Visiting Prague (or anywhere) for a hobby
Written by Amanda Kendle
Having a hobby can be a great way of deciding on a holiday destination. I used to travel a lot with a friend who had a slightly unusual sporting hobby – he was a kendo player, having taken up the martial art while he lived in Japan. Because of him, and a Czech national tournament which was open to people of all nationalities, I was able to make my first trip to Prague a few years ago.
Visiting a city or country for this kind of reason makes for a totally different trip, with quite a few advantages – the most important ones being that you get an insight into the normal daily life of the place (the kendo tournament was held in a high school gymnasium out in the suburbs of Prague) and of course, you are easily able to meet a bunch of local people who can show you around – and in Prague’s case, give you the inside tips on the best local beers!
One popular reason for hobby travel for northern Europeans is to participate in sports in a a warmer climate such golf in La Manga or tennis in Mallorca in Spain. It doesn’t really matter what your hobby is, but perhaps if it’s a little obscure, that’s even better – the locals will welcome you with open arms. Has anyone else out there travelled somewhere in Europe in pursuit of a hobby or a bit of competition? Let me know in the comments.
We’d heard that Maramures in Romania held some interest for my partners passion for textiles (weaving, spinning) with patterns and styles specific to their region. After a flight to Bucharest and an overnight train journey to Sighetu we finally reached our host George Iurka whom we stayed with in Botiza.
Not only did we get close to the locals and their culture through George but his knowledge and contacts resulted in a packed “textile” itinerary … weaving experience with his aunt, visit artisan producers, cottage industry spinning “minimills”, water powered mills, felt makers, road side washing and a visit to a lady who had an unbelievable lace collection.
Oh and we managed to get some walking in … which is my passion !
Paul – thanks for your comment which illustrates Amanda’s point about a hobby based holiday giving you more insight into local life. At least you found some time to indulge your hobby too.
Hi Karen
Getting in with the locals was an eye opener. The holiday also reinforced to us that our hobbies and passions were the reason for travel. The “What we do” is prime consideration and it leads into “Where we stay” and “How do we get there”. In the pursuit to satisfy the hobby/interest it sometimes makes the other two more bearable … even the overnight train across Romania ! Actually even that turned out to have a silver lining because I shared a sleeping compartment with a complete stranger who “got off in the middle of the night” but turned out to be a good friend of George’s and was the General Manager of a local forest steam train and it saved us having to wait at his ticket office ! I’d like to say it got us the best seats on the train but they’re all hard wood ! But a great experience all round.