Come Along My Little Strudels on a 2016 ABD Trip Report - Cloud 9 Sky Bar

[mare1203]

Let me be the first to say that I am looking forward to another one of your trip reports.

Oh, thank you so much!

YAY!! Another of your trip reports!! So looking forward to following along. A lot of the activities parallel what I did on my Danube River cruise, so I'll be interested to see how they might differ on a land ABD.

Sayhello

Thank you! I think there are definitely some parallels!

Yay!!! I look forward to reading everything you did, since I sadly was not able to join But hey I did make it into intro pics! Woo go me!!

Of course you made it. Because I missed having you as my extra camera person and picture poser! Next time, you are required to join. No more honeymoons!

I'm the Dad that gets to relive our adventure by following along, this was such a fun trip and looking forward to your report

Hi Dad! Lol!

Looking forward to reading all about it!

Thanks! Maybe I can get this one out in less than a year!

Look forward to reading. Thank you!

Glad to have you aboard!

Loved your Italy/Switzerland trip report and look forward to this one!

Thank you! And I look forward to posting it!

Hiya from another Central Illinoisan! My wife and I were on the Last Central Europe trip of 2015! It'll be neat to see the sights again and compare notes!

Ah, Corn Country! I miss fall, so I am currently jealous. I hope this trip brings back some good memories!

Looking forward to it. I love your trip reports!

Oh, thank you! Glad to have you along for the ride!!

Love your trip reports, too! Echo @sayhello and will be interested in seeing how this compares and contrasts to the Danube trip.

Yes! It was kinda weird to be doing this trip while so many went on the River Cruise leading to a LOT of Central Europe on the boards this year. At least it's beautiful country. Thanks for joining!

Just an early THANK YOU for your up coming review. Love, love, love eastern Europe and by your writings so far I suspect you do also. Sitting here with baited breath.

Ah! And thank YOU for reading! I guess you'll just have to wait and see if I liked it (ha, like there is any doubt?!?)

I did this trip 2 years ago with my son. Looking forward to re-living it through your trip report!

Thanks for reading! Hope you see some familiar places and I can bring back some fond memories.

Looking forward to reading a report on this trip as its something we are considering for a future adventure.

I think this is a great itinerary and a fantastic part of the world. It's a good mix of history, activity, and culture.

Can't wait to read your trip report. We did this trip in the first month it was offered as our first ABD. We were hooked from then on. I love reading your reports and your enthusiasm for your adventures. Who were your guides - we had the amazing Jennae and Betti.

Can't wait to follow along.

Thank you! Glad to have you aboard for another one! I do my best to find the fun and humor in pretty much everything I do, so I'm glad that comes across. I get political emails every day from one of the candidates or their people and I can't get myself to stop them because I actually find the way they're written to be endlessly entertaining and I want to see what new, ridiculous message they come up with to ask me for money. Apparently, I'm a glutton for punishment, ha!

I feel like so many times, 90% is attitude, so if you go in with a good attitude you'll have a good time. Otherwise, what's the point?! We had Jennae (squeals!!) and Andy as our amazing guides.

We did the trip the week before you so I am glad you are better at doing trip reports , I still want to do a high level with my thoughts but yours will be a bit more extensive than mine . We had Betti and Christine on our trip and they were both great!

Haha! I wouldn't say better, as it took me over a year to finish my last one, but I actually love to do them. I find writing really allows me to reflect on the trip and offers an even greater depth of appreciation for what we have seen and done. And since I fall into the camp of "Millenial", I might as well share it with others, right??

I'll be looking forward to your thoughts as well; I'm a sucker for any and all thoughts on trips. Sometimes I feel I can be overly forgiving or I let things roll off that others might find an issue, so I enjoy hearing the positives and negatives of others on ABD to weigh and better understand the way others feel and experience trips/life.

I'm so excited to read another of your trip reports! This is an itinerary I would love to do!

Laurie

I'm excited that you're excited! I think it's a fabulous itinerary!

Yay! So glad you are doing a report!

Thanks and welcome! Love hearing about your ABD experiences as well!

Love your trip reports! Traveling the world vicariously through you! And also from the 'Land of Lincoln'...

Welcome aboard to another Illinoisan!! Feel free to live vicariously through me anytime. I live vicariously through 90% of this board and 50% of my Instagram account...

 

[mare1203]

I'm willing to read anything that calls me a strudel...so I'm in In all seriousness, I love reading your reports and look forward to hearing about your experience.

Aah! Somehow I missed quoting your message in the first go around! Thank you for reading along, your comments always make me smile!

I wish I could take credit for the title, but that must go to Jennae. She called us her 'little strudels' one day on the trip and I thought it was so cute/hilarious I a) messaged my sister about it and b) decided that was definitely going into the name of my next trip report!

 

[sayhello]

I wish I could take credit for the title, but that must go to Jennae. She called us her 'little strudels' one day on the trip and I thought it was so cute/hilarious I a) messaged my sister about it and b) decided that was definitely going into the name of my next trip report!

I *thought* that sounded familiar!

Sayhello

 

[Calfan]

I was on one of the first Central Europe ABDs in 2014 (same trip as hilarys). Definitely looking forward to re-living our trip through your report and seeing what's changed, etc.

 

[walnut611]

WOOHOO! I will be following along this TR

BTW, I love your Dad's Mickey tie

 

[mare1203]

I was on one of the first Central Europe ABDs in 2014 (same trip as hilarys). Definitely looking forward to re-living our trip through your report and seeing what's changed, etc.

Welcome! Hope I can bring back some fond memories!

WOOHOO! I will be following along this TR

BTW, I love your Dad's Mickey tie

Thanks for following along!

 

[mare1203]

Before We Begin, An Airfare Story

Thanks to everyone who has jumped aboard for my trip report; I’m really blown away by the response! ​

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In similar fashion to previous trips, I met up with Bob before we made our way across the pond. By sheer, dumb luck I ended up scoring an amazing deal on our plane tickets for this adventure. We booked through ABD Air Concierge, but I did all the leg work (or, I should actually say Google Flights did all the work). As has been mentioned previously, ABD Air Concierge actually offers two options: 1) you find the fare you want, call them up, and they’ll find exactly what you want to book for the price you find or 2) they will do a search and send you back a variety of quotes based on your parameters. I ended up doing both.​

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When I called, Air Concierge asked if I would like for them to send me some quotes within the day. Since I had been looking at flights and not seen the amazeballs fare I found change either that day or the day before, I decided to surreptitiously challenge them and see if they would come back with the same flight options I found. A few hours later, they came back with a couple of quotes for my dad and me. I took a look at the prices, scoffed a little and proceeded to call them with a smirk on my face. I was connected with a lovely woman named Stephanie who happily assisted me. When Stephanie asked if I would like a quote, I told her ‘no thank you’, but relayed that I did have the exact flights ready for processing. My journey would take me from Phoenix to Chicago to Heathrow to Prague and then return Munich to Philly to Phoenix. Not exactly ideal, but unless I went directly to London, I was looking at at least 2 connections to Prague anyway. ​

​

Our interaction went something like this:​

Stephanie - I see you have a 4 ½ hour layover in Heathrow, would you like for me to see if there is a connection sooner than that?

Me - Sure, why not, and can you tell me how much that will be?

Stephanie - Of course ... So I have this new flight that would get you in a few hours earlier at $1300 round trip

Me - Hmm, well, the flight I’m currently giving you is pricing out to $795 round-trip.

Stephanie - Miss, that just can’t be, are you sure it’s not one-way?

Me: Nope, unless I’m doing something wrong, that price, which I’m looking at on American’s website currently, is correct. Let’s see if you price it out to the same thing at the end.

Stephanie: Ooookay… small talk and a few minutes later…

Stephanie: OMG.

Me: Yes?

Stephanie: You’re right. It’s $795! That’s incredible! I can’t believe it.

Me (smirking): Ha, yeah, I’d say that’s worth a few extra hours at Heathrow.

Steph: Definitely! Oh wow, do you realize the base fare for your round trip ticket is $76 and everything else is taxes?

Me: No but that’s pretty cool. ​

I seriously thought Stephanie might be jumping up and down in her cubicle/home for me. Now, if only my ticket to family for Thanksgiving could have been so good . Bob’s flights were also less than $1000 round trip, score!

My thoughts on ABD Air Concierge were that they are nice enough, but I’m not sure what the real benefit is to calling for them to do the same thing I can literally do on my computer. Actually, I guess the benefit is that if something happened to our luggage, they would (in theory) assist, since it was booked through them? Am I right on that? I can never remember? I would use them again from that perspective, but no other real reason. I still had to go in and change our seats after the fact since both Bob and I have preferred status. There’s likely a way around that on the phone, but I didn’t feel like dealing with it. We get a confirmation number anyway.

​

 

[calypso726]

Best trip report title ever! Looking forward to it!

 

[mare1203]

Traveling to Prague

Okay adventurers, it's time to start our trek halfway across the world...whoo hoo!!! Bob and I both ended up flying out on Wednesday night with an arrival Thursday evening in Prague. Since I had the morning, I went to work for a few hours, got nothing done, and then hitched a ride to the airport.


After zipping through security, I reached the gate with PLENTY of time to spare, and snapped this selfie to commemorate the official beginning to my adventure!

A few minutes later, however, we were informed that the incoming flight out of LAX was delayed, thus pushing our departure back about 45 minutes. Phooey. And, unfortunately, my connection in Chicago was only about 2 hours, so I knew this delay would likely mean a bit of a sprint to board my London flight. To relieve some stress, I decided to do a couple laps around the airport (better than drinking it out in the bar, yes? Yes? Maybe? I’m still skeptical of my own decision). Happily, the flight ended up getting out at the new time, we weren’t destined to be delayed beyond the initial estimate and I was on my way to Chicago.

Once I arrived to O’Hare, I had about 10 minutes before the boarding was set to begin. I checked the app to find the gate and happily noted it was fairly close. Unhappily, I was showing a completely different seat than I originally planned. I made a mental note to ask Roberto about it when we reunited. Once I met up with my dad, we made our way to gate and got ready to board the plane. Upon asking about the seat, I was informed there was a problem with the original plane, and they switched us to a different aircraft with a different configuration, We suddenly found ourselves moved from the front of the plane in Economy Extra to the back of the plane, and now Bob and I wouldn’t even be sitting together (note: this doesn’t particularly bother me, but if I was with a significant other or children, it would clearly be an issue).

True to form, the people at American added oh-so-positively to the situation by getting on the PA and “enthusiastically” drawling: Folks, we had to make an aircraft change for this flight, leading to many of you receiving new seat assignments. It was either that or we cancel the flight. You decide which you’d prefer.
I mean, on the one hand, fair. But come on American, could you at least try for some positive customer service and attitude? Hmm, what was that? No, you can’t? Well, okay then.


Happy to just be on the flight, Bob and I made our way to our seats. I quickly noted that we didn’t have TV’s in the back of our seats, but it seemed everyone else did. Drats! And then I realized they were stored in my seat, weird ‘dental-office’ style. So, of course, I took a picture, and we were off. It was an overnight flight, so we received dinner before they dimmed the cabin lighting for sleeping.


I received this chicken and rice entree (dish? It doesn’t look fancy enough to be called an entree, does it?). It actually wasn’t terrible, but it was still plane food. No worries, there is way more and better food yet to come.

Once we were served I ended up watching a movie about Lyndon B. Johnson, and then getting some restless shut-eye before we woke back up for breakfast.


It was a pretty standard breakfast box. I ate the muffin top.

Soon enough we found ourselves landing in London. We made our way through secondary security and to the “Heathrow Holding Pen” to await our gate information and wait it out until our next flight. Like I mentioned, we had a few hours, so we walked around, I fell in love with Smythson, choked on the prices and cursed my good taste, and generally stretched our legs a bit. After relaxing, we decided to eschew the holding pen and instead head to the bar for a drink and some food.




We picked the British Pub-like place, called Bridge. It didn’t take but a few minutes to be seated and we proceeded to order some drinks.


I got a Guinness and Bob went with a cider.


For our entrees, I chose the roasted chicken.


Bob got the steak and chips.


Me trying to be fancy with my sisters fancy camera.

Both choices were about as good as you’d expect for a popular and busy airport pub. But, it tided us over, the drinks were good, and I’m not about to complain about it.


It quickly came time for us to head to our gate. When we arrived, our gate happened to be next to one of these bad boys. This is the first one I had seen in person, and ‘Damn, Daniel!’, that is one big plane!

While waiting to board, we chatted with a few people. Most seemed headed to Prague to begin river cruises. There was an older couple, and the man had literally retired that day, and hopped on a plane toward their first river cruise with a company called Gate1. Now that’s how you kick-off a retirement!

We boarded the plane and proceeded to wait. And wait. And wait some more. We idled on the runway for over an hour passed our scheduled departure waiting for weather and a runway to clear. Happily, I was seated next to a lovely woman and we had a pleasant conversation. She happened to be from Tucson, which is only 2 hours from Phoenix. Luckily, the weather cleared, and we were able to take off. The flight was uneventful and we arrived in Prague, albeit about an hour later than originally planned.


At the Prague airport, you get your luggage before meeting up with your party, ride, or family. So, we waited with baited breath for our luggage to come off the belt and exhaled slowly when it came into view. Huzzah! Upon arriving in the arrivals lobby, we were immediately met by our transfer and headed out into the Prague evening toward our final, glorious destination.


I chatted a bit with our transport, as it was about a 30 minute drive to the hotel. She worked for a travel agency, but mostly with Japanese tour groups. I asked for a couple of recommendations and she wrote down a brewery to visit. Unfortunately, we didn’t end up making it there, but I appreciated it nonetheless. She pointed out some of the main sights, and in no time, we had arrived at the Prague Marriott. Since it was nearing 9:00, check-in went quickly, and we, of course, received our welcome gift and letter. This is when I spied Jennae’s name at the bottom of the letter and proceeded to do a little jig of somewhat delirious excitement at the discovery.


The Prague Marriott, many of you have stayed here, is well appointed and what you’d expect out of a Marriott. It seems to be a popular hotel for groups as we also saw Viking Cruises set up while we were there as well.








The rooms are a good size and the beds fairly comfortable. I had no complaints. There is not free wi-fi in the room, so we paid for it. However, we discovered the next day that Disney actually covers this cost and didn't end up paying for it. After taking a bit of time to unpack, it was time for these road weary travelers to hit the sack.

Tomorrow is adventure day!​

 

[sayhello]

My thoughts on ABD Air Concierge were that they are nice enough, but I’m not sure what the real benefit is to calling for them to do the same thing I can literally do on my computer. Actually, I guess the benefit is that if something happened to our luggage, they would (in theory) assist, since it was booked through them? Am I right on that? I can never remember? I would use them again from that perspective, but no other real reason. I still had to go in and change our seats after the fact since both Bob and I have preferred status. There’s likely a way around that on the phone, but I didn’t feel like dealing with it. We get a confirmation number anyway.

Really, the biggest advantage to booking with ABD is if they, for whatever reason, cancel your ABD, and they have to reschedule you. If you booked your airfare through them, then they just totally handle changing the airfare, and you don't have to pay out of pocket for anything. When they cancelled my ABD back during the 2009 fiasco, I hadn't booked the airfare through them, and I ended up having to cancel my old ticket, pay for my new ticket, and ABD basically deducted the cost from what I owed them (it was a weird situation where it was actually much cheaper to buy a new ticket than change my existing one). They still ended up covering the cost, but I had to pay it up front, and eventually didn't have to pay as much months later when I paid in full). Sorry, long explanation for "it's easier if the cancel your trip". In my case, they actually found the same flight I was looking at to China for almost $400 less than I found it. So I was glad I booked it through them.

Sayhello

 

[mare1203]

Really, the biggest advantage to booking with ABD is if they, for whatever reason, cancel your ABD, and they have to reschedule you. If you booked your airfare through them, then they just totally handle changing the airfare, and you don't have to pay out of pocket for anything. When they cancelled my ABD back during the 2009 fiasco, I hadn't booked the airfare through them, and I ended up having to cancel my old ticket, pay for my new ticket, and ABD basically deducted the cost from what I owed them (it was a weird situation where it was actually much cheaper to buy a new ticket than change my existing one). They still ended up covering the cost, but I had to pay it up front, and eventually didn't have to pay as much months later when I paid in full). Sorry, long explanation for "it's easier if the cancel your trip". In my case, they actually found the same flight I was looking at to China for almost $400 less than I found it. So I was glad I booked it through them.

Sayhello

Thanks, Sayhello, that's good to know! I realize, relatively, ABD cancels very few adventures, but if that's a concern, then booking through them can make sense. Or, if you just have the time to call them up, since they will find the airfare.

 

[sayhello]

Thanks, Sayhello, that's good to know! I realize, relatively, ABD cancels very few adventures, but if that's a concern, then booking through them can make sense. Or, if you just have the time to call them up, since they will find the airfare.

I almost always at least check with them, because this is the second time they've actually been able to save me money over the best airfare I'd found.

Sayhello

 

[walnut611]

Love your positive attitude and how you call your Dad Bob and Roberto in one report

Are the bottles of water in the room free?

 

[carpenta]

YEA!!!! The report begins. But I may not be able to read anymore for I am green with jealousy about the airfare pricing. (lol). We stayed in the Marriot and it was fine. Thanks for dusting off all those wonderful memories of Prague. Waiting on the edge on my seat.

 

[christannj]

Not convinced that I ever want to do this particular ABD but I'm just glad to see your two smiling faces

 

[tgeorge]

I had a similar reaction when I saw the A380 in person for the first time. My thoughts *may* have been a bit more colorful,but the sentiment was the same Sounds like the trip is starting off well. Can't wait to read more and see more pics. I leave for Vegas on Sunday for a work conference, so I'm hoping I don't fall too far behind.

 

[carman754]

Love your positive attitude and how you call your Dad Bob and Roberto in one report

Are the bottles of water in the room free?

Yes the water was free and they put a bottle next to your bed at turndown, nice touch!

 

[Woodview]

Keep it coming
"
What is wrong with the A 380 ? & why do you call it " one of these bad boys " ?

Good to see that you like Guinness ...... Go for Beer in Prague & stay on local beer ( The colour of the cider )

you cannot beat it ... it goes down well

 

[mare1203]

Love your positive attitude and how you call your Dad Bob and Roberto in one report

I really try to keep a positive attitude about life in general! But, even moreso, I try to be patient and positive about those annoyances that I have no control over. Air travel is a big test in patience and if our flight had been cancelled to London, I would have had to deal with it. It does nothing to get worked up over because there's nothing I can do about it. I'll probably call my dad a variety of names throughout the report, so I'm glad you're enjoying them so far!

YEA!!!! The report begins. But I may not be able to read anymore for I am green with jealousy about the airfare pricing. (lol). We stayed in the Marriot and it was fine. Thanks for dusting off all those wonderful memories of Prague. Waiting on the edge on my seat.

More to come!

Not convinced that I ever want to do this particular ABD but I'm just glad to see your two smiling faces

Thanks! There are a few itineraries I'm not interested in, either, and like you, I'll happily read the Trip Report!

I had a similar reaction when I saw the A380 in person for the first time. My thoughts *may* have been a bit more colorful,but the sentiment was the same Sounds like the trip is starting off well. Can't wait to read more and see more pics. I leave for Vegas on Sunday for a work conference, so I'm hoping I don't fall too far behind.

I'm hoping to get a couple more updates out, but you shouldn't fall too far behind!

Keep it coming
"
What is wrong with the A 380 ? & why do you call it " one of these bad boys " ?

Good to see that you like Guinness ...... Go for Beer in Prague & stay on local beer ( The colour of the cider )

you cannot beat it ... it goes down well

Ha, nothing is wrong with the A380. It's more a slang turn-of-phrase to say that it's huge. They are few and far between in the US, so even someone who has been on a long haul plane more than once is still in awe of just how massive the plane is in person. It just dwarfs everything.

No worries on the beer; we stuck with the local brews! I can't stand IPA's, which are highly popular here in the US (partly because they are quick and relatively easy to brew compared to lagers), so I loved being in lager and pilsner country.

 

[mare1203]

Wandering Around Prague



One of the best results of our flight pattern to Prague was that when we arrived, we went straight to bed at a “proper time”. While not completely relieving us of our jet lag, we were at least ready to face the day the next morning. The letter we had received the night before told us the guides would be set up in the lobby for a few hours in the morning and our welcome event would begin at 5pm that evening. As soon as we were ready for the day, we headed downstairs to check out breakfast.





I thought the Marriott had a great breakfast selection and you could find nearly anything and everything you would expect at both an American and European breakfast spot. This was a breakfast setup where you checked in at the front and then the Marriott would seat you. I prefer when you can seat yourself or when ABD has a designated area because it allows us to chat, but no matter.


As per usual when I am in Europe, I leaned heavily toward the meats, breads, and cheeses. One of my favorite finds was the fresh breads with a Hungarian paprika cream cheese. So good!


When we were done with breakfast, we made our way to the guide table to introduce ourselves! Our guides for this adventure were Andy and Jennae.

Upon giving our names, Jennae exclaimed, ‘I actually know you! Our mutual friends say that you're awesome, to tell you hello, and that we have to take a selfie at some point’! After squealing internally, I replied, ‘well, I also know you because you guided for a friend of mine, who also says hello’! We also chatted a bit with Andy.

After introductions, we placed our preliminary food order for that evening. Bob was having some trouble with his contacts, so he went back up to the room to fix it and left me to hang out with the guides for a few minutes. Why, of course I will. Jennae and I discussed a few Disney-related topics and then I got some information regarding our morning. We had a food tour booked for that afternoon, but planned on checking out the Jewish Quarter in the morning. Andy and Jennae said this would be a good use of time since ABD just walks through the area, and gave us a map along with a few tips.


As soon as Roberto returned, we made our way towards the Jewish Quarter. Having never been to Prague before, and doing not a lot of research before we left, I have no idea whether the Prague Marriott is in a good location or not. I’m going to go with yes, because, well, Disney picked it and it seems popular. We found it handy for reaching our various destinations throughout our stay. I’d say it was a 15-20 minute walk to the Jewish Quarter. It took us about 45 minutes. Partially due to some directional missteps and partially due to plain taking in the sights around us.


We first stopped at an ATM about half a block down from the hotel.


Across the street is a street fair that I believe takes place on weekdays only. There were some food stands along with crafts and other various knick knacks for purchase.




Although we didn’t eat here, I am a fan of ‘street meat’, so I would have happily tried something from the sausage/meat cart. I mean, there is a grill right outside of it? What?! All in.




On the way to the Jewish Quarter, we ran into the Old Town Square. We took a few pictures and did some people watching.




It’s clearly quite touristy, but also serves as a historical center for the city. I’ll have more on this later. For now, we just ventured through it.






We stopped in St. Nicholas Church, which is located on one corner of the square. It uses a baroque architectural style and is likely the the most iconic baroque church in Prague. It’s a Roman Catholic church, so the inside was similarly impressive.




Classical music is quite popular in and around Prague. This particular church featured daily concerts. It would have been fun to see one, but we didn't have time. Outside the church, there were a couple of musicians playing classical music. I enjoyed that you could find these musicians throughout the city.


Once we left the church, we continued on towards the Jewish Quarter. The route we were on took us down the upscale shopping street of Prague. It’s tree-lined and reminded me of a city neighborhood you might find around Chicago or Paris. If you have a need for some Hermes, Cartier, or Louis Vuitton in your life, put this street on your list of must-do’s. It also led us right into the Jewish Quarter.






The Jewish Quarter, surrounded by Old Town, was historically the home to Prague’s Jewish Ghetto, where it is believed to have been settled as early as the 10th century. In the small area are 6 synagogues, Europe's oldest surviving Jewish cemetery, and 2 town halls. You will need a Jewish museum ticket to access nearly everything and the ticket itself will cover the vast majority of sites. There are 2 main tickets to buy. Pro tip: you can buy these online via the Jewish Museum before you go and tickets are good for more than one day. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived, we had less than 2 hours before we needed to meet up for our food tour. The guidebooks all recommend you have at least an hour and a half to three hours to tour. Since we weren’t 100% sure of where we were going or how long it would take to get to our destination and the fact that we wouldn’t have a chance to come back during our Prague visit, we decided against getting a full ticket to the sites. If our main day on the adventure in Prague hadn’t been on the Sabbath when everything is closed, we likely would have bought the ticket and come back during our free time to finish it off.






We did walk around the area and explore what we could, but it really didn’t take that much time since we couldn’t get in anywhere. So, we headed out and decided to explore in the direction of our food tour meeting place. It was a beautiful day, so we ventured onto some side streets and looked in some shops. We’re more window shoppers than actual shoppers, so no purchases, but it did help us to familiarize ourselves with the layout of the city.


Sorry our morning was so disjointed and didn’t end in much, but up next will be our awesome Prague Food Tour. So, get excited for some food porn and Prague history all rolled into one!​