Confession time: Yes, I stink when it comes to keeping this blog up to date, on the other hand, Tom isn't doing much to keep it fresh either, so I refuse to feel guilty. Anyway, here's a brief overview of our trip to Prague, which was over a month ago. We left London on Saturday, October 20, and came back on that Monday the 23. Yes, it was a short stay, but we experienced a nice taste of Prague, and will hopefully go back to see other sights in greater detail. Little piece of info, visit in the warmer months, it gets cold there!
On Saturday we arrived at the Ruzyně International Airport, and were amazed how difficult it was to locate an ATM, since it's always better to get money from an ATM, rather than a service which always rips you off on the conversion. We then took a bus, then the subway to our hotel, which was easy considering we only had one backpack a piece (more than enough for our brief stay). Our hotel was wonderful, the rooms were large and impressive when compared to others we've stayed in in other European cities. The hotel had an impressive continental breakfast, with an awkwardly placed Spice Girls poster on the wall facing you as you ascend the staircase to the dining area. My only complaint about the hotel was the abundance of smokers, but we quickly learned that smoking is a large part of the culture, and futile to complain about. However, our room had no remnants of smoke, so we really couldn't gripe. Here's a hyperlink to the hotel we stayed at, which we recommend if anyone plans to visit: http://www.hotelduo.cz/
We spent the evening in the city to scout out some of the places we wanted to spend our time the following day. On Sunday we met our guide and met a nice couple from England, where the wife works at Wembley Stadium, and the Husband was a bicycle mechanic, which is actually a lucrative business in England considering the many people that travel by cycle. We toured both sides of the Charles River seeing both Old Town and New Town, and getting a great tour of the Jewish Ghetto. On Saturday night we went on a lovely dinner cruise on the Vltava River, which lierally means "wild water." The cruise was booked solid, but Tom and I had a nice table in the back of the boat away from most of the other patrons who seemed to be part of a tourist group. The food was fabulous with some very memorable blueberry dumplings that I'm kicking myself for not trying to get the name to look up the recipe. I tried some Absinthe while on the cruise (since it's legal in the Czech Republic), and didn't realize you had to light the alcohol with the provided match, but the alcohol was quite tasty and potent. The cruise was a wonderful memory and was the best part of our stay. However, Prague is a beautiful city, hard to criticize and simple to praise.
Here's a view of the Western side of the Charles River.
Here's the Astronomical Clock in the Old Town square. Here's an interesting article about it in wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomical_Clock
Here's a photo of Prague Castle. The majority of the castle appearing further to the right.
Here is the Rudolfinum, where the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra plays. Further to the left is the Vltava river.
Here is Saint Vitus Cathedral that is housed within the walls of Prague Castle. The castle houses the crown jewels of the Bohemian Kingdom. The cathedral started construction in 1344 and was not finished until 1929 due to lack of funds, fires and war. I'm actually looking at a statue of Saint George and the Dragon, which was a gift from the British government.
Here's Tom rubbing the statue of John of Nepomuk, who was thrown from the Charles Bridge. Apparently it's customary to make a wish while rubbing the statue.
On Saturday we arrived at the Ruzyně International Airport, and were amazed how difficult it was to locate an ATM, since it's always better to get money from an ATM, rather than a service which always rips you off on the conversion. We then took a bus, then the subway to our hotel, which was easy considering we only had one backpack a piece (more than enough for our brief stay). Our hotel was wonderful, the rooms were large and impressive when compared to others we've stayed in in other European cities. The hotel had an impressive continental breakfast, with an awkwardly placed Spice Girls poster on the wall facing you as you ascend the staircase to the dining area. My only complaint about the hotel was the abundance of smokers, but we quickly learned that smoking is a large part of the culture, and futile to complain about. However, our room had no remnants of smoke, so we really couldn't gripe. Here's a hyperlink to the hotel we stayed at, which we recommend if anyone plans to visit: http://www.hotelduo.cz/
We spent the evening in the city to scout out some of the places we wanted to spend our time the following day. On Sunday we met our guide and met a nice couple from England, where the wife works at Wembley Stadium, and the Husband was a bicycle mechanic, which is actually a lucrative business in England considering the many people that travel by cycle. We toured both sides of the Charles River seeing both Old Town and New Town, and getting a great tour of the Jewish Ghetto. On Saturday night we went on a lovely dinner cruise on the Vltava River, which lierally means "wild water." The cruise was booked solid, but Tom and I had a nice table in the back of the boat away from most of the other patrons who seemed to be part of a tourist group. The food was fabulous with some very memorable blueberry dumplings that I'm kicking myself for not trying to get the name to look up the recipe. I tried some Absinthe while on the cruise (since it's legal in the Czech Republic), and didn't realize you had to light the alcohol with the provided match, but the alcohol was quite tasty and potent. The cruise was a wonderful memory and was the best part of our stay. However, Prague is a beautiful city, hard to criticize and simple to praise.
Here's a view of the Western side of the Charles River.
Here's the Astronomical Clock in the Old Town square. Here's an interesting article about it in wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomical_Clock
Here's a photo of Prague Castle. The majority of the castle appearing further to the right.
Here is the Rudolfinum, where the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra plays. Further to the left is the Vltava river.
Here is Saint Vitus Cathedral that is housed within the walls of Prague Castle. The castle houses the crown jewels of the Bohemian Kingdom. The cathedral started construction in 1344 and was not finished until 1929 due to lack of funds, fires and war. I'm actually looking at a statue of Saint George and the Dragon, which was a gift from the British government.
Here's Tom rubbing the statue of John of Nepomuk, who was thrown from the Charles Bridge. Apparently it's customary to make a wish while rubbing the statue.