Sep 10 -12 - Prague, Czech Republic

Sep 10 - arrival day

Prague is a beautiful city which straddles the winding Vltava River (Click the blue link for a more detailed description) and will be our home for the first three days.  We were brought to our hotel by a fearless driver who sped through the steets (does everyone drive this fast in Europe?!?!) weaving in and out of traffic, not letting anything impede her path!  We were welcomed by the Viking representative at the Art Nouveau Palace Hotel.

The rest of the day was spent taking it easy in anticipation of our first tour, Prague by Night.  Our guide, George, gave us a historical description and talked about his life growing up under Communism.  The following link, Prague during the war. is an interesting look at Prague then and now, using the sliders under the pictures to see the changes.

We saw the Dancing House, also referred to as ‘Fred and Ginger’ which was designed by two architects, one a Croatian and the other, Frank O Gehry, a Canadian!  Fred is the rock structure on the right, and Ginger is the glass structure on the left! 

We went up to the rooftop terrace for a spectacular view of the city, all lit up.

We were taken through Old Town, New Town and Lesser Town, and made a stop at the Strahov Monastery which now houses a hotel and pub!  We were not able to see the historic areas at night, but did have a sample of their beer ( or for some of us, wine!)  More spectacular panoramic views of the city!

 

Back at our hotel, we flopped into bed after a long, but enjoyable day.

Sep 11 - a day in the city

                                       Hop on Hop off routes 

Rather than do the physically demanding Viking Tour which involved 4-6 km of walking over cobblestone streets, we chose the hop on hop off bus, as a means of getting to some important landmarks like the Astronomical Clock at Old Town Hall, and Prague Castle.  

So many side streets and even main thoroughfares have cobblestones on the sidewalks and on the roads and while they look interesting, they require careful walking and make for bumpy rides!

The first stop on the green route was only a block from our hotel.  So we got on there and went right to the Old Town Hall at Stop 4 for 10:00 AM to see the Astronomical  Clock.  We enjoyed the Old Town’s architecture and even signed the book of Condolences for Queen Elizabeth II.

From there we got back on the bus and at stop 5 switched to the red line’s  Stop 3 at the same location.  This took us to the Prague Castle. It was a long walk in and had so many parts of the castle to tour.  Because my old body would not tolerate that, we spent most of our time in the Courtyards and looking at St George’s Basilica.  We giggled at people who were posing for photos in front of the church! Some people are so vain!

  After a lot of walking and standing we hopped back on the bus for a ride  back to the hotel.

In the evening we were taken to a Folkloric Dinner in the countryside at the court of the village of Číčovice.  Throughout the typical Czech meal, we were entertained with dancing, song, and instrumental music; they played violin, bass  and even a dulcimer which we had never seen before.

Sep 12 - Last day in Prague

Today is our last day in this lovely city. It has been interesting to stay here; it is the first time I have stayed in a city where I can’t read the signs or understand the language I am hearing all around me! The architecture is interesting - reminds me of St Petersburg or Amsterdam. Most of the buildings look the same in the downtown area as you would have seen in some of the previous photos I’ve posted.

It seems that most people live in ‘flats’ in larger buildings.  Each apartment building might have a few flats on each floor and buildings are just a few stories high. The Czech people are friendly and everyone in the hotels, popular sights etc speak excellent English.

Today our excursion was to Terezín, a city that was built by the Hapsburgs in the late 18th Century and then taken  over by the Nazis in 1938. It was transformed into a ghetto and later a concentration camp. 

We spent the first hour there in a museum where the story of Terezín unfolded.  There were descriptions, photos, and even original  children and residents’ artwork that had been found in boxes in a basement years later.

Next we went to the cemetery and fortress which was used as a concentration camp and to receive people being taken to other camps such as Auschwitz. After standing and looking at all the exhibits and descriptions for over an hour in the museum, and looking at the long walk to the fortress, I decided not to go.  

Mary went and will surely post her photos on her Facebook Page at some point. However, I did find a post on YouTube that will give you an idea of what Terezín is about.  Click the blue print if you interested in learning more.

We went to lunch in Litomêrice, at a microbrewery called Koliba. People seemed to like the beer - and the wine was OK too!  😁🍷😁

We had supper at the hotel, and now are packing our bags as we head to the ship in Budapest tomorrow!  It’s been a really nice start to our trip and we are looking forward to our first river cruise!

Stay tuned…

Mary & Dorothy