I am traveling from Warsaw to Prague by plane.

Initially, I planned to take a bus for 10 hours, but since I obtained my visa at the last minute, I changed it to a plane. For this route, a bus costs around 3,500 yen, while a plane costs around 7,000 yen.

When I searched on Skyscanner, it seemed that Tripsta was the cheapest, but it's a tricky website that adds about 500 yen at the very end of the payment process to make the initial price look cheaper. However, even with that 500 yen added, it was still the cheapest, and the price difference was about 20%, so I purchased it from there.

If you pay on a Japanese website, it will be charged in Japanese yen, but if you change the country, it will be charged in that country's currency, so I paid in Polish currency. The text was in Polish, but I used a translation website to enter the information and completed the payment. This made it about 10% cheaper.

When I searched the day before, it was about 6,500 yen, but since I obtained my Brazilian visa quickly, I was planning to take the bus, so I ended up buying the plane ticket at the last minute, and it ended up costing about 8,400 yen. There's nothing I can do about it since I can't change my accommodation reservation in Prague.

You can reach Warsaw airport by bus.
When you search for a route on Google Maps, it will show you the bus number. It seems that you can take the 188 bus if you are nearby. The boarding location is also somewhat understandable. Alternatively, you can take the 175 bus from CENTRUM.

Then, I checked in for the Czech Airlines flight, and it took about an hour to reach Prague. It's quite close.
The seatbelt buckle on this Czech Airlines flight was on both the front and back... I can't believe this happened on a plane. Is the Czech Republic a careless country? I was able to flip the belt over myself, so it was okay, but I wonder if anyone else on board noticed and put it back, or if it was just a prank? (I don't think there are many people who would do that...).

In Prague, I also use Google Maps.
It seems that you can take bus number 119, then take tram numbers 26 and 24 to reach your destination.
I will buy a 90-minute ticket. That should be enough.

My accommodation in Prague is as follows:
Plus Prague
6 nights for 44.8 euros (approximately 6,200 yen), no meals included.
That's about 1,033 yen per night.

Prague sightseeing, day 1.
For now, I will take tram number 12 and get off at a place that seems to be on a hill, then go to the Královská zahrada (Karel Garden), and from there, head towards Prague Castle.

I arrived at Prague Castle, but it was much larger than I expected, and I was surprised.
The church inside the castle is so magnificent. What is this? The Habsburg family is amazing.
Is this the power of the Holy Roman Empire?

I recommend this place. Also, it seems like there are a lot of tourists because it's summer.
I don't really understand the details, so I bought a ticket that seems appropriate and went into St. Vitus Cathedral.

This cathedral is huge and overwhelming. The size is hard to tell in photos, but you are surprised by its size when you get closer. How could they have built something like this hundreds of years ago?

You can enter the entrance area of this place without a ticket, but you need a ticket to go further inside and see it up close. If you only want to see the church, you might be able to do it without a ticket, but the set ticket includes access to other places as well, so I'm glad I bought a ticket. I think it was 350 crowns (about 1,790 yen) for the A set.It feels like, while being in Europe, I've gradually come to intuitively understand that "Europe is the center of the world." It's a feeling like this. From here, Asia, or South America, North America, everything feels within reach. Based on this awareness, some people might not be able to understand America, because it's too different.

I happened to be at Prague Castle when the changing of the guard ceremony was taking place, so I watched it.
I watched it from a distance, but it's definitely worth seeing.

Let's go to the Powder Tower, which is located on the north side of Prague Castle.
It is not an observation deck, but there was an exhibition related to the military inside.

Go to St. George's Basilica, which is located in Prague Castle.
It is a small church.

I am going to the Golden Lane, which is located in Prague Castle.
It seems that famous artists, including Kafka, used to live here.

At Prague Castle, I went to the Daliborka Tower, which is located at the end of the Golden Lane.
It seems that this place used to be a prison and torture chamber.
There are exhibits of instruments used for imprisonment and torture, so it's quite a gruesome place.
Now there are a lot of people, so it's not that bad, but it would be amazing to come here at night.

I visited the Picture Gallery in Prague Castle.
Although the number of paintings is not large, there are many high-quality works on display. It is worth visiting.
Photography is not allowed inside.

I will visit the Exhibition of The Treasure of St. Vitus at Prague Castle.
This place has an audio guide (with a fee, English only), so I will listen to it while sightseeing.
There are many high-level Christian-related decorations, and it is worth seeing.
Photography is not allowed inside.

I attended a classical concert by the Parnas Ensemble, a group of 5 people, at the Lichtenstein Palace.

- Parnas Ensemble (http://www.concerts-in-prague.com)
http://www.concerts-in-prague.com/
- YouTube channel: Parnas Ensemble (https://www.youtube.com/user/ParnasEnsemble)
https://www.youtube.com/user/ParnasEnsemble

The quality was amazing, even though there were only 5 people.
The front row was empty, so I was able to listen from 3 meters away from the performers, and it was great. Live performances are really something else.
The classic "Moldau" was great, but the "Bolero" performed only with string instruments was also wonderful.

Cities with a lot of history, like Prague, have many concerts, and the level is high. And yet, it's affordable.
If you sit in the back row, it's about 2,600 yen, and even though I was in the front row, it was still about 4,600 yen.

Today, I went to the Prague Zoo (Zoo Praha). I plan to check out places to go outside before tomorrow, because the weather will be bad for the next three days.

The weather in the surrounding towns is also bad, so I can't escape. Therefore, I plan to spend the next few days at museums and art galleries.

However, this zoo is of high quality. The animals seem to be living comfortably. The zoo in Kuala Lumpur was also like this, but the clientele here is better, so the animals, especially the birds, don't run away when people approach. This zoo is one of the best zoos I have ever visited.

While visiting the zoo, I also visited Troja Castle, which is located right next to it.
It's surprisingly impressive and interesting, but I'm not sure if it's worth coming just for that.

I wasn't very familiar with it, but since it was an opportunity, I decided to listen to a baroque opera.
I thought it would be all singing, but it seems like they sing a few pieces at a time.
I learned that baroque classical music is like this. The recorder was distinctive.
The singing in the opera is wonderful, but I feel like the enjoyment is reduced by half if you don't study the lyrics. Is it Italian? As expected, the sound is amazing, but I feel like more effort is put into the expression than the sound itself.
The building is 300 years old and was built by the Habsburg family. The interior, ceiling paintings, and chandeliers are amazing.
They also used a piano that looks like an antique, not a modern grand piano. It seems impressive.
It's a small room, and the performers were only about 4-5 meters away, so it was a live performance. It's overwhelming.
And it cost about 3,000 yen.
The program included Monteverdi (Venetian school), Frescobaldi (Rome, Florence during the Medici era), Caccini (Florence during the Medici era), and Leopold I (himself, the Holy Roman Emperor of the Habsburg family), among others. The concert title is "II dolce tormento."
http://www.operabarocca.cz/en/programme/dolce-tormento-en.html
http://www.operabarocca.cz/en/programme/dolce-tormento-en.html

Today, I decided to visit the J.A. Komensky Pedagogical Museum (Pedagogické muzeum J. A. Komenského v Praze), which is a museum related to education.

The exhibits showed Prague's role in the early days of European education.

While I was walking, I saw that the Czech Senate was open to the public for free, so I went inside.
I'm not sure if it's always free or if it's a special free admission.

I decided to enter the St. Nicholas Church (Kostel sv. Mikuláše na Malé Straně) that I happened to pass by.
Most churches are free to enter, but this one strictly charges an entrance fee. It's quite clever, or perhaps something else. Perhaps the entrance for local people who use it for prayer is in a different location and is free.

I am walking around the city of Prague.
Everywhere I look, it is a picturesque town.

Visit the Salm Palace, one of the National Gallery in Prague museums located on a high ground.
Here, you can also find a collection of high-quality paintings.

Tickets for three nearby locations cost 300 crowns (approximately 1,540 yen), which is about 500 yen per location. If you only visit one location, it will be slightly more expensive.

Visit the National Gallery in Prague, specifically the Schwarzenberg Palace in Prague.

There are a large number of artworks, and the quality is also very high. I am quite satisfied.

Today, I attended a classical concert featuring the church's pipe organ and four women who took photographs.

About half of the pieces were unfamiliar, but there were also standard pieces like "The Four Seasons" (spring and summer), and an arranged version of "Moldau." The organ was played solo in between the pieces. I liked this format.

Although it was free seating, I lined up early and was able to sit in the third row, about 4-5 meters from the performers. The price was about 2,500 yen, and the performance lasted for 1 hour. I am satisfied.

I was scammed at a Western Union location in Prague's Old Town.



Western Union had a reliable image, but it turns out it's not always the case.
I'm going to lower my priority for them because they brazenly committed fraud.

There are two instances of fraud:
1) They tried to charge a 28% fee → This was reduced to 3%, so it's considered safe. It's a gray area because it was clearly stated in the details. While the fee is excessive, it's within the realm of "you should have checked" or "you should have been more careful." The 3% fee and the exchange rate made it acceptable overall.
2) 29,500 Hungarian forints were reduced to 27,500 without my knowledge. I was deceived. I was careless. I was so focused on the exchange rate that I didn't notice the amount being reduced. It was reduced in two stages, so it's 100% intentional.

Initially, I gave 29,500, and the first receipt showed 28,500 with a 28% fee.
At that point, it had already been reduced from 29,500 to 28,500, not 27,500.

At that time, I was still preoccupied with the 28% fee.
When I said I would cancel because 28% was outrageous, they said, "How about this amount?" and showed me a slightly higher amount. Even if the specific fee wasn't stated, it seemed like there was still about a 10% fee, so I canceled again. When I said, "How much do you want it to be?" they said, "How about 3%?" I thought the exchange rate was good, so I agreed, believing it would offset the fee.

However, the trap wasn't just the fee.

When I saw the first receipt, the 29,500 Hungarian forints had already been reduced to 28,500. I initially thought it was a miscount or misunderstanding. I wanted to point it out, but I was distracted by the exchange rate negotiations and forgot.
Then, when I left the store and realized it, I checked the second (final) receipt and it was 27,500. I was like, "What is this?" I was confused about whether 29,500 or 28,500 was correct, but the receipt clearly showed 27,500.
I had a lingering feeling of unease, and I'm certain that the amount shouldn't have been that low.

Because the amount was reduced in this way, I'm sure the initial amount I gave was 29,500. It was reduced from 29,500 to 28,500, and then from 28,500 to 27,500, so it's 100% intentional.
I can confidently say that the reduction from 28,500 to 27,500 was intentional.

They probably think that because it's a cash transaction, there's no evidence, so they can get away with it.
That's why you can't be careless with exchange shops.

Looking back, when they showed me the second receipt, I should have compared it to the canceled receipt from the first transaction. I asked to see the first receipt, but they were reluctant and tried to avoid showing it, saying, "It's already canceled," or "Please be more specific about what you're talking about." They were trying to cover up the fact that comparing the receipts would reveal the amount reduction. Even so, they were so confident, which means they're experienced scammers. There are probably a lot of victims in tourist areas.

I thought Western Union was more reliable, so I was careless. I won't trust them anymore.

Western Union in Warsaw was reliable. I guess even big companies can be unreliable in tourist areas. I hadn't heard much about scams in Prague, so I was careless.

I also exchanged a small amount of Polish currency along with the Hungarian forints, but I didn't notice anything because the amount was small. However, they might have scammed me on that as well. While scammers usually target larger amounts, it's not surprising that they would target anyone.

Sigh.
However, the 2,000 Hungarian forints I lost is only about 890 yen, so it's not a big loss. I'll just consider it an interesting story.

I usually use ATMs to withdraw cash in the local currency, so I don't often go to exchange shops, which is why I rarely encounter such scams. However, it's shocking to be a victim yourself.

Visit the Sternberg Palace of the National Gallery in Prague.

It has a large number of high-quality artworks, and it is enjoyable.

I visited the Franz Kafka Museum, which is located along the river.

I had the feeling that Kafka was famous a long time ago, and I haven't heard much about him recently, nor do I remember the details, so I went out of curiosity.
I felt that he wrote books with somewhat strange stories, but I realized that the background was that he was a Jew born in Prague, a multicultural city.
So, I somehow understood, or perhaps didn't understand, how he came to write such stories.
Perhaps Kafka's mysterious and enigmatic works are what make him popular even today.



Photography is prohibited inside.

The main building of the National Museum in Prague is still under renovation and closed, but the annex is open, so I visited it.
However, there weren't many particularly noteworthy exhibits, so it was a bit disappointing.
Perhaps the main attraction is in the main building.

I went to the Kampa Museum, which is located along the river.
I didn't have high expectations, but it had a quite interesting style and I enjoyed it.　



Photography is prohibited inside.

Visit the Czech Museum of Music.
I think there used to be a museum of music in Tokyo, but I haven't seen many of them in other cities I've visited. Perhaps this indicates how closely the Czech Republic is related to music. There are classical concerts held almost every day.

Inside, the exhibition includes a special exhibition on the theme of "Music and Death," which is an interesting topic.
The permanent exhibition features displays of old musical instruments, and you can listen to audio recordings of them on the spot (using headphones).

Visit the Prague City Museum.
It is small but quite well-equipped, and I am satisfied.
I was able to make good use of the free time before taking the bus.