are grouped close together forming a megalopolis of stone, history and magnificence.
Salzburg was a bit small.
More on the trips hopefully. Later.
RSS feeds enabled due to "popular demand".
posted by cheez~ at
11:51 pm
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