Foods from the Czech Republic

I ate hot dogs like every day. After Amsterdam, Munich and Prague I was left thinking "Dude, Europeans just eat hot dogs all day. What the hell?"

McDonalds has shrimp in the Czech Republic. They had it in Amsterdam as well though I didn't try any there.

Bavarian Sausage (or as I called it: a really big hot dog)

Yes they put mayo on their sausages. gross, i know.

grilling sausage at the old town square

trdelnik

I bought this Trdelnik to eat. It looked a lot better than it tasted. However I should note that I later saw other places spread things like chocolate, peanut butter, etc on the inside of it. Mine didn't get anything.

Potatoes! Mmmm.

My Potatoes

Langose stand

The Langose was really good. Looking at this makes me want to get some more, but I probably never will ever again.

I went to Cream & Dream on the recommendation of Sir Toby's. It was good, though I wouldn't say spectacular.

The people working at Sir Toby's said it was the best ice cream in Prague. Maybe, it was good, but it was also on their map, meaning Cream & Dream had paid Sir Toby's to be on their tourist map.

My ice cream and Ching Yee's ice cream.

Cheese cake from Cream & Dream. Yes, ice cream AND cheese cake. I'm such a fatass, I know.

59 krown salami pizza.

My strawberry juice.

Ching Yee's coffee.

Another sausage for me!

Ching Yee was getting homesick so we went to a Chinese restaurant.

Engrish

The people working there thought we couldn't use chopsticks once they found out I'm American.

Eurohotdog. The bun doesn't open up, it just has a hole you put the sausage in. The condiments go inside the hole.

Beef goulash with dumplings. The dumplings are just those pieces of bread. There's nothing in them. I felt cheated, but that's what they are. I later found out from a friend that dumplings just mean steamed dough. I think they should just call it BREAD.

Fried pork filet.

Americka sandwich. I had to order it cuz it was called that. It's basically just a meatball sandwich.

Another bravarian sausage.

A nasty cheap pastry.

In the markets of Prague the locals by bread like this for SUPER CHEAP. We're talking like 2 krown or less per bread.

More cheap bread.

cheap bread

cheap bread

cheap bread

I had one cheap bread for breakfast one day. It's quit airy in the middle, not very filling.

I got this crappy meal at a casino. I was wandering around and got hungry so I just dropped in and got this.

I got this at the train station in Kutna Hora. It's sekana v housce and it cost 20 krowns.

Pork and Potatoes. A boring and bland meal but it did the trick. I got this at Kurna Hora. The white stuff on top of the pork is cheese.

A cheap meal I made from stuff I bought at a market run by a Vietnamese man. I was getting a little tired of the slight prejudice I was running into now and then in Prague. I didn't feel like pumping much of my money into their economy at this point so I decided to get this cheap stuff.

Tea and cake from Prague's Heaven.

Subway and tram map

Kutna Hora

Kutna Hora is a city in the Czech Republic with roots that go back to the medieval times when it was the second most important city in the Czech Republic (though obviously it wasn't the Czech Republic back then) due to it's rich silver mines.

Today the town is a tourist attraction, mainly for the Sedlec Ossuary, the Bone Chapel, and St. Barbara Church - a beautiful church both on the outside and inside. For me the draw was to see this Bone Chapel. I originally heard of it while I was traveling in Asia. I met an American going around the world. He told me if I ever get the chance to go to the Czech Republic don't miss the Bone Chapel, it was a Church where all the decorations inside are made of human bones! Cooooooool! Ok, it's probably pretty gross to some people, or creepy, but it's definitely unique. I had to see it, and so I did.

I keep a list of places I might like to visit in the future. The Sedlec Ossuary in Kutna Hora made the list. For me, it's pretty cool that I did something I put on my list; it's the first place I've gone to on the list. Cheesy? Sure, but I don't care, I'm psyched that I did it and look forward to growing the list and checking things off.

Alright, so the problem was getting there. All the guides recommend taking the bus to Kutna Hora from Prague. The problem was that I went on a Sunday and there were no buses. Bummer. I was about to give up and join an overpriced tour when I found out how to take the train there. Trains normally go to Kutna Hora everyday, but Sundays have fewer trains scheduled and nobody that worked in at Prague's Heaven could help me. So yeah, if you're trying to get to Kutna Hora on a Sunday the train is the only method. Just head to the train station and tell them you want to go to Kutna Hora, they'll book a round trip ticket for you. The return time is flexible. The last train back to Prague leaves at 5pm, so don't miss it.

Once you've arrived at Kutna Hora you'll need to walk or bus into town where you can see the sites. It's not too far a walk, it should take maybe 20 minutes. Here are some directions that I got from Sir Toby's. They were the best directions out of everything I saw. People from other hotels and hostels were all quite confused and lost.

Map of Kutna Hora I got from the visitor center.

Alright, so follow the directions from the picture I've uploaded and go see Sedlec Ossuary, the Bone Chapel!

Sedlec Ossuary

The bones you will see in the chapel are from the Black Plague and the Hussite wars (the first war to essentially use cannons). The chapel itself was a common grave which started running out of room for all the dead bodies. Someone came up with the brilliant idea of using the bones as decoration inside the chapel. The chapel however was burned down by the Hussites in 1421 and rebuilt in 1703-1710. The bones you see today were cleaned, whitewashed and put together in the arrangement you see today in 1870 by Frantisek Rint. The rest of the unused bones were reburied.

The cemetery just outside Sedlec Ossuary.

Sedlec Ossuary

There are four bone pyramids inside the church. This is one of them. They all look pretty identical. Originally there were six bone pyramids but were changed into four in 1870. A few people have thrown coins in there. I think you're not supposed to do that.

The coat of arms of the Schwarzenberg family.

Closer view of the Schwarzenberg coat of arms.

History of the Ossuary. They had this out to you when you enter the church.

History part 2.

This chandelier is made with bones from every part of the human body.

The Ossuary is a church of Jesus Christ.

This is what you are greeted by at the entrance.

On the way to St. Barbara's Cathedral

Church of St. James

A view of Kutna Hora

St. Barbara's Cathedral

St. Barbara's Cathedral

Inside St. Barbara's Cathedral

This miner statue in St. Barbara's Cathedral is form the 1700s.

Other Pictures

Stone House

Italian Court

A couple got married at the Italian Court.

Italian Court

Church of the Ascension of Mary

On the way back I caught the last train back to Prague. It was packed, just like the trains in China. Standing room only! It was really uncomfortable and I had to stand. After a few stops people got off and I was able to find a spot to sit. Actually, I didn't, some Chinese students that were studying in Germany let me know I could sit with them. I actually ran into them at the beginning of my trip to Kutna Hora. I helped them out with some directions to the Ossuary, so I guess they just returned the favor. It was very nice of them.

I was really curious what the train bathroom looked like. My guess was gross and it looks like I guessed right.

The train sink.