Blogs from Prague, Czech Republic, Europe - page 15

Geo: 50.0878, 14.4205Up bright eyed and bushy tailed this am and went skipping about Prague. First stop after a 45 minute walk over the hills and dales we arrived at the Prague Castle. The initial work here was begun in the 9th century, and we saw at least one person's remains from the 10th century. The complex here is enormous, the largest ancient castle in the world. It includes several churches, a palace and a variety of other things.The Charles Bridge is below the castle taking fifty years to construct beginning in 1357. Traffic is limited to pedestrians, and folks hawking their wares. Religious statues adorn each side, most of them appearing in pain. But the atmosphere here is a bit like a carnival.We then walked to the "old town" to see an astronomical clock and ... read more

Another day another place to explore. Today I was heading out on a day trip to Terezin, which was a concentration camp used by the Nazis in WW2. Terezin was a collection camp which meant that people were not exterminated there however the death toll was high due to the cramped spaces and disease. Many of the people who were sent to Terezin were eventually moved on to another concentration camp, most often Auschwitz. The town of Terezin originally had a population of 7000 individuals (3500 civilians and 3500 military employees). Throughout WW2 during the Nazi occupation more than 150 000 Jews resided a Terezin before being shipped off to other camps. Terezin was also used as a front by the Nazis to spread their propaganda about the conditions in concentration camps to Western countries and ... read more

Today involved driving and walking. Lots of both. Oh, and heat. The trip from Vienna to Prague was always going to be long but some road works, terrible drivers and a lack of motorway meant it seemed longer than it should have. On the plus side we have discovered Czech Vegas, where you can gamble,see as many breasts as you want,go clubbing till the small hours and buy atriple sized plastic bull dog, all just past the Austrian border.We also got to see the wider Czech republc ( the non Prague bit)which is kind of like the UK except, to avoid traffic jams, white van drivers just go all the way across fields. Tonight's hotel is a boat. On the river. It's cool. We stayed here exactly a year ago today and were able to park ... read more

Our second day here in Prague has involved a lot of walking again but we included a few more drink stops and added a tram ride so our legs are less tired than yesterday. High on a hill close to the castle we'd seen Prague's answer to the Eiffel Tower and we made that our first destination this morning. We walked over the river to our second funicular railway of the trip. The 40 minute wait for a ticket may have been a mistake as I'm pretty sure we could have walked up the hill in half that time. But then again we'd have ended up with tired kids in this heat so maybe it was the right call. At the top of the hill is the Petrin Observation Tower which is a 1/4 size imitation ... read more

So what makes something survive, revive and create? What is in the DNA of a city that vibrancy is so strong that it is almost as if you can feel the spirits of past generations pouring energies from above. Prague ! The 3 hour drive from the Vienna airport to the Czech Republic was actually rather boring, we drove through a non defined geographical area that didn't impress and what i would describe as nothing. You couldn't be prepared for the sudden change, the oasis of buildings with beautiful designs and unique colors, the cobble stones or the red roofs decorated with gold shining in the sun. We landed on Thursday morning only to arrive in Prague at 5 pm planning to put our baggage down in the room and then walk the streets for a ... read more