Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic & Poland Itinerary - Summer 2016
There
Day 1 - Newark -Paris - Budapest
Landing in Budapest’s Ferenc Liszt International Airport, I was not expecting that there was no longer any rail link to the city center since the closure of Terminal 1 in 2012. After a bus ride through the industrial areas, I made the connection to the subway at Kőbánya-Kispest Station to the Deák Ferenc tér Station.
Afterward, we arrived at Zeller Bistro, one of the most popular up and coming eateries in the city. The
Day 2 - Budapest
Hungarian State Opera House, House of Terror (failed), cakes at Jegbufe, Pest city center walk
Lunch: Menza
Dinner: Macesz Bistro
Day 3 - Budapest
The Danube, Castle Hill, Dohány Street Synagogue, Jewish District walk, Great Market Hall lunch, snack at Korona Kavéhaz,
Matthias Church & Tower, Fisherman's Bastion, Royal Palace, DiVino Wine Bar
Lunch: Lángos!
Dinner: Bock Bistro
Day 4 - Budapest
Hungarian Parliament, Falk Miksa utca "antique row", Holocaust Memorial, Liberty Square, St. Stephen's Basilica,
Lunch: Mak Bistro
Szechenyi Bath, Hero's Square, Castle Hill night time
Dinner: Bistro Fine
Day 5 -Budapest - Bratislava
After my early morning laundry run, we checked out of our beloved Airbnb. The rainy weather brought us to the Museum of Applied Arts, the third oldest applied art museum in the world. The exhibit was fun and top-notch, but my foremost preoccupation is the wonderful architecture by Ödön Lechner. The ornate building incorporates wide ranging
Hindu, Mogul, and Islamic desig
Lunch: Monk Bistro
Bálna Cultural Center, Szent Gellért tér Metro Station
Dinner: Prašná Bašta
Day 6 - Bratislava - Devin - Bratislava
Bratislava is seemingly perfectly designed for a 24-hour visit. It is old town is compact is mostly pedestrianized.
The restored Castle of Bratislava.
Old Town walk, Bratislava Castle,
Lunch: Ventúrska Klubovňa
Dinner: Gato Matto
Day 7 - Bratislava - Brno - Olomouc
After another great breakfast at the hotel, we walked to the train station to catch our early morning train to Brno, the capital of the Czech region of Moravia. The 80-minute train ride cost us only €10 each, and we arrived at Brno Central Station quickly. One of my personal missions on this trip is to visit Brno’s Villa Tugendhat, a masterpiece of residential design by German modernist architect Mies van der Rohe. The house is among about a dozen UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the country. As an architect, I declare this is the most rewarding house tour I have ever taken. The house was beautiful, and Mies also integrated cutting-edge building systems such as air conditioning and a mechanized window lift.
After the house tour, we spent a couple more hours in central Brno and a quick lunch at Best Burger Kitchen. We were pleasantly surprised by just how pleasant and cosmopolitan Brno is. As Czech’s second city, Brno has all the hallmarks of a classic Czech town. It really confounds us as to why there was so little international tourism here. To our disappointment, the one place we wanted to visit, the Capuchin Crypt in Brno was closed on Sunday. We picked up our rental car at Brno’s adorable airport and made the hour-long drive to the town of Olomouc.
The backside of Villa Tugendhat.
Olomouc is the spiritual capital of Moravia and a major university town. Outside of Prague and Český Krumlov, this is the one town that is highly recommended by Rick Steves. It did not take long before we understood why he put Olomouc on the map. It has all the charm of Prague, minus the tourist traffic jam. Upon checking into ARIGONE Hotel, we took a stroll around the magnificent Lower Square and Upper Square. But the pièce de résistance is the Holy Trinity Column, the largest plaque memorial column in the world, and the pride of Olomouc. The legend had it that even Habsburg empress Maria Theresa was jealous of this monumental column. But my favorite is probably their beautiful town hall and its communist-era astronomic clock.
I actually had a little bit of an episode at Cafe Caesar, right in front of the astronomical clock. In front of a local crowd, I somehow buckled my tubular chair. It was definitely embarrassing but also provided quite a humor to a few dozen of people. Oh well, it was all good fun. We wrapped up our day with a nice dinner at Atmosphere Restaurant, a surprisingly upscale contemporary offering a beautiful view of the old town in the distance.
Day 8 - Olomouc - Punka Cave - Třebíč
As usual, I made an early start to the day decided to take walk around the Old Town. Lucky for me, this morning coincides with the weekly farmer market. But best of all was the local Moravian folk band. Dressed in their traditional outfit, the band’s music was soulful, if not pitch-perfect. There was a definite sense of sadness that reminded me of Jewish folk tunes. After checking out of the hotel, we took a walk to the Saint Wenceslas Cathedral, arguably the second most important church. But the real draw was the adjacent Olomouc Archdiocesan Museum. Now, you probably know what I was thinking… a museum of a Catholic archdiocese? It turned out to be a wonderfully delightful experience. Even though it does not have any marquee masterpiece, the whole exhibit is so well-curated that we would hesitate to recommend it to any visitor.
Before saying goodbye to Olomouc, we stopped at Entree Restaurant, the brainchild of Czech celebrity chef Přemek Forejt. Their restaurant decor and modernist cuisine were so over the top “complex”. We had to wonder just how why the chef picked Olomouc to open such a restaurant. But on the flip side, the prices were more than reasonable.
The ornate carriage for the Archbishop of Olomouc.
Our next stop is for sure the most unexpected of this trip: the Punka Cave. Unbeknown to most tourists, this corner of the Czech Republic is dominated by the karst landscape. After a few days in the urban environment, we decided to switch it up to experience a natural wonder of the country. Upon arrival, it was evident that we were definitely the only non-Czech visitor they have. Our charming guide would talk to the group in Czech for five minutes straight and then turned to us to provide a one-line summary like: “Here are some rocks formed a few hundred years ago”. Both Brian and I just chuckled and were greatly amused.
We had been on plenty of cave tours before, but I got to admit Punka Cave is definitely our favorite. A definite highlight of the visit is to arrive at the Macocha Abyss, the deepest sinkhole in central Europe. It just appeared out of nowhere and it was absolutely sublime. The second part of the tour was a boat ride down the underground river of River Punka. It was just such a fun and beautiful way to explore this elaborate cave system.
Admiring the Macocha Abyss.
Our destination for the day is the town of Třebíč, a sleepy Moravian town on the banks of the Jihlava River. The night descended by the time we checked into Hotel & Apartments U Černého orla. We opted for a quick dinner across the river at Restaurant Coqpit for some classic Czech fare. Compared to Olomouc, Třebíč was a low-key workaday town that sees very little tourism. After climbing the stately town hall tower, we joined in with the locals for an outdoor movie night right on the town square. Even though it was entirely in Czech, we thoroughly enjoyed the evening.
Day 9 - Třebíč - Telč - Trebon - Český Krumlov
Today’s Třebíč is best known for its former Jewish community, which was decimated by the Holocaust. Just across from the hotel was the largest original Jewish settlement in central Europe. Thanks to its poor soil condition, the whole neighborhood was spared from redevelopment during the communist era. Nowadays, there was exactly zero Jewish residents ad yet many key monuments such as the Rear Synagogue and Jewish Cemetery were still completely intact. Together with the town’s Saint Procopius Basilica, it constitutes just another of the country’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Speaking of these sites, our next stop in the morning, Telč, is another UNESCO World Heritage Site. For a relatively small country, they do an excellent job of getting their cultural heritage listed. Among all the Czech towns, none were more postcard-ready than Telč. The town is one of the best-preserved Renaissance cities in Europe and it is known for its elaborate Renaissance and Baroque building facades around the square. The town looks almost like a perfect movie set and is purpose-built for mass tourism. In a span of half an hour, we saw at least four busloads of tourists. To get a little peace and quiet, we had lunch at the cozy Restaurace Pod Věží just outside of the town gate.
Our next stop is Trebon, another charming town that is living in comparison to Třebíč or Telč. Its Main Square is lined with inviting cafes and charming hotels. While popular with tourists, Trebon somehow retains its authentic charm. It was great to sit back and people watch with a cup of coffee at the iconic hotel Bily Konicek. But what made Trebon really special was its unique surrounding environment. Several centuries ago, a team of clever engineers devise a series of dykes and ponds out of infertile marshland. They transformed Trebon into the fish-raising capital of central Europe. A short climb up the town hall tower gave us a commanding view of the engineered landscape.
Just an hour away from Trebon is the town of Český Krumlov, our destination for the night. Even from afar, we could tell that there was something magic about this place. Thankfully, we scheduled two nights here so we were not in a rush to explore the town. Pension Athanor was a beautiful oasis and our room had a magnificent view of the Church of St. Vitus. At the recommendation of our host, we had dinner at Katakomby Grill. The restaurant is located at the medieval cellar of a medieval merchant house. It was truly one of the most atmospheric dining experiences on this trip. Given how beautiful the setting was, we were surprised by how good the food actually was.
Day 10 - Český Krumlov
As usual, I woke up early to take some photos around the town. It was an absolutely crisp day to soak in the amazing scenery. Set at the bend of the Volta River, the town is naturally scenic. The town is anchored by its impressive fortress and Renaissance-painted bell tower. Once the seat of the Rosenberg noble family, the castle has since been impeccably restored. The castle museum has a wonderful collection of wide-ranging artifacts, but the star of the show got to be the bears that live in the castle moat. Apparently, bears have been kept here for centuries as part of their defensive strategy. The castle visit culminates with a surprisingly grand Baroque garden, a mini Versailles with plenty of waterworks. For lunch, we picked Krčma U dwau Maryí, which has a picture-perfect view of the castle tower.
The Church of St. Vitus.
A must-do in Český Krumlov is a canoe ride down the Volta River. With so many options available, we took a leap of faith and decided on a classic canoe rider downstream to the village of Zlatá Koruna. It was my first experience with either canoe or kayak, so I was obviously nervous. It took me ten minutes to get into the groove. Embarrassingly, it had to take care in front of a crowd of diners of a riverside cafe. Along the river were a plethora of bars and barbeque places catered to those coming down on the river. As a novice in canoeing, we were so nervous about catching the shuttle bus at Zlatá Koruna that we ended up finished our 2-hour jornmey in just 80 minutes. Upon return, we had a lovely fish dinner at Rybarske Obceastveni, which has an impressive view of the castle complex.
Day 11 - Český Krumlov - Karlštejn - Prague
I woke up early to walk to the other side of town to do our final laundry of this trip. It was fascinating how serene Český Krumlov was without the deluge of tourists. After breakfast, we paid a visit to the castle famous Baroque Theater. This guided tour is one of the few activities the guidebook recommended advanced reservation. Because these theaters and their content were entirely made of wood, few survived to this day. The tour culminates in the behind-the-scenes look at all the medieval pyrotechnics equipment.
The main destination of the day is the town of Karlštejn, which is just a few hours north of Český Krumlov. The town is home to the most famous castle in the country, Hrad Karlštejn. For a few hundred years, this impressive castle is the safekeeping of the imperial regalia of the Holy Roman Empire and the crown jewel of the Kingdom of Bohemia. From the parking lot, it looked like quite a strenuous hike. There is actually a horse-drawn carriage that ferried visitors up to the castle. Less than halfway up, we took refuge at Restaurant Koruna for a traditional Czech lunch.
Neo-Gothic reconstruction of Hrad Karlštejn.
The guided tour of the castle is particularly memorable for two reasons. First, the castle was heavily restored in the late 19th century by Josef Mocker. His “restoration project” is more like a fanciful reconstruction in the flamboyant neo-Gothic style that had no basis from the historical structure. As a result, most of the interior was barebone and of little architectural or historical interest. However, there is one room that had its original medieval interior intact: the Chapel of the Holy Cross. It is the holy of holies and where the regalia and crown jewel were kept before their eventual transfer to Prague and Vienna. The room was completely covered in golden icons and a beautiful mosaic; this room alone is a worthwhile reason for a trip to Karlštejn. But we must applaud our tour guide Petr, who is the most enthusiastic guide we have ever encountered.
Two hours later, we finally arrived at Prague International Airport to drop off our rental car. After traveling all around the Czech Republic, we were excited to finally arrive at the “city of a thousand spires”. Our hotel, Iron Gate Hotel & Suites, is just a stone's throw away from Old Town Square. Thoroughly exhausted we had an early dinner at Sancho, the city’s most popular Asian fusion restaurant. Yes, call me crazy for having Asian food in the Czech Republic. But it was actually one of the most memorable meals we had in our entire trip.
Day 12 - Prague
We started the day with a classic Old Town walk per Rick Steve’s guidebook. Our biggest impression of Old Town was the wall-to-wall tourists. Even compared to Rome, Prague seem
The end of the walk took us to Charles Bridge, which connects the Old Town with the Lower Town across the river.
Naše Maso
Among fans of Rick Steves, the most underrated sights in Prague are the works of Czech artist Alphonse Mucha. He was a
The Slav Epic.
To be honest, Prague turned out to be somewhat of an anticlimax on this trip. Don’t get me wrong, it was a lovely city with grand monuments, but it is definitely not as moving or impressive as Budapest.
Municipal House, New Town, Alfons Mucha Museum
Dinner: Krystal Bistro
Day 13 - Prague
Prague Castle, Basilica of St. George, St. Vitus Cathedral, Royal Palace, Villa Müller, Bell tower of St. Vitus Cathedral, Golden Lane
Dinner: Čestr
The
Day 14 - Prague - Warsaw
This is our last day in Prague. To be honest, we definitely felt exhausted from all the travel. We have determined to make it a slow day, at least by my standard. After doing a locker run at the train station, we did some shopping, including at the well-known design shop Harddecore. There we found one of our favorite souvenirs of all times: a ceramic cup made to mimic a vintage yogurt container by Czech artist Eva Pelechová. It is full of nostalgia. Instead of
Eska
Oddly, we felt the
Lobkowiczký Palace, folk dance festival, concert at Rudolfinum, night train to Warsaw
Before getting to the train station, Brian and I decided to return to Naše Maso for our last meal. They always say that
Day 15 - Warsaw
The
Mercure early check-in, Old Town, New Town, Warsaw Uprising Museum, lunch at old town, Museum of Polish Jews, walk down Royal Way, quick subway ride
Lunch: Zapiecek
People often say that Warsaw could be depressing, and I could sympathize with that.
For our last meal on this trip, the
Słoik
Day 16 - Warsaw - Paris - New York
Breakfast, bus to Chopin Airport
