Approximately 120k’s West of Prague is the resort town of Karlovy Vary. It’s airport used to be an international airport as the party privileged in communist times used to fly in for their spend up in the shops and for its spa treatment.
Also famous here is the Grand Hotel Pupp which is the Casino Royale Hotel in the James Bond Film.
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Looking down the river at the shops
It is famous for its spa and there is an underground thermal aquifer where people have come to fix all sorts of ailments. There are various wells with thermal water at different temperatures and different minerals do different things!
The Grand Hotel Putt is THE Hotel in this great wee town.
Like the rest of the Czech Republic, the buildings are just stunning.
The view of the town from the Grand Hotel
Its is an important tourist area for the country and everywhere seemed pretty busy but unlike Prague, you could still easily move about.
Fiona on a bridge by the spa.
It seemed every second shop was a Jewellery or a Dress or Shoe shop so Fiona and Dianne were having a great time.
We eventually found our way to a nice street cafe by the river where we had a chilled water to cool down from all the window shopping 🙂
The Spa
The Hotels there are something else and I can only imagine what it would cost to stay in them.
The shopping street.
A lovely town and another place where without the local knowledge from Dianne and Gary, we would never have known about.
Fiona and Gary looking at all the glitzy stuff in a shop window.
The Romatic Hotel. I took this for Gary and Dianne 🙂
Fiona Gary and Dianne by the Spa
The Spa
Jewellery shops, shoe shops and Galleries, endlessly down the street 🙂
We got a rental while we were in Prague so we could leave the motorhomes at the campsite and have a look around. One of the planned outings if you like, was to Cesky Kumlov which is 150k’s southwest of Prague.
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One of the Squares. Gary, Fiona and Dianne on the right
It is now a UNESCO protected World Heritage site.
A weary traveller having a rest.. Gary in the blue on the right
We set off about 9am and after a stop or two along the way, we arrived at Cesky Kumlov. The town was established in the 1400’s and was then German. Most of the buildings in the town were built in the 1500’s due to a discovery of Gold by the castle.
Tourists enjoying the boats on the river
Amazing little shopping streets
Fiona and Dianne on the bridge watching people boating in the river.
The river. The restaurant on the right where we had lunch.
Part of the Castle
The Castle hovering over the village
The town is built on what is almost an island by the course of the fast flowing river that almost completely surrounds it. The castle was closed on the day we were there as it was Monday. I’m not quite sure how that works but never mind.
The Castle above the town
There were a few bus load of tourists there but nothing like other places we’ve been to. We had a great meal in a restaurant by the river and walked around the village.
A stunning wee town and if it wasn’t for the local knowledge of Gary and Dianne, we would never have known about it. A great day out. Thanks guys.
We had another of those GPS moments finding our campsite in the centre of Prague. There are a series of tunnels that act as the main route through Prague and under the river. There are even turn offs in the tunnel like a motorway network so when you get the lovely GPS lady saying half through a 80kph tunnel, saying turn right and you are at your destination, things get a bit confusing.
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Harry and rafe at the Prague Riverside Campground
So in a motorhome convoy, we followed each other around and around the motorway system to find out that the said campsite was right on top of the Tunnel by the Vlatava river. Thanks to a bit of sleuthing from our resident Detective Gary, we found our way in. The next hurdle was the lovely campsite girl’s English was probably slighly better than our Czech but we managed to sort everything out 😎.
The campsite was quite interesting but was pretty reasonaby priced for the 5 days that we were staying. $3500 Czech Crowns per van with two including power, toilets, showers and dumping facilities. This equals NZ$225.
The Prague Castle Courtyard
On our first day, we headed up to Prague Castle on two trams which took about an hour. When we got there, we realised we’d made a mistake going there on a Saturday on the first day of the school holidays. It was absolutely chocker.
The Queue for the tickets to the Cathedral .. Fiona is in the red jacket
There were people everywhere. After spending half an hour in the queue for tickets to see the inside of the Cathedral, we then discovered the queue was about an hour or more at least so we decided to head back into town and try again later.
The view of Prague from the castleThe old historic Trams
We walked down the stairs back towards Prague Old Town Square. Crossing the Charles Bridge, we saw where parts of the film Mission Impossible were made where Tom Cruise flipped a car and ran up to a bridge. The square is a now a little market square.
The square where Mission Impossible was filmed.
There is a post on the centre of the bridge which was where you can make a wish.
The Entrance to Prague castle.. security was tight
One of the Guards having a happy day 🙂
The Prague Castle Cathedral
Prague Castle Cathedral from the back.
Charles Bridge and the Old Town
The old Town by Charles Bridge
parts of the Old Town with Prague Castle
Dianne and Fiona with Prague Castle behind
Looking along the Charles Bridge
Fiona and Dianne making a wish in the middle of the Charles Bridge
Old Town
Walking through Old Town
Cheese and biccies on the rooftop Terrace
The Prague Astronomical clock which was first installed in 1410!
Old Town Square with the Tyn Cathedral
As we walked through the old streets checking out all the shops, we eventually got through to Old Town Square and the famous Tyn Church.
Part of the Old Town with Prague CastleThe old Town by Charles Bridge
We stopped at a pub in the Square and had a glass of wine and Cheese Board on a roof top terrace looking over most of central Prague which was magic.
Old Town Square and Tyn Cathedral from the rooftop.
A walk around the Square came next after which we made our way back up to Prague Castle to have another go at the Cathedral only to find it had closed. So we headed back to the camp to enjoy a glass of wine in the sun.
We caught a tram from our campsite north of the city and headed into Dresden. It was only one tram so there was very little chance of getting lost today 🙂
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Dresden is an amazing city. It was completely flattened by bombs where there was only rubble left and has been completely rebuilt with help from fundraising in Britain.
The inside of the Cathedral
Many of the old charred stones have been left in the rebuild as a reminder of a terrible time in Dresdens history.
The outside of the cathedral. Note the dark stones on the left. The rest are new!
One of the most significant rebuilds has been of the 18th century Protestant Church in the main square. It is simply stunning. We were lucky that we could get inside and have a look there and it is just beautiful.
The ceramic mural of past Kings and Queens
The outside of the cathedral. Note the dark stones on the left. The rest are new!
Dianne and Fiona along a terrace with Gary taking pictures
Through to the main square. We had a cuppa at the café on the left corner with the chairs outside.
Looking across to the south side of the river
There are some new buildings in Dresden. The shopping malls are something else.
There is a also a Ceramic panel of all the previous Saxon Kings and Queens along a road by the Rathaus which is the Town Hall.
The Ceramic mural of Kings and QueensClose up of the mural
Its an amazing city and its nice to see it rise to be the centre of Culture in Germany again.
We arrived in Berlin pretty knackered as although it is only 3 hours driving from Hanover, it is all on the Autobahn and is very boring driving. The only break in the steady lines on the road flashing by and lots of trees was when we spotted a car upside down on the other side of the Autobahn. Its amazing how quickly the traffic builds up. When we passed it going the other way, it must have only just happened and within a few minutes, the queue was about 8 k’s long! With us averaging about 85 K’s an hour, cars were zooming by as if we were standing still!
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Dianne, Gary and Fiona opposite with Harry
We were about to have our first experience in a Stellplatz. This one was in Tegel which is one of Berlins north western suburbs on the end of the underground line. It was about 20 minutes walk to the underground from the Stellplatz so was very handy.
Ralph behaving himself in the corner
Stellplatz are quite different to what we are used to in NZ in that you are charged for every single thing you do, usually resulting in a cheap stay but this one was expensive by the time you added everything up, and for its money was pretty scruffy and unkempt.
One of the nice things about it was their setup of both the Black water disposal and the Grey water. The Black water was done on a stainless steel bench where you stuck your cassette neck into a flexible 4 inch pipe and out it went. You could then rinse it out but being at a bench height, you didn’t have to bend down and murder your back! It was almost like the good old days at school doing a science experiment 🙂
The Grey water was done with a stainless bucket on the end of a hose which you unclipped from a post and stuck under your grey water outlet and then let rip. All very easy.
The Grey and fresh water tower at the Stellplatz
After a good nights sleep, we were up early and onto the undergound to do the round and round bus trip. We figured this would be the best way to see heaps and then we could go to what we really wanted to see after that.
Fiona, Dianne and Gary waiting for the train back to Tegel
The Berlin Library where they burnt the books
The old Reichstag
Checkpoint Charlie
A Chunk of the wall
Tourists br the Brandenburg Gate
The Brandenburg Gate
One thing that really stuck out was seeing the Wall and Checkpoint Charlie. To see all this was quite sobering and seeing Berlin as it is now, you can only imagine how awful it must have been for so many having the wall up and everything that went with it.
The wallCheckpoint Charlie
The next day, Fiona and I caught the train back into town to see the Jewish Memorial which is a huge area down by Brandenburg Gate with several hundred big concrete boxes.
You can see a persons head popping up through the concrete blocks at the Jewish Memorial
Its an amazing thing to see and you can walk among the boxes and get lost in them. An awful reminder of a truly awful time in our history and with the current generation of Berliners being so helpful and nice everywhere, it is quite amazing to think that this could have happened here.
Fiona at the Jewish Memorial
As we left the Stellplatz the next day and headed towards Dresden and as we were just around the corner from one of Europe’s bigger motorhome accessory shops, it would have been rude not to stop by and peruse the shelves of this great store called Berger. You can find it here at www.fritz-berger.de
A happy Wurlitzer player at the Brandenburg Gate
A lovely city, the weather wasn’t up to much while we were there but we saw the essentials and we’ll be back.
And it is Amsterdam. Dianne found a great camping ground just on the edge of town surrounded by Canals. The campground sold 3 day tickets where you could swipe on or off the tram as much as you liked. This worked really well.
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Ralph and Harry in Amsterdam
The first night we went in to have a bit of look around and ended up having tea in the town and checking out the red light area.
Fiona, Gary and Dianne trying to find somewhere to eat
Day two we got up early and headed in so Fiona could check out the Art in Rijksmuseum.
A Famous walk bridge
One of the oldest foot bridges over a canal
Bike mayhem
The car accident on the bridge
A Dethleffs in the campground 🙂
Lots of young people in tents in our campground.
Gary, Fiona and Dianne at a cafe
On the way there was a car accident on one of the bridges so that was as far as the Tram could go. One of the downsides of Trams of course is they can’t go around the obstruction so we walked the rest of the way.
We stopped at a pub on the first night by the Cathedral for a beer One of the larger canals where the accident was.
While Fiona was at the Art Museum, Gary, Dianne and I got on a Hop on Hop off round and Round open roof ferry. For 19 Euros, we could go right around the city by Canal with an audio commentary which was fantastic. Not great for taking piccies as you could only shoot out of the sides.
During the Hop on Hop off trip
One of comments which came across was that the canals are 3 metres deep. One metre of Water, One Metre of Mud and another Metre of bicycles 🙂
Madame Tussauds in the Dam square
On our third day there, Fiona and Dianne were keen to check out a Diamond Factory. I didn’t think I’d like it but I found it quite interesting. It was quite tourist tatty and the free coffee was awful but great to see.
Fiona with a big sample Diamond
One of the curious things I found with Amsterdam is Bikes have right of way over EVERYTHING!
One of the oldest foot bridges over a canal
The Bike lanes are everywhere and they go like the clappers and they simply ring the bell if you get in their way. It is quite intimidating. Also in the bike lanes are scooters and small cars and they go even faster. Often there is only a few inches between the edge of the footpath and a scooter doing 30-40kph! .. Its not uncommon to see people speeding along on bikes on their cell phone with a child strapped on somewhere.
Bikes rule !
So much history.. most of the buildings are centuries old and some have a lean either forward or sideways 🙂
Next to the campground.
Amsterdam is a really interesting city. Next were moving on to Germany.
In Arnhem, we met a friendly Dutch Motorhomer who told us about this wonderful little village called Zaanse Schans and that we must pop in for a nosey. So thats exactly what we did and it was stunning.
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Old Buildings on the other side of the riverFrom the Bridge
Original old buildings and Windmills all restored and many open to the public. It is very touristy but done very well.
Charming houses
We looked for the Motorhome parking but couldn’t find it so parked a few blocks away at a railway station parking area but it was an easy walk to and fro.
Crossing the bridge to Zaanse Schans
The Windmills at Zanse Schans
Barrels in the windmill
The inners of a Windmill
People taking photos of each other
Dianne and Gary with Big feet!
The Clogs being shaped on a machine
Clogs being hollowed out
Clogs on the wall for sale
Many of the houses were set up as museums and all offered something different. We had a nice Latte and one house, and then a Waffle at another and checked out the inner workings of a windmill.
Fiona and Dianne share a pair of Clogs !
There was a great Clog making display with all the machinery and you could buy almost anything with a windmill or clogs on it 🙂
Zaanse Schans
We spent about 3 hours here and then headed about 20 minutes south for Amsterdam.
Just north of Amsterdam is a charming little coastal City of Alkmaar. The central part of the town is basically on an island ringed by canals.
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Ralph and Harry. Gary getting his bike ready
We stopped at Alkmaar Camping which is just on the edge of town but an easy 20 minutes into town by bike. It is supposed to take 10 but as usual, we got lost but we got there in the end 🙂
The Campground is well set up but for what it is, I thought it was a tad on the expensive side at 32 Euros a night for two but its very easy to get into town and a nice relaxing spot to stop.
Fiona on a mission
After we arrived from Arnhem, we got the bikes ready and headed off into town. As I said earlier, yep, we managed to get lost on the way but quickly found our way into town. We locked our bikes together at the big church in the middle of town and then headed off down the narrow streets. Its a charming place and being a Sunday afternoon market day, the place was chocker. It was alive and kicking!
The main “shoe shop” street with the Church at the other end.
About about an hour or so, after the girls had checked out nearly every shoes and clothes shop down the main street, we made it to the canal down the other end. It was just a great sight. Everything you see in the tourist brochures and some.
The Canal by the coffee shop
People enjoying a cuppa in outdoor cafes by the canal, people in boats and it seemed to be all about people watching and shopping, drinking and eating! Way to go:-)
People getting together
We eventually ran out of shoes shops and started heading back to the bikes and made our way back to the camp, nearly getting lost a second time !
Dianne and Gary in the main street
By the canal
People watching
Apparently there is a beach on the North Sea only 15 minutes bike ride from here but we’re heading towards Amsterdam next.
We arrived in Arnhem mid afternoon after 2 easy hours driving on Motorways from Brugge. You don’t even know you are crossing the border. Its amazing.
Harry and ralph at the Arnhem campground
In Europe, it pays to book ahead with the campgrounds but we took pot luck and there was plenty of room. Great campground with all the facilities and reasonably priced I thought at 26 Euros for two per night.
Outside the campground figuring out the buses.
The next day, the weather was miserable and it was drizzly and threatening to rain so we caught a bus into Arnhem Centrum and then another virtually straight away out to Oosterbeek where the Airborne Museum is for the Battle of Arnhem.
An Allied tank outside the Museum
This was one of the battles the Allies lost in the final push towards Germany towards the end of the war.
In Arnhem city.. Dianne and Fiona navigating
The Allies Headquarters during the war but now the Airborne Museum
Dianne and Fiona arriving back with food
Outside the Airborne Museum
Its a great tribute to the Allies involved and there is lots of memorabilia there. Its a must do if you’re in the area.
Shopping at Arnhem
One the way back, between buses, we checked out the town and then headed back to the vans at the camp. A really interesting city and one worth checking out.
We had sorted out a spot to stay in Brugge and entered it into both GPS units and we were on a mission with Gary leading the way in Harry.
Where are we. Fiona, Dianne and Gary looking for clues
Brugge is going through a huge road rebuilding and new motorway system and what we hadn’t counted on was that both GPS units were totally confused. It all adds to the fun!
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The Brugge canal
After going round and round and eventually ending up opn a dirt road on a farm in Holland an hour or two later, we headed back to Brugge and found a campground and its fantastic. All the mod cons and it was 27 euro’s a night for 2. Pretty good really.
Fiona and Dianne at the Market
Our first day in Brugge was fun. We got on a bus outside the campground and headed into the centre of the city. About 20 minutes later, Google maps suggested we’d been through the middle and were heading out the other side 🙂 .. Time to get off and we found another bus to take us to Town where we stopped in to have a cup of coffee. The Markets were on in the Market Square and it was huge. Some amazing food and the cheeses and Nougat cakes were something else too.
Brugge
In the market. Check out the cheese
Market .. The Nougat
A happy Busker
Looking into the square
Lunchtime
Where we had lunch
Brugge is amazing. The buildings are sensational and they’re all very friendly here too, even the bus drivers. We walked around the town looking at the shops and eventually ended up in a Gourmet Burger Restaurant which was fantastic. I’m not a big Beer drinker but the Stella on tap was great. I even had a second one 🙂
We spent the day looking in shops. Fiona bought some shoes, some trousers, a top and a scarf and I bought some shoes and a shirt.
Visitors enjoying the Canal
After a full day in the city, we headed back to the camp on the bus and chilled.
Fiona in a Chocolate Shop
Brugge is a neat city and although their Motorway system is currently “Non GPS Compliant” it is still pretty easy to get around with a great transport system.
Ralph in his cornerDianne, Gary and Fiona with Harry opposite
The end of the day came and we caught a bus back to our campground and had a laugh or two over a glass of wine.
Fiona & Chris, two empty nesters put their dreams of doing something different into reality… Now back in a house, they were living in their Motorhome, come along for the ride.
Bugger It, we are off - www.buggeritweareoff.com 
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