Blogs from Czech Republic, Europe - page 252

Rainy again in Prague today. Actually, I've never seen Prague when it wasn't rainy, despite one Praguer's insistence that it's not usually like this! Luckily the clouds let up while we were on our walking tour. We toured Hradcany and Prague Castle today. I am perpetually amazed by all the rich history in which this city is steeped. Not a violent country, but they seem to be able to change things when they need to. Also, the influences of the smattering of cultures and people that have shaped Prague’s landscape was apparent again today on Castle Hill. I love symbols-all the statues, mosaics, ornamentations, stained glass… Like a storybook fashioned out of metal and glass. Whether furtively or boldly, they always tell Prague’s story beautifully. Each statue or bas-relief depicts an independent story: St. Wenceslas on ... read more

It is my goal to show up in Prague and be as little recognizable as a bumbling American as possible. Unfortunately a group tour is not the way to accomplish this. Nothing screams tourist more than fifty people pointing cameras at buildings that were built even before our country was founded. Actually, I was rather surprised by some of the snide remarks made by this group of choir students supposedly well versed in culture, language, and history. Why would anyone expect that Europe would be an exact copy of our own continent? I thought the point of travel was to learn something new…if you want McDonalds, why not stay home? Blame it on fatigue and anxiety I guess. After over twenty-four hours of travel, we’re all pretty wiped out I guess. But there’s no time to ... read more

hihihihiihihihihiihihihihihiihihihihihihiheeeelllllllllllooooooo, Andy and Sonja, here. Surprise! We're in Prague, Czech Republic. Does anyone else think that it would make more sense to add a "the" before Czech Republic? Me too. Ok well, we arrived in Prague yesterday morning after an... interesting train ride. As Andy mentioned in the last entry, we took a sleeper train from Krakov to Prague. We traveled 3rd class, which means that 6 of us slept in a teeny tiny compartment, huge backpacks and all. It wasn't horrible, although I'm sure glad that I purchased an ipod prior to the trip (I did make the mistake of taking it off during the night though, which just caused me to have murderous thoughts about a barking dog). After showering, breakfasting and caffeining, we headed out for an orientation walk. I must interrupt here ... read more

Lucky you-Bill is cooking supper and told me to write the entry all by myself today. Uh, Oh what will I say? The Royal Gardens at the Prague Castle are not exceedingly large but they are one of our favorite places in all of the city. Whenever the day is lovely this time of year, my first thought after the library closes in the evening is to get on the bus and head to the tram so I can take a walk in the gardens, sit on the benches and gaze over the city. One day recently the day was just that way so we headed off to see our favorite sights. However you may have already read in a previous blog about that day. We ended up in the Deer Moat instead of the Royal ... read more

We made it to Prague and we've had a great few days. We got off the train and just as I remembered, there were people there to lead us to rooms in the city. It's been 4 days and I'm still weary because we got a FANTASTIC apartment for 50 euro a night. When you take in the fact that most hostels were going for about 15 a person, and you add in that we have separate rooms, a full kitchen, satellite TV, you wonder how you found such a good deal. I mean yes, there is construction in the building so it's not the quietest place in the world, but it's about 100 yards from the "famous" Astronomical Clock and 1/4 mile from the Charles Bridge which leads to the Prague Castle. Needless to say, ... read more