FUN-travel: Prague to Palermo – Trip Recap
January 13, 2014 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Prague to Palermo – Trip Recap
Kotor, Montenegro
Trip Recap – Prague to Palermo
- Travel is very personal! Our perfect vacation is a mix of land touring and cruising. We did more driving than we than would have preferred. We like the freedom of having a car but don’t like the stress of driving on teeny, tiny & unmarked streets. Spain had better road markings and signage for sure!
- We drove a total of 777 kilometers on the first part from Munich to Vienna. Then we drove another 1949 kilometers in Italy going from Rimini to Palermo.
- Food in Italy was not as good as I remember 15 years ago. Cappuccino/espresso not as good as Chris remembers. Best pizza by far was Pizzeria Franco in Sorrento followed by the auto/truck stops and in Terrasini at Arabesque. Best caprese by far was Spazi in Rimini.
- I was sorry I finally figured out the last two days that if you want to stop in a town, find out where to eat on TA (TripAdvisor) and then program the GPS. Common sense would assume the Piazza would have restaurants (WRONG!) which was not the case in Siracusa, Sicily. Wasted time and too much frustration! Not to mention a crappy lunch.
Rovinj, Croatia
- I like to stay 3 nights in the same city at the same hotel, which gives us 2 full days. The only time that changes is if the city is small like Salzburg or Füssen. We had 6 days total in Sicily and chose to spend 2 nights in 3 cities so we weren’t schlepping bags. In retrospect, I would have liked to stay in Agrigento and Siracusa. And more time in cute little Noto!
Favorite Places – Croatia and Montenegro were wonderful surprises. Loved the small, quaint charm of Füssen, Germany and going anywhere in Italy! It will always be at the top of my list. Taormina was off the charts!
Taormina, Italy
FUN-photos: Prague to Palermo – September, 2013 – Movie Trailer
November 11, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-photos: Prague to Palermo – September, 2013 – Movie Trailer
The editing of the video that we shot has begun! Here’s a little snippet. Enjoy!
FUN-photos: Prague to Trieste – September, 2013
November 11, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-photos: Prague to Trieste – September, 2013
Our trip started on September 16th. We flew to Prague from London on the 17th. Then we trained to Munich for opening day of Oktoberfest. From there we rented a car and drove to Dachau and on to Füssen to see the Neuschwanstein Castle. (#17 on the list vying for the New 7 Wonders of the World) Next we headed to Salzburg and Vienna where we dropped the car. Then we headed to Budapest and on to Trieste by train. We spent the night in Villach, Austria to eliminate the overnight train.
If you click on the first picture it will allow you to create a slide show. And it turns out they are in ascending order (in other words, the first is actually the last) So if you click the back arrow you will see them in order. Enjoy!
FUN-travel: Prague, Czech Republic to Munich, Germany
September 22, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Prague, Czech Republic to Munich, Germany
Day 5 – Friday, September 20 – Prague, Czech Republic to Munich, Germany – cloudy, overcast, 50’s
What I LIKE
Oktoberfest Opening Day
- 7:15 – hot cappuccino
Oktoberfest Opening Day
- 8:30 taxi to station
- only takes 5 minutes
- *nice railroad worker wants to help us
- taking the train & not flying
- 9:05 – board
- 9:15 – depart on time
- 1st class Eurail pass
- 3:45 – arrive Munich
- taxi easy to Munich City Hotel
- only 5 minutes away
- *Daniel @ front desk gets us a bigger room – 5 ft longer (50 sq ft makes a difference)
- 5:00 – Happy Hour @ Hacker-Pschorr – litre of Oktoberfest beer & Nürenburg sausages w/sauerkraut – just so-so – $22
- 7:00 – dinner adventure begins – 1st stop Italian – only has 1 kind of red wine & turns out to be owned by Hacker-Pschorr
- 7:05 – head back to hotel for recommendation – told to head north down the street for Italian restaurants
- 7:30 – stop @ Best Western to ask for more directions
- 7:45 – stumble upon Pipasa – great server & food – pizza diavolo w/spicy sausage, jalapenos & red onion & Mediterranean salad w/olives, peppers, tomatoes, onions & feta – Collefriso Zero Montepulciano d’Abruzzi – VG! Only 47 Euros
What I DON’T LIKE
Oktoberfest Opening Day
- 3:30 am wakeup – not staying asleep
- *it’s a shakedown – wants 8 Euros (that won’t happen again)
- train is full of tourists going to Munich for Oktoberfest
- we have no seat reservation & 1st class is full (luckily we got 2 seats)
- train is 40 minutes late arriving
- 5 minute taxi ride costs $14 Euro
- *room is teeny, tiny – no room for luggage (seriously, this is smaller than a cruise ship cabin)
- head back downstairs to front desk to inquire about another room
- this is the most expensive hotel room we’ve ever had (I know it’s Oktoberfest, but 3 X’s mark up?)
FUN-fact – The TV Tower is 70 stories high and has a richly furnished “6 star” hotel room offering breathtaking views of Prague for only 1000 Euros a night which includes a limousine and driver.
Oktoberfest Opening Day
FUN-travel: Prague, Czech Republic – Day 2
September 21, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Prague, Czech Republic – Day 2
Prague Castle
Day 4 – Thursday, September 19 – Prague, Czech Republic – Day 3 – clouds, mixed w/some blue sky peaking through, sporadic rain – high 50’s
What I LIKE
Castle Guard
- 7:30 wake up
- 9:15 walk to Hop On, Hop Off bus
- only 20 Euros each
- 9:30 – get on green line
- 1st stop – Lesser Town Square – St Nicholas church
- 2nd stop – Nerudova – walk up to Prague castle
- sights include St Vitus cathedral, St George’s basilica, royal palaces & gardens
- 3rd stop – Old Town Square – historic Prague w/shops, church, horse drawn carriages, restaurants
- 4th stop – boat ride included w/bus
- 5th stop – downtown – short walk includes – Municipal House & shops
- 6th stop – change to red line – 1 hr drive – highlights include old walled city & TV Tower – world’s 2nd ugliest building
- 4:00 – last stop supermarket for wine & water
- 5:00 – happy hour turns into dinner @ Pivovarsky dum brewery restaurant for typical Czech meal – roast & smoked pork, sauerkraut, bohemian dumplings, sausage & beer – VG & only $16
- relaxing in room before packing up
What I DON’T LIKE
Old Town Square
- didn’t bring rain coat
- missed river boat tour – next one 90 minutes
- horrible graffiti all over!
- not sleeping very well
FF (FUN-fact) – Prague Castle is the largest ancient castle in the world. The complex is 45 hectares (roughly 112 acres) and includes churches, gardens, alleyways and royal residences.
More FF – The historic city center of Prague became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1992.
Old Town Square