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Portugal

Portugal

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Portugal is the westernmost country of continental Europe and includes the island groups of the Azores and Madeira (both autonomous regions in the north Atlantic Ocean.

It has existed as a country since the 12th century (originally as a monarchy) but has evidence of civilisation dating back beyond 10,000BC. The nation was integral in the discovery and exploration of Africa and South America.

The Portuguese empire differed from the Spanish empire because the Spanish conquered large areas of land while the Portuguese preferred to control only major trading ports. Throughout the 15th century, Portuguese explorers sailed the coast of Africa, establishing trading posts for commodities, ranging from gold to slavery.

The Portuguese empire created colonies in Africa including Angola, Mozambique, Guinea. Added to this was the islands of the Azores, Madeira, Cape Verde Islands (off the coast of Mauritania-Senegal), and Sao Tome and Principe (islands in the Gulf of Guinea). Then there were the major ports of Cochin, Goa (in India), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Macao (China) and Nagasaki (Japan) in East Asia and of course Brazil.

Lisbon

OK, so we have been to Europe about 6+ times now and this was our first foray into Portugal. How stupid are we? This place is fantastic. We got off the plane and grabbed (a really cheap) Uber to our hotel. The driver was the nicest and most helpful person we had ever met, to the point where we both commented on it. Until the next day when we got our next Uber to the Monastery when the same thing happened, and then again on the way back.

These people are just super friendly and want to ensure that everyone who visits enjoys their time. Add to this that the pricing is more than reasonable for everything and the sights have a nice mix of natural beauty and old world charm how can you go wrong here.

We were not really blessed with the weather here, it rained for two and a half of our three days here. We got the odd glimpses of sunshine (particularly on day one) and in between there were some some pretty soggy days. Our day two was on and off sunny with the skies changing every 10 minutes or so until it finally settled in.

Our hotel was perched high on the hilltop in oldtown, which sadly had been built on the side of a damn mountain. As beautiful as the views were, it meant that everywhere we went was either up, or down, a ridiculously steep hill.

Finding your way around the old town could not be simpler, just follow the tram tracks. Be sure not to be run over by cars, trams, tuk tuks, bicycles, vans etc, that are all competing for the narrow road, but just follow along and you will pass pretty much everything that there is to see.

The tram goes past almost all of the tourist spots in the old town and centres around the main square, Praca do Comercio. This will include the churches, palace, castle, bars, cafes and restaurants. As long as you can see the tracks, you will see the bits.

Jammed in the middle of the tracks you will find Sé de Lisbon. This cathedral started being built in 1147 and ended in the first decades of the 13th century.

The tram tracks quite literally split and run either side of the triangular street entrance.

Castelo de S. Jorge Stands on Lisbon’s highest hill and offers panoramic views of the city. The fort dates back to Moorish times (11th century), and has served as military barracks and royal chambers. Currently, it functions as a national monument, museum and archaeological site, with fantastic views and great gardens. And if this is off season, I hate to see the lines in peak times.

Lisbon’s central park is named Edward VII Park taking up 26 hectares in the middle of town. It was named as a tribute to the British Monarch.

Mosteiro dos Jeronimos (Jerónimos or Hieronymites Monastery) was originally donated to the Order of the Friars of St. Jerome. Construction began in near the launch point of Vasco da Gama’s first journey. Its construction lasted for a hundred years and was funded by a tax on the profits of the yearly Portuguese India Armadas. The day of our visit the weather kept coming and going, alternating between blue skies and torrential downpours.

To say this place is impressive is a massive understatement. Everywhere you look is a different aspect of the place and the intricately carved windows and openings act to frame the next amazing sight.

Portuguese Custard Tarts (Pasteis de nata)

Lets not be silly we have all eaten these. Whether it is the cheap boxed up ones in Costco, or the ones after a Chinese Yum Cha (bearing in mind that Shanghai was one of the Portuguese territories), or just from some dodgy bakery that does them. And they are always good, even the shitty ones are great, with their signature flaky crust and sweet custard filling they are world-famous, and incredibly delicious.

But now we are at their point of origin, and sadly, all others pale by comparison to the original version. It was created by monks at the Jerónimos Monastery and has certified origin. The original recipe is called Pastel de Belém and we found our way to Pasteis de Belem which is right next to the monastery and is recognised as their true home. And in case you were wondering, they were good.

Literally across the road from the Monastery is a park and the Discoveries Monument which serves as a monument to Portugal’s Age of Discovery on both land and sea.

The monument was reconstructed in 1960 to mark 500 years since the death of the Infante Dom Henrique (Henry the Navigator).

A few hundred meters down the bank of the Tagus River you find yourself at Torre de Belém. This is a 16th-century tower that is a mix between a medieval keep tower and a modern bastion. It was built to guard the river entrance into Lisbon’s harbour.

That evening we found our way down to Praca do Comercio which is one of the biggest squares in Europe, this stylish area in downtown Lisbon often displays beautiful works of art and sculpture and is a great place for a leisurely stroll.

The Aqueduto das Águas was built in the 18th century to supply water to the town. Its construction was funded by special levies on meat, olive oil and wine. It stretches 14 kilometres and can now be visited as a tourist attraction.

The blurb for the Museu Nacional do Azulejo said that it was a must-see for people interested in the history and design of ceramic tiles. Now lets be serious here, that is not a title that I have particularly aspired to. But being in Lisbon, you do get a fair old appreciation of the ceramic tile as almost every building is finished (on the outside) with them. Looking at the photos of the museum, if it is your thing, then this specialty museum does house an impressive collection of decorative tiles dating from the 15th century to now.

The Coaches Museum is one of Lisbon’s most visited attractions, and is a collection of fairytale type carriages that have been used by the royalty and nobility of Europe over the centuries. While most European royal carriages were destroyed over time (especially in Paris after the French Revolution), in Portugal they were preserved. Most of them date to the 17th to 19th centuries, but the oldest example dates back to the late 1500s.

Brazilian BBQ – Portuguese Style

On our third Uber ride, our driver asked us if we liked seafood, which of course we do. He then went on to tell us that in Portugal, they do a similar thing to the Brazilian BBQ but instead of using meat, they do it with seafood. He told us the best place in town and the price came out to about 450 Aussie per head. Well if that is not a done deal then I don’t know what is.

So we headed down to the main square, took our happy snaps of the square and then headed to a little wine bar (as we were early for our reservation. A funky little place called shoes and booze. We had a drink and watched the waitress just dancing around having a great time enjoying her work. When we ordered the second round she asked Jill if she just wanted the bottle as it was 4.50 for a glass or 12 Euros for the whole bottle. The chat continued and we got invited to a private party back at the bar (with live music) the next evening.

Anyway back to the seafood, we made it to the restaurant and ordered the all-you-can-eat thing and it arrived with some interesting fare. The prawns, mussels, crabs and clams were all good and even the crab head mousse was good, but it was the whelks and barnacles that threw us a little. We had to seek guidance on just what part and how to eat the barnacles.

The construction of the Christ the King monument was approved on 20 April 1940, as a plea to God to release Portugal from entering WWII.

The monument consists of a 82 meter pedestal with a 28 meter image of Christ.

Perched on the opposite side of the river the figure of Christ has its arms extended out facing the city of Lisbon, as if to embrace the city.

Long story short, apart from the weather, Lisbon was fantastic and we will need to come back as there is so much more to explore and do. It became very clear that the time that we had allotted was insufficient for the amount to see and do. This was further hampered by the rain that kept us hiding more than exploring.

The prices are more than reasonable and the friendliness of the people was just amazing. And I think that both Jill and I can fit another egg tart or two in, and for the record, even the shitty ones remain good. And there is so much more that missed out on seeing.

Argentina

Buenos Aires

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Buenos Aires is the capital and main city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast. “Buenos Aires” is Spanish for “fair winds” or “good airs”.

According to the blurb it was the Spanish coloniser Pedro de Mendoza (in 1580) that established the first settlement there, which he named Nuestra Señora Santa María del Buen Aire (“Our Lady St. Mary of the Good Air”). Buenos Aires locals are referred to as porteños (“people of the port”) because so many of the city’s inhabitants historically arrived by boat from Europe.

Our arrival into Buenos Aires was similar to those, and we came in through the port. We were just one of several ships in that day, and to say that the port was bedlam, would be an understatement. We had teamed up with our dinner buddies (Kurtis and Mark) who had a thing for gardening, so we got out of the port and Ubered our way to the botanical gardens (for about $4).

I am much more a statue guy than a garden guy, and the photos clearly reflect that. That said, the gardens were nice, with the exception of the mosquitos that absolutely loved by high quality Aussie blood. There were trees aplenty and even a butterfly garden buried among all of the foliage.

To say that Buenos Aires is a dog friendly city would be an understatement. The sheer number of dogs in public parks and on leashes wandering the city was astounding. And these pooches are seriously pampered.

Sadly the wealth and influence of the city far overshadows the rest of the country. But as with all cities Buenos Aires also reflects Argentina’s economic and social problems. Homelessness and drug use were evident, although at no point did we feel unsafe or uneasy.

After the gardens we found a few little holes in the wall that fed and watered us for a ridiculously cheap price. Jill and I had 3 empanadas each washed down by a pint of the local brew (and a sampling of some others – including an on tap gin and tonic) for the princely sum of $8.40. After that we found a local deli and then a bakery, damn I think I might be falling in love with Argentina.

One of the major attractions of the city is the Recoleta Cemetery. In 1822, the former garden was turned into the first public cemetery in Buenos Aires. Known as the “city of the dead” or “city of angels”, Recoleta cemetery has a layout similar to a city with one main street, diagonals, narrow corridors and internal passageways.

 It is set in an area of 5.5 ha (14 acres) and you will find around 4800 vaults and mausoleums. The cemetery is more of an open air museum than anything else. As soon as you walk through the doorway you are met with amazing architecture, works of art and sculptures.

More than 20 presidents, 25 city mayors, 40 governors, Nobel prizes, writers, politicians, engineers and even a caretaker are buried at Recoleta cemetery. But the most famous is that Recoleta Cemetery is the resting place for María Eva Duarte de Perón (known as “Evita”).

Outside the cemetery is a park known as Intendente Torcuato de Alvear. This area turned into a huge market on day two of our exploring.

Plazoleta Chabuca Granda (the oldest tree in town) also sits in the square outside the cemetery. It even has a statue of a dude holding up one of the super heavy branches.

Just next door to the cemetery you can find the Nuestra Señora de Pilar church. Built in 1732 it is one of the oldest in the city.

In reality I got a bit turned around when exploring here. On day one we were at the cemetery and on day two we were at the Nuestra Señora de Pilar church (to follow). In reality these are side by side but I entered and exited the cemetery from the same way and did not even realise this. The next day we came at it from the opposite side and took a photo of the church that I had almost sat on the steps of the day before.

Buenos Aires is an amazing city with wide avenues and a true cosmopolitan flair that feels more European than Latin American. There are some huge colonial landmark buildings but the real feel of the city is the differences between the individual neighbourhoods. Each one has its own distinct feel and have their own meeting places, generally coffeehouses or bars.

At night Buenos Aires’s nightclubs (boites) come alive as people flock together to dance the tango.

This famous dance originated in the lower-class areas of the city and is said to ‘reflect the soul of the Argentina’.

While we didn’t go to a tango club, the ship did bring some of the best dancers on board that evening to put on a show.

If you want to do the full tourist thing there are any number of these boites that will offer you dinner and a tango show.

But in reality, if you wander about a bit at night, you almost cant help but run across random tango breakouts.

As we were in town for two full days and day one was taken up with gardens and the cemetery, day two saw us hitting the major sights and the neighbourhoods. Lets say up front, two days was not enough. But it was what we had, so we hopped a cab ($5) to Plaza de Mayo which is the oldest public square in Buenos Aires.

The square is named after the Argentine revolution, which began on 25 May 1810. It has been the scene of many of the most important events in the city’s history, from the second founding of the city in 1580, through the revolution of independence, to more recent political demonstrations.

Around the square are several important buildings: the Cabildo (old town hall now national museum), the Metropolitan Cathedral (where Pope Francis conducted mass for 20 years), the Casa Rosada (Pink House or Presidential Palace and site where Evita gave some of the more famous speeches), the national revenue office, the national bank and the intelligence secretariat.

As a random bit of knowledge, apparently, they used to do a version of running of the bulls in the square, prior to the revolution.

The Pirámide de Mayo is at the hub of the Plaza de Mayo and is the oldest national monument in the city.

It’s construction was ordered in 1811 to celebrate the first anniversary of the May Revolution.

It was renovated in 1856 and in 1912 was moved 63 metres with the idea that a much larger monument would eventually be constructed around it.

Having done the plaza we walked past the bank and along one of the many parks to explore the city more fully. We wandered along wide avenues and took in the interesting mix between the old and new parts of the city.

La Boca is a colourful neighborhood of Buenos Aires that is characterised by the street artists, narrow streets and brightly painted buildings. In the middle of La Boca is Caminito, a narrow alley flanked by zinc shacks that reflect the district’s early immigrant days. Caminito is more of a street museum than a traditional alley and the area gathered significance as the inspiration for the music for the tango “Caminito (1926)”.

Asado is the term used for South American barbecue. This type of meal is common in Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay and usually consists of beef, pork, chicken, chorizo, and morcilla (blood sausage). These are cooked on an open fire or grill (called a parrilla) and usually eaten with side dishes and red wine.

Buenos Aires is the city with the highest number of football stadiums in the world. The city has at least 18 professional teams, and the passion for the sport is visible on almost every street corner.

The passion of Argentine football fans is legendary creating an electric atmosphere at each game. The fans choreograph chants, design tifos (giant displays), and ignite the stadium with their undying passion. When doing some research I found the following “Argentine football stadiums are not just structures made of bricks and cement. They are temples of passion, history, and culture. Each corner echoes with tales of legendary matches, iconic goals, and unforgettable moments. Every seat has witnessed emotions ranging from the ecstasy of victory to the heartbreak of defeat.”

How can you really argue with that.

Our last part of the day involved a run down the hill from the cemetery past the Recoletta, through the park (and the market), past the statue in honour of Carlos María de Alvear a military revolutionary (and the towns first mayor).

Across the bridge, through the park, past the bizarre statues of kangaroos and to the massive law school building. I tried to get the story behind why there were kangaroo statues in Buenos Aires but had absolutely no luck.

We didn’t get here but in the Parque Tres de Febrero you can find the 1960s-built planetarium. Looking like a UFO it has projection room with a 20 meter dome and reclining seats for viewing projections of the stars.

And our final port of call before heading out of town was to the Floralis Genérica. This is a sculpture made of steel and aluminum located in Plaza de las Naciones Unidas (United Nations Plaza) that was donated to the city by the Argentine artist.

Buenos Aires was amazing. It was neat, clean, friendly and extremely cheap. Meals, taxis and ubers were all incredibly cheap and we have already decided that we will be coming back here many more times.

Colombia

Colombia

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Colombia has been on my bucket list for a very long time now.

The country is more than double the size of France with almost 50 million people living here.

And the government has gone a long way to throw off the mantle of its narco-terrorism roots.

The nation has about 1,600 km of coastline to the north onto the Caribbean Sea, and a further 1,300 km of coast to the west onto the Pacific Ocean. The northern border is Panama, which divides the two bodies of water using the infamous Panama Canal. Venezuela and Brazil sit to the east and Peru and Ecuador to the south.

Cartagena

Our entry was a couple of days into the port city of Cartagena, on the Caribbean coast. Oh my god I love this place.

Before I even get into the rant about how great this place is, let’s take a moment to explain the introduction that you get to the town when you get off a cruise ship. As you walk through the port the first thing that you are met with is a FREE aviary and tourist park. This is just there. There are trinket shops, cafes and restaurants right here at the entry point. Within this, the first thing that you see is a grassed area with about 20-50 flamingos in it. Around them are about 10 parrots, some macaws, various waterfowl and the odd tree rat.

Quite literally, if you went no further than this then you would have had a great day out in Cartagena. But there is more. Keep walking around the corner and you come across the ubiquitous “I Love” sign coupled with about another 50 macaws of varying colours. A bit further I got to see my first ever live toucan. From here there were some tortoises and I even ran across a giant anteater.

And all of this for free before you even leave the port, how good is this?

Getting out of the port, we were told it would cost us $20 each in a cab to get to the tourist area. As we walked out we found a dude with a minibus who offered us a 4 hour tour of the sights (including return) for the same price as a one way cab. So off we went.

Cartagena is a major city of about a million people, with a fantastic mix of modern city and down by the ocean is the historic walled Old Town.

The first stop was the seaside suburb of Manga. This is a leafy residential neighbourhood with a park, seafront promenade and nice views of the new city skyline across the bay.

The next stop was the old city walls and some of the fortifications of Old Town.

This olden section of town was founded in the 16th century and now has the historic squares, cobblestoned streets, colourful colonial buildings, and of course all of the tourist hustle and bustle that you would expect. Fair warning…the touts here can be pretty full on so be prepared for a total assault on the senses.

The main entrance to the old town is through the Puerta del Reloj. This is the original and historic main gate to the centre of the fortified city, Cartagena de Indias.

As usual for us, it was covered in scaffolding.

OK…before I step you through the gates into old town, lets talk about the coolest thing in this entire city. Right in the heart of Cartagena city is a small unassuming park surrounded by yellow walls. It is officially called Parque del Centenario and on first glimpses you would probably just walk straight past. But you would have seriously missed out as within the park there were 7 sloths (as of November 2023) living in the trees in and around the park.

In addition to the Sloths, there are also tamarin monkeys, red squirrels and several iguanas in the park. The monkeys are tree rats that annoy you and carry diseases (but the tourists still try and hand feed them) while the Iguanas are usually found lounging on the grass soaking up the sunlight.

The park is located between the squares Plaza de Independencia and Plaza de los Coches. Both of these were in full Christmas decoration phase when we were there. The place just feels right, from happy vendors, beautiful streets great little restaurants the place is welcoming. Admittedly the touts can get a bit much after a while but for the most part they are friendly and just trying to earn a living.

Once you step through the gates you are in full tourist mode (in case you had not already noticed by all of the touts etc).

The Cathedral of Cartagena de Indias was built in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. It is in the heart of Old Town and is dedicated to Saint Catherine of Alexandria. The original structure of the cathedral has been preserved today almost unchanged.

Cartagena is just a lovely city. The care and pride shown in the homes, the parks and the neighbourhoods give the place a really great feel. As our ship stayed here overnight we learned a trick that we should have done. Some people got off the boat and paid for a night’s accommodation (under $100) in the heart of the action. This will be us for sure, next time we come.

Within the walls of the old city is the suburb or area of Getsemani this is the bohemian-style neighbourhood where everyone is welcome. Poor or wealthy, tourist or local? Back in the day, it was the neighbourhood for prostitution, drug, and violence. But today it is the home to awesome street art, food, bars and music.

The street art in this part of town is truly something to behold. What was once probably a pretty sketchy to walk through is now an absolute delight. At no point did we feel nervous or concerned for our safety, even amid the mad tourist throngs.

As part of our tour on day one we hit the usual haunts but also had a couple of entries into some museums around town. The first was an art gallery that focussed on the faces of the pandemic and the losses that were felt in Colombia. The next was the local cultural museum.

The last was the Emerald Museum. Colombia is one of the world’s largest producers of emeralds (supplying about 90% of the world’s supply), and as such they are on sale everywhere. And we went through the museum (and shop) that told us all about this.

We were paired at dinner with a Swedish couple (Patrick and Anna) who were fantastic. So on our second day in Cartagena, we decided to head out together to explore the various areas. They took us to the flash cocktail bars and we took them to the dodgy neighbourhoods. They were such good company that we also spent the next day in Aruba with them kicking back by the beaches.

Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas is the castle/fortress that was built on the Hill of San Lázaro in 1536. It was placed in a strategic location where it could dominate approaches by both land and sea. It was built by the Spanish using African slave labour and was involved in several battles between the late 17th to early 19th centuries between the European powers.

We did not get there this time around but we are due to return to Cartagena in about 6 weeks time for a second stint. We will update these photos and give a much better viewing soon.

Once you get a bit further afield there are other little gems that look they should also be added to the things to see list. Some of these include the islands.

Isla de Barú, with white-sand beaches and palm trees.

Isla del Rosario, known for their coral reefs.

Tayrona National Park has long stretches of beaches lined with coconut palms and a dense rainforest with lots of day hikes.

The Lost City (La Ciudad Perdida) was built around 800 CE and contains 169 terraces carved into the mountains, as well as a network of tiled roads and small plazas. The site is older than Machu Picchu!

The last thing that I have to mention about Cartagena is the absolute idiocy of the American tourists. They (almost without exception) all hated it. Clearly Colombia’s troubled past (cartels, paramilitaries, poverty, and petty crime) has cast a long shadow that for many will not go away and danger lurks around every corner.

They felt unsafe and one comment was that they were walking around in groups of 10 or more so that they didn’t get kidnapped. For us, this was truly one of the safest places we have ever been to. I am not sure exactly what they thought they would be ransomed for (maybe their vintage chewed gum collection from high school).

We loved the place and cannot wait to come back (which thankfully we will be fairly soon).

Oman

Oman

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Oman (officially the Sultanate of Oman) sits at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia and the UAE (west) and Yemen (southwest), while sharing maritime borders with Iran and Pakistan.

It has a population of a bit under 5.5 million.

The Rub’ al Khali or the Empty Quarter is the desert portion of Oman but also encompasses parts of the UAE, Yemen and Saudi Arabia. It is 1,000 kilometres long, and 500 kilometres wide and has sand dunes with heights of up to 250 metres 

Our early research had us a little more excited about Oman as at first glance there seemed to be plenty to see and do. We were a little terrified coming into it as our Aussie dollar exchange rate came in at 25 cents. This meant that one of their real was worth $4 for us. Jill put us right in the heart of tourist land.

Our hotel room was not a shadow on our one from Abu Dhabi. It was the width of a bed and this was the door.

As I am a touch taller than Jill, I sconned myself on this door (and others around the hotel) on several occasions.

One of these has given me a gash to the head, concussion and likely brain damage.

The seaside area of Mutrah was to be our home for the next few days. Sadly the room paled in comparison with the luxury that we had in Abu Dhabi but the location was fantastic. Looking straight out of our window we had direct views of (and about a 300 m walk to) the Mutrah Fort.

At the bottom of our hill (250m), we were on the Mutrah Corniche. This is a 3km long promenade along the waterfront, which of course is lined with cafes, restaurants, and markets. You have views of the Oman Port and harbour (including the Sultans Yacht) and the Hajar Mountains with its Portuguese watchtowers on the other side.

Our first task was getting up at 6 am and walking along the Corniche to the fish market and dhow harbour before breakfast. Even the dodgy, smelly fish market was impressive. Stainless steel troughs. mosaic tiled walls and of course the freshest of fish that you could find.

As finding food in the Middle East had proven a touch challenging at times we have taken to getting breakfast included in our hotel. And so far, Oman is winning.

After our breakfast, we climbed the hill, paid our admission and hit the fort. Now this was a first. There was nobody there. We had the entire fort to ourselves for about 30 minutes. We roamed and explored and took our photographs with absolutely nobody else to contend with. When we were finished and were walking out the door, we passed the baton to two German guys who then also had it to themselves. Hitting the bottom though a group of about 10 arrived, so their solitude would have been short lived.

Having finished at the fort we hopped the local bus for a 4-5km ride to the National Museum of Oman.

Along the way you see a bizarre space ship looking thing on the right.

Apparently to celebrate the 20th National Day of Oman in 1990 this monumental incense burner was built on top of a prominent hill at Riyam Park. 

Getting off the bus was a bit of a catch all as within a short walk of where the bus drops you off, you have the Museum, the Al Alam Palace (the official palace of the sultan), two Portuguese forts of Al Jalali and Al Mirani and some major government buildings.

But the Museum was first.

The palace was the next obvious place to head as it was only a few hundred meters away in a straight line. But it was also in full sun with no shade and no respite.

The next was the forts, which were basically each side of the palace. Unlike the Mutrah Fort, these were unable to be entered and climbed upon. But they were kind of big enough and obvious enough to get some nice photos.

At this point we had melted. While the actual temperature of Oman is lower than places like Saudi Arabi, the humidity raises the “feels like” factor considerably. While walking around at 1:30 in the afternoon we got our own personal record when we hit the “feels like” temperature of 52 degrees centigrade. We were cooked.

The last stop before running away to hide from the heat was the Muscat Gate Museum.

Having got our gate photos we grabbed drinks (melting) and were waiting the 5 minutes for the bus to arrive. At this point a taxi pulled up and beeped (a common thing-touting for business). But this guy already had a customer. He was already being paid and was going past the Souk (our get off point) and took us for free – just to save us waiting in the sun. Now that was a first.

So after hiding through the afternoon (after showers and attempts to wash the sweat from clothing) we waited for early evening and made our way down the hill to the Mutrah Souk. This is one of the oldest markets in Oman and was right on our doorstep. We had briefly wandered through during the afternoon but it is the evening when the Souk really takes off.

The next day, another amazing breakfast and on a bus back towards town to see the things we had passed on our way in. Stop number one, the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque. It was officially opened in 2001 and has become Oman’s most important spiritual site. It was closed on the Sunday that we tried to visit. While we did not get to enter the mosque we still had access to wander the grounds outside and get some happy snaps. The mosque was built to hold 20,000 worshippers and is home to the world’s biggest 1-piece handmade Iranian carpet and the second-largest chandelier in the world.

Directly opposite the grand mosque is the Omani Parliament building. It was built in 2013 and sits on more than 100,000 square metres. It has more than 5 km of facade and the centrepiece is a 64 m clock tower (the highest in Oman) with each of the clocks having a 4.8 metre diameter. The building is known locally as the Majlis Oman.

According to the blurb the Parliament building has been equipped with a range of well-paced spotlights, with modern LED technology and underground lighting fixtures. This means that at night the whole 38-metre high wall is illuminated with a controlled washing effect over almost all of the surface.

The Royal Opera House area which is an event in itself. The building is imposing and our first glimpse of it was in the taxi on the way in (mosque and parliament too), which prompted us to get back here a few days later. It isn’t just the opera house but more of an entire precinct for the arts and cultural pursuits. It is regularly used and has the capacity for 1,000-seat concert and opera theatre. But with 15,000+ square metres, over six levels with three basement floors, it can easily change its configuration to cater to most events.

So Oman is our favourite so far. It is authentic. It has actively resisted the current trend (looking at you UAE) of advancement at all costs and has maintained those things that make it special. There are tons of forts all over the country and deserts and oases worthy of exploring.

Albania

Albania

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Albania is a nation that shares land borders with Montenegro (northwest), Kosovo (northeast), North Macedonia (east) and Greece (south). There is evidence of habitation in the area since the Neolithic era (around 7000 BCE).

The Albania of today provides universal health care and free education (primary and secondary) to its citizens.

Tirana

Well, this one surprised us. We looked online at the local tourist attractions and the list looked pretty lean. Our time was short but given the list of things to see it had a fair bit of downtime in there too. Once we arrived and started looking we saw much more than we had bargained for.

Add to this that it was listed as a developing country, our experience was very different. It had many of the baselines for a developed nation (footpaths and lighting etc) that we had been missing in many of the last six countries we had been in. Granted, the traffic was a nightmare and the sewerage at times questionable but for the most part this place is extremely civilised and pleasant.

So the main thing on the tourist schedule for Tirana is Skanderbeg Square. This is the main central square in the heart of town. At one end is the National Historical Museum and at the opposite side is the statue of Gjergj Skanderbeg.

This is the third time we had run into Skanderbeg having also seen his statues in Skopje and Pristina.

According to the history books, Skanderbeg’s led a 10,000 strong army that waged war in Ottoman territory. For 25 years, (between 1443 and 1468) they kept winning against consistently larger and better-supplied Ottoman forces.

A war memorial dedicated to the victims of the Kosovo War is present in Skanderbeg Square along with a series of photographs depicting those missing from the conflict.

There is much construction still going on in the city and the thing that is enthusing me is that they are not building boring concrete and glass cubes. The Architects have been to work and are putting together something that may end up being an interesting cityscape.

While there was not huge amounts to see and do, we liked Tirana and would happily come back. Getting around was easy and cheap and the people were mainly friendly. Albania would make for a nice base to launch longer European forays (daytips etc) while not killing the budget.

Tirana represented the end of this phase of our European adventure. We now start heading back to Australia (briefly) but we are doing it the slow way with several stops in the Middle East, Sri Lanka (again) and then into Brisbane via Kuala Lumpur and Sydney.

Bulgaria

Bulgaria

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Bulgaria is a southern Balkan country bordered by Romania (north), Serbia and North Macedonia (west), Greece and Turkey to the south.

Bulgaria is renowned for its diverse terrain that includes the Black Sea coastline, a mountainous interior and rivers, including the Danube. Based near the European crossroads it has long been a cultural melting pot with Greek, Slavic, Ottoman, and Persian influences.

Before I get into the exploring, I need to talk about first impressions. This place is fantastic. We got off the plane and onto the Metro for a run into town for our hotel. A slight mishap with the ticket scanning saw me through the barrier and Jill stuck on the other side. Seeing the dilemma some random woman came up and swiped her card, letting Jill through and just wearing the cost.

We then got to our hotel and were met by the friendliest and most helpful dude that we have come across thus far (and that bar has been set pretty high). This friendliness was genuine and extended the entire time through our stay. So much so that on the morning that we were due to leave he even offered to wait around for us (after his overnight shift) and drive us to the bus station, so that we didn’t have to lug our heavy bags.

Our room had a fridge so we popped out to the shop on the corner and bought 4 large beers (2x500ml and 2×1 litre) and a soft drink each and got change from $12 Aussie for the lot.

I’m really gonna like this place.

Sofia

Sofia is the capital of the Balkan nation of Bulgaria. It’s in the west of the country, below Vitosha Mountain. The city’s landmarks reflect more than 2,000 years of history, including Greek, Roman, Ottoman and Soviet occupation. When doing our early research it looked a bit light on, but on arrival we were happy to see that there was much more on offer than the tourist blurbs suggest.

Hopping off the Metro we landed right on top of one of the listed landmarks, the Lions Bridge.

Well that was easy.

It is a bridge over the Vladaya River that was built 1889–1891 and connects the Central Railway Station with the city centre.

It has 4 very large lion statues on it.

Just around the corner from our hotel, we randomly happened upon the Church of St Paraskeva which is the third largest church in Sofia.

It is a Bulgarian Orthodox church dedicated to Saint Paraskeva,

We were aiming for something else but sure enough this popped up and was pretty cool.

St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral was what we were actually aiming for. It is one of the 50 largest Christian churches in the world taking up an area of 3,170 square metres and being able to hold 5,000 people inside. Construction started in 1882 but most of it was built between 1904 and 1912. The cathedral was created in honour of the Russian soldiers who died during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 when Bulgaria was liberated from Ottoman rule.

Virtually across the road, you find the Saint Sofia Church which is the oldest church in Sofia. The floor of the church is covered with Early Christian flora and fauna-themed mosaics. 

Just down the hill a bit and you come across Saint Nikolas Russian Church (Tsurkva Sveta Nikolai).

It was built in 1882 on the site of the Saray Mosque, which was destroyed during the Russian liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman Empire.

Having ticked those boxes we hunted for dinner but were rejected from the first place (Armenian) as I was dressed like a grotty backpacker. They claimed that they were full but really they didn’t want the likes of us in there. So we went somewhere else, got online and made a reservation for the next night, where we dressed similarly. Having done all of that, their snootiness did not translate into good enough food to justify the price (it was OK) and as a protest, they made sure that their service sucked.

A later check of reviews from other people found many similar experiences.

On our walk back from dinner (the first night) we stumbled upon the Opera House that we had walked right past and completely missed on the way up the hill (it was tucked around a corner).

Also on the walk home, we came across roving packs of teens and 20 somethings in the park looking for things to do. Some were drinking, but for the most part, they were just hanging out and discussing the issues of the day. Not protests as such, just exchanges of ideas.

National Museum of History is Bulgaria’s largest museum and was founded in 1973. Set at the end of a very nice park with some lovely fountains it was worth the short journey to get here.

St. Nedelya Church is an Eastern Orthodox cathedral dating back to the 10th century. It has been destroyed and reconstructed many times through the ages. 

The Rotunda Church of Saint George is buried in a courtyard behind other buildings. It dates back to the late 3rd and early 4th centuries.

It was originally built as Roman baths. It is the oldest surviving building in Sofia.

The Regional History Museum is another landmark in the centre of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. It was built in the early 20th century near the former Turkish bath and was used as the city’s public baths until 1986.

Almost across the road you will find the Banya Bashi Mosque. This was built in 1566, during Ottoman control of the city. It was built over natural thermal spas and at times you can see the steam rising from vents in the ground near the mosque walls.

The mosque has a 15m diameter large dome and prominent minaret.

The Sofia Synagogue opened in 1909 in the presence of King Ferdinand I of Bulgaria.  Buried away in a backstreet it is tough to get a good camera angle for better photos, sorry.

And just down the road and around the corner you will find the Gypsy Markets. The description that we got from our hotel dude was it was a bunch of gypsies selling the things they had stolen or found in the trash that day. He also suggested not eating there as the meat was likely to be cat or dog.

We were here on a Saturday and Sunday and for the most part, the place was closed. Shops and restaurants worked normal hours, none of this I must be open the whole time. It was an interesting throwback to when people had lives.

A little inconvenient at times but hey.

The only places that were always open were the alcohol and tobacco shops.

As with everywhere, the place had a bunch of statues dotted all over the place. But these ones seemed funkier and edgier than the usual ones that typically haunt big cities.

This is the Eastern Europe that we had been hoping for all along. The place is fantastic, cheap and friendly. The food is good and the sights are worth seeing without being mind-blowing. But mostly it is about the atmosphere. The place feels right. You could happily settle in and spend a month here just soaking up the culture and getting a sense of the place, and importantly you can do so without destroying the budget.

Serbia

Serbia

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Serbia is a landlocked country in the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungary (north), Romania (northeast), Bulgaria (southeast), North Macedonia (south), Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (west), and Montenegro (southwest), and Kosovo.

Serbia has about 6.6 million people.

Having loved our (240 km and 8 hour) bus ride into Bosnia and Herzegovina we decided to fly out for a 40 minute puddle jump into Serbia, more specifically Belgrade.

Belgrade

Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the junction of the Sava and Danube rivers with a population of around 1.6 million. Belgrade is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world with the first dated records of habitation going back to the the 3rd century BC.

Our accommodation saw us perched between the old and new town directly opposite the old main railway station and associated park.

The park is amazing with an incredibly impressive monument to Stefan Nemanja (over 20m high).

He was a medieval Serbian nobleman who together with his son Sava (who the big church is named after) are considered the fathers of the Serbian Orthodox Church).

As it was early enough we dropped off our gear and headed out on a walk to see the sights. We chose to hit the ones that were away from old town, where we would be spending most of our time the following day. So we turned the corner from our hotel and started our way up the hill aiming towards St Sava Temple.

But within two blocks we had already landed upon the railway museum, which was incredibly impressive in its own right.

Half a block up and across the street we came upon the Government of the Republic of Serbia building.

This was built in the 1920s and was the first public building built in Belgrade for the purposes of the public administration of the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

Next came the Department of Defence, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Belgrade city museum, public health department. And they were all housed in amazing soviet era architecturally designed buildings that were incredibly impressive.

Anyway, we did eventually make it to St Sava Temple which again, blew our socks off. The church is dedicated to Saint Sava (son of the dude with the big statue opposite our hotel), the founder of the Serbian Orthodox Church and an important figure in medieval Serbia. It was built on the location of St. Sava’s grave.

The next morning we were up and off to the 160 acre Belgrade Fortress. For many centuries the entire town existed within the walls of the fortress. It sits at the meeting of the Sava and Danube rivers.

As with all of Europe, the warring tribes saw this piece of land change hands many times over the millennia. The romans had their turn and according to wiki “in the period between 378 AD and 441 the Roman camp was repeatedly destroyed in the invasions by the Goths and the Huns. Legend says that Attila’s grave lies at the confluence of the Sava and the Danube (under the fortress)”. In the following centuries the fortress suffered continuous destruction under the Avar sieges. 

The name Belgrade was first mentioned in AD 878 by Bulgarians. The fortress kept changing its master as Bulgaria had it then the Byzantines and then Bulgaria again, in the 11th century it was given to the new Serbian state as a wedding gift. In the 15th century it was conquered by the Turks (with short periods of Austrian and Serbian occupation), but it remained under Ottoman Empire rule until 1867, when the Turks withdrew from Belgrade and Serbia. 

From the fortress you got a fair view of the Gardoš Tower or Millennium Tower.

It was built and opened in 1896 to celebrate a thousand years of Hungarian settlement in the region.

Within the walls is St Petka’s Chapel which was built in 1417 and was allegedly erected over a sacred spring. At one time it held the holy relics of St Petka. With all of the destruction of the fortress over the years, the exact location of this chapel is not known so a replacement was built on the grounds in the 1930s.

The amazing thing for us was that to visit and walk through the fortress and associated grounds was 100% free.

There was one odd children’s playground area with dinosaurs in it that had a small fee.

But as we did not want to play on the playground, we avoided that cost.

From the fortress, you spill out into the remainder of old town and the main tourist and shopping district of Belgrade. This part of town is full of funky old buildings with tons of character.

As you wander through you come upon the Cathedral Church of St. Michael the Archangel or simply St Michael’s Cathedral. This is a Serbian Orthodox church in the centre of the old part of Belgrade. It was built around 1840, on the site of an older church dedicated to Archangel Michael.

The Historical Museum of Serbia is currently in this building but it has been granted the building opposite our hotel (the old main railway station) as its permanent home and will be moving soon.

The Stari Dvor or old palace was the royal residence of the Obrenović dynasty (1800’s).

Today it houses the City Assembly of Belgrade. 

Novi Dvor or new palace was was a royal residence of the Karađorđević dynasty (late 1700 & 1800’s)

Today it is the seat of the President of Serbia. 

House of the National Assembly was built in 1936 and has served as the seat of parliament for the Parliaments of Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro and since 2006, Serbia.

For the most part, Serbia has been great. The food is good (if not exactly heart smart), the prices are reasonable, the beer is well-priced, and there is plenty to see and do (mostly without charge). I would certainly not hesitate in coming back.

The Golubac Fortress is somewhere that looked amazing but sadly (at about 120km from Belgrade) we could not get to. It was a medieval (fortified) town on the Danube 4 km downstream from the current town of Golubac. The fortress was built during the 14th century and has ten towers. Most of these started square but evolved to get many-sided reinforcements to accommodate modern firearms.

Austria

Austria

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Austria is a small landlocked country that is bordered by Germany (northwest), Czechia (north), Slovakia (northeast), Hungary (east), Slovenia and Italy (south), and Switzerland and Liechtenstein (west).

With a population of around 9 million the country has a history that dates back to pre-roman times.

Vienna

Before I get into the post proper there are two points that have jumped to the surface virtually straight away. Number One. We have massively underdone our timing for this place and will absolutely need to come back at some point. Number Two. One post is not enough for this city. As soon as we got to town and took a look at St. Stephens Cathedral we quickly realised that to do it justice this church warranted a post all on its own. Same goes for the palaces.

The first thing that struck us was the price. We can live again. Having left Switzerland where everything was obscenely priced, Vienna was quite reasonable, cheap even. Our beer price was cut in 3 and the food prices were similarly reasonable. Don’t get me wrong, we still probably paid back home prices for our meals, but we weren’t being anally probed every time we left our room.

Vienna has been called the “City of Music” as many famous classical musicians such as Schubert, Beethoven and Mozart called Vienna home. It was also home to Sigmund Freud (the world’s first psychoanalyst).

Vienna’s history dates back to the Roman era but most of what is there today came about under the rule of Empress Maria Theresia (1740 – 1780) and later Franz Joseph (1848 – 1916), who was largely responsible for the monumental architecture in the city’s centre.

St. Stephens Cathedral

This was the first sight that we visited and quickly realised that we were going to undercook this post. Originally built in the 1100’s and then further added to in the 1300’s this cathedral is phenomenal. Every wall, every aspect, every angle has a different story to tell. Built right in the heart of town, to say this place is popular would be an understatement.

The Hofburg Palace was the one time principal palace of the Habsburg dynasty. Smack Bang in the middle of town it was built in the 13th century and has been expanded several times since. Since 1946, it has been the official residence and workplace of the president of Austria.

Within the Hofburg Palace you can see the Imperial Apartments, the Sisi Museum, Imperial Treasury (with the crown of the Holy Roman Empire), State Hall of the National Library, the Spanish Riding School and the World Museum.

In front of the palace is the Heldenplatz or heroes square.

Also in the middle of everything is the Museum Quarter. This is a huge area with massively impressive buildings on all sides.

The Schönbrunn Palace (meaning “beautiful spring”) was the summer residence of the Hapsburg dynasty. The palace has 1441 rooms and vast gardens and is the most visited tourist destination in Vienna, and once again we undercooked out time and this could have been an entire post on its own.

The Ringstraße is a 5.3 km ring road that was designed by Emperor Franz Joseph to replace the old city walls. It was built in between the 1860s and 1890s. Some of the main buildings that occupy space on the Ringstrasse include: The Vienna State Opera, Academy of Fine Arts, Palace of Justice, Austrian Parliament Building, Rathaus (Town Hall), Burgtheater, University of Vienna, and Wiener Börse (Stock Exchange).

The Rathaus (City Hall) of Vienna  was built between 1872 and 1883 in the gothic style, with a tower similar to cathedrals.

The Votive Church is a neo-Gothic church that was built and consecrated in 1879, on the day of the Silver Wedding of Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth.

It was apparently built as a token of gratitude after a failed attempt to assassinate Emperor Franz Joseph.

The Liebenberg Monument was made in 1887 to honour a civil servant dating back to the 1600’s.

It is a nine-meter tall red granite obelisk with the goddess of victory on the top and a portrait of Liebenberg with two angels and a life-sized bronze lion on the base.

Austrian Parliament Building was completed in 1883.  It has over one hundred rooms including the Chambers of the National Council and the Federal Council.

Belvedere Palace

This one we were unable to get to as time saw us way too pushed. But the Belvedere Palace was built as a summer residence for the prince Eugene of Savoy. The complex actually contains two Baroque palaces (the Upper and Lower Belvedere), the Orangery, and the Palace Stables.   It is now home to an art museum

Long story short, Vienna was amazing, but we did not heave enough time to see all of the things that were on offer. I guess the worst part of that scenario is that we will have to come back and spend some more time exploring, more fully.

And on a final note, Vienna really knows how to put on a horse statue.

England

Liverpool

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Well we have been gifted with the weather that we have received throughout this entire part of the journey. Apart from one rainy day in Reykjavik, the weather has treated us very well. So much so that we pulled into Liverpool to a 27 degree sunny day.

Having arrived by boat we were delivered on the River Mersey and our first act was to walk along the Mersey and admire the scenery. The first thing that struck us was these bizarre statue things. We had to ask later on and were told (matter of factly) that this was the Lambanana and he looked at us as if we were stupid for not knowing this.

So…the Superlambanana is a bright yellow sculpture (weighing almost 8 tonnes and standing at 5.2 metres tall) and was designed by a Japanese artist who lives in New York City. It is intended to be a cross between a banana and a lamb and (smaller versions) have become ubiquitous around Liverpool.

Having dealt with that issue, we wandered along the Liverpool Waterfront and Albert Dock. The first structure in the UK to be built from cast iron, brick and stone, with no structural wood, making it the first non-combustible warehouse system in the world.

Soon we found ourselves in the middle of a film set for a local TV show (best landscape artist). There were a bunch of artists trying to paint, while film cameras and looky-loos watched on. We skirted around it as best we could and admired the many varieties of food vans that were in place around the docks area.

Past the Merseyside Maritime Museum and up the hill towards town and a ton of old buildings and sights to see.

The Liverpool station was impressive with a sweeping glass roof and various Victorian-era touches, while radio city tower poled up over the top of the city. The library was huge and impressive (with another film crew there too). There were statues aplenty, this town really is a very pretty sight to see. We meandered through town and took photos where we could, but mostly just enjoyed a sunny day in a beautiful city.

St George’s Hall is probably the most famous of Liverpool tourist attractions and had huge lion statues guarding the entrance. It is one of Liverpool’s oldest buildings (having opened in 1854) and is smack bang in the city’s heart.

Having done all of this we wandered down the main mall and gazed at shops before stopping in for a traditional English fish (haddock) and chips with salt and vinegar. The fish was magnificent, while the chips were a soggy mess (I love crunchy chips). We chose not to go the mushy peas (great on a pie) or curry sauce options.

Liverpool is home to two top tier football clubs (Liverpool and Everton), both with home grounds near town and less than a mile apart. I have zero interest in soccer and visited neither. But in true English tradition we did see many a funky little pub or tavern (and surprisingly I did not enter any of them.

The other thing that Liverpool seems obsessed with is insects (but spelling is not their strong suit. Everywhere you look you will see things about Beatles. Beatles museums, walking tours, pubs, clubs, statues, you name it, these guys are everywhere. It is almost like they did something important.

An extra day or two would have yielded a better exploration, but time did not allow this. Liverpool was a lovely city to wander and explore, and is definitively worth a visit.

Czech Republic

Prague (Part 2)

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Národní muzeum

This is the National Museum in Prague which was originally founded in 1818. It bounced around a bit as it gained exhibits and outgrew several early buildings. The current building is located at the end of Wenceslas Square, it was completed in 1891 and is absolutely stunning. In fact, the entire museum is that way. For the most part, I am not really a museum/gallery kind of guy, but this place was amazing and I cannot recommend it enough.

The early focus of the museum was natural sciences and as such there is a bunch of natural history and evolution-type stuff all over the place, and the way they have done it is brilliant. The dinosaur section was really well done and fun.

They also have a huge collection of animals and a really cool display that shows the animals ordered in the speed at which they travel.

But beyond the natural history stuff, the whole museum was really interesting and was a highlight of our trip.

Prague Statues

These buggers are everywhere. There was a statue virtually anywhere you looked in this place. They ranged from formal to classical and some straight-out quirky ones, including hanging from power lines. .

The Jewish Quarter

Prague’s Jewish Quarter (Josefov) is hidden away at the back of old town and has been there and occupied since around 965 AD. As with most Jewish areas in Europe the neighbourhood has seen more than its fair share of horror over the centuries. But it still contains some of the oldest buildings in the Czech capital.

In here you will find synagogues, the Old Jewish Cemetery, the Jewish Town Hall and Ceremonial Hall. So we went and wandered through the area and through the cemetery. Jill took great amusement at the fact that they forced ever male to wear a yarmulke. So I wandered around with a mini beanie on my head that wouldn’t stay put.

 Prague Zoo

We were hanging around and found that there was a cruise available that took us up the river and delivered us at the zoo. This was a way of killing two birds with one stone so we jumped at it. Due to the water levels of the Vltava River, there are four locks that were built between 1911-1922. The locks control the water level and allow the vessels to traverse.  

The zoo was as a zoo normally is. Lots of displays, interesting animals that are particular to certain areas of the world and a petting zoo for the little kids. There were the usual big ticket items (lions, tigers, giraffes and elephants) along with some Aussie favourites that seemed pretty popular.

Whatever happens, Prague is a truly amazing city. Every street, every corner there is something amazing to look at. The architecture, the statues, the doorways, the cobblestones, this place is incredible at every turn. From my perspective, you should add it very high on any bucket list that you may be compiling.

Czech Food

Czech food, for the most part is pretty stodgy. It is priced pretty similarly (but maybe a little cheaper) than you would expect to pay in Australia. Fruit and vegetables (beyond starchy ones) were tough to find, but the food was rich, hearty and tasty.

There are plenty of soups and stews, roasted meat coated in rich sauces, typically served with a side of bread dumplings to mop it all up with. Knedliky is the name for these (steamed or boiled) dumplings they are ideal for soaking up all of the juices and sauces that Czech cuisine has in abundance.

While Goulash is originally a Hungarian dish it has made its way heavily into the Czech food staples. It is a rich, meat-based stew, consisting of chunks of stewed beef in a thick meat sauce seasoned with paprika. I was a little surprized at the spice levels in this, it was spicier than I had expected and was seriously tasty.

Vepřo knedlo zelo is one of the Czech Republic’s national dishes. This is a combination of roast pork, cabbage or sauerkraut, and dumplings, served with an onion and caraway gravy. Kulajda is a rich mushroom and potato cream soup. The addition of sour cream helps add both meatiness and tanginess to the dish. Zelňačka is tangy sauerkraut soup. 

Tatarák is a dish of raw minced beef mixed with diced onion, garlic, egg yolk, paprika, pepper, salt, mustard, diced cucumber, and tomato sauce. Jill is now, and always has been, a fan of this and when given the choice of mixed or unmixed, she obviously chose to do it herself.

Smažený vepřový rízek is essentially the Czech version of a pork schnitzel. Česnečka is a garlic-base soup, topped with a raw egg, which cooks atop the soup because of the heat. Moravský vrabec means ‘Moravian sparrow’ but it is basically stewed then baked pork, sauerkraut, and dumplings. Vepřové koleno is roasted pork knee. An early foray saw us sampling the nakladany hermelin (or pickled cheese). This is a local version of Camembert that has been marinated in spiced, paprika-tinged oil, padded with raw onion and crowned with hot pickled chillies.

But as with everywhere, there is a winner and in Prague it was Trdelník. Trdelnik actually comes from Slovakia, but has become popular in the Czech Republic and Hungary. It is a doughnut-style thing that is roasted over coals, but some bright spark had the idea of filling it with cream, ice cream and other goodies.

This is excellent but obscenely overpriced. It will cost you the equivalent of around $15 for a small cone. But it is good.

Czech Beer

Czech beer (České pivo) is the overall winner, it was high on my list before we came and has now been elevated to even loftier levels. Apart from some of the the weird microbrewery offerings, there is not one Czech beer that I tried that was not incredibly good. A big thanks to Tasteatlas.com for some of the content.

České pivo is a term that refers to a variety of local beers with a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) mark. The mark is used by fourteen breweries making more than 80 brands, which is about 65% of the total domestic market.

Pilsner is a beer style that originated in Pilsen (Plzeň), in western Bohemia. It was first brewed in 1842 because the citizens of Pilsen grew unhappy with the quality of the beer so decided to build Bürger Brauerei (Citizens’ Brewery), which would later become Pilsner Urquell.

As with most nations, the beer is produced regionally and some of the major offerings here in Czech Republic Include Chodské pivo (produced in the Chodsko region), Březnický ležák (produced in the Březnice area), Brněnské pivo, also known as Starobrněnské pivo, is produced in the Brno district.

The most important thing about Czech beer, beyond the excellent taste and flavour, is the price. In many of the bars and pubs around Prague, you can get a 500ml glass of your choice of beers for 49 Czech crowns ($3.30). If things get really extravagant and touristy overpriced you will still get change from $5.