Blogs from Prague, Czech Republic, Europe - page 13

Geo: 50.0878, 14.4205... read more

We woke to another beautiful day with bright sunshine. After breakfast we met Soma in the lobby for a walking tour to Lesser Town. We walked down cobblestone streets past shops and restaurants and stopped once again at the Powder Tower which was used to store gunpowder in the 17th century. It is one of the original city gates dating back to the 11th century. It separates Old Town from New Town. Our destination was the Charles Bridge which crosses the Vitava River, but on the way, we stopped while Soma explained the different types of architecture of some of the buildings, we passed opera houses, shops, coffee shops, museums and were given tips on places to enjoy a view, a snack, or a meal. We reached the Charles Bridge and it was already bustling with ... read more

Yesterday we had a leisurely day getting ready for our long-awaited Danube River Cruise. We didn't have to be at the airport until 5:00 p.m. so we even had a chance to watch a Netflix movie. Of course we would try to fit one more movie in. We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare, had something to eat before boarding our flight to Amsterdam where we then transferred to our flight to Prague. All in all I didn't think the flight seemed overly long--I was even able to sleep a few hours. We arrived in Prague about 1:30 p.m. and met our Gate 1 City Tour Guide where she promptly loaded us into a van that took us to the Hotel Imperial where we met the tour director for Gate 1, Soma ... read more

As expected we wake to 15C and rain. So it is off up the hill to Prague Castle, walking gingerly on the shiny damp cobblestones. The tourist groups are here early, especially our friends from the PRC in groups of 50 or so, always keen not to lose contact with their comrades so they tend to move as one fluid mass. The pouring rain stops the use of the selfie sticks though which is something. We join the queue for the cathedral which looks interminable but in fact moves quite quickly. The cathedral was begun in 1338 but not consecrated until 1929, which left us a little unclear as to what happened in the intervening 600 years! Maybe the numerous side chapels were consecrated. Anyway, some of the reliquary and side chapels are very impressive, especially ... read more

7am we head down to the Charles Bridge to take some photos in the early morning light and without the tourist hordes (we are not tourists, we are travellers, it is different). It is already hot but the area is still quiet. A few more people appear on the bridge, including the bizarre sight of a Mainland Chinese couple with a photographer taking photos of them, both in their wedding clothes. It is common Mainland practice to have your wedding photo taken on a different day and in a different place to your wedding, but it’s impressive to find a couple travelling this far. After breakfast, we get an Uber to Josefov, the old Jewish quarter in Prague. The ‘museum’ covers several synagogues, most now converted to museums, and the old Jewish cemetery. The most moving ... read more