Tom arrives, bussing, boating, and nightcapping in the "Dancing House"

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Our Australian friend Tom Johnson, who was visiting his daughter Ellie in London, came travelling with us in Prague and Berlin. We started out with the hop-on-hop-off tour of the city which included a boat ride on the river. Czechs call the river the Vitava, but the English know it as the Moldeau, from the evocative music of that title by the composer Smetana.

As usual, we tried to get a handle on the basic layout of the city so we could then plan what to do in the 4 days we had in Prague.

The "Dancing House" was right across the bridge from where we were staying, so its rooftop bar became an obvious site for gin and tonics on our first night.

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Photos

Getting in a bit of lunch on deck before our river ride.
Tom and Phil have been friends since they worked together at NSW Fisheries in Narrandera in 1975.

Our airbnb was just one block from the river.
See the trees on the right? Our place was on the 3rd floor (yes, another hefty walk-up) on the back corner across from it.

View from "our" bridge.
Tied to the dock are a restaurant and behind that a "botel".

The famous castle and cathedral, as seen looking up from the boat.
This is said to be the biggest castle complex in the world.

The Charles Bridge is very old and can no longer take vehicular traffic.
It is mobbed with people, probably mostly tourists, and vendors and many artists offering to do portraits and caricatures.

Many, many statues decorated the Charles Bridge.
But the statues were nearly all very blackened with pollution.

Look into the middle distance and you'll see many little pleasure crafts.
The river was very much a playground.

The "Dancing House", built to symbolize the transition from soviet rule to the free economy.
Sometimes referred to as "Fred and Ginger", this building is meant to suggest a dancing couple. The uneven window placement and wavy lines disguise the fact that it has more floors than its neighbours.

View across the road from our bedroom window.
How did the sculptor know how I look in the morning?

Comments

[michelleandkev]

Prague
More wonderful pictures which bring back wonderful memories of our trip there a few years ago. M xx