Philadelphia: 6 days, 4 sandwiches

/ Greg / 3 Comments

Six days, four delicious sandwiches.  I’m not sure that’s the right ratio.  It would have been more sandwiches, but there’s just so much great food in Philadelphia that I couldn’t limit myself to having all of my meals squished into a roll or between slices of Italian bread.

My version of sandwichpalooza was of course going to feature a cheesesteak.  My first one of the trip, on the first night in Philly, was had at Campo’s.  I’ve only had one other Campo’s sandwich, and that was at a Flyers game a couple of years back, so I thought I’d try one from their “real” restaurant.  The Cheez Whiz may not look tasty, but trust me, it works really well:

Campos cheesesteak

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A night at the opera

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After close to two weeks in the Czech Republic, I had done a good bit of soaking up some culture.  Some of that culture was food-based – pork knee, fried bread and beer cheese still dance in my dreams.  Some of it was liquid-based – the pilsners were devine.  Some of it was even of the soccer hooliganism type.  I’m not a cultural elitist, but even I felt like some more high-brow culture might be in order.

So, on the second last night of our trip, we made it to the opera at the State Opera house in Prague:

State Opera in Prague

We’ve only been to one other opera, that in Zurich a couple of years back.  With Swiss prices being what they are, we opted for el-cheapo seats in the back row.  When we booked our tickets for Prague, we decided to go all-in on a box.  Even with this great view, the seats were less than $80 for both of us:

State Opera in Prague

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Scenes from wandering around Prague

/ Greg / 2 Comments

An enormous part of any trip for me is simply wandering around.  Stashing the map and any preconceived notions of an itinerary really lets me see a new place.  And if there is a more beautiful city in which to wander aimlessly than Prague, I haven’t visited it yet.  Paris, Stockholm, Zurich, Brussels…. all exceedingly beautiful in their own right.  But Prague has a little something else – perhaps it’s the age, the slight fading of some of its architecture that, for me anyway, makes it that much more stunning.  Here are a few of my favourite scenes from the streets of Prague from two special weeks wandering the city this past summer.

The Old Town Square kept drawing me back.  The energy of the crowds in the square in the evening (left) was palpable.  Much calmer in the early morning (right):

Church of Our Lady before Týn
St. Nicholas Church

You can get lost in the winding, twisted streets of the Old Town.  Walking around in circles leads to scenes like these:

In the Old Town
In the Old Town

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A castle with a view

/ Greg / 1 Comment

On the must visit list for Prague was the sprawling Prague Castle.   I was going to say the “must see” list, but the castle complex is something you can see from just about everywhere around the heart of Prague.  Its position on a hill in Mala Strana and its sheer size has it towering over the Vltava River and demanding your gaze.  No matter how picturesque the castle is from viewpoints along the river, it takes a trip through the complex to fully appreciate it.

The first stop for us inside Prague Castle is St. Vitus Cathedral.  There are a lot of beautiful churches in Prague, but this one is the most spectacular:

St. Vitus Cathedral

The outside Gothic architecture is especially striking in the early morning light and it’s a great prelude to what’s inside.  Interestingly, this is the third religious building on this site.  The precursor buildings were originally built in 925 and 1060 respectively, with this cathedral starting to take shape in the mid 1300s.

St. Vitus Cathedral

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A sombre day in Terezin

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Shortly after booking our trip to the Czech Republic, we knew we’d be setting aside a day for a trip to Terezin.  Located about an hour’s drive north of Prague, we decided to do this trip on our own.  With a bit of digging around, it wasn’t too difficult to figure out the logistics via public transit.  We arrived in Terezin under cloudy skies and light drizzle which set an appropriate tone for the day.

We knew this would be a sombre visit.  Terezin, originally built as a walled garrison town in the late 1700s, was adapted by the Germans during WWII as a concentration camp.  The first stop on our trip was for a tour of the Small Fortress, about a ten minute walk from the town square.  Just outside the entrance gate is the National Cemetery holding over 2,300 individually marked graves along with the remains of more than 10,000 who died in the Small Fortress, the Terezin Ghetto, in forced labour camps in Litomerice and in the post WWII death marches and transports.

Terezín

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Lest we forget

/ Greg / 2 Comments

I have been fortunate over the years through my travels to experience a number of poignant moments that have been burned deep in my memory.  Some are by chance, some are by design.  In that latter category, on a trip to France a little more than four years ago, my love and I made a trip to Normandy to visit Juno Beach, the interpretive centre commemorating the Canadian forces that landed on the beach on June 6, 1944, and to visit the Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery in Reviers.  The grey of the morning with the wind and rain in our faces as we stood on the beach set a tone for our time in Normandy.  For me, the most emotional experience I have ever had while traveling happened a few hours later.  The clouds had given way to a beautiful late summer afternoon as we arrived at the cemetery.  With nary a breeze, the only sounds were the hushed exchanges of the handful of visitors and the singing of birds in the trees.  The sight of more than two thousand grave markers laid out across the immaculately manicured lawn was overwhelming.  I was filled with sadness and pride, awe and thankfulness.  I felt somehow more Canadian in this foreign land in that moment, more humble, more aware.  Then there was the first of an uncountable number of grave markers with the names and birth dates of mere teenagers who made the greatest of sacrifices.  With tears in my eyes, I walked away from my love not wanting her to see me cry.   She took this picture which hangs on a wall of our house, capturing the essence of the visit and the impact on both of us.  Lest we forget.

Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery

Reconnecting with Philadelphia

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I am back from a six day mixed work/vacation trip to a city that has its tentacles pretty deep into me.  It’s no secret my love for Philadelphia.  Years of traveling down there for work have me and the city more than casually acquainted, though it was far from love at first sight.  Philadelphia and I are familiar, so to speak. The kind of familiar where we can finish each others’ sentences, but not so familiar that the spark of spontaneity is missing when we see each other.

This trip was a mix of some old favourites and great new experiences. Some of the old?  A cheesesteak at Jim’s (in my highly researched opinion, the best in Philly), a couple of pints at Tria and a Flyers game. The new?  The revelation that was a sandwich at Paesano’s while touring south Philly, a remarkable meal at Zahav, and experiencing part of an Eagles game sitting among fast friends at a neighbourhood bar.

Speaking of my beloved Eagles, a  highlight of this trip was a last day surprise.  At the conference I was attending, I got to meet and chat with Jason Avant, one of my favourite Eagles.  He was nice enough to sign a picture for me, chat about the game from the night before and even spend some time swapping stories about our respective experiences in Quebec City and Montreal.  Me being thrilled at this chance encounter is a massive understatement:

Me and Eagle Jason Avant

Philadelphia… we’ve know each other a while, but you keep managing to surprise me in the greatest ways.