Blogs from Czech Republic, Europe - page 13

The best laid plans don't always work out. We'd booked this trip ages ago for a spot of R not R on the Czech beer. The mission was cast into doubt by the Ryanair scheduling fiasco. Flights cancelled. Pilot holidays take precedence. In all fairness, pilots are somewhat essential and the Pardubice express wasn't on the Michael O'Leary list of casualties. We were off. Well we would be once the car was parked. The mid stay car park was turned into a state of confusion at 0645 hours. Proceed to Open Zone E. It wasn’t open! How can airport parking turn out so wrong at an official car park of a major London airport?. Heads must roll. We followed the masses and parked up in Zone F. The Ryanair landed 10 minutes behind schedule in deepest ... read more

This morning we walked ten minutes to Wenceslas Square, and continued on to the Powder Tower, where we were to meet our guide for the World War II in Prague Tour. I was particularly interested to hear the story of the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, the only successful killing of a senior Nazi leader during WWII. Our guide for the tour was Marketa, and she led us around the inner city of Prague, providing interesting information, showing us historical photos of key events, and taking us to the location of where those key events took place. Marketa also provided a brief history of how Czechoslovakia was formed in 1918, following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after World War I, and how the country became a Nazi German Protectorate in 1938, thanks to the appeasement policies ... read more

It was raining as we left St Wolfgang yesterday morning, headed for Cesky Krumlov in Czech Republic. On checking out, the Receptionist apologised and explained that “this is Austria”. It was raining for most of the drive into the Czech Republic, and we arrived at our accommodation in the Old Town at around 2.00pm. With our accommodation being in the Old Town, there was of course, no parking available, however, our hosts kindly provided us with a parking ticket for one of the Public Car Parks for the duration of our stay. We Czeched in to our accommodation and whilst the building itself was very old, our apartment inside was very modern. We set out, walking through the Old Town, checking out restaurants for dinner, enjoyed coffee and explored the Castle grounds, including the Castle Gardens. ... read more

I have not played chess since I was last snowed in during a heavy storm in Evergreen, Colorado. But Czech mate or not, this country, formerly Czechoslovakia, became the Czech Republic after the peaceful Velvet Revolution of 1989. The Communists were ousted, allowing democratic rule and a true market economy to begin on January 1, 1993. The Velvet Divorce created the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. Czech joined NATO in 1999, and the European Union in 2004. Why do tourists love to visit the Czech Republic? Obviously, the beer, always ranked the best in the world, according to serious beer drinkers. The invented (in 1118) the best beer in the world, and continue to reinvent beer through its innovative microbreweries. Since the invention of Pilsner Urquell in 1842, the Czechs have been famous for producing some of ... read more

We were treated to a fantastic breakfast provided by the hotel. Served on the second floor where you actually get to see the tops of the beautiful crystal chandeliers sparkling. Breads, fruits, meats, cheeses, egg dishes, bacon, sausages, and eggs abound. It reminded me of a quote from Dad if I filled my plate too high, "your eyes are bigger than your stomach." I wanted it all but managed to restrain myself and just have some fruit, bacon, a stewed tomato, and.....okay you got me.....one very small chocolate croissant. Today we are part of a guided tour around Prague. Having never wanting to be part of an actual guided tour, I was leary. Tom and I usually grab a map of the city, wherever we are and head to the oldest part and work our way ... read more