scenery – Norms & Weirdos

Forget about the Old Clock Tower and all the pricey observation decks. You wanna overlook the city and the bridges, how can you see them when you are at them!? Take a few steps further, just nearby the Prague Castle.

Prague Castle

How did I get there?

Option 3: the STAIRS.
Tiring but tbh stairs+view looks more appealing than the castle itself.

It was winter but I was exhausted. And after the steps, you see crowds.

150% exhausted. Tried hard to explore with the crowd, but too pissed to find anything attractive:( St. Vitus Cathedral is not bad though.

Letna Park

Exit near the Golden Lane, remember DO NOT GO DOWN THE SLOPE.
You have climbed up enough, do not waste your effort.

Walk 10-15 min to Letna Park, following the tram rail.
Some people recommend Prague Metronome for the view, but I really don’t wanna go uphill/upstairs and see crowds again.

*~things look better in peaceful silence*

*~beautiful view from anywhere of the park*

Destination: Hanavsky Pavilion

It’s a restaurant. See the menu here
You don’t need to stay inside, coz it’s not cheap and I saw trees blocking the seats from seeing the view.

This is the view right in front of the restaurant. Free area.

You can overlook the complete cityscape, in peaceful silence.
I shared this view with <5 people this day.

I came across this place coz the opening of Japanese drama “Nodame Cantabile (のだめカンタービレ)” was filmed right here.
So I’d call this place “Japanese Standard Scenery“.

Heading down

As I wanna walk down while watching the view, I used the zig-zag slope in the bush. Just took me around 20 min to Charles Bridge. Not much lights so better get down before night.

*Bonus pic lol

NO. You can’t walk to New Zealand.

In New Zealand, where every view can blow your mind, maybe we should focus on accessibility.

There are trains but mainly for cargoes, not reaching those tourist spots. So basically you gotta rent a car, take tours or pick wise.

Wanaka

about 1 hour drive from Queenstown, is a cozy little town by Lake Wanaka. Here, you can stay at YHA right in the town center at a reasonable price (comparing to Queenstown), getting a little cabin as for twin room and having a lobby facing the lake.

*– Windy shore with gulls flying backwards*

From there, you can reach a famous ‘instagram spot’ in 20 min walk or 5 min drive.

So it’s a tree. And a lot of tourists. Doesn’t seem to be special with my #nofilter version though.

Roy’s Peak

5 min drive from the tree, you can see “Roy’s Peak Track Parking”. Remember to grab the last toilet chance near parking!

*– Town center from the track (top right of the lake)*

The whole track is an easy gentle slope, 2-3 hours to the lookout, plus 20 min to the peak. I gave up the peak as the sun is getting down, and pics taken on the summit is not that appealing without the drone. Bring a jacket or maybe raincoat in case.

Sheep keeps staring at me for the first 3 sec then runs away. There are fences and ladders (just a few steps) to cross over gates, as the whole mountain is a huge breeding ground for the sheep.

There are mainly 2 concerns for this walk – weather and tracking. It’s a huge zig-zag across the range, sometimes there are showers, sometimes it’s freezing in the shadow, sometimes I’m dried out by the wind.

There are no signs on the whole walk. I’ve been asked for nearly 10 times whether this is the right way, and there are people giving up coz they have no idea where they are heading. The zig-zag is blocking the goal, you can’t really see the summit from the bottom, and there are fences that you’re not sure if you can cross.

Follow the footsteps, and try to stay on the main route.

You can’t see the lookout until you reach it, I was thinking of give up and head down a few sec before. There is a narrow path to get out and take the instagram pic, but you may have to wait for a few minutes. There are people taking wedding pics, people who climb out coz of the height and wind (me)… people tend to wait at the wider middle as only 1-2 can stand at the edge on the same time.

– what I see on the edge

It’s not that safe, to be honest. It was so windy that I (>50 kg) can merely stand. Take care of your children and avoid stupid camera postures. Spare some time coz you have to get down from the same route.

It’s not an OMG! view, but totally worth it as for an easy 2-hour-walk 5 min drive from town.

Tag: scenery

[Prague] Best & FREE lookout next to the castle