Observation - Behaviour of Check people

We find the Check people very direct in their manners. They are rather closed up and we are sorry to say that we find their service poor. To some extent we believe this has to do with their English language skills as the Check people fluent in English tend to be more open minded.

Hotel Josef

This is a a award winning hotel. We are most satisfied with our berakfast which has everything you ever could wish for in the first meal of the day. What catches our attention the most though is the little jogging map we find in our rooms showing 3 different jogging routes, from short to a really long one, in Prague.

Sport / bech resort in the middle of Prague

We find a beach in the city centre. Available for young people. We take a taxi and from no where a “beach resort” pop ups. This is an area for the whole family to relax and spend a day. You have play ground areas, splash pools for small children, beach volley ball field, area for soccer and Boule and loads of bars and restaurants. The “resort” is called a sports club and an entrance fee is charged. We come here to observe youths but we find people in all ages. What strikes us as amazing is that we find a beach in town.

Pubcrawl

Finally, the time we all have been waiting for, time to explore the infamous typical czeck pubs.

We started at our hotellobby at 23.00. Anna came with the suggestion to explore them lunchtime tomorrow instead, but we all agreed that it might be a more suitable time at night compared to midday.

We took a AAA for threehundred metres to a bar we had been recommended.
The bill finished at 50 czeck crownes, and the taxi driver thought it was such a ridicusly amount, so he just mumbled something to us and took off without taking any money.
Birthe was happy.

The first pub we walked in to a big, longhaired man with dirty clothes walked up to me and just stared.
"Hello" I tried
No answer
"Are you open?"
"Closed"

The ladys started to walk around inside the pub to take some pictures. A lot of people, tired of life, was sitting around in different corners drinking staropramen.

Birthe walks up to the man to check if it's not possible to get a drink.

"Closed!" he answers, turns around walks away and adds "bye bye".

We didn't feel welcome so we continued down the street to a "Live music bar"
We walked down some some stairs and in to the "Live music bar"
I don't know the definition of live music i Prague, but this was very loud arabian music from a stereo that a hippie girl played bongo's to.

We walked out. Better luck the third time. We stopped at "Norton's bar club" to get a cola light. It was so packed inside that we had to take the drinks outside.
We observed the bar for a while. No specific music playing, a bright establishment. Packed with a very variated crowd. This bar didn't have any "nisch" at all. I wonered how that much people could end up here.

The people became more and more drunk, and we decided to call it a night when a fat czeck guy walked up and grabbed Christians halsduk.

Food culture

In Prague they haven't really come as far as Berlin in branding food...
But it as a local touch!

Transportation in Prague

When we jumped off the train in the smelly, dirty and old Prague trainstation, we thought we were well prepared on what to come.
We've read in beforehand that you can only trust one taxi company in Prague, the AAA taxi's.

Of course there was no AAA taxi's available, so we took the only cab there was, a red one. He wanted 700 czeck crownes for it. Birthe took up the biggest calculator ever seen in Prague and kept saying "Dette stemmer da slet ikk".

Everyone was to tired and the taxidriver had already packed the luggage in so we went for it.
After a very bumpy ride we were dropped off by the hotel and Birthe was about to pay when she got 100 crownes less back.
"You had luggage" the driver explained.
"No f*cking way" Birthe replied and grabbed 100 crownes more straight out of his wallet.

The journey was supposed to cost 300 crownes, so after that we always went with triple A.

Arraving in Prague

At once everything looks more as our assumptions about "East".
Everything is old, worn down and dirty. It smells rather bad, sweat and cigarette smoke and alcohol. We keep an extra eye on our luggage.

When getting down town however the whole city looks lke a scenary from a movie.

Hotel Metamorphis

The hotel was described as a genuine Tcheck one. To be honest we are not impressed in any way. We notice that the personnel get rather when we want to order food or ask for help.

Gift shop in kiosk out fit

On Kastanien Alle we saw a gift shop with most products displayed in he window. Like a kiosk we could buy the gifts over the counter in the displaying window. The products where change every second week hence there were always new gifts to be found.

IT nerd observation

In the Digital Boheme café they play Britt pop music, dress like the hip and trendy – IT technical freak meets art world. The old fashion IT nerd has become hot.

Cookies club one of the hottest places in town.

Completely anonymys entrance – we understand that this is cool. ;) We enter in through a heavy door. You walk down a concrete hall way and after checking in we go through this shabby tiny room (Lottie and Birthe looks around with confused eyes – Is this it?!) We have to enter yet another doorway and then Voila! A huge room, electro music and a lot of trendy people (imagine the classical “art director look”). What surprises us is that you see ages from 18 to 40. We feel to mainstream and have a hard time finding our party mood.

Luxury fast food

Once again we arrive at a place that cook the food in front of you – honest – we are starting to really appreciate to really see what the chef does! I can ask as they prepare my food and they tell me what they do – kind of like a TV cooking show although I get to decide what’s to be and can interview the professional. Everything looks delicious. It’s beautifully fronted, herbs, bread, oils. Everything is echologic and you have the possibility to choose the more healthy Dinkel pasta. We use a card that we got in the entrance to pay with. You can as you eat and want more beverage or a dessert afterwards just add on this to your card, when leaving you give the card to the cashiers and pay your “end bill”. Very smart business as your add on purchases are so easy to make! A really nice real time experience!

Kolla in detta ;) !!

Taxi drive in the east

When going back to the DDR hostel by taxi after a night down town Christian and Anna gets to taste a bit of hard core German music. A dramatic, hard rock/ heavy electro/ violins when driving through blocks of concrete houses. When looking up to the very top of ob´ne we see a big sign - Das Neue Deutschland – we find it anything but neu.

White Trasch - cool bar

The it place in Berlin. A large bar with interior like a classical Chinese bar with the difference that it is stuck filled with all kind off junk from all over the world. Open every night of the week and always a ove band. Every day of the week with it’s particulat kind of music e.g. Monday= country night. The staff have as a job description to be rude – it’s true! 

Cheap, honest and good quality food at Japaneese restaurant

Dinner at Japanese restaurant (Monday). Very minimalist interior and food being prepared in the open – your food is prepared and cooked live in front of you – Delicious, simple, cheap ( 6,5 Euro /main course) and honest. Business idea: high volume but still with a good quality.

Politzei

In Berlin it’s illegal to cross the street when it’s red light and the police is making a lot of money on this certain days when they decide to have officers standing by every red light fining people.

On three different locations the same day we saw policeofficers just stopping all people who crossed the street when it’s red and fining them 15 euros.

Since we have been experiencing problems withdrawing money and couldn’t afford to pay any fines, Marie decided to better be safe than sorry; “We should just cross the street where it’s no lights at all!”

DDR Hostel

We have trouble finding it and when arriving we find the hotel more an interesting than agreeable experience. EVERYTHING in interior design is from the old DDR times. Marie and Anna decides to share room due to the unsafe feeling the hostel gives us. In the morning we get sent out around the building to get to our breakfast restaurant. This is however more of an truck driver hill billy place. Wall to wall carpets, cigarette smoke like a fog, and people looking like your DDR expectations. We get to Brötchen, a sweety piece of chees and some sausage. Next to us in the window there is an over filled ash tray.

Design Hotel Propeller Island, Berlin

Small, hidden, very odd hotel on the 1. floor near Kursfürstendam.
From the lightening and sign outside the hotel looks more like a brothell.

42 rooms all different in size, shape and interioral design. Decorated and built by different artists. Guests can leave a sign on the doorhandle – “inviting other guests to see their room”. '

We stayed in 5 different rooms;
“Up side down”: Lottie
“Coffins”: Marie & Anna
“Therapie”. Birthe
“Blue Room”: Christian
“Nightlight”: Marie & Anna

Staff was young and to the “bohëme side”. Barefeet, organge socks, confused and smiling.
Customers were a mix of ages, musicians, nationalities and even a business looking couple. Price average 90 Euro/room pr. Night.

A visit to remember!

Biologisk supermarket

Vi besökte Tysklands största ekologiska supermarket. Det vi hittar i små bodar hemma var här i storskaligt format. Två våningsplan med rulltrappa emellan. Priserna låg mellan 30 och 100 % över priser i vanliga tyska supermarkets (lidl, Aldi).

Det är en fräsch affär! Färgerna går i mer naturfärgat. Du kan hitta allt; blöjer, kött, kläder, vin, mejeri... allt. Här finns lekhörna för barnen (utan TV!!), kaffehörna för de vuxna, vi får också provsmaka av varorna på små smakstationer.Vid entern säljs färsk nybakat ekologiskt bröd och en uteservering utanför. Det är härlig atmosfär där du blir shoppingsugen. MArie ropar på vägen ut att det här vill hon ha hemma i Sverige!