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We had a stopover in Vienna (Wien / 維也納，奧地利) for about 24 hours in the interest of cheaper / direct flights on our way from Dubrovnik to Czechia, or the Czech Republic (捷克共和國). We stayed across from the opera house and were welcomed with a champagne toast! We followed with a whirlwind tour of (a small) part of the city, schnitzel galore, and a taste of Viennese coffee culture at the renowned and historic Cafe Central. In connection with our previous destination, Tito was known to frequent the establishment (among others, including Freud, Stalin, Hitler, and Trotsky). The apple strudel was delectable.

We had a pleasant morning run through the city and almost had a culture / music overload. The city is replete with statues of famous musicians (Mozart, Schubert, Strauss, Beethoven, and many others). Maybe it was just our running path, but it seemed like every other building was an opera house, concert hall, or museum.

Vienna: schnitzel, monuments to musicians, staying across from the opera house, and champagne welcome

Vienna: more monuments, Viennese coffee culture at Cafe Central, and apple strudels

We took a bus from Vienna to Český Krumlov, which we found to be the very picture of a fairytale town. We stayed in a bed and breakfast just outside of the UNESCO-designated historic center. The entire city is extremely picturesque, with the Vltava River winding its way through town, and the castle-on-a-cliff – which has the distinction of being the second largest in Czechia – overlooking town. It is eminently walkable (and runnable), and good restaurants abound.

We spent two nights there and were able to see four of the five sights using the tourist card:

  • castle tower and museum
  • regional museum
  • seidel photographic studio museum
  • egon schiele art centrum

While the tower boasted the best views of town, we were pleasantly surprised by the Seidel museum, which told the story of Josef Seidel’s photo studio, where he developed and showcased studio portraits and landscapes of the beautiful surroundings, following the advancements of camera technology.

Many people visit as part of a day trip, but we really enjoyed our two nights here! Interestingly, it seemed like the majority of the tourists were Chinese. When we were walking in the dark to our bed and breakfast, we were even greeted by the interrogative “中文?”, to which we replied “一點”. Per the slightly outdated tourism page, in 2017 the Czech Republic saw about the same number of American and Chinese visitors (roughly half a million each). There was a Chinese restaurant (of course) and Chinese language options on many menus. And right in the middle of the town square there was an exhibition about certain protests in China. Interesting commentary on Twitter and Reddit there. At any rate, here’s the Chinese wikipedia entry.

Český Krumlov: no caption necessary

Český Krumlov: strolling through the castle gardens and eating a huge pork knee at Krčma Šatlava (a former dungeon))

Český Krumlov: more walking around town and Museum Fotoatelier Seidel

After two magical nights in Český Krumlov, we took a relatively short bus ride to Prague. We typically try to eat as much of the local cuisine as possible, but we found a highly-rated Vietnamese restaurant (Taro) by the bus station. And we welcomed the change after subsisting on pork knees, goulash, and dumplings.

Prague: Vietnamese food at Taro

Our first evening, we enjoyed a lovely boat ride and tour of the Vltava River and the Charles Bridge. While Vienna felt like it paid homage equally amongst multiple musicians, the lion’s share of the credit in Prague went to Charles IV. Our tour guide even primed us that the most common answer to most of her trivia would indeed be “Charles IV”. In addition to the bridge, there’s a castle (Karlštejn), university, square, an asteroid, and many other things that count among his namesakes. Prague Castle, which holds the distinction of being the largest ancient castle in the world, towered over the city.

Prague: boat tour of the Vltava River

Our three nights in Prague overlapped with the annual Signal Festival, which is essentially a fancy laser light show that is integrated with the many historical sites of the city. You might worry that it’s a bit kitschy, but many of the exhibits were really well done. It was pretty awesome to see some of the laser light shows, especially the contrast with ancient cathedrals and monuments. Over the course of three nights we were able to see all 18 exhibits spread over the districts of Malá Strana, old town, and Karlín.

Prague: Signal festival 2019

Prague: more Signal festival

While we had planned our trip around Signal, we were pleasantly surprised by a goose-and-cider festival that was happening close by. We stopped by to drink some of the cider and eat a goose leg and foie gras!

Prague: the astronomical clock, dinner at U krále Brabantského (medieval tavern), and foie gras and a goose leg at a goose and cider festival

Another surprise was our visit to Speculum Alchemiae, a former alchemists-house-turned-museum. I think they only relatively recently realized that the house (one of the oldest in Prague) had such a history, with numerous tunnels connecting the underground to the castle and squares.

Prague: ouroboroi at alchemist’s house

Prague: drinks at Hemingway Bar, tour of an alchemist’s home, and Prague at night

Prague: dinner at Eska