12th December - Prague to Frankfurt to Houston to Auckland to Nelson

We're homeward bound today. It was an early start to what was going to be a very long trip down-under. We left the apartment just before 7am and caught the airport bus just 10 minutes later. With a 30-minute ride to the airport, we were there in good time to confirm the weight of our bags and get them checked in. Our route would take us from Prague to Frankfurt, Houston, Auckland and finally on to Nelson.

The first leg of our trip took us on the short 70-minute flight to Frankfurt. Our bags were checked through to Houston but we were recommended to go to the United desk at Frankfurt to pick up the boarding pass for the final flight from Houston to Auckland. The woman manning the desk told us we couldn't pick up the boarding pass until Houston, not Frankfurt, however she noted that my Frankfurt boarding pass had SSSS written on it. This meant I had to go to another booth and get a full explosive check done, down to getting my feet swabbed. It was a little nerve-wracking but I passed the test, got the appropriate stamp and could then proceed through to the departure gate. 

The United flight from Frankfurt to Houston took 10.5 hours and it went pretty well. We both watched a few movies, then tried to catch some sleep, John being more successful than I. After being 40 minutes late taking off, we landed at Houston only about 10 minutes late. Our transfer was always going to be tight, with just 1hr 50 minutes before our onward flight to Auckland. What we hadn't realised when we booked our flights (and that United hadn't told us) was that we had to collect our bags again and go through the full immigration and custom procedures, before re-checking our bags, going through security, and getting to the next terminal for our Air NZ flight. 

It threatened to be a daunting transit from the outset. However, it turned out to be a very frustrating and unpleasant experience. We were near the back of the plane so were already running well behind our required timing before we even got off the plane. From the moment we finally got off we were running. With no separate processing for passengers in-transit, as opposed to those properly entering the USA, we had to contend with a long and slow queue to get to the 2 immigration booths that were open. Each person's questioning took forever while time ticked away. By the time we had been photographed and our passports stamped, boarding for our flight had supposedly already started, and we hadn't even collected our bags from the previous flight.

Back on the run to collect our bags,and drag them to the bag drop off. A nasty officious man chose us to shout at to put them through a scanner before we could drop them off. Off again we stumbled across the bag drop area, and unhelpful men took our bags. We didn't expect them to be loaded onto our flight in time because we were now three-quarters of an hour past the cut-off time for bags to be dropped off. By now we had pretty much resigned ourselves that there was no way the bags would get on our flight, and most likely we wouldn't either. It wasn't much fun.

We then were off to security screening. Here we had to contend with toxic officers overseeing the screening queues. Off running again to Terminal D from our current terminal C. Thankfully, the two were in the same building - the only thing in the whole transfer process that went our way - and we made our way to D10 boarding gate and arrived puffing and sweating at the desk under 10 minutes from departure. To our marked relief the departure lounge was still full of people, even though the flight was due to have left in under 10 minutes. We were fine. The nice guy on the desk quickly issued our boarding passes and informed us that the flight was delayed for 15 minutes while they waited for the cabin crew. What a relief. We didn't think we had a hope of catching the flight.

In the end the flight was an hour late leaving, but we didn't care. We were on it! With 14.5 hours ahead of us, we settled into trying to sleep as soon as the meal was served. We'd paid the small amount of extra money to be in a row with extra legroom and it was definitely a good move. We could stretch out  and we both slept or dozed for quite a few hours. The flight went really well and the time actually seemed to go remarkably quickly. Before we knew it we were starting our descent into Auckland. Arriving at 6am, we had been 36 hours on the move.

Nic had alerted us that we might meet up with Carmen and her partner at Auckland airport. Carmen was the Spanish au-pair for Bella and Nic's three children when they lived in Melbourne. They were coming to visit them for four days and were on the same flight to Nelson as us. We got to know each other over a coffee, and after the flight, we were all met by Bella and Nic at Nelson airport. It was wonderful to give them a big hug and be welcomed home. They dropped us at our place, where we did a bit of unpacking and then scouted out to the supermarket to buy some fresh food. A little later in the day we drove around to Bella and Nic's and received a lovely welcome from the three kiddies who were all home for school. A lovely lazy pizza meal and a glass of wine rounded off the day, but we were fading by 7pm so headed home to bed and a big sleep catch-up. 

11th December - Prague

It's our last day here, and the last day of our trip. Tomorrow we start the long haul homeward. The temperatures have really warmed up here. It was a high of 9 degrees today, absolutely balmy! We relinquished another layer from those we have been wearing each day. Setting off for a short walk we headed towards the river. It was really nice to be out, in quite warm weather and with John feeling as though he is getting over Covid. We've taken it very gently over the last four days, as this bout knocked him quite a bit harder than the one in Iceland. 

Wandering gently along beside the river we came across a range of large boats. Some are hotels, some are restaurants, one had an ice-skating rink and another held an extremely large bronze bell. The latter is a new bell, made as a replica of one of the 13,000-odd bronze bells that the Nazis took from churches and other buildings all over Czechia during the war. Only a few have been returned. The government plans to make hundreds of bells to replace some of those that were melted down for Nazi armoury.

Hotel boat and restaurant

Floating ice-skating rink

Newly cast bell reminiscent of those stolen during the war

Bordering the river was a long row of stonework housing a range of eateries. We couldn't work out how they were accessed until we saw one of the incredibly large round windows revolved. Each outlet had its own impressive rotating window.

Large revolving cafe door

On the walk home we passed a couple of points of interest. One was a five-story building with grasses growing on narrow terraces on each level. The second was a nice old Skoda that really took John's fancy.

Keeping a rein on our exercise we headed back home all the while thinking that Covid had conspired against us to make the most of local food, beer and mulled wine. Neither of us have had much of an appetite in any instance but this was our last chance to put things right. We looked for an appropriate cafe with a mouth-watering display of elaborate cakes. One ticked the box perfectly so we indulged in a lovely hot coffee and rich cake. We felt we deserved it after a fairly tough 4-5 days. 

An appropriate way to end our trip on

It was then home to pack. It will be an early start tomorrow morning. 

9th to 10th December - Prague

After a solid 11 hours sleep John woke up feeling quite a lot better. Thank goodness! His temperature was down a lot but it wasn't surprising that he felt exhausted. We had a quiet morning again, with just a 10min outing to the supermarket to stock up on food. After his sleep in the afternoon we thought we could venture out to the Xmas market. We were keen to see it again, and the forecast was for rain for the next two evenings so this might be our last opportunity. We walked past some interesting shops along the way.

Designer audio store

Designer clothing store

It seemed as though all of Prague was out and about. The streets were crowded and everywhere looked busy and bright. We made it to the main square, took some photos and then left. It was quite a bunfight and neither of us was interested in trying the large sausage-filled rolls, hunks of meat or trdelnik (chimney cake) on offer. The latter is pastry, wound into a cone shape and cooked on a rotating spit over coals, then coated in cinnamon and sugar and filled with ice-cream and fruit toppings. It actually looked really nice but a bit much, even for my sweet tooth. 

A trdelnik booth

It was nice to be out and about. One thing I've noticed here is that there are virtually no cyclists. It was the same in Brno. If you do spot one he or she is likely to have a food delivery box in tow. I could count the number of cyclists I've seen in Prague in the last four days on one hand. The difference with the thousands of cyclists we saw every day in Belgium couldn't be more pronounced. Like Brussels, there is a great tram system here, so locals must opt for that or walk instead of cycling. There are few cars in the large historic centre of Prague. Likewise there are virtually no traffic lights. Pedestrians, vehicles and trams negotiate the wide streets without a problem and everyone gives way at the pedestrian crossings (very few of which are signposted). 

When walking on the footpaths we soon learnt to walk on the outside. Otherwise you're likely to get hit by either a tranche of snow coming off a roof above (John very nearly copped one) or runnels of water from melting snow. On two occasions when we've been in our apartment I've heard a huge commotion of noise. The first time I thought it sounded like someone falling down a few flights of stairs with all their luggage. The second time it occured we deduced that it was probably snow sliding down the roof and then crashing onto the ground a few stories below.

The snow has all but disappeared now. The weather is actually getting warmer and we now dress in fewer layers when we venture outside. I think we have seen the end of the negative temperatures, which is a little sad. We have really enjoyed it. I'm glad we managed to see the odd snowfall in Brno. 

One of two temporary ice-skating rinks set up in a main square

Xmas market

A lovely restaurant built and furnished in Art Nouveau style

On Sunday John woke up feeling pretty good. We decided to walk towards the Charles Bridge, which we have fond memories of from our previous times in Prague. We took a circuitous route and ended up crossing over on another bridge, then coming back over the Charles Bridge. It was a very pleasant walk, especially exploring new territory on the far side of the river.

Towards the Charles Bridge and the Castle

The Charles Bridge

John has thoroughly enjoyed seeing the cubist style of architecture that is found in Czechia and nowhere else. Admiring the architecture and buildings styles here in Czechia, but also in other countries, has been one of the highlights of our trip. 

Two figures strung up on highwires by their umbrellas

We've loved all the public sculpture that we keep coming across. It's one of the advantages that big cities have, but also recognises the value that the authorities put on livening up public spaces. 

3D figures

Sculpture of a little girl up high on a building ledge holding a paper dart

Bronze babies

And a few more quirky photos -

Elf in the window of a hair salon

Lovely display of origami cranes

The buildings here in Prague are remarkable. Every one appears to have been carefully designed, built well, and maintained equally well. They are not all the same, but all work nicely together. It makes walking around the streets a pleasure. There's nowhere else we've been to that comes close to the quality of Prague. This is our third visit to Prague, and we have enjoyed it once again..

7th to 8th - December Prague

We didn't sleep too well but were up at a decent time. Breakfasting on muesli instead of pastries was a nice way to start the day and we were soon off on a general walkabout of the city centre. John had downloaded a walk which took in hidden alleyways, and we started on that. It wasn't long before we got sidetracked by Bric-a-brac and antique stores along the way and also trying to rediscover particular second-hand shops where we had bought glass 10 years ago. 

With a breather here and there for a coffee then a roll for lunch we finally found success at one shop. We had to wait for it to open in the afternoon and, hey presto, we found a lovely set of little glasses. It made our day. 

It was fun wandering around, with no time pressure and no fixed agenda. We completed the alleyways walk and at one stage ended up near Charles Bridge. The latter had plenty of tourists groups, even at this time of the year. We decided to leave crossing the bridge and visiting the castle on the other side for another day.

By mid afternoon and very foot weary we picked up some pasta, tomato sauce and mini meatballs from the supermarket and took it home to cook up for an easy meal. John has been battling a cold for the last few days and we both felt like we needed some feet-up time. 

Impressively large wagon wheel buffers

Street with Xmas stalls

Fruit pyramids

Each drum contained its on little fireplace

View of Charles Bridge and the castle on the other side of the river

The Powder Tower

We went to bed wondering what we might do tomorrow, knowing another cold day was forecast. We needn't have speculated. John had a terrible night with a high temperature and felt wretched. I didn't sleep much either. A Covid test in the morning gave an instant positive reading. Darn. Last time we caught it was in Iceland. Again, John had a high temperature that time and felt particularly awful for about 12 hours, however he quickly bounced back. We hope he does the same this time. We think he's probably had it for a few days already. It's another 5 days until we fly home. I'm now wearing a mask and am crossing all fingers, toes and elbows that I don't catch it. I didn't get it badly in Helsinki, but with my ears still playing up I'm worried that any congestion in my system could make my ears really painful. 

Unfortunately, despite spending an extremely quiet day indoors, John felt pretty awful all day. We're hoping a good night's sleep might set him on the road to recovery. 

6th December - Brno to Prague

There was no early rush to get to the Brno train station this morning because our train to Prague didn't leave until 10.10am. It was a very cold day again and I donned all my layers: 3 layers of merino plus one light and one heavy down jacket, merino leggings beneath trousers, thick hiking socks, hiking boots, scarf, woollen hat and gloves. At about -5 degrees, I needed the lot. It was snowing as we walked the short distance to the train station, which felt really cool (no pun intended).

Arriving at Brno station to catch the train to Prague

The trip to Prague took a bit over two hours, and passed through country coated in thick snow. It was very pretty. 

Arriving in Prague train station was like entering a new world. The station is so ornate, and gave a taste of the type of buildings we would revisit in the centre of Prague. We filled in a little time having a coffee until we could access our apartment at 2pm. We virtually just dumped our bags and headed out to see what we could see.

Prague train station

Our choice to return to Prague is partly because we love the architecture. The buildings are colourful, well-built and reflect a wide history - Gothic of the 14th and 15th centuries (castle, cathedrals, Charles Bridge), high-Baroque of the first half of the 18th century, and the New Town of the late 19th century. They were never seriously damaged, even during WWII.

Another reason to come back is because we love Bohemian glass, particularly Moser. Our first few hours here were happily spent searching out some second-hand and Bric-a-Brac stores, and enjoying the atmosphere of the Xmas markets which are up and running in the squares. 

Running low on ergs we had a beer at 4pm, waiting until a pub called Convikt opened up for an evening meal. We had dined there twice in past years, both times the food was great, the pub humming with people and conviviality and it was a great experience. Returning this time was a bad move. We made the mistake of relying on our memories and not checking out current reviews of the place. When we arrived and found it empty, except for a group of bikie enthusiasts having a beer and who clearly knew the owner, we thought it seemed a little odd. The incredibly surly waiter came over to take a drinks and food order, and we should have walked out then but couldn't after a beer was on the table. We then checked the reviews and saw how terrible some were. Within an hour we agreed with all of them. No wonder the place was empty of other diners. The waiter was as about unhelpful, unfriendly, unpleasant and disinterested as he could be. He will be getting another bad review!

We were pleased to enjoy a gentle stroll back through the market and return to our room for  a quiet cup of tea.