Kusatsu Onsen getaway

One of the greatest benefits of H's position is our ability to fly easily and cheaply. At the last minute, if we have time from work, we can pop over to Japan to enjoy some food, sights, and shopping.

With a desire to escape the heat, visit onsen, and hike, we headed to Kusatsu for a few days. On our first night we met an old friend at a fantastic izakaya. We arrived early, when only a handful of tables were occupied. Over time, more customers arrived, filling tables and gradually raising the volume of conversation. By the time we left, the place was packed with folks enjoying a cold beer, excellent seafood and other dishes, and the company of friends.

Izakaya at 6:00pm

As delicious as it was beautiful

The next morning we awoke early and walked to Tsukiji market, only to find it closed for the day. I have been once before, but it would have been H's first time. We stopped at an udon and gyūdon fast food restaurant for breakfast, instead of having fresh sashimi as expected. It hit the spot.

Morning in Tsukiji

Breakfast of gyūdon

Then we boarded a train for Kusatsu. Upon arrival we ate lunch and walked around the Yubatake, or "hot water field," in the center of town, where the hot springs for the area inns is cooled and distributed.

The snacks and bento cart on the train

Soba, karaage, and rice for lunch

Yubatake

Clever signs embedded in the pavement directing tourists to Yubatake (left) and Jizōnoyu (right)

The real highlight of the trip for me was our full-day hike the next day from near the peak of Mt. Shirane all the way back to the center of Kusatsu. We had gorgeous weather, with clear blue skies. Luckily the hike was mostly downhill; unluckily we were in bear country. At the top we stopped in the information center, which featured trail and weather conditions. There was also a whiteboard that indicated recent bear sightings. We were instructed to purchase a bell to use while walking. The sound is enough to scare off a bear, to provide it warning that we are coming. The last thing you want to do is startle a bear. The views along the hike were stunning, and we paused frequently to soak it all in.

Yugama crater lake, near the summit of Mt. Shirane

Expansive views all along the hike

The path cuts through the forest beginning halfway down

Beware of bears (Kuma shutsubotsu chūi, Gunma Pref.)

Notice: In order to avoid a bear encounter, please walk with something that makes a sound, like a bell or a radio.

Back in town we soaked our tired feet in the foot bath next to Yubatake, then feasted at a grilled beef restaurant. Cold beer and tender beef - nothing beats it.

Adorable couple enjoying ice cream 

Yakiniku dinner

We spent the night at a tiny minshuku with a bath we could share. The whole trip brought back memories of our year in Oguni. The next day we traveled back to Tokyo, then Narita, then Singapore, all in a day. We were exhausted, but completely satisfied.

Heidelberg

I lived in Germany in a past life. I was 20 years old and I resided in Furth, a small city near Nuremberg. I was only there for a few weeks, but I lived in an apartment and had a job. So, I don't think of it as just passing through; I lived there. Thanks to a friend who had the right connections, I made gummy bears in Germany in the summer before my junior year in college. How many people get to say that? Then again, how many people would want to be able to say such a thing?

I say it was a past life because it feels so long ago I have virtually no memories of it. I remember a few things very clearly - the angle of the ceiling in the kitchen, the engineer at my factory who drank two beers nearly every day in the cafeteria, attending a Beach Boys concert (they were old then; now they are going on an Asia tour and will be in Singapore soon!). I think I have so few memories because 1) I took very few photos. I had a terrible 110 camera and never carried it around. 2) I did not keep a journal. Needless to say, there were no blogs or social networking sites for me to track my past for quick future recall. 3) I spent the summer with someone with whom I seldom communicated at the time or in the months and years immediately since. I have a pet theory that part of the reason some memories are so vivid is because we recall them through sharing. Then, the memory becomes a combination of the actual event and the multiple recallings and retellings over the years. 

This year I was able to return to Germany for the first time since the summer of 1993. Since my memories are so vague, I have no point of comparison, nothing to be spoiled by inevitable changes. Even better was the fact that H joined me - her first time. Of course, we made comparisons: stretches of road reminded us of Finland or even Iowa. But for the most part, it was a clean set of new memories, which thanks to this post and H, I may remember in 19 years.

This time we were hosted by friends we met in Boulder, who live near Heidelberg. These are some photos of the wonderful few days we spent with them in and around Heidelberg. 

Wonderful selection of breads available at a shop near our friends' place. Great breakfast!

The #5 train, which operates in a loop between Mannheim, Heidelberg and other cities.

I needed the middle t-shirt last time I was in Germany, but not this time.

Enjoying the weather in front of the castle ruins.

Looking over Heidelberg from the castle grounds.

Great view of the city and river below.

Delicious sweets in the afternoon.

No shortage of visitors and locals walking around. 

Locks on a bridge - placed by lovers to symbolize their permanent connection.

One of many beers I enjoyed this summer in Europe.

Perfect lunch!

Food in Prague

We were less impressed with the food in Prague than the scenery. Goulash seems to be the national dish, yet our favorite meals were at a Thai restaurant. However, the beer was perfect. I believe I drank six brands in three days, including two at a brew pub. Throw in a few very long walks for me and some excellent coffee and desserts for H, and you have an ideal vacation. It was one of my favorites of all time. 

Budweiser - the original - not the US copy

Our first meal

The goulash was OK, but the potato thing at the bottom of the plate was not appealing - so bland and starchy.

Our hotel breakfast - very satisfying

Bread and beer - a hearty combination

Excellent red curry - yes, in Prague. For some reason there are many Thai restaurants and massage places all around the city.

Lovely bread and dessert shop

Much like baumkuchen, this treat is baked while rolling (see the dough in the background)

Prague, Prag, Praha (you get the idea)

I haven't been to Prague since 1993. 19 years is a long time between visits for any place, but the Velvet Revolution, in which Czechoslovakia became democratic (breaking from the Socialist sphere of Soviet influence), had only occurred in 1989, and the Czech Republic (where Prague rests) had just split with Slovakia in January of 1993. A lot has changed, but the city is still beautiful, at least to me. The front desk staff at our hotel didn't see it that way.

On our way out the door one morning we noticed a light drizzle and the darkness that hinted at a long dreary day. We stopped at the front desk to ask T for some assistance.

"This may be a long shot, but do you happen to loan umbrellas?"

"Yes, we do." His voice rose at the end with a cadence that indicated English was not his first language, but that we was comfortable enough to joke in it.

He pulled two umbrellas from behind the desk and slowly opened them to test how well they were working. The first worked well. He closed it and handed it to me.

"Where are you from, T?", I asked, curious to know where his brand of English originated.

"Czech Republic," he answered, as he inspected the second umbrella. "I am from here in the Czech Republic."

The umbrella was slightly broken. He peered deep into the heart of it, sizing up its faults. "Dirty, disgusting and old."

I almost felt sorry for the device that surely had kept many people dry during its life, but which had seen better days.

"What, the umbrella?" I asked.

"No, Prague, the Czech Republic. My country is dirty, disgusting and old."

In a certain light Prague is certainly all of that. However, for many tourists, the dirt represents the centuries of dust that gives this place its charm. The dirt adds authenticity. It hints at dark times under the Nazis and Soviets, and it undermines any claims of Prague as a theme park, cleaned up just for tourist enjoyment. Disgusting? Is he referring to the seamy underbelly that one imagines to be all around? The “casinos” that operate 24 hours a day behind heavy doors and blacked-out glass? The overwhelming presence of groups of men from what appears to be Russia, Poland or the Baltic regions?

Old – no one can deny that Prague is old. But, again, this is what draws so many from around the world. Prague may have been on the adventurous backpacker’s itinerary twenty years ago. Now it is filled with groups of high school and middle school groups from around Europe. Groups of adults of all ages follow guides holding flags and colorful umbrellas, speaking dozens of languages – German, Polish, French, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, and English of the U.S. and U.K. varieties. Strangely missing were the Japanese tour groups that were so common and so frequently discussed in tourism literature from the 1980s onward. The Japanese are in Prague, but they tend to be traveling in pairs or alone. Could the Japanese be the new post-group tourists?

For T, a worldly, humorous, man in his mid-20s, I suppose his country’s age holds little attraction. For a country with so many artists and thinkers who have been globally important and innovative, there is a fine line between clinging to the past and celebrating it. 

Being from elsewhere, we celebrated the "dirty, disgusting and old" streets for three days. At times we struggled to squeeze past the masses of tourists just like us, but overall we loved the long days (sunrise at 5:00am, sunset at around 9:15pm) and the old buildings, many of them with architectural embellishments not commonly seen in most places - statuary seemingly holding up balconies, brightly-colored facades, paintings of designs and figures on a massive scale. It was a wonderful time of the year to be in a beautiful city. 

The first time H has set foot in Prague (and the Czech Republic)

On the Charles Bridge for the first time in 19 years

Some of the "dirty, disgusting and old" sites on the Charles Bridge

Throngs of tourists streaming between the Charles Bridge and the Astronomical Clock at Old Town Square.

Old Town Square (with the tourists cropped out)

Old Town Square with the tourists in the picture

A morning walk to Petrin Hill

H enjoying the morning sunshine 

Prague Castle as seen from Petrin Hill

Prague Castle at night as seen from Charles Bridge

The gate to Charles Bridge

Just some of the wonderful architecture to see around Prague

Antonin Dvorak, one of Prague's native sons, and a one-time resident of my home state, Iowa (in 1893, a century before I first visited his home)

Gorgeous figures painted on random buildings

Colorful, solid buildings everywhere

Prague is sometimes called the City of a Thousand Spires