Europe 18/19 - Czech Republic and Brussels | Unterwegs

So, final post from our trip last year to wrap that chapter up :) After leaving Dresden and the Saxon Switzerland National Park we hit the road again south towards Prague. To get a better deal we stayed a bit further out of town in a small hotel. The public transportation in Prague is excellent, so getting around in bus and subway train is very convenient. I was already late when we arrived, so we quickly found our way to the bed so we could start exploring early next morning.

First stop was the famous Prague Castle. An increadible sight both from the inside and outside. It's a massive complex built in the 9th century and apparently still the official office of the President of the Czech Republic. After exploring it we started walking downtown to join a free walking tour.

Door — Little doors like this one can be found in many places

We continued on with our tour visiting the typical sightseeing highlights like the Charls Bridge and the Town Square having a blast with our guide. We enjoyed it so much that in the end we decided to even join the afternoon tour back to the castle just to learn a bit more about the history. It ended up raining a lot, which dampened our mood a bit, but luckily it stopped later that night giving us a beautiful view over the city.

To celebrate the day we go some ice cream

artwork — Open air exhibition of seniors who lived through tough times. Each image had a story to tell

Karlovy Vary

Our whole schedule for Europe was pretty tight, so after two nights we continued on West to Karlovy Vary. This is a spa town in the west Bohemia region of the Czech Republic. Time to relax!

Besides relaxing we also did some activites there. One was to visit the local Museum of Glass MOSER which displayed both historical and modern masterpiceses made of glass.

Another fun activity was to hike up to the Diana Observation Tower to enjoy the view and get some good local food.

Another two days went by quickly and we were then on the road again towards my hometown just in time to see my family for Christmas.

Germany

Finally back home in Göttingen! Was great seeing my family and some friends who still live there. I can also recommend the local swimming pools. We went to the Eiswiese which has a huge sauna complex.

After celebrating Christmas and my birthday we headed up to Bremen to visit my old school and university friends to celebrate New Years.

When the party was over it was time to say goodby for our final stop in Belgium.

Belgium

Belgium was an interesting visit because we crammed everything into a single day just to maximise the time we had. In the morning we explored the city, joining another free walking tour to see and learn about the histoy of the city. In the afternoon we continued the tradition and first join a walking tour for chocolate

chocolate — Cheers! Our guide can be seen in the back

and once that was done a local beer tasting tour! This is where it got really fun and I also started to appreciate Belgian beer more and more. I had no idea about the involvement of monks in the Belgian beer brewing history, which still continues today. Needless to say we had lots that night and met people from around the world.

Final stop of the beer tour in Little Delirium. They have a phone book size beer selection you can order from

JJ drinking beer — Even JJ didnt miss the opportunity to try some beer

The next morning we took the train directly to Amsterdam Airport for our flight back to Vancouver.