The only time you notice a border between E.U. countries is when there is a major difference in buying power. Crossing from Germany to Austria, I wouldn't have known when I changed countries if it wasn't mentioned in the route guide. Crossing from Germany to the Czech Republic requires sitting in a mile long line - except cyclists who pedal past all the cars, then are waved thru the German and Czech security checks. Once into the Czech Republic the reason for the lineup is obvious. Germans flock across because stuff is a lot cheaper. Using the Odyssey barometer, a beer is less than $1US. And the Czech beer is said to be the best in the world.
There is a mile of makeshift shops lining the road along the river selling all kinds of stuff. Farther along a definite sign of a poor economy can be spotted along the roadside - prostitutes. There were probably some in Prague, but I was lucky enough to miss them.
Prague is a beautiful city saved from the ravishes of war. Any tourist visit starts with a walk across the Charles Bridge. It is a pedestrian bridge started in 1357 and lined with "brilliant pieces of Jesuit propaganda" (so sez my guidebook) in the form of statues. It also is lined with sellers of trinkets, jewelry, and the ubiquitous caricature artists found in any tourist trap. Walking from the bridge into the main part of the city, the pedestrian road (Karlova St) becomes narrow, windy and crowded. I enjoyed the marionette shops. Everyone of them has a Pinochio and a Charlie Chaplin in the window. Some of the better ones inside have incredible faces especially on trolls and witches. Thankfully, I have no room in my locker for anything but one of the cheap small puppets.
At the end of the street is a spectacular square, Staromestske namesti, with the old town hall incorporating an astronomical clock and the twin towers of the gothic Tyn Church keeping guard from high above. In the outdoor cafes, ice cream cones go for $.27. I had my share.
Prague is a major tourist attraction in Europe. Walking around, I heard more languages there than any place I've been (except New York). Tour groups, with their leaders holding up folded umbrellas or flags on a folding car antennas, were informed in numerous different languages and almost none of them sounding like English. It was all very quaint and inexpensive.
Salzburg, Austria would have been expensive if I had more than the latter part of an afternoon there. The area is worth a revisit to take the "Sound of Music Tour" visiting the settings used in the film and a few of the real Von Trapp sights. Mozart music fills the town from large speakers in one of the squares. The Mozart Museum is across the river. Salzburg is also the best place from which to visit the castles of crazy King Ludwig II 1845-1886 who built the castle (Schloss Neuschwanstein) copied in Disneyland. The newest attraction in town is the myriad decorated cows (no paisley) everywhere.
The 100 miles from Salzburg to Munich made for one of the more scenic days of the trip. There were lots of small villages with immaculate houses with flowers cascading over balconies. Larger towns had the Bavarian version of a totem pole. The town poles were painted with blue and white stripes had figures on planks extending perpendicular to the road. Between the villages were harvested wheat fields and corn only weeks from being ready to be hot corn on the cob with salted butter. There were frequent stretches through the woods. They were particularly refreshing since it was 83F. And, in the distance, through the haze, stood the Alps.
Happy Trails,
Bruce