The 4th in Prague

What a difference a year makes!  Last 4th of July, we made the ill-advised decision to travel south to Rome, with KKP and JLP.  Temperatures were easily in the 90s every day.  We spent more time wiping sweat out of our faces than seeing the sites.  Rookie mistake.

Eastern Europe= our new favorite travel destination!

June is about the cut-off for our Southern trips.  After that, everything is North.  So for the long weekend, we were headed to Prague. That and Wizz Air- the Hungarian version of RyanAir/Easy Jet- only flies from Venice to Prague on the exact days we needed for this 4-day, so it was a decision we didn't really think twice about.

As we soon realized, there are many reasons you should go to Prague besides the weather and the cheap Wizz Air flight.  Even in peak tourist season, Prague was more tame that some of the other "big" European cities.  It is very American friendly and almost everything was in English.  It feels kind of like Germany, but also a tad more exotic.  The food is amazing.  And, thanks to the Czech Republic's inability to get its act together and get on the Euro, it's cheap if you avoid the major tourist areas.

Touristy, but a Prague must-see!

We were so determined to avoid the heat, we failed to realize that like its neighbor Germany, the Czech Republic can be downright cool and rainy in July.  And it was.  We left sunny Venice in shorts and t-shirts and stepped off the plane in Prague needing jeans and coats. We needed those jeans and coats all weekend.  The weather was a bit damp and raw the entire time, but we didn't let that ruin our stay.

The streets of Prague

Prague is a very walkable city and its public transportation is also very easy and convenient to use.  We used both modes of transportation to get around and see the Old Town Square with its famous Astronomical Clock, the Prague Castle, the Charles Bridge, Wenceslas Square and even some of the lesser known areas.

The Charles Bridge

We have been to many Eastern European countries this past year, but none have felt so ex-Soviet as the Czech Republic and Prague have. Once outside the major tourist areas, traces of the city's Communist past were very evident in everything from street names to architecture.  And speaking of architecture, since Prague was largely spared during World War II, the architecture is a beautiful mix of new and old with a lot of authentic charm.

Crazy Prague architecture

On Monday, July 4th, we decided to take a day trip out of Prague to the city of Plzen, better known as Pilsen, the birthplace of Pilsner beer.  After a nice train ride, we arrived just in time for the English tour of the Pilsner Urquell factory.  Now that we've been on several famous brewery tours, I have to say this one was by far the most comprehensive and the cheapest!  Highly recommend it if you are a beer lover and in Southwestern Czech Republic.

Home of Pilsner!

Pilsen is also a city that was liberated by the US Army in WWII, so they have this very nice monument to thank us!  We felt it was a good way to spend the 4th!

This is on Amerika Street!

We enjoyed a nice lunch in Pilsen before taking the train back to Prague...or so we thought.  About 20 minutes into our return journey, we were ordered off the train and onto buses.  Outside Prague, not as much English is spoken, so we followed the crowd, completely unaware of what was going on.  We rode a bus through the Czech countryside and then our bus driver got lost.  There was yelling.  There was confusion.  But we eventually made it to a small train station where a train awaited and took us back to the city.

After that bus ride, time for beer!  Banana beer, coffee beer....

And Gluten Free Food!

The highlight of our Prague experience was the food.  It was delicious.  And hearty.  And cheap.  And GLUTEN-FREE!  We found two places in the city with dedicated GF menus.  One restaurant was 100% GF and I could eat everything on their menu, including the bread, the dessert and the world's only GF draught beer!  Even the non-GF folks in attendance said that this food was some of the best we've had in Europe.  It was so good, we ate here twice.  On both nights, we ordered two entrees, two drinks, dessert....and the bill came to $29 US dollars.  I'm not kidding when I say that I would consider flying back to Prague just to eat at this place.  It made our trip all the more memorable!

BEST RESTAURANT EVER!

TK & MK Do Italy (Again)

You remember that saying ..."The only two certainties in life are death and taxes...", right?  It should probably be amended to include a third- my parents will come visit anywhere, any time and for any reason.  Marathon in another country?  They'll be there.  Obscure holiday?  Why not come visit.  And most recently, I suppose they came because it was a few weeks after my birthday/father's day/the last time they'd seen me....so they traveled to Italy for a few weeks of fun.

Although they began their Italian adventure in Rome, they made their way up north here for the weekend and stayed part of the week exploring while the Hart's went off to work.  It was nice to have some guests at Hotel Hart, as our reservations have not grown as steadily as we'd expected or hoped (hint, hint!).  

Italy is beautiful this time of year...all the more reason for a Kelly visit!

TK & MK arrived on a Friday evening (on time- K & J, are you taking notes?) and we had a lovely BBQ on our back patio.  On Saturday, we began the day with a nice breakfast and then headed to a local winery to fill our own bottles and sample some wine.  MK also decided to buy half the store and was amazed by the great prices and also by the wine bottle coozie (which I'm sure is making its debut in Quincy and other South Shore towns as we speak).

From the winery, we went on an intense walking tour of downtown Vicenza.  I booked the tour thinking it would be a good idea, but failed to realize that it was in Italian (with a recording in English) and that it was the first time BPH had been out and about for a long time walking since his surgery.  Oops.  Not such a good idea.

We visited the Teatro Olympico and other sites in town, including the Duomo and a few Villas and even saw a thorn from Christ's crown.

Outside of Vicenza's Claim to Fame...Teatro Olympico

After the tour, we spent a few agonizing minutes searching for a church that would have a 6 pm mass as we were trying to kill time before dinner.  After a search, we stumbled upon the church we were actually looking for and settled in for an Italian liturgy.  The best part (and the only part most of us understood)- In this beautiful old church, they had a giant electronic scoreboard to display the page numbers for the music selections!  We ended the evening with dinner near the Piazza Signori and some good gelato.

The Castle in Malscine

On Sunday, we headed north to Lake Garda.  While we planned to rent kayaks nearby, we ended up taking the ferry across the lake to a few of the towns and ended up in Malcesine, a picturesque town known for its castle.  We ventured to the cable car, which took us to the top of Monte Baldo for a view of the mountains and the lake.  Our ride up the mountain was on the only revolving cable car, designed so that all have a chance to view the different perspectives as you ascend.  Take that, Chondola!

Views from Lake Garda

The town of Limone on Lake Garda

We returned to Hotel Hart (after a harrowing ride down the A22 autostrada) and had a pizza party.  For the rest of the week, TK & MK explored Florence and Venice and returned a few times for dinners, drinks and gift giving.  We bid them farewell soon after, but we know it won't be for long!

Come back any time!  

Slacker!

I haven't written too much in a while.  It's not because we haven't been busy....it's just...well...I have no excuse!  I'm going to blame it on the heat because we all know that when the temperature is above 70 degrees, I stop functioning and rationalize everything by saying to myself, "It's too hot."  

So hot I could swim in the fountain of Neptune.

Another reason I probably neglected writing is that the activities involve my birthday and getting another year older.  That's not that fun...

For my birthday, Team Hart decided to take a day trip to nearby Bologna.  Somebody...no names...told us Bologna was a nice place, so we decided to check it out.  Plus, we found a gluten-free restaurant and had to go there for my celebratory dinner.  

The combination of the heat, the recent knee surgery and the lack of touristy things in Bologna made it a quick day.  It's a pretty city in some ways (porticos line the streets, nice shops if you're into shopping, etc), but overall, there just wasn't much to see.  It's kind of like a smaller version of Milan without the Duomo...and the fashion...

But Bologna does have some good food and we decided to stick around and experience it.  Unfortunately, we finished our sightseeing in the afternoon and Italian restaurants don't open until at least 7pm.  For a few hours, we took a tide into the hills nearby for some nice views. 

We found a dictionary/atlas in the trunk of the car and played the state capitals of the US game.  I owned. Total domination.  There's a reason I didn't have too many friends in the 3rd grade.

Onto dinner.  We ate at a lovely little bistro (no idea if it was a bistro, but I like that word) where the waiter came and told me all the things that were gluten free.  I ordered a pizza and devoured it.

I also got to have a GF Beer...(from Spain, Australia, GB?  We're still not sure...)

And some birthday cake!

I guess getting older isn't so bad after all!

The Best Kept Secret in Europe

Before last weekend, I only knew a few things about Croatia:
1. It used to be part of Yugoslavia
2. It is the home of NBA players, such as Dino Radja and Toni Kukoc
3. It is not not in the EU
4. There was recently a war...

So, none of these reasons seem all that compelling to venture there, but let me tell you, if you want a cheap, beautiful, relaxing and less-American European vacation, you NEED to go to Croatia.  And you should probably go NOW because a lot of what makes the country great could change if they join the EU (which may happen this year or next).

Quick, visit now while it's still cheap!

A little history on this trip...you may recall we were suppose to go to Sweden to run the Stockholm Marathon.  Unfortunately, after B's horrific knee injury this winter, his surgery was a week before the marathon.  Certainly, he was not running, but it would have been nearly impossible for us to get on a plane with him one-week post surgery, so we cancelled those plans and decided to try for a trip that would require no flying and minimal walking.

No running, no swimming....

We stumbled on the island resort town of Baska (pronounced Baaash-ka) on the island of Krk (no idea how that is pronounced) in Croatia, a short 4 hour (and probably less if someone other than me is driving) ride.  Turns out this town is a hot spot for European tourists, especially from Austria and Germany.  The town is beautiful and had some of the strangest beach landscapes I've ever seen...

So strange, but beautiful

We had a lovely room right on the water and could hear the waves crashing on the pebble beach.  Since we were limited in the exploring we could do, I have no pictures of historical sites, churches or statues.  We did lazy vacation things....read books, got massages, attempted to walk by the beach (not so easy on crutches).

The view from the hotel room

Our one big outing ended up being an epic fail.  We signed up for the Sea Explorer Cruise, which was suppose be a three hour tour (cue the music) around the Baska harbor, out to an island where we fed birds and then into the aquarium below the boat where we watched a diver through glass windows.

Excited for the boat cruise...

Unfortunately, after only about twenty minutes, the slight ocean breeze picked up and caused waves to come crashing over the boat, soaking everyone on board.  The boat had to turn around and cancel the tour...and at least 50% of the people on board looked like they had jumped in the Adriatic for a swim, myself included.

Totally soaked!

Baska has become our new favorite place for a few reasons:


*Croatia is cheap.  They are still on the Kuna and 1 Kuna= 7Euro = About $5.  We ate lunch on the beach one day (Pizza, salad, beer, wine) for $20.  We had drinks while watching the Barcelona v. Manchester United game for another $20.  And this was a beach resort!  The only downside of the money situation was that a 10 Kuna bill was practically worthless and you needed a LOT of bills!  We made some local friends who asked us about America.  When we told them that a pivo (beer) could be about 45 Kuna in a city like Boston or New York, they were horrified.  Some pivo in Croatia was 10 Kuna (1.50 Euro!).

*There aren't many Americans.  Almost everybody spoke first to us in German, as they do not get very many American tourists.  We didn't even see anybody all weekend that remotely resembled an American.  This was a nice change from very many of the places in Europe where some foolish/loud/obnoxious/annoying Americans have given us a bad name. In Baska, it's a novelty and they assume you are something else because what would an American be doing on this remote island?

*You get your passport stamped if you drive there!  With a little picture of a car!

*Croatians (or Croats? not sure) speak English.  They also speak their native language, Italian, German and anything else.  It's pretty impressive.  Our waiter one evening, Ivan, was a former Croatian soldier who spoke four languages and worked as a bartender.  He asked us where we were from because we were speaking English and he knew we were not British or Australian.  We talked to Ivan for a while about his country and he asked about ours.  He had a decent understanding of the geography (except when he asked if Mexico was under Florida and if we could drive to Hawaii) and knew many of the NBA teams and cities.  When we asked him if he had been to America, he said no and that he had no friends to visit there.  He also said he was afraid that if he went to America, he would lose an organ because it is a dangerous place.  And this is from a man in a country at war in the last few decades....

So you should go to Croatia.  Namely, Baska.  You won't regret it.

Libertas!

Last summer, as we sat around planning out trips, we decided that we would try our very best to make it to every European country that we could.  Last Saturday, we crossed another country off our list- the tiny Repubblica San Marino.

It's a country!

San Marino claims to be the oldest republic in the world, founded around the year 300. It is surrounded only by Italy and is the 5th smallest country in the world (behind only Vatican City, Monaco and a few random islands).

We contributed to the country's main industry of tourism on Saturday and enjoyed the lovely weather that the Italian spring (I'd call it summer though now!) provided.  It would be pretty neat to live in a country that has no national debt, shares borders with only one country (and Italy at that!), has the lowest unemployment in Europe, is on the Euro, but is not a member of the EU, and has no sales tax.  You'd also be in great shape if you lived in San Marino because the entire country is one big hill.

Hiking to the castles

The three towers of San Marino are quite iconic and are depicted on the country's license plate, flag and coat of arms.  The country is also very proud to be independent and the motto "Libertas" is also a quite common site.  We hiked up Mount Titano and along the trails that connect the towers.  From there, we had impressive views of the countryside and also the Adriatic, which is a mere 10km away.

There's the Adriatic

We checked out more of the town including the Palazzo Pubblico...

Where we saw the Rock of the Guard...

The Basilica di San Marino...

After a lovely afternoon in San Marino high atop the hill, we descended the mountain and found ourselves hungry and near the beach...

The beach in Rimini

We checked out an "in" spot- Rimini.  According to my research, Rimini is like the Atlantic City of Italy. It's one of the largest beaches in Italy and surprisingly, it was quite beachy.  I say that because most Italian , beaches are not at all like American beaches.  They are rocky and small and people often sunbathe on patches of concrete.  This beach was a long stretch of sand, although somewhat cluttered with "stuff" like changing huts, umbrellas and attractions, like a dolphin show(!?!)

Rimini was quiet on Saturday, likely because it was still not "hot" enough for the Italians to be at the beach and was mid-day.  We found the 70-80 degree temperatures very enjoyable and had lunch/dinner right across from the beach.

An nice day trip and another country off the list!

Ham & Cheese

I said I would write about Easter in Italy, but to be honest, it wasn't all that different than Easter in the US. (Just subtract the Easter Bunny and add a few more Catholics.)  The church services weren't different at all, less impressive if anything. There weren't even Easter Lillies on the altar!  I thought Easter Sunday would be a day where everything would be closed here, but turns out, Italians just do what they do on other days- sit at the cafe or bar and eat/drink.  The Monday after Easter was a double Italian holiday being that it was Easter Monday and Liberation Day.  I've been told that this is the equivalent of our Memorial Day- the "unofficial start of summer".

Parma hams stamped and good to go!

So fast forward to the weekend after Easter.  We had the opportunity to enjoy a free ride and tour of the city of Parma.  Normally, we don't jump at the idea of being on a bus load of Americans in an Italian city, but we can't argue with free.  Plus, we figured this was a place we probably wouldn't think to go to on our own.

Look at all that cheese!

After a lovely two-ish hour bus ride, we arrived at our first stop- a Parmesan Cheese Consortium on the outskirts of town.  Here, we got to see some of the process of the famous cheese-making.  The most impressive part of this operation was the size of said factory.  We were told this was one of the larger consortiums and it was nothing more than a two level ranch-style home.  Although they only make the cheese early in the morning when the milk arrives and we missed it, we did get to see all the equipment, molding, salting and storing of cheese.  (Fun fact of the day- the cows whose milk is used for true Parmesan cheese are ONLY fed certain grass that comes from the region of Italy between Bologna and Parma.) After the tour, we got to test taste...and I probably ate my weight in Parmesan cheese.

Making the cheese

From the cheese factory, we headed to the city of Parma and got a quick tour of the main sites- the Baptistery, the Duomo and the Pilotta.  We were then free for lunch and a bit of site-seeing.  Apparently, Parma is the food capital of Europe and well known for some of its local delicacies.  We found a nice place to eat and, unbeknownst to us, it was the #1 rated restaurant in the city!

Inside the Duomo in Parma

The streets of Parma

From the city center, we headed to the small village of Quinzano (sounds like the Italian form of Quincy!) up in the hills to a Parma Ham factory.  (Again, factory is used loosely here because it was a house run by Carlo and his family.)  We got to view all the stages of drying pigs legs to make the famous prosciutto that this region is known for.  While interesting, the tour was half-English/half-Italian, so all I really know is that the legs arrive (only the legs....other pig parts go elsewhere) and they are dried out for a long time and tested for quality.  We got to sample some of the prosciutto along with Salame Felino (not cat Salami, just from the nearby town of Felino) and culatello.

The various stages of dried pig legs

Almost prosciutto time

Not bad for a free trip!

Dober Dan from Slovenia!

So it's Easter Day as I write this- a very popular holiday in Italy...but more about that in another post.

I've been a bit behind in my updates for a few reasons this week- one being my new job doesn't allow for free mornings of daytime television and lounging on the couch and the other being guests!  Good friend Emma and her friend Eileen stayed with us for a few days this past week while they enjoyed a trip through Italy.  We tried to show them a good time here at Hotel Hart and I think they will recommend us to a friend. They checked out Venice, Verona and Vicenza and we had several nice dinners with them while they were here.  Come back soon!

Picturesque Lake Bled

Last weekend we hit the road again for one of our favorite hidden gems- Slovenia.  Slovenia is the lovely country east of Italy, south of Austria and north of Croatia.  It's kind of forgotten surrounded by all those impressive neighbors, but it is NOT to be missed.  Here are a few reasons we LOVE Slovenia:

1. It's cheap!  We stayed in the top tourist site in the country and got a great deal on a hotel.  At dinner one night, we had 2 pizzas (one even GF) and ample drinks for 18 Euro!  

2. No tolls on the roads!  You do have to buy a vignette for 15 Euro, but you can drive for seven days all over the country.

3. The people of Slovenia speak English...and enjoy doing it!  Instead of trying to accommodate several of the surrounding languages, most menus and signs are just in Slovene and English!  I only know one Slovenian word- Dober Dan (hello/good day).  Turns out, I am good at it because the few times I used it, locals tried to speak to me in Slovenian!   

4. The people are friendly!  The people of Slovenia seem to enjoy that you are visiting their country.  They keep it very clean, want you to see the sites and help you do it.  Last time we were there, the hotel front desk worker wanted to chat Celtics with us.

5. The country is very varied- we were in the beach side towns of Piran and Portoroz on our last visit and this time we headed to the Julian Alps.  In parts, the country looks like Italy and in others, Germany.  

Castle Bled

We spent two nights at Lake Bled, the top tourist destination in Slovenia.  The lake was pretty quiet in April, but I imagine it's impossible to get a room in the summer.  I had heard nothing but good things about Lake Bled from those who had been, but it was a bit different from what I imagined.  It's fairly commercialized and feels modern, not rustic and isolated like it looks in pictures.

We spent Saturday hiking up to Castle Bled where we toured the small museum, took lots of pictures of the views and went to the same wine cellar as Laura Bush did on one of her trips here.  We were greeted by a Monk who helped us bottle and cork our own wine!  

Wine Master

Next we went out on the lake in what kinda seemed like a mix between a row boat and a gondola.  I actually wanted to rent our own row boat and do my best Joey Potter impression, but I thought the boats rentals weren't out for the season yet.  Turns out I was wrong and we got a ride on a bigger boat that looked like this instead:

Strange gondola-row boats

After a visit to the island, we walked around the lake, checked out a local wine and chocolate store (where we purchased both) and had lunch at a restaurant named Chillis....which bore an uncanny resemblance to the American chain!  For dinner, we hunted down and found the local pizzeria that served gluten free pies!  

GLUTEN FREE PIZZA!!!

On Sunday, we headed back to Italy but stopped briefly in the capital of Ljubljana.  The city is fairly small and situated on the river Ljubljanica (clever with names, those Slovenians).  We walked along the river and checked out the antique market that was going on.  (By antiques, I mean junk that people pulled out of the attics and garages....) It was also Palm Sunday and while we made it back to Italy in time for mass, we noticed that in Slovenia, "palms" meant any kind of plant.  It was a "bring your own palm" to mass type of place...people walked around the city with palm tree leaves, flower bouquets, tree branches...anything!

The capital city of Ljubljana

In the interest of time, we rode the funicular up to the Ljubljana Castle and got a good look at the skyline.  The city actually reminded me a little bit of Dublin in that it was small and along a river.  We hoped in the car after a gelato stop and headed back to Italy.

The skyline of Ljubljana

Since we've seen most of the top sites in Slovenia, we need to find a reason to go back....anyone interested?!