I really have tried to get into Speedway (I’ve been to several meets/matches/games) but it really does nothing for me AT ALL (except there is often beer and pies and if the weather is nice you can take a book and lay in the sun), but if you like motor sports and crashes and you haven’t been to the Speedway (bikes not cars) then you should go and check it out.

And so, I bring you Boon’s first blog post (which includes pictures and video):

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I’ve been a huge fan of speedway since I was 16 (which as I’m in my late 30s means a lot of watching meetings!) after my dad took me to my first match in Sheffield.

For anyone who has no idea what speedway is, basically it’s 4 motorbike riders, 2 per team, riding around an oval dirt track in a stadium at 70 miles per hour on a bike that has no gears, no brakes and looks nothing like any bike you’ve seen before.

When going round the corners the riders skid the back of the bike out and control it by putting their foot on the floor (that’s covered in a steel shoe which gives off sparks when it hits the ground).  It’s a mad sport that is mostly run on team lines so has the added benefit of being in a league.

Leaving the UK has meant that I’ve stopped watching speedway live for the first time in over 20 years, because Belgium has no tracks.  Or at least that’s what I thought! Quite by chance, I found out that there is a track about 40 minutes from Brussels in Huisen Zolder, and that they were holding a meeting the following Sunday.

Needless to say, I jumped in the car and drove through the Belgian countryside to watch it.

The stadium reminded me of one in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, which has long disappeared beneath a housing estate.  A bit rough, but with good terracing and a crowd of about a thousand.  The whole afternoon, from the 30 heats of speedway to the parking and programme, cost only €10.  The same amount of races would have cost about €90 in the UK.

The meeting itself was great, plenty of riders I hadn’t heard of, especially the Dutch ones, and a female rider (which is unfortunately very rare) who made it to one of the finals until her engine gave out.  The crowd was loud, the stadium great and I even had a Jupiler beer while watching the action.

A great afternoon watching the Belgian championship, I left knowing the next meet is in June.  How to convince Michelle that we should go to the next meet on our wedding anniversary?!!

Although work started on the Cathedral in 1344, the baroque looking entrance and spires weren’t finished until 1929.  If you look closely at the windows on the front façade, you will see men in suits!

There are a number of Royal tombs inside including the tomb of “Good King” Wenceslas, which if you are anything like me, will have you singing the bloody Christmas Carol all day long.

St. Vitus’s is huge and beautiful and is without a doubt the highlight of Prague Castle.  You can enter the main area for free, but if you want to access all of the Cathedral you’ll need a ticket.

I did feel that St. Vitus’s was a little crammed in by the rest of the buildings in the Castle, I think if it has been alone it would have been even more impressive.

Anyway, enough of all these words – let’s get to the pictures!

Have you been to St. Vitus’s before?  Was it the highlight of Prague Castle for you?  Which is your favourite Cathedral?

We walked up the rather steep Nerudova Street and then up an even steeper slope to reach the castle. The first thing you notice when you reach the top is just how gorgeous the view is from there…

The next thing you’ll notice is just how many are there (well, depending on when you visit of course), I’ve not seen a tourist attraction quite this crowded since the Eiffel Tower. The walking tours were my pet hate. On several occasions a group of 20ish people would just stop right in front of you and go through the history of the castle. Never mind the fact that you were there first trying to take a picture or enjoy the view or just sitting taking everything in.  Cue my most evil stares and loudest tutting and sighing – I’m far to British to ask people to move!

We had a little wander around (and a well needed sit down) at Castle Square (Hradcanske Namesti) which is the area just outside the Castle. There is a nice bit of greenery and some gorgeous palaces to admire.  It is also where all the tours are dropped off, so there is the chance to admire some of the old cars as well.

I’m not sure what the fascination is with the guards outside the castle, but most people seemed to love them; having their pictures taken and whatnot and the guards didn’t seem to mind – so feel free to snap away.

As you walk through Matthias Gate you enter the first gorgeous square.  Around you is the Picture Gallery and President’s Office as well as a charming fountain.   We grabbed a spot on a bench and spent a few minutes just taking it all in.

Walk through into the next area and you can not miss the stunning St. Vitus’s Cathedral ( I’ve got a full post on St. Vitus’s to come) but the thing that I had been expecting just wasn’t there. An actual castle.  I’m so used to seeing a big old stone castle, with turrets and a keep and hopefully a moat, it just hadn’t occurred to me that all of the buildings inside the Castle were in fact the Castle (which I hope makes sense)

A brief history – courtesy of my wonderful guide book:

The history of Prague begins with the castle, founded by Prince Borivoj in the 9th century.  Despite periodic fires and invasions, it has retained churches, chapels, halls and towers from every period of its history, from the Gothic splendor of St. Vitus’s Cathedral to the Renaissance additions of Rudolph II, the last Habsburg to use the castle as his principal residence.  The courtyards date from 1753-75, when the whole area was rebuilt in Late Baroque and Neoclassical styles.  The castle became the seat of the Czechoslovak president in 1918, and the current president of the Czech Republic has an office here.

To  visit Prague Castle properly, you will need at least a day, if not two.  There is:

• Picture Gallery
• Church of the Holy Rood
• Royal Garden
• Powder Tower
• St. Vitus’s Cathedral
• Royal Palace
• St. George’s Covent
• St. George’s Basilica
• White Tower
• Golden Lane
• Dalibor Tower
• Lobkowicz Palace
• South Gardens

not to mention the rest of the courtyards, statues, streets to stroll along and beautiful cafes that are all worth a visit.

You need to pay for each attraction that you enter and you can either buy separate tickets for most attractions or a bulk ticket that will allow you to visit them all (once) over a 48 hour period.

A trip to Prague Castle is a weekend away in itself, as we were only in Prague for a weekend and there were lots of other things that we wanted to see, we didn’t get to all of the attractions in the Castle (which is fine, gives me an excuse to go back)!

Then there is the walk back down the hill…

What was your favourite part of Prague Castle?

I love how a section of the Vltava has been separated for the row boats and pedalos that are for hire.

This area covers the slopes near Prague Castle, so be prepared for some steep climbs. Hardly anything has been built here since the 18th century, so there is an impressive collection of old houses.  

Nerudova Street is a lovely place to walk up to the castle. Before house numbers were introduced in 1770 each house was identified by a sign.  Many of the houses still have the signs and it is interesting to wander along trying to spot them all. There are also some great Baroque buildings and shops.

The Little Quarter Square is absolutely charming, which reasonably  priced restaurants and bars around the outside as well some lovely steps to sit on (hopefully in the sunshine), watch people go by and admire the statue.

There is a lot of greenery in the Little Quarter, including a lovely park where you can admire the sculptures and ride the Funicular Railway up to the ‘little Eiffel tower’

This is a gorgeous area of Prague, that we spent half a day exploring, but we easily could have spent much longer.

I’ve got quite a few posts prepared on the different attractions that we visited, but I’ll try to space them out a little, so that you won’t be on Prague overload.

Let’s start with the Church of Saint Nicholas; as we were on our way to check out St Vitus’s Cathedral, we very nearly didn’t bother to visit the church.  We popped in mainly to get a break from the baking sunshine.  But I am so glad that we did.

The church took 59 years to build and is absolutely beautiful.

If you go to the front of the church and go through the door on the left, you can climb the stairs up to the balcony.  From there are some wonderful views over the church, as well as getting a closer look at that amazing ceiling fresco, The Celebration of the Holy Trinity by Franz Palko.  .

Up on the balcony, you can also see some of the beautiful works of art that live in the church and an organ that was played by Mozart in 1787.

This was one of the highlights of Prague for me.  I loved how peaceful the church was, there were people just wandering around taking pictures, some were praying and others were reading their guidebooks and just sitting, taking it all in.

It is 70 Kc per adult to enter (depends on your conversation rate, but a little under €3), we were in there for just under an hour and it was definitely worth it.   As you go in there are several signs saying that photography isn’t allowed, but the guards took no notice and everyone was snapping away.

Unfortunately when I first found it, my life was spent almost entirely in front of my computer working or in bed thinking about work.  Which made my videos completely boring, hence I put it to one side and waited for life to get a little more interesting.

Standing on the Charles Bridge in Prague at sunset, seemed like a great time to start filming again.

The whole idea is you take a one second video each day, giving you a fabulous overview of the exciting and not so exciting things that you get up to everyday.

So here is May, from when I started on the 18th…

Please do keep in mind that this is my first attempt and I will get better! I’ve not really done any filming before, so even doing one second at a time, there is a lot to think about.

Do you think this might be something that you fancy giving a go?

Driving into Switzerland, the first thing you’ll need to pick up is a Vignette. Which is a legally required road tax, it is valid for 12 months and will set you back €33.

As soon as we crossed the into Switzerland we went through the old border checkpoint, if you already have a Vignette attached to your windscreen one of the guards will wave you straight through.

We didn’t have one, so we were directed to the right, where a friendly, English-speaking guard explained that we could buy a Vignette directly from him. Unfortunately we didn’t have enough cash on us, so we drove over to the office and paid by card.  The whole process, was quick, easy and over in less than 10 minutes.

As Basel is around a three-minute drive from the border, buying the Vignette was rather frustrating (but, as it is valid for 12 months, we have decided to put it to good use, with further travels into Switzerland during the year).

Once we arrived in our hotel, it became apparent that the European plugs and adapters we had bought with us didn’t fit into the plug sockets.  Even though our guidebook said that the standard EU adapters should be fine.  Since coming home and doing more research it seems that the more modern plugs in Switzerland require a specific adapter.

I was a little surprised at how expensive Basel was, I’d heard that Switzerland was pricey,but I wasn’t expecting it to be quite so expensive  .  The good news is that everywhere we visited took cards and most of them actually gave us the option to pay in Euros rather than Swiss Francs, which was really helpful.

If you are heading to Basel, I would suggest having a wander around the Old Town and visiting the Cathedral.

Have you been to Switzerland… any suggestions for people visiting for the first time?