Day 5 Krakow - Parlo Eastern Europe Tour

As usual we are starting our day with a heavy breakfast at our hotel. Its our 5th day but I am still loving it the breakfast here. Today we going on a long road trip from Prague (Czech Republic) to Krakow (Poland). Our bus journey took us about 5 hours to reach Krakow.

We stopped halfway at a big rest area which consist of several supermarkets and DIY stores. We had Mcd for lunch. Not much difference as compared to our McD in Malaysia except that portion is bigger.

We reached our only tour destination for the day at late afternoon. It is called Wieliczka Salt Muzuem, the oldest salt enterprise on Polish land dating back to the middle Ages.

At first, it did not look like a big place to visit. We soon learned that we were wrong.....

That's because the interesting part is actually underground. We will be making of the super dark and cramp shaft (elevator) to below the surface.

Didn't I say super dark?? Oh yeah, there is probably another 12 person cramp behind me.

Going through tunnels to reach the salt mine....

Some statues to remind us how people use to mine for salt. Btw, the tunnel wall has high content of salt. Our tour guide told us that the air at the salt mine is very fresh and beneficial to health due to some form of oxidisation.

There is also a fully functional church there. Locals like to hold weddings there.

Right in the middle there is a salt lake. The water is saturated with salt so no life can live in it. It's kind of like the Dead Sea where things float easily on the surface due to the high salt content.  

There is even a banquet hall there.

By the time we are back up it was already dark. We set out to Galaxy Hotel in Krakow where we will spent 2 nights. It took us about an hour drive there.

Once there, we immediately checked into our room which was pretty decent and comfy. The hotel is not big but it does come with adequate facilities including a small pool and gym. There is also a shopping complex nearby which would be fun for those who wants to adventure out at night.

A polish buffet spread was specially prepared by the hotel for our dinner. Food was quite satisfactory.

More to come...
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Day 5

Prague - Parlo Eastern Europe Tour Day 4

Day 4, Prague (Czech Republic). Waking up to a fantastic buffet breakfast at Prague Clarion Congress Hotel.

Although the outlook of the hotel may seem a bit dated and less classy, the buffet spread was definitely awesome. They even have spaghetti and fried rice in the morning something which is not a norm in Europe. There are also different varieties of cheese and butter.  

Briefly, our itinerary for the day would include the visit to the Prague Castle Area, St Charles Bridge and the Old Town. The day started off as usual by picking up the local guide and off we went to our first location. On our way to the Prague Castle, the tour guide gave us a heads up that we would be exploring Prague on foot for at least 5 hours. Yay.... time to burn off some calories so it was fine by me but it was not be so welcoming for the elderly. 

The weather was actually pretty fine with a lot of sunshine hence it wasn't that cold (ie about 2 to 4 degrees celcious) although we were in the middle of winter.  When I planned for the trip, I thought it would all be covered by snow..... It turned out that I was pretty wrong. 

Our first glimpse of Prague Old City..Enroute to Prague castle area.

Our group entered the castle area via the north west entrance. St. Vitus Cathedral can be seen up high on the hill though at that point in time, I did not know much about it.

Took the opportunity for photo session with the palace guards.

Entrance flocked with tourists.

Finally we reached the main gate and the place was just swarmed with tourists. It was kind of different as compared to where we were just a moment ago where we took picture with the palace guards which was pretty quiet.

Just past the gates, we reached a place where we can enjoy a beautiful view of Prague city.  The orange colour tiles on most of the roof of the buildings really brightens up my day. 

I finally realised why many tourists congregated here. Most were waiting for the march by palace guards. Our tour group had our itinerary planned out so all we need to do is to go with the flow and enjoy... Honestly the march was a bit dull and I think one won't miss much if he / she decides to skip it.

After the march, we proceeded to St Vitus Cathedral. So what is so special about this cathedral other than it is more than 670 years old? This cathedral probably is the only one you can find tombs of kings and emperors in the past. It is a very historic site and much to learn from the relics there.

The interior looks so magnificent.

After the visit to the Cathedral, we walked towards the Golden Lane, a display of how people of in the medieval times lived. Again....lots of people.

After the Golden Lane, its the end of our tour Prague castle. We continued our walk down the hill towards the old town via the Charles Bridge.

I really admire the scenic view of the city...

After about 20 minutes walk, we reached one of the most romantic pedestrian bridge in the country called Charles Bridge.

A view good enough for a post card.

We were given some time to take some pictures and then continue our walk towards the old town. 

In fact, we were already at the old town once we crossed the bridge but it was another 500m away to the old town square.  What we do once we arrived? 

LUNCH TIME!  We had lunch at a restaurant Kamenny Stul which located right at the centre of old town. We were so hungry from our long walk this morning and were looking for a nice and hearty meal.   

We had roast duck served with potatoes and cooked beetroot. As usual, lunch is accompanied with soup, a glass of wine and dessert. The dish looks pretty simple but it was actually quite delicious. The beetroot tasted a bit sweet and sour and goes well with the duck when eaten together.

We had a window seat overlooking the old town square.

After lunch, we were given free and easy time to explore the old town until dinner time. We did not have any particularly itinerary hence we just stroll along the streets at a leisurely manner. Look out for specialty shops selling local beauty products like handmade soaps which make good souvenirs. Two shops that we visited were Manufaktura and Botanicus. Wifey was able to spent about 30 minutes in one while I continue to stroll the streets.

Prague Astronomical Clock

Soon enough it was dark and it was dinner time. We were going to have Chinese food for the first time :). It was obvious that most of us were already craving for our staple food.

The dinner was pretty simple much like home cook food and probable will not even make it to the B rating restaurants in Malaysia. Yet, we enjoyed quite much simply because we miss our home food.

To be continued....

Overview

Day 3

Day 5

Hell Valley / Jigokudani - Hokkaido Travel Day 3

Before checking into our most expensive stay in Hokkaido, we decided to visit a place as planned in our itinerary. We decided to visit the Hell Valley first before we proceed to check in at the hotel in the afternoon. Official check in time is 3pm anyway so we might as well make good use of our time.

We parked our car right outside the entrance to the Hell Valley. There is a paid parking space available for visitors. Hell Valley is well known for its displays of hot steam vents, sulfurous streams and other volcanic activity. It is the source of the natural spring water for the Onsen Hotels in Noboribetsu.

Okay...okay we get the idea...Hell Valley.

Once inside there will be a walking trail to follow....

As we walked deeper inside, we found many geysers of different intensity / activeness spraying out hot steam and water. To me, the smell of ammonia was still bearable and fine with me.

Cross the barrier and it will land you in Hot Soup!

Intense Volcanic Activity In Front...

After about 10-15 minutes walk later, we have a chance to see an active geyser close up. Contrary to what I understand about geysers, the bubbles due to intense heat at boiling temperatures don't gush out all the time. Instead it happens intermittently and at its peak hot water and steam can burst out in great force. Well, something new that I have learned today :). Overall, I feel that this place is quite a good place for a leisurely walk given the comfortable weather in Noboribetsu even it is during summer. We basically only completed the short trail only which took us about 45 mins. The trail is actually a long one and if ventured deeper inside, we would have found a hot spring river and lake as well.

As it was already close to noon, we did not spent too much time at the hell valley. and we decided to head for lunch by noon. Furthermore, wifey and I wanted to allow more time to relax in the luxurious Boro Noguchi Noboribetsu Onsen Hotel.

We headed for lunch at the only seafood restaurant located in the main street of Noboribetsu Onsen Dori which is less than 10mins walk from Hell Valley's car park. We ordered scallop curry rice, clam soup and sea urchin rice bowl. All I can say here is the food is really delicious and fresh!! Honestly I never actually eaten such big clams and scallop before. It was certainly one of the most satisfying lunch ever.

More to come.....

Click on LINK to Day 3 Part 1

Click on LINK to Hokkaido Travel Blog (Overview)