Taranjeet Kaur

What I got up to in less than 48 hours in Prague!

November 17, 2017

I have just got back from a wonderful 1 and half days in Prague! A city that I have wanted to visit for years!

This was an especially personal trip as I have never been on a solo adventure out of the UK, it was my first time flying alone (and with a Dastar, all went well). It’s a place I often talked about with my ex and a friend who died too. It’s also a place that has featured on multiple vision boards and affirmations. That is the true power of affirmation, visualisation working to make happen!

On average I overheard people saying they were there for 4 days, that’s quiet sensible and very worth it as there were sights I didn’t see that I will mention at the end.

Here’s a break down of what I did, some travel tips and inspiration.

At the very end there’s a quick summary of things to do in Prague 48 hours or less!

Tuesday – Arrival and half day exploring

I arrived into Prague airport and got a taxi from one of the booths, 700 CZK (Prague is in Czech Republic, they mostly take Czk (also called Korona/crown) in main Prague some places accept Euros). 700 CZK is around £25, Old town is a 40 minute car journey away, for the trip back they may give you a discount code and your journey is around 520 CZK /£18.

I went with Taxi FIX airport and my driver was brilliant, telling me about the sights as we drove into the city. I noticed the Boat hotel I had considered staying in and the driver put down the window so I could get a picture of The Dancing House, I saw it finally, in real life.

I stayed at Hotel Unic just 10 minutes away from Old Town, it was marvellous, there’s nothing like getting to the desk where they confirm your ‘superior room and breakfast’. I went to the room and organised myself with camera, notebook, money and so on.

As tempting as it was to stay in my room and celebrate the victory of actually going from Home-Gatwick South-Gatwick North-Travellodge-Gatwick North-Prague. I did it, I actually did it! I had a limited time and the sky was bright blue, great for photos. Also those travel related things seemed little now and the donations I had learnt from teaching yoga paid for extra bus tranfers!

The first thing I noticed as a solo traveller was the responsibility I had of getting from Hotel – Sights in town and then back again. There was no one to rely on, to ask if I’m going to right way (a sense of direction isn’t my strong point). I just had to walk and trust and use google maps. Just when I became self conscious of that, or conscious that I might be missing out on the sights of Prague, I saw lots of other tourists were doing the same, the tall buildings and winding roads, to any tourist blend into the same.

I walked to Old Town Square, a big space that is quiet then fills up with tourists as the day goes on. Here you will find the National Gallery, St.Nicholas Church, Jan Haus memorial statue and astronomical clock (it was having works down to it when I was there). Just walking around Prague, the buildings are beautiful to look at and take photos of.

It’s funny, all over the city are these brown tourist signs pointing which way to go, though they were more confusing than useful, I wonder if others felt the same.

I walked a little further to Municipal House and a bridge by the river. From here I saw the other bridge I would go to the next day, to get to Prague castle.

Late afternoon I walked back into Old Town and got a hot chocolate from the festive pop up stalls (the Christmas season hasn’t really started there yet, I bet it’s beautiful then but for my stay it was a wonderful blessing for it to be relaxed vibe).

I got talking to some American women who were on a trip together I saw lots of couples and groups in Prague, couples get away? Girls trip? Maybe next year. One of them sweetly paid for my hot chocolate and another told me of an app to work out conversion rates, so so useful.We chatted about how cold it was, except her friend from Alaska who was wearing dolly shoes. I later related to her talking of her body parts being ‘chapped’ by the cold.

The National Gallery had an exhibition on Asian Art and I went to see that for 150czk, the whole set of galleries ticket is 500czk. As everything felt ‘new’ 500czk felt like a lot of money to spend especially on my first day but really it’s about £17, I would pay that for a gallery in London.

Wednesday – Full day

I had breakfast at the hotel and it seems in Czech there are no cereals so I stocked up on pastries, fruit and pancakes with maple syrup as if I was eating for three. I left at 8am to explore properly, 10 minutes to Old Town, 10 minutes to Charles Bridge and I’m halfway to Prague castle!

Without planning it, it seems anytime before 9am is when there is less tourists, so I got photos when there were not many people out and later in the day got to experience the busyness of the bridge too.

The walk to the castle was wonderful! Words cannot describe except the saying ‘The journey matters more than the destination’ applies here. Walking to the castle and taking photos was so much fun.

Prague Castle is free to walk around, though go to the tourist information for tickets to parts of the castle and areas you can visit, they also do classical concerts here.

Another thing I got from the lovely American women was to visit Golden Lane which is ticketed. It’s an interesting lane, it’s a strip of tiny houses you can go into or like many tourists pose at the doors doing different guesters. For me personally, I feel I’ve seen something similar in the UK, we used to go round model villages as children, it reminded me of that a little.

Walking back from the castle I wanted to take advantage of leisurely going to places so I had a hot chocolate at Prague Chocolate Cafe & Bistro – a cup of melted chocolate with cream! Then walked to the nearest place and got a donut ice-cream cone or Trdelnik I kept seeing people walk by with.

A good idea would be to shop around, there is a variety of choices from cinnamon, nutella and fruit. Though just be warned any ‘sensitives’ like myself, they are high in sugar! Walking around eating my Trdelnik was an experience, does anyone else end up in a chocolate mess, find the cone is harder than you first think and walk to McDonalds for napkins?

It was wonderful though walking across the now busier bridge, I bought some gifts, including a sweet angel holding a tea light and an interestingly shaped mug. I noticed an Art gallery wasn’t open till 2pm so I would come back later in the afternoon. If I hadn’t had got such a sugar ‘high’ I may have remembered to go to another sight on my list, still I enjoyed a quick freshen up in my hotel room drinking the camomile tea and bottled water I bought from Mini market, you live and learn, hey I’m here for a whole experience!

Back in Old Town I went on a mini Synagogue tour, the pictures of inside The Spanish Synagogue looked interesting so I went there and to others – Pinkasova, Klausova and The Old Jewish Cemetery – on a combined ticket for 330czk. If you only go to one, go to Spanelska/Spanish Synagogue, the building interior is incredible!

I’m not Jewish so I didn’t relate on a level to what I saw but I imagine some people really would and each one had it’s own effect. Klausova is one I walked past a lot so it made sense to actually go in and see it, Pinkasova had lots of names on the walls and a collection of historical Jewish items and the grave yard alongside it. I had a friend who was Jewish and wanted to visit Prague, they were really proud of their heritage and it felt like they were there with me guiding me to each piece ‘This is so and so..’

I walked back over Charles Bridge that was getting busier, stall holders were out, including a few caricature artists. I went to Museum Montanelli, not really knowing what art to expect, though for only 5oczk I saw art by Lyudmila Jandova – Between Heaven and Earth. A wonderful exhibition of drawings, paintings and studio set up. What really struck me is that the art works spoke for them selves and the little titles and descriptions on the walls that I usually read at galleries, were hidden away. Her art featured a lot of little stick people going up ladders, walking to one door and so on. It had a vibe of freedom, escape, victory to it. Definitely worth going to if your in the area.

Afterwards I walked with a growing sense of going with the flow, going wherever I wanted and being spontaneous. I was reminded of the quote – ‘A good traveller has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving- Lao Tzu.’

I went up The Petrin Observation Tower, completely unplanned, and for just 100czk took some photos of the whole of the city from high up!

I got a caricature portrait done for 400czk, had (my first ever) thai foot and neck massage for 590czk which was interesting (again, shop around some places will do cheaper) and ate another pizza this time at Pizzeria Ristoranti, Old Town. Where I chatted to a friendly male staff who reminded me – It’s better to come for a short time and enjoy than not at all and to come back for longer next time.

I walked around talking photos of the building lit up in the dark and got some more gifts, there is a wonderful shop selling all wooden things, I got a Christmas decoration there for my mum. I went back to my hotel, though if I had relaxed more I would have gone to a cafe I noticed on my walk back. Anyway I had tea, listened to music, had a power shower then journaled and painted in my sketch book and packed, is this how artists in the past got work done while travelling?

Thursday – Final hours

I went out after meditation before sunrise and well before breakfast to take some last minute pictures. It was cloudy so they weren’t ‘picturesq’ like in postcards but again the town was empty!

I didn’t make it to Charles Bridge but I photographed buildings in the square and used black and white film in my polaroid camera for the first time (note: black and white film is experiment, so far best used when more light and choose subjects carefully). I came back ate a lot of food (as with the travelling that may just be my breakfast and lunch, it was). Got a easy peasy taxi ride from hotel to airport and was there super early (even the staff were surprised and with their tablet I knew my boarding gate way before take off). I really didn’t need 3 hours+, I could of been exploring or enjoying myself in the city, though it meant I used left over money to buy a small family member a cuddly character, it looked like a distorted penguin but was really a mole from a Czech story, I drew in my journal and read, read, read.

The two books I read on my short trip are Steering by Starlight by Martha Beck (if you haven’t had Martha in your life, now is the time! Start with Finding your own North Star) and Concerning the Spiritual in Art by Wassily Kadinsky (a very deep, inspiring read, it always is that with dead artists I wish I could have a book discussion with). It was when reading the later at the boarding gate a man saw the title and spoke to me about art and spirituality, it’s wonderful to connect with people and share inspirations in fleeting moments.

Here’s a quick summary of sights and things to do in Prague:

Top sights for 48 hours or less:

Dancing House

Charles Bridge

Prague Castle

Synagogues

National Gallery – Art

Old Town Square

Museum Montanelli – Art

The Petrin Observation Tower

Go with the flow experience:

Drink hot chocolate/coffee

Try ice cream with donut cone

Get a portrait done on the bridge

Browse gift shops

Get a massage

Relax in a cafe

Other sights I didn’t get to see worth looking up:

John Lennon wall

Franz Kraftraa

National Gallery (whole of it)

National Museum

Gardens

Boat tour

Evening/night life

Overall, I think being in a new city, exploring Prague was like being transported to a different world – and it’s less than a 2 hour flight away! It’s an exciting place to visit, people were friendly, there was a wonderful feeling about the whole place.

Camera and photography side note:

On this trip I took my Instax 70 (oh how I miss my Instax 90, it stopped working just before going away) and have updated my gallery Trust and Love in Polaroids you will find all shots here.

I bought a Lumix DMC-TZ80 which I’m still getting familiar with and of course I used my iPhone to take photos too. It’s a good place to come for photography, having a wide angle lens and zoom function is very useful here as the buildings have details and statues on them. I saw many people with Canon cameras, walking with tripods and I may have been the only one without a selfie stick, a future investment for a solo traveller!

Also a traveller I got some great tips and ideas from before going is Travel Gretl, check her out here.

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Solo spontaneous trip to Birmingham

December 20, 2016

It was a week before Christmas, me and the Mr had broken up and I found myself living in the spare room of my mums and dads. I had 5 days left before I was back at work after a long annual leave I’d requested thinking we would be in a far away destination together, however things don’t always turn out the way you plan and the furthest I had been was the local shops.

Something had to be done.

Two things frustrated me 1. I hadn’t been away anywhere even though I was on holiday 2. I couldn’t spend the next few days moping around with nothing to do and little privacy. I’ve lived independently away from from my parents for almost 10 years up till now and it feels, strange.

I ordered a chrome book with next day delivery, as not to schedule time on a shared computer and began searching what I could do with the little money I couldn’t really spend on my credit card. I searched hotels nearby, places I could get to by train, hotels with Spas, European deals and so on. Nothing was calling out to me.

Then I remembered someone I knew went away to Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester. They drove but all of them were accessible by train too, so I investigated some more, Birmingham and Manchester both had small free art galleries I could visit, Liverpool has the Tate but there wasn’t anything exhibiting that excited me.

The more I Iooked into Birmingham the more right it felt. The gallery, museums, shops, hotels were all in one area, easy to explore in a day and a half and less chance of getting lost and not being able to find my way. Better still there was a coach leaving the in two days time and was half the price of a train journey. Altogether, £60 to get away, see some Christmas lights and explore somewhere new seemed pretty reasonable. I found a copy of Me before you by Jojo Moyes for 90p at the local charity shop, packed an overnight case and I was set.

There was a third reason for my short get away, I felt I needed to get out and not delay my solo adventures for in the future, I was prepared for many. I wanted to do it while afraid, while vulnerable, while it felt so very real that I was not 1 part of a 2 person party, I was just 1 and all it represented. New beginings, celebrations, starting over.

While in Birmingham, I explored and had some down time too. Though a drastic change felt right, I felt anxious too, so much so that each time I went out my chest hurt and as much as I wrapped up in a scarf and sipped hot drinks, I couldn’t entirely put it down to the cold weather, it was pscyhological too. I was still healing and self love called out at me so I listened and this is what I got up to on my solo trip.

Day 1

I walked to town and was greeted by life – from the fruit and vegetable markets to the man playing the saucepans, it made me smile. Hotel Britannia is siutated right next to Odeon Cinema and is very cheap and chearful. It has the ‘one night with your boyfriend’ or ‘one night away on business’ feel to it, it even had the choice of smoking or non somoking rooms, wow that brought me back to my teens! It was musky, everything was brown and the bathroom smelt of cleaning fluid that I was determined to erase with my body spray. But it was spacious, a bed, chair, table, bath etc was all I really needed, I came to like it’s quirks.

I settled in by mid afternoon and set off to find the art gallery, I knew it would only be small as it’s called Museum and Art Gallery, they always are when they put historical objects with art on the walls. It was something though and there were two paintings I liked Rachel by Patrick Heron and An instrustial town by Lowery. There were cabninets of pottery and fine jewlwey from around the world and interesting caligraphy. This statement by David Kindersley 1969 written on the rim of a bowl was powerful and themed perfectly ‘TRUTH IS SIMPLE IN IT’S LANGUAGE REQUIRING NEITHER STUDY NOR ART.’

Early evening I walked around the shops and long German Christmas markets that were the main feature of the area, it was busy a little like London but not as hectic and a more cheery vibe. I bought fried potatoe and mushrooms with garlic sauce and ate alone standing up at the pop up stalls. A new experience and I wondered if I looked ‘werid’ eating alone but soon realised a lot of people do and what does it matter anyway?

I walked past the markets once more, this would be my only evening here so I wanted to take in the Christmas lights, big tree and busy markets as much as I could before heading back for an early night. There is nothing like that locally at Christmas, there just seems like so much more joy when even if you don’t celebrate Christmas there is celebration and lights around.
I bought a hot choclate with cream and walked some more, smiling at the sights and strangeness of this whole expereience.

That night I had an hour long bath while reading Breathe magazine, there was no time limits, no rush, no expectations, it was bliss. I made some yogi tea and made a start on the note books and new year planning sheets I had printed, I went to sleep early, a saxaophone played in the distance.

Day 2

I woke up early and did a yoga set, I was about 30 or so days into Radiant Body Kriya (and contiuned to 40 days.) I ate a buffet style breckfast and a lot of it too as I wasn’t sure when I would next eat a full meal.

I went out for a walk first thing at 8am, I’m very glad I did, it was peaceful, the sun was rising and town was completly quiet. Only a few people around, so I took photos and went back to the hotel to do more of ‘what I want to happen in 2017 worksheets’. I drank more yogi tea and ate chocolate fudge I’d brought with me and looked up opening times and route to get to Birmingham Library. One of my brothers had mentioned he’d heard it was good a few days before my trip and wanted to check it out. Plus libraries are somewhere warm and interesting to stay for a few hours. I left some tea and the rest of my fudge for the cleaner and I was off.

Birmingham Libray is within easy reach from the town, it’s signposted all the way and so big you can see it from a distance! A great big square structure with gold all around, wow this was some library. Esculators took you to each floor, from them you could see circular rows of shelves of books, with Christmas lights around, it was the most magical library I had ever seen. I went to the Art floor and choose books from the rows, yes rows, of art books. I sat and read Outsider Art by Jean Louis Ferrier and read all about the lives of outsider artists Douanier Rousseau, Gaston Chaissac and Aloise.

I spent the last hour of my time in Birmingham taking more pictures, I bought two pretty scarves for a fiver and walkied around the Christmas markets once more that had opened for the lunch crowds and ate my faveourite fermented vegetable dish – Saukerought.

I made my way back to the coach station and waited in the lounge, I later realised I was in the wrong lounge and completely missed my coach. The staff member was so helpful and put me on one to a town near to me where I could make a transfer.

I didn’t mind much as my extended waiting and journey meant I read all of Me before you book and after I was settled back in my own bed I rented it from Itunes for £1.99.

A trip away was just what I wanted and needed, I felt it on a soul level as well as a literal sense. I needed to get out of a small room in a small town and just be spontaneous. When we step out of the norm, the ordinary routine of life we make way to be spontaneous, to live more fully present and in wonder, this is where my solo adventure begins.

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