Blogs from Malá Strana, Prague, Czech Republic, Europe - page 2

This is sort of a day late due to coming home after pivo (beer) consumption, having a bit of a lie down and then waking up at 2am, so “nothing” (like blogging) gets done. So lets start with: Friday 3 June. Usual late start and got the metro down to Staromestska which is the closest stop to Stare Mesto (the Old Quarter) and also the river and the famous Charles bridge. So decided to head over in that direction which is not far. There seemed an alarming number of blokes (mostly black it seemed – and French?) dressed in sailors unfiform and flogging river cruises – which barely seem to go anywhere on the river much due to the weir just above the Charles bridge – but no idea how far up/downstream they go. The bridge ... read more

Six years had passed since our last European family excursion, and so we began our journey to Prague with the critical words that would ensure our survival: dobry den (hello), pivo (beer), toalety (toilet). The trinity of travel. Upon our arrival at Ruzyne Airport, we were greeted by the hotel car driver, and after a rather exhilarating fast ride through the city proper, we arrived at our hotel in the Old Quarter and were pleasantly surprised at the charm and sophisticated elegance of the Maximilian Hotel. If you appreciate architecture, the design of the hotel is a magnificent transformation of an old estate building in a quiet location near Hastalska Square, into a modern, contemporary gallery of art. The walls are pristine, the art is impeccable, the furniture is modern and unencumbered and the atmosphere ... read more

When the email from Delta arrived in my inbox last January with offers of insanely cheap airfares to Europe, I just had to do it. Prague had always beckoned, plus, how could I pass up a $700 roundtrip from Dallas? And so I arrived in Prague less than 3 weeks later for a long weekend, excited and open to discovering another new city with the promise of cobblestones, narrow alleyways, hints of former Soviet influence, loads of Gothic and Baroque architecture, and yes, lots of potato dumplings with brown gravy. Good thing I packed winter clothes since the temperature rarely went above 32 degrees during my busy 4 days, which may sound uncomfortable at best but actually added to the experience in ways I’m still recalling almost a year later. I can still feel the slap ... read more

This city gets multiple posts—not because of its lack of ease of finding wifi but because of its beauty. I have taken more than 150 pictures in three days and must share. This city is magnificent—the buildings and churches and castles and roads are preserved in a way you can’t imagine. Every person I talked to who has been to Prague has said, “just walk, you can’t go wrong. " And, indeed the advice has been right on. This trip is never without its dull moments and most of our time is programmed but on this trip we were incredibly fortunate to have Saturday to tour the Bohemian countryside followed by a down day in Sunday that we programmed for ourselves as busy as the rest of our days! As much as I love this trip, ... read more

PRAHA Day 46 Today I woke up and headed to the Mala Strana neighbourhood which lays in the shadow of the castle. As I walked I came across the area that has the Franz Kafka Museum and in the middle of the square is the funniest statue/fountain I have ever seen, aside from the ogre eating small wriggly children. The statue was of two men facing each other taking a pee but their bodies moved back and forth at the hips and their man bits moved up and down. It is so strange but people gather around it to watch them swing the pee stream back and forth and up and down. After the peeing men I headed for the Old Jewish Quarter that has many old and neat looking synagogues. I continued to walk ... read more