Blogs from Old Town, Prague, Czech Republic, Europe - page 17

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Europe » Czech Republic » Prague » Old Town August 29th 2010

Disclaimer: The following blog and all those hereafter are in no way related to or reflect the opinions of the United States Department of State or the Fulbright Association. They are but the experiences, musings, and observations of a single experience while abroad. Pozdravy všem z České republiky! Greetings to all from the Czech Republic! I'm sitting here in the beautiful Old Town of Praha, the capital city of the Czech Republic, one street away from Náměstí Republiky (The Square of the Republic), and about a two minute walk away from the famous Orloj leading to Karlův Most (Charles' Bridge), which spans the Vltava leading the way to Praský Hrad, the Castle of Prague. Before we get started, though, let's back up a little. For those of you who don't know, I am one of the ... read more

Europe » Czech Republic » Prague » Old Town August 29th 2010

The images of St. George slaying the dragon pop up all over the Czech Republic. Every time I see one, the poor dragon is just about to get his just desserts. It is enough to make a person begin to feel sorry for the dragon. We were walking with the CAT students from Old Town Square to the Jewish Quarter. I looked up and there, on a building, was St. George killing the dragon .... again. Anyone who has followed this travelblog knows that Nancy and I really enjoy the paintings and the statuary on the buildings of Prague. I had to take a photo of this one. So here it is. Enjoy. ... read more

Europe » Czech Republic » Prague » Old Town August 19th 2010

I am so excited that Lauren and I decided to stay in Prague for two more nights. It was very nice being able to take a day of relaxation. We took our time waking up, eating breakfast and getting into Old Town. We ate silently at breakfast, sad that Mariel had to leave us so soon ☹ Our plan for the day was to take things easy—go visit the Prague Castle (Praha Castle--as the locals such as ourselves, call it) and beautiful Gothic cathedral on top of the hill overlooking all of Prague. But first, we needed some food already. Breakfast here consists of a piece or toast typically, which is not enough to hold us over for long. We are used to the good ol' hardy American breakfast consisting of fatty foods that fill you ... read more
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Europe » Czech Republic » Prague » Old Town August 17th 2010

Directions in hand, we hopped off our tram in Prague onto a train platform covered in graffiti, appearing to be in a bad part of town. The directions read "follow the yellow signs for about 15 minutes"...no yellow signs...no yellow signs, and finally a sign. Our hostel is pretty much in Prague's forest. We are way out in the boonies (a Bonny Doon or Prague) but it is definitely beautiful! The Boathouse Hostel where we are staying sits on stilts literally a a couple meters away from the flowing Vltava River, in Prague. From the outside it looks a little rough around the edges, but we were welcomed warmly by one of the two women who runs it; Helena. Helena had the door wide open waiting for us, and she told us that she had been ... read more
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Europe » Czech Republic » Prague » Old Town August 8th 2010

Our Adventures in Praha First things first, I have to tell you all that Prague is amazing!!! It is such a beautiful city and so historic. It managed to escape most of the bombing and war from WWII, so a lot of the buildings are in pristine condition. It's really a great thing, especially since the architecture is so great. The buildings are so bright and colorful! Ok, so onward to our story. So Brett and I got to Prague on Thursday afternoon, after a quick flight from Roma. We didnt do much that day, even though our flight was at 4:15, since we were pretty tired from the previous days exploring, and we wanted to make SURE we didn't miss our flight. Well we didn't, probably since we got to the airport at 12:30, giving ... read more

Europe » Czech Republic » Prague » Old Town July 30th 2010

This morning was a bit of a repeat of yesterday... In the sense that the first thing I did was take the tram up to the Castle. This time, however, I bought admission and rented an audioguide for a couple of hours. The tour was fairly interesting, although I have to admit I was kind of disappointed to learn that St. Vitus' cathedral is mostly a 19th and 20th century structure. I was still fascinated by the reliquaries and such, since they were mostly housed in the older sections of the Cathedral, and the tomb/relics of St. Wenceslas was pretty impressive. The one thing I need to figure out, but didn't, was how this Wenceslas fits with the guy who's in the Christmas carol. I'm sure Google will find me the answer. The castle also housed ... read more
The Charles Bridge
Jewish cemetery

Europe » Czech Republic » Prague » Old Town July 19th 2010

'Gate number...... ok, where are we?' 'You're in Stansted love!' came the cheerful reply from a nearby traveller looking far too perky for 4am as my sister and I gathered ourselves from the airport floor. Having spent half the year in Mexico and already having a job in Spain lined up for the new term I wasn't really thinking about travelling over the summer holidays. Fortunately my sister had other ideas and took charge of arranging a trip to Prague for a few days. Sitting in my room in Mexico I had aquiesced and left her to make all the descions. Thus I found myself leaving home, so early in the morning it hardly seemed worth having gone to bed, less than two weeks after arriving home from Mexico! On arrival we were met by the ... read more
Powder Gate
The astronomical clock
St. Nicholas Church

Europe » Czech Republic » Prague » Old Town July 5th 2010

Die erste Nacht war eher unbequem, da wir beide mehrmals von Blitzen, die unmittelbar bei uns eingeschlagen sind, aufgeweckt wurden. Auch waren die Spanier in der Früh leider nicht mehr da. Dafür hat sich das Wetter wieder beruhigt und nach einem kleinen Frühstück ging es wieder in die Stadt. Wir nahmen an einer dreistündigen Free-Walking-Tour durch die Stadt teil, welche die Altstadt (Stare Mesto), die Neustadt (Nove Mesto), die Schlösser und das Jüdische Viertel abdeckte. Die Führung war sehr unterhaltsam gestaltet mit vielen "Fun-Facts", die in den Fotos noch beschrieben werden. Als es später und der Hunger grösser wurde, dachten wir uns, einmal die tschechische Küche auszuprobieren. Das Steak-House hatte leider (aus welchem Grund auch immer) nicht mehr offen, weswegen wir das nächstliegende Lokal ausprobiert haben, das Michael nun als "schlechtes Beisl" beschreibt. Marco hat se ... read more
Marco mit Pilsner
Der astronomische Turm
Der Pulverturm

Europe » Czech Republic » Prague » Old Town July 5th 2010

Se esta dupla de viajantes fosse Tcheca e se casasse, Clarice adquiriria o sobrenome Dattova, ou seja, "mulher de Datt", mudando o seu sobrenome de solteira, Chiquettova ("filha de Chiquetto"). Isso, caso não fosse uma mulher moderna; se fosse, adotaria apenas Datt. Assim é a República Tcheca, um país cheio de tradições, que tenta encontrar uma nova identidade e se adequar ao mundo contemporâneo. Durante nossa estada por aqui, felizmente tivemos a oportunidade de escutar essa e mais tantas outras histórias diretamente de locais, já que ficamos hospedados na casa de uma amiga Tcheca com quem estudamos na Nova Zelândia, Jana (Jirickova, já que é filha do seu Jirickov). Entre uma cerveja e uma comida típica (e que comida!) pudemos ouvir a história da garotinha que ia ao mercado com a mãe morrendo de vontade de ... read more
turistas esperando
relogio astronomico
pelas ruas

Europe » Czech Republic » Prague » Old Town July 4th 2010

Nach einer 5-stuendigen Zugfahrt und einigen Diskussionen mit den Schaffnern kommen wir heil um etwa halb 8 am Prager Bahnhof an. Da wir nicht wissen wie man in die Altstadt zu kommen hat, dachten wir uns, einfach nachzufragen. Jedoch werden wir an der Information mit den Worten "Only train information. Now go away!" abgewimmelt. Tschechischer Charme denken wir uns und versuchen die Herberge auf eigene Faust und mit der Karte im Kopf zu finden. Einen anstrengenden Fussmarsch spaeter kommen wir im "Advantage Youth Hostel" an, wo man doch etwas freundlicher aufgenommen wird. Nachdem wir uns eingerichtet haben -wir teilen das Zimmer mit lustigen Spaniern- macht man sich mit Gratis-Stadtplaenen und Flyern von allmoeglichen Clubs auf die Suche nach Nahrung. Es stellt sich heraus, dass der einzige Supermarkt gleich bei unserer Jugendherberge der "Erotic Supermarket" ist. Macht ... read more
Wenn der hunger gross wird...
...muss gegessen werden
Prager Bahnhof




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