Blogs from Prague, Czech Republic, Europe - page 194

Geo: 50.0878, 14.4205I treated my Mummy to a trip to Prague. I didn't know much about the city, just that it was a cheap flight and 'Czech Republic' sounded exciting! We had no idea it would be so magnificent. Quite a discovery! My greedy (!) Mother has since been back quite a few times, even having the courage to take my Father there! The craft markets are addictive. The architecture is beautiful, especially in the Old Town. Plan to walk across the Charles Bridge about 10 times a day, the panorama is great.... read more

Greetings again from Praha (Prague)! Today I believe I have been successful at entertaining myself. I did, indeed, get up earlyish and catch a guided bus tour to Terezín (Theresienstadt in German), a former Nazi concentration camp and Jewish ghetto located about 60 km north of Praha. The bus tour was definitely the right way to go... because the entire town of Terezín comprises the museum, specific sights are located rather far from each other. My feet were grateful to have a shuttle between them, enough so that I think I can live with the prescribed itinerary and (reasonable) time limits at each stop. We left at 9:45 from Náměstí Republiky and the trip immediately began to pay for itself as we drove through the northern suburbs of Praha. As I mentioned yesterday, for the most ... read more

Prague, what a city! Amazing old buildings everywhere, some history, and it's nice to be in a place where I don't constantly go over my budget, this is a wonderfully inexpensive place to take a trip to. I arrived in Prague at about 2300, not the best time for it, but oh well. The train station in Prague is dodgy as hell, and at that hour I wasn't looking forward to navigating my way to the hostel on my own. Basically you have transients and potential muggers sitting around everywhere....watching you....thinking about targetting you.... So I looked for a fellow backpacker getting off the train, and found one, a big guy called Eric from New York, perfect, and he was a cool guy. We hit up the ATM at the station for some Czech funds since ... read more

Today was pretty busy, too, but I'm thinking I may want to go sleep it off rather than write about it all night. ;) We started off with our new favorite tram #8, which zips us from our flat in Florenc right into Náměstí Republiky (Republic Square) and the old town. We started with an unexpectedly large meal ("rich breakfast" on the menu might have been a clue) at the Obecní dům, an Art Nouveau municipal and performance hall with a lovely café in front. The mad tourist rush when we arrived was not to be believed, but even more amazing was the speed at which the place emptied out and got dead quiet again at just about exactly 9:55 AM. All the tour groups must be meeting at that time! We got a bonus: since ... read more

Those of y'all who know me, this is no surprise. But it's interesting, I was reading elsewhere here that some intrepid young traveler has arrived in Prague for a 12-day stay. I just cannot imagine staying in one place for that long! And, of course, with the surprise windfall of two extra days next week, I've every intention of cramming in at least one more city. :) Stay tuned. Yesterday we saw more of Praha (Prague) than I ever imagined possible. We headed off to Pražský Hrad (Prague Castle) with every intention of spending the entire day there. On the way, I thumbed through the Rickster's guide and he says that most of the castle sights are skippable. We were pleased to take his advice, and of the critical five he recommends, we even skipped one ... read more