Prague, More gardens

On the way from my home towards Vaclav Namesti I always passed by the stop called Botanica Garden. This time I decided to get off here and observe the place.

As it turned out, this is not the main botanical garden of the city, but the botanical garden owned by the Charles University. It looks shabby, but it is free of charge. However, if you want to visit the hothouse you must buy a ticket. I did not obtain any ticket, so I had a nice walking around.

I continued my strolling around the city...

One interesting fact is that many cathedrals in Prague have free entrance. I always use such an opportunity to get in, because it is cool inside, and it is possible to relax after a long walking. And again, in search of the shelter from the heat I visited one of such places.

The lunch was at the familiar to me restaurant Lokal, located in Stare Mesto. The truth is that this place is very popular among tourists and local people. The main reason of such popularity, I think, is that they serve here delicious food. The meal, including roasted pork with cabbage and mix of bread and potato dumplings, cost me 170 crowns. It was very good, indeed.

Now I feel completely recharged and I am ready to continue my excursion program.

The main showplace for today's observing is the Gardens below the Prague Castle. Unfortunately, the entrance is not free. The ticket costs 100 crowns, but it is worth every penny.

Actually, this is the complex of interconnected gardens, which have the rich architectural decoration, decorative staircases, balustrades, scenic terraces, garden-houses and pavilions. Moreover, they grow here different fruits such as grape, apples and peaches. Honestly, I could not but pluck an apple and a cluster of grapes and try it. Hopefully, I digested it without any problems. At the same time, near the peach tree I could read the warning, that the plant was treated with some chemicals.

Again, for my supper I stayed at the restaurant near my apartments U Basenthu, which actual address is Taborska 389/49. It is such an atmospheric and authentic place with wide tables and loud chats between comers, that I fall in love with this restaurant. Of course, I ordered the roast duck with potato and cabbage. It is simply delicious and it costs only 129 crowns! However, when I come here another day I should try something different. I strongly believe, that any other dish would be as tasty as the duck.

Well, it is so great in Prague in summer time! The magnificent gardens are in bloom, and the weather is favorable not only for walking in daylight, but at night. However, next time I would like to come here in autumn to see the city in the golden finery.

Europe, The City of Bicycles

We are relocating to Amsterdam with Flixbus. The road takes about 40 minutes.

The final stop is at the bus station, which is located on the suburbs of the city. So, we had to cover 5 kilometres on foot to get to our new place of residence. Nice walking, but it was a little bit tiresome, taking into account our heavy backpacks, loaded with the Belgian chocolate.

When we were passing by the central station we felt the strong smell of cannabis. And this smell followed us all the time, because people are burning on every street corner. I think, Amsterdam will be always associated with this unpleasant odour.

So, our first point of destination is the boat hotel, which is moored in the dock Oosterdok. Honestly speaking, it was the only affordable type of accommodation in Amsterdam for these days, in terms of money and proximity to the city centre.

To tell the truth, it was the smallest room I have stayed in so far. What's more, it was shared with my friend, and, literally, there were only 1.7 square metres per one person. Cramped, damp and dark. At least we had a decent breakfast included.

Anyways, we are here not to stay at the hotel, but to explore the city. And having left our backpacks we went for the introductory walk.

It is a well known fact that tulips are one of the recognizable symbols of Holland. Though, few people know, that originally tulips were cultivated in the Ottoman Empire, and were imported into Holland only in the sixteenth century. However, these days, Holland is called as "flower shop of the world" quite deservedly.

There are so many bright flowers on the local markets of Amsterdam, so I wished to buy them all and to bring home. One of such markets is called Bloemenmarket, and it is located on the floating platform of the Single canal.

Nevertheless, I have not bought any bulb, because there is a strong opinion that it is extremely difficult to grow tulips from Holland's markets in Russia. At least, I would prefer not to get disappointed about my gardening skills.

Honestly speaking, I have not experienced "the love at first sight" with Amsterdam. Actually, I liked the Hague more. The reason is that the Hague is not so crowded with tourists, it is quiet there, and you may find there everything, what people are usually looking for in Amsterdam. For example, in the Hague there are the same canals, the same bridges and the same red-light district, not to mention coffeeshops with more affordable prices. Probably, the only thing, which would make me visit Amsterdam once more, is the Van Gogh museum.

Of course, we tried to enter the Van Gogh museum as soon as we arrived, but a security guard, advanced in information technologies, told us that "the tickets must be purchased in a cloud above us". In other words, we should have bought a ticket on the Internet for the specific time, because there are so many tourists who would like to see the masterpieces of the great artist.

Unfortunately, another museum, which was also worth visiting, was inaccessible as well. Simply, we were late. The museum is called Rijksmuseum, and its working hours are from 9am till 7pm.

As compensation for the failed attempts to learn the art, we set off for the night excursion around the district of red lights. I still have the conflicting impressions from those streets, illuminated by red lamps. Actually, it was both curious and disgraceful.

And one more amusing thing about Amsterdam for today. It is estimated that there are approximately 881 thousand bicycles in Amsterdam. However, the more ridiculous fact is that many bikes quite often end their lives being thrown into a canal.