There's a vegan donut shop in Prague less than ten minute walk from where I'm staying. Indecisive, I entered, and asked the guy working there which was his favourite. He said salted caramel, so I asked for that and a matcha one (because who buys one donut at a time anyway?). The pb&j was really calling to me though so I figured what the heck. Then he offered me a wild berry and vanilla for free.
Anyway the thing I love about being a grownup is that nobody can stop me from having donuts for dinner.
The plan was to visit every country in the EU (before March 2019 for reasons). The plan was to spend at least a month in each one, ideally in one place, and just kind of absorb the surroundings. I alternate remote laptop work with city wandering, rural hiking, chilling out with the kindle in parks, coffeeshops, and vegan cafes.
Things haven't gone quite to plan so far though. I've been pulled around by people and events, in no logical order. Not complaining, but I really need to slow down for a while.
My stay in Budapest was cut short on both ends, as at the beginning of March I had the opportunity to stay with Elizabeth and her family in Ljubljana for a long weekend. On the 21st of March, began a Vipassana meditation course in Mariazelle, Austria. I'd applied to sit, then agreed to serve when they emailed to say they were short-handed.
Dreading the complicated and lengthy public transport options to the Austrian mountains, at the last minute I managed to catch a ride with another meditation student from Budapest. I made no onward travel plans, guessing I could wing it at the end of the course; I wanted to be in Bratislava, but was confident I'd get a lift at least to Vienna.
I did. I slept almost the whole way and was surprised to find myself deposited in a random suburb around 11am. I metro'd to Erdberg bus station, which is not particularly well located. Oh also it was Easter Sunday. Nothing was functioning. No coffee, no food. The bus station was open, but their internet was down. Which meant... they couldn't sell any tickets. I was told to hang about half an hour, then buy a ticket from the driver on the next bus to Bratislava. The bus was full. Next bus in an hour. I went back into the station and it seemed that the internet was back on, and they were frantically selling tickets to frantic people. I joined a line. By the time I got to the front of the line, the internet was broken again. I asked after the nearest wifi hotspot, and was told to go to MacDonald's two subway stops away. That seemed like a hassle, so I wandered into the main bus pickup area, and hopped onto a FlixBus network for just long enough to buy a ticket for the next Bratislava bus with the Flix app, which I'd had the great foresight to download and hook up to my paypal right before I left the meditation center. Onwards.
Bratislava was a stop-gap. My next 'pull' was to meet my sister in Vienna. We hadn't seen each other for about three years, and she was over from the US for a conference. Her AirBnB was covered, so she agreed to let me sleep on the couch. Vienna is expensive, and spending a full two weeks there wasn't hugely appealing; hence Bratislava.
Good choice! I loved that city.
Vienna airport is about half way between Vienna and Bratislava in fact, so my sister caught a late bus after her flight landed and stayed in my AirBnBs for two nights in Bratislava. I packed a majority of my touristing in during the last two days of her visit.
We took a dead cheap and great quality Regiojet bus back to Vienna. We left our luggage in the FREE!!! lockers in the main Bratislava bus station for the first half of the day. I spent the week in Vienna working, indispersed with a little wandering and my first ~ ever ~ visit to a hair salon. There are plenty of vegan food options, including a bakery right in Stefansplatz metro station, though I mostly cooked in the flat. On my sister's free day, we hiked through vinyards to the eastern most foothill of the Alps (or something).
I caught an exceptionally good value Regiojet train to Brno, next. On the Vipassana retreat in Mariazelle I shared a room with P, who subsequently invited me to visit her in South Moravia any time. Since my next 'pull', a week after Vienna, was to Lyon for TheWebConf, and there are good Prague-Lyon bus connections, this is where I went next.
I spent a delightful week staying with P, her sister and parents in Hustopece. We synchronised our work hours, and when we were both free she took me to visit attractions in local villages, and for long walks in nature. We meditated together mornings and evenings almost every day. P is a yoga teacher; I joined her classes when there was space.
It so happened that P also needed to be in Prague on the 21st of April. We took the bus from Brno the night before, and stayed with her friend. In the evening we took a touristy river cruise, and went to Loving Hut. The next morning we walked from the suburbs to Prague Castle, and ate a good breakfast together.
I bussed to Lyon via Munich. The latter half of the journey was full of frustrated people, constant interruptions by the Swiss police, and general chaos. I didn't sleep much.
I have been to Lyon twice before, with my high school French exchange program. I've done the tourist things, though I don't remember them. I stayed with a friend, and mostly my time was filled with TheWebConf and trying to work. It was a hot and sunny week. I got to see a few people I haven't seen for a while and whom I was very happy indeed to spend time with. I almost didn't come to WebConf. France is the wrong direction. But I'm glad I did.
The week wound down quietly. With a late bus on Saturday night I spent the day between the library (wifi sucks, ports blocked), the river bank, YAAFA (no wifi, good falafel) and Perrache bus station (excellent wifi, seats, power).
I arrived to Munich bright and early, left my bag in a bus station locker, and explored.
Next stop Krakow, via another night bus. This time I was headed for a hostel, so I got to sleep in a bed. I explored the town center, and ate some good stuff. After brunch the next day I took a train to Gdynia. This was five hours, and much more expensive than Rome2Rio had led me to believe it would be, but such is life. I could've for half the price taken a 10 hour bus or a night train, but I kind of just wanted to be on my way.
In Gdynia my new landlady picked me up from the train station, I signed a one month lease for a room in a shared flat, and thus begins, at long last, the slowing down.
If you want to know what I was doing between meals, I also have a post about Prague in general.
That was easier than expected. Though also more expensive than expected. I thought I could do two meals on 10-15EUR per day but had to quickly laugh that idea out of the window.
But there are enough vegan restaurants that I could eat solely at vegan-only establishments and still didn't try them all. There are about 6 Loving Huts. There's lots of Vietnamese food. Here goes:
A stark, canteen-like ambience, but very friendly staff. There are a couple of Veganlands; I went to one in small mall, which didn't help with the atomsphere. It's a buffet (25czk/100g) as well as a fixed menu. The buffet food is mostly Asian style, vegetables, mock meats and noodles. Some good stuff, mostly kind of greasy and junky, but satisfying. It reminded me of the terrible-but-awesome Chinese food I ate in Penang, the likes of which I haven't had in a really long time. On one occasion I had the buffet for lunch, and took away summer rolls and sushi (from the menu) to eat later. I ended up eating them for lunch the next day, and they were all good.
The next time I went (it was the closest vegan place to my hostel) I had the mozzerella pizza and it was fab. All the HappyCow reviews said so, and they are right. It was the right size, and super cheesey. I also had 'homemade lemonade' which was just a syrup and they mixed it with sparkling water and this was a terrible idea.
They have some raw cakes, but they didn't look particularly appetising and I didn't try them.
Loving Huts in Prague are buffet style, 24czk/100g, and similarly Asian fare. Actually very similar to Veganland. The fixed menu is different though. I tried pho and wonton dumplings and they were both great. I didn't try the buffet. The pho was way more filling than I expected.
The atmosphere, in the x location at least, was nicer than Veganland. Still pretty stark, but less canteen-y. It opened last month though, and there's no wifi currently.
This is a good place to go for a fancy meal if you're feeling fancy. But they also have little one-person shelf bench things against one wall, with power sockets, so I took my laptop out and didn't feel bad about taking up space. I went around 9pm, as they're open til 11pm and I was killing time before a midnight bus.
All of the food looks great. I had gnocchi with 'salmon'. I'm not sure where the 'salmon' came into it, it seemed to be a sauce made from mostly carrot and onion, but it was really nice nonetheless.
People were raving about the tiramisu, but I didn't feel like it. They had some crumbly fruit cakes too. I went with a hot chocolate, which was great. Super dark and bitter, yet smooth, with cacao nibs on the top.
This is a good-food and fast-food place in the old town. They have bowls of healthy Asian mixes, as well as burgers, kebabs and hotdogs. Good for a mixed crowd, or if you don't want to decide what kind of lunch you're having until you get there. I had a hotdog, which came loaded with healthy toppings including kale! And good sauce. The fries were mediocre. I took a brownie for later.
The space is nice, with a vast downstairs area, lots of nooks, power and wifi. Would be a good place to work. Staff were super friendly.
I planned to have a lengthy three course meal before heading to the cinema across the street, but the portions were so huge I had to skip dessert and content myself with a chai latte. I was sitting next to the cake cabinet though, and they looked fantastic. Not trying cake here may be my biggest regret.
I had a starter of pea guacamole with roasted portabello mushrooms, and a main of spaghetti with tempeh and tomato. They were so good. This is also a good place for a fancy meal.
I managed to spend 7 hours here on the last day after my hostel checkout. The menu is extensive and great, including breakfast options, and it was tough to choose, but the HappyCow reviews hyped up the seitan and cheese bagel, so that's what I started with. The HappyCow reivews were right. A huge chunk of burger-y seitan, and a huge chunk of melty not-cheese, plus a heap of salad and pickles. They were out of bagels, but the seedy bun served its purpose. I bet their other burgers and quesedillas are amazing too. The espresso was great.
I got 'homemade lemonade' here too which was also syrup with sparkling water argh, but better than at Vegan land cos they also packed it full of lemon chunks and fresh mint. But yeah, must stop getting lemonade in Prague, it's not Sarajevo.
I progressed to waffles, which were accompanied by a dollop of interesting cream, and shredded apple and pear, and sliced banana, drizzled with chocolate sauce. Pretty good. They have pancakes too. The yerba mate came in a proper mate cup with a metal straw.
I took a tofu 'egg' wrap and a peanut butter brownie to go, for next day's bus. They got a bit squashed but survived the backpack well, and the wrap was excellent. The brownie was good, but could have been peanuttier.
Compared to everywhere else, this was the cheapest.
It was an excellent space to work. They have loads of seats, power and wifi. Staff were nice, and it was definitely attracting an alternative sort of crowd. Also dog-friendly, and I was much entertained by various canine vistors over the afternoon.
I spent a few hours over lunchtime here. There's not much seating, but another person sitting alone let me share their table. There's wifi and power, and also a few shelves of groceries.
The food is good, wholesome; soups, burritos, wraps, quiches, and a good selection of cakes. I had an excellent spinach and tempeh quiche, plus almond latte and lime cheesecake.
Cakes! Not strictly vegan cos they sweeten some things with honey. But all raw, all pretty expensive, and all amazing. I asked the waiter for her favourite and she directed me towards something smooth and creamy with two layers of different chocolate base, and a vanilla-bean pod filled cream layer. It was gooood. I also had a chai latte, which she cautioned me was 'spicy not sweet'. It was.
Comfy seats, but not loads. Wifi and power!
A very small place, with vegan cakes and serious coffee. Only a couple of seats which were occupied when I got there, so I took coffee and cake to go. A chocolate fruit cake, and a big slice at that.
In a convenient tourist location, close to the Castle. Has a lot of veganised traditional Czech food, so I was determined to max out on that. I ate a three course meal which was far too much food (half size of each course would have been perfect) and I didn't eat dinner that day. Three courses plus tea was 24EUR :o But it was great.
The starter stood out from HappyCow reviews, and sounded light, and involved tempeh: bruschetta. It was a plateful though, much bigger than expected, and really delicious.
I had stuffed cabbage for the main. It was rich and filling and delicious. And so was dessert - traditional dumplings. They were filled with prunes and covered in a sticky jam sauce. So heavy. I could hardly move.
Also a nice space with upstairs and downstairs seating.
I wasn't charmed by Prague. It's nice enough, but I didn't fall in love with the city or anything.
I stayed in ArtHarmony hostel, a super nice plantlife themed place with lots of bamboo, and mezzenine sleeping platforms in the rooms instead of bunkbeds. It was quiet, the kitchen functions if a bit small, and the staff were friendly. I discovered too late they buy 1 EUR for 26 CZK (for guests only) which is by far the best rate you'll see in town. Internet was good, and common area plus a desk in the dorm were both good to work from. I'd stay there again.
I alternated laptop days with touristing, but it was so freaking cold I ended up more on the side of laptop. At least it was dry and sunny though. But oh god, so cold.
On the first afternoon I went for a wander, and found the TV Tower. It's 250czk (10eur) entry, and good views. I ended up at the top slightly after sunset, which was not optimal. There's wifi up there, sofas, and interesting chairs, so it's a good place to pass time without freezing to death.
I went to see Black Panther at a little independant cinema (chosen due to its proximity to a vegan restaurant).
I worked all through the weekend, with a little break to visit the old town. Of course the astronomical clock, the only thing that sounded particularly interesting to see, was shut down for repairs and covered in scaffolding. Otherwise there's gothic spires and fancy architecture and bright coloured buildings and stuff.
I had a full sightseeing day on Monday. It was so cold that when I wrapped a scarf around my face, the damp patch from my breath condensation froze into a solid block. The small block of scarf-ice was still preferable to the air directly though.
I walked along the river to the Castle. I didn't pay to go inside, but the grounds are extensive. The Cathedral is impressive from the outside.
I walked through Petrin Park and climbed the hill. There's a little funicular, which takes the same tickets as the regular tram, but I am committed to climbing hills unnecessarily, even when I can't feel my legs. Especially when I can't feel my legs.
There's an observatory at the top which was of course closed on Mondays. There's a big castle-y wall. I went up the Petrin Tower (150czk) hoping to catch the sunset, but I was early and it was crowded up there. There are two spiral staircases on top of each other, one up and one down. They're both exposed to the outside, and at that height the wind was bitter. Views over the city are always good though.
I took a different route back to see other parts of the park.
Then I got into bed for two hours to reheat and swore I was never going outside again.
That's pretty much it. I took the bus in to Florenc station, which is further north, about a 30 minute walk from the town center. I didn't stick around, but it looked like a fully-fledged properly-resourced bus station.
I caught the bus out from the Main Railway Station though, which is half way between town and Florenc but also just some signs at the side of a massive highway. The bus arrived on the opposite side to the one I was waiting, and I joined a bunch of other backback and suitcase wielding adventurers in charging across the road to catch it, at midnight. Not ideal. Will use Florenc in future (the ticket prices are always the same).
You may have noticed I didn't write about food! That's because everything I ate has its own blog post.
Entry to Petrin Tower
150czk (€5.91 / $7.28 / £5.19)
