Europe Holiday 2015 - Day Seven

Slow start to the morning and I didn't leave the apartment until 9 am. Wandered around some streets until I came to Wenceslas Square and then headed to the main train station. Bought my ticket to Kutná Hora město. Had the cabin to myself for most of the journey.

Dodgy Russian Currency Exchange on Wenceslas Square

Wenceslas Square

                                   

National Museum

On the train

 The cabin was so hot without the window down and the brakes were incredibly noisy. Almost exhilarating when cruising along at high speed. Train conductors were most helpful as we had to change trains. Alighted at Kutná Hora-Sedlec for the Ossuary - church with the bones of some 40~70,000 people. Awesome and fascinating.

Inside the Ossuary

Inside the Ossuary

Inside the Ossuary

I made sure that I purchased a multiticket to take in the nearby Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and St Barbara Cathedral. Quite a saving on purchasing individual tickets and I wanted to fill my day there. At most you can spend 20~25 minutes in the ossuary as it isn't as large as you may expect. The church was quite large, especially considering that it was built in 1300.

Inside the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady

You can even walk around in the attic

One of the chapels

 Whilst waiting for the train to take me into the town, an older gentleman came along, greeted me in Czech, then sat down and made a phone call in English. After finishing he asked me if I spoke English. I informed him that it was one of my better languages.

We chatted. He was born in Czechoslovakia in 1943 and moved to England when the communists from Russia took over. His mum was English and worked at the British embassy. One day, whilst in the south of France, it came upon him that he had to return to Prague. He hitchhiked and got a ride that took him all the way to the border but he had to stay overnight in Germany due to it being too busy at the border. His arrival coincided with the 25th anniversary of his leaving and the hospitalisation of his father who had attempted suicide.

He walked me around town to go to St Barbara's Church, also known as the Cathedral of St Barbara. On the way he stopped off at his house to grab something before calling in to a cafe to go to the toilet. I waited long enough so just left. After all, I was a tourist on limited time for tourism. I had enjoyed our chat though.

St Barbara's Church is 30m H x 70m L x 40m W - large. Basically built on the wealth of a nearby silver mine. I wandered around town afterwards and sat down for garlic polevka (soup) followed by a small nougat zmrzlina (ice cream). Down to my last 18 Czech crowns.

St Barbara's Church on the left

One of the chapels

From the rear of the building, or is it the side?

 Decided to head back to Prague and returned to the train station. Caught the next train that came in but, unfortunately, it was going the wrong way. The friendly conductor told me which station to get off at so that I could catch a return train - didn't charge me for the ticket that I should have bought!

Not my train

 Spent about an hour waiting at Malešov which is not exactly the centre of the universe. Calculated that I would be about 1 hr 10 mins later than anticipated for my return. Supposedly 34C today so quite warm. Luckily for me I managed to get an SMS through to the missus and she was waiting for me at Costa Coffee.

Malešov Station

Went looking for a decent place to have dinner. Luckily the missus remembered Cafe-Pub Atmosphere along the river. And she's normally terrible with directions. The food was fabulous - two mains, a side, a salad and two large drinks for 602 Czech crowns (rounded up to 700 with a tip). Not keen on the smoking inside the establishment though.

Part of a sumptuous dinner

One last walk along Charles Bridge before buying a mole keyring which the missus bargained down to 150 crowns - it was 249 elsewhere. Late night packing and our host arrived back from holiday and dropped in for a chat. Bed after midnight.

Can't finish off an evening without photographing Charles Bridge and Prague Castle