Prague
Time to leave Germany and head to the Czech Republic. One final blast down the Autobahn, nothing too serious, before the GPS took us off the main roads to a 'B' road. We have told it to avoid toll roads with the hope we end up going through more villages and that was happening. (Autobahns are toll free)
The architecture in the first village was quite different to Germany but beautiful just the same. The roads though were more patchy and skinnier than similar roads in France or Belgium.
Prague is a busy city with limited street parking, but our hotel has some parking available.
On arrival anywhere we look on the Internet for the 'Top 10' places to visit and then decide which of those sound interesting. So after 'Czeching' this out we wandered into town with a vague plan to go past some of the top 10, but mainly just to take in this city. We managed to see Wenceslas Square, named after 'Good' King Wenceslas, and the Powder Tower (11th century), where they used to store gunpowder. We also climbed this and got some nice views.
Next day, Wednesday, we decided to do a 'Free Walking Tour'. These are available in many large cities including Melbourne and are free - obviously - though they do expect a tip at the end. The tour started at 11:00, so before hand we went to Charles Bridge, which dates back about 800 years. It was quite beautiful, with a large tower at one end and two smaller ones at the other.
The walking tour was in two parts, each meant to be 1 1/2 hours, with the first half going from the main square, through the Jewish Quarter and ending at Charles Bridge. We were given a history of Prague and the Czech Republic, details on 'The Astronomical Clock' (shows time as well as months with zodiacal signs and sun and moon phases). The Jewish Quarter was interesting and we are finding that Jews have been persecuted throughout history, not just by the Nazi's. The Jewish Quarter was placed near the river because if there was flooding then nothing was really lost! The cemetery too was interesting because there was little room available, so although there are an estimated 100,000 bodies, there are only about 12,000 tombstones and the bodies are laid on top of each other. The cemetery is actually about 10 feet higher than the surrounding land, again because of this.
We finished at Charles Bridge and had a 15 minute break before Part two. It was here that I made a BIG mistake and one that I am still kicking myself about. I was waiting in a queue to change some money and was approached by somebody who offered me a better exchange rate. Let's just say that some (most) of the money he gave me wasn't from the Czech Republic. Stupid mistake and I should have known better having read warnings on the Internet and in the Hotel. In the end it cost us about 85 Euros, we live and learn!
Part two of the walk took us across the bridge and up to 'Lesser Town' before finishing at the Castle. Again the guide gave us lots of historical information and made the walk interesting. We finished around 3:30, well behind schedule, but we were not concerned and tipped him well. We met a girl from Brisbane on the walk and together explored a bit more of the Castle before wandering down the hill and back to the main part of Prague. We enjoyed a beer together (Desperado - with tequila) before going our own ways.
Thursday was more walking, though we re-did parts of the walk from yesterday, so we could spend a bit longer at some places. By the end of the day our feet had had it and so had the camera! We found a camera shop and though they tried to help, we really only found that it would work intermittently. After going back to the room and trawling the Internet we realised the Auto Focus was playing up. I found a repair place not that far away (1/2 an hour walk), but in the end decided it probably wasn't worth it. We would have got there close to 5:00pm, even by taxi, and it was unlikely they could/would fix it quickly. We decided to go back to the Camera shop and ended up buying a new lens. All is well in the world again (well maybe not the credit card, but options were limited).
The weather in Prague has been really good, high twenties/low thirties. Perfect beer drinking weather so I keep trying and have found a few in both Germany and here that aren't too bad. Might eventually develop a taste for it.
Went for a short stroll after dinner to the Charles Bridge for night shots. Beautiful warm evening with lots of people around.
A beautiful, picturesque city.
Tomorrow we leave for Vienna.
The architecture in the first village was quite different to Germany but beautiful just the same. The roads though were more patchy and skinnier than similar roads in France or Belgium.
Prague is a busy city with limited street parking, but our hotel has some parking available.
On arrival anywhere we look on the Internet for the 'Top 10' places to visit and then decide which of those sound interesting. So after 'Czeching' this out we wandered into town with a vague plan to go past some of the top 10, but mainly just to take in this city. We managed to see Wenceslas Square, named after 'Good' King Wenceslas, and the Powder Tower (11th century), where they used to store gunpowder. We also climbed this and got some nice views.
Next day, Wednesday, we decided to do a 'Free Walking Tour'. These are available in many large cities including Melbourne and are free - obviously - though they do expect a tip at the end. The tour started at 11:00, so before hand we went to Charles Bridge, which dates back about 800 years. It was quite beautiful, with a large tower at one end and two smaller ones at the other.
The walking tour was in two parts, each meant to be 1 1/2 hours, with the first half going from the main square, through the Jewish Quarter and ending at Charles Bridge. We were given a history of Prague and the Czech Republic, details on 'The Astronomical Clock' (shows time as well as months with zodiacal signs and sun and moon phases). The Jewish Quarter was interesting and we are finding that Jews have been persecuted throughout history, not just by the Nazi's. The Jewish Quarter was placed near the river because if there was flooding then nothing was really lost! The cemetery too was interesting because there was little room available, so although there are an estimated 100,000 bodies, there are only about 12,000 tombstones and the bodies are laid on top of each other. The cemetery is actually about 10 feet higher than the surrounding land, again because of this.
We finished at Charles Bridge and had a 15 minute break before Part two. It was here that I made a BIG mistake and one that I am still kicking myself about. I was waiting in a queue to change some money and was approached by somebody who offered me a better exchange rate. Let's just say that some (most) of the money he gave me wasn't from the Czech Republic. Stupid mistake and I should have known better having read warnings on the Internet and in the Hotel. In the end it cost us about 85 Euros, we live and learn!
Part two of the walk took us across the bridge and up to 'Lesser Town' before finishing at the Castle. Again the guide gave us lots of historical information and made the walk interesting. We finished around 3:30, well behind schedule, but we were not concerned and tipped him well. We met a girl from Brisbane on the walk and together explored a bit more of the Castle before wandering down the hill and back to the main part of Prague. We enjoyed a beer together (Desperado - with tequila) before going our own ways.
Thursday was more walking, though we re-did parts of the walk from yesterday, so we could spend a bit longer at some places. By the end of the day our feet had had it and so had the camera! We found a camera shop and though they tried to help, we really only found that it would work intermittently. After going back to the room and trawling the Internet we realised the Auto Focus was playing up. I found a repair place not that far away (1/2 an hour walk), but in the end decided it probably wasn't worth it. We would have got there close to 5:00pm, even by taxi, and it was unlikely they could/would fix it quickly. We decided to go back to the Camera shop and ended up buying a new lens. All is well in the world again (well maybe not the credit card, but options were limited).
The weather in Prague has been really good, high twenties/low thirties. Perfect beer drinking weather so I keep trying and have found a few in both Germany and here that aren't too bad. Might eventually develop a taste for it.
Went for a short stroll after dinner to the Charles Bridge for night shots. Beautiful warm evening with lots of people around.
A beautiful, picturesque city.
Tomorrow we leave for Vienna.
Comments
Post a Comment