Road to Prague
Sisters Abigail and Ruth Oesterling share a love of travel and most recently visited Prague, the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic, from Oct. 18 to 25.
Abigail came across an airfare and hotel deal online that she couldn't pass up.
The Summit Township sisters had not planned to visit Prague, but wanted to take advantage of the bargain rates.
Together, the pair has visited France, Africa and Japan. Ruth also has been to Belgium and Abigail studied abroad in Italy and visited Ireland and England.
Navigating the cityThe 12-hour trip took them from Pittsburgh to New York City to London to Prague, Abigail said.“We had a lot of connections,” said Abigail, explaining that was the reason for the low rates. “I decided after that, we should just fly nonstop.”The sisters learned how to handle long flights when they flew nonstop to Tokyo a few years ago, Abigail said. “You just have to make sure you get up and walk a lot, or you'll go stir crazy.”Soon after the Oesterlings arrived in Prague, they settled into their modest hotel.“It's not the same as an American hotel,” said Abigail. “It was just a room with a bed, a TV and a chair. There was no alarm clock, no little coffee pot; it was very basic.”The hotel was in a quiet residential area, which the travelers appreciated.“There aren't huge, tall buildings like we have in our cities,” said Ruth, comparing the town's look to something out of the movie “The Sound of Music.”Abigail booked the flight and accommodations using the website, Travel Zoo.The company sends out the Travelzoo Top 20 e-mail newsletter to highlight the week's best travel deals, she said.After more online research, Abigail learned about a company offering free walking tours.The company, Sandemans, offers free English language walking tours in 14 major European cities including Prague, Berlin, London, Paris and Dublin.The guide led them in a three-mile loop that acquainted them with the city and suggested sites to explore later.“They had all of the highlights, really,” Abigail said. “You just kind of walk by everything, you don't go into any of the museums because there are charges, so we kind of went back on our own.”For the rest of the trip, the sisters relied on a map given to them by their tour guide, which was clear and simple to follow, Ruth said.“I think we only got lost once,” she said.“Prague just isn't that big of a city and their metro system is pretty simple,” Abigail agreed.
Next, the pair took a day trip to Germany, traveling three hours by bus to reach Dresden.There, they visited Pfund's Dairy, listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the “prettiest dairy in the world,” Abigail said.“The whole interior of the place is mosaics, blues and golds,” Abigail said.They also followed along Brühl Terrace, a promenade that runs along the Elbe River. One of the most famous landmarks in Dresden, the terrace offers a panoramic view of the architecture.They also sampled bratwurst from a small vendor and visited several churches, including the Dresden Frauenkirche, or Church of Our Lady.The Lutheran church was built in the 18th century. The original structure was destroyed during World War II in the firebombing of Dresden and lay in ruins until 1993. Reconstruction was completed in 2005.The next day, the sisters visited Abigail's friend Raya, who had lived in Prague for about 18 months and was preparing to return to the U.S. While they were visiting, Raya celebrated her birthday and had a going-away party.Later during the trip, the Oesterlings met Raya for lunch and sampled some local cuisine.The food was mostly traditional, Abigail said.“We had some type of goulash, some lamb,” Abigail said. “It's very heavy food, meat-and-potatoes kind of stuff.”Another popular choice among tourists were small kielbasa sandwiches purchased from a street vendor, she said.
The sisters spent the next few days exploring Prague.They made sure to see Prague's Old Town Square, an open historic square that serves as a meeting place for locals and tourists alike.The area is a popular place for celebrations, special occasion markets and even protests, according to travel literature.The medieval Prague Astronomical Clock is mounted on the southern wall of Old Town City Hall in the square.The clock dates back to 1410 and has three components: an astronomical dial representing the position of the sun and moon, the Walk of the Apostles moving sculpture and a calendar dial with medallions standing in for the months.One of the most impressive sites was Prague Castle, Ruth said.“The castle is up on the hill and it looks down over Prague,” Ruth said. “Seeing the whole town, I think, was my favorite.”The castle is the largest coherent castle complex in the world with an area of almost 750,000 square feet.“We came by the castle on the hill across the river and it was all lit up,” said Abigail. “It was gorgeous.”Situated entirely within the complex of Prague Castle, St. Vitus Cathedral is one of the biggest and most important Gothic cathedrals in the Czech Republic.The area's architecture is very striking, Abigail said.“I definitely liked that aspect of it,” she said. “It's up there with Paris and other old cities, it's very beautiful.”As they walked through Prague, they noticed a film crew working nearby and heard rumors that Tom Cruise was filming “Mission Impossible 4.”“We never saw him but we walked by the set,” Abigail said. “We're waiting for the movie to come out so we can see it!”<b>Travel memories</b>The Czech Republic's official languages are Czech and Slovak, and there are a dozen recognized minority languages including German, Greek, Russian and Ukrainian.Still, there was not much of a language barrier, Ruth said.“If we stopped someone to ask for directions, they could usually speak English or someone in their group could,” she said.If she visits Prague again, Ruth said she would plan more side trips like the one to Dresden.“Abigail had a friend tell her you only need three days to see Prague,” said Ruth. “We saw the sights and revisited some of our favorite ones.”Public transportation is available to relay visitors to countless areas of interest, Ruth said.“At the bus station, you could get pretty much anywhere in Europe,” she said.The sisters appreciated having one-on-one time together, said Abigail, who referred to the Prague excursion as “our trip.”“It was just the two of us, that was cool,” Abigail said. “We have a lot of good memories.”
Sharing their snapshots are Abigail Oesterling, 22, and her sister Ruth, 20, both of Summit Township.Abigail is a tax collector for Summit Township and works in customer service and logistics for IDL Worldwide. She attended Saints Bible Institute in San Lorenzo, Italy, and Butler County Community College.Ruth graduated in May from Baptist Bible College and is employed as a nanny in Cranberry Township.The sisters are graduates of Portersville Christian School.They live with their parents, Tim and Kathy, and brothers Nathaniel, 24, and Seth, 18.
