Hello from Prague, Czech Republic
Tuesday evening – June 7, 2016 (thirteeth post of this travelogue)
We survived the overnight train to Prague. Actually it was a nice private sleeping room with a toilet and shower. Pat slept in the lower bunk and I got to climb the ladder {grin}. I slept pretty well, but Pat was up and down a few times.
We decided to purchase a two day hop on hop off bus pass. We had great experiences with them in Madrid and Barcelona, but this company would not be highly rated in our book. The buses were about the size of an airport transporter which was OK, but the marking for the stops was non-existent so we did quite a bit of walking trying to find a stop. We finally went into a Hilton and they guided us to the stop outside their building (not marked). For the first day our plan was to ride the bus to see the best places in this amazing city.
We got to the apartment about 10:30 AM and our host met us so that he could store our bags (in his car). He actually took us to where we thought we could catch the hop on bus. I had looked it up on the internet and we were close, but with no signs, we spent way too much time trying to find the stops.
By the time we got done with the tour, our apartment was ready. It is a studio unit (first picture) which is fine for our needs. It is about 3 miles from the historic old town area (see map below or this link). This a more residential area (five and six story apartment buildings) than our other apartments, but we are a stone’s throw from a great looking cathedral (second picture). It appears that our building is less than 50 – 60 years old and has been recently remodeled.
{google_map}50.090178 14.447220{/google_map}
Church by our Aribnb
Prague has been on our bucket list for several years. It was always described to us as a beautiful city with lots of history and historical buildings. Here is a link to the wiki site: link. I have quoted some of the text from that site below:
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. It is the 14th largest city in the European Union. It is also the historical capital of Bohemia. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava River, the city is home to about 1.26 million people. Prague has the lowest unemployment rate in the European Union.
Prague has been a political, cultural, and economic centre of central Europe with waxing and waning fortunes during its 1,100-year existence. Founded during the Romanesque and flourishing by the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque eras, Prague was not only the capital of the Czech state, but also the seat of two Holy Roman Emperors and thus also the capital of the Holy Roman Empire.
It is the fifth most visited European city after London, Paris, Istanbul and Rome.
Monday we took the same hop on green route, but got off at some major stops to soak in the ambiance. Our first major stop was the Prague Castle link. Again quoting in part from Wiki:
Prague Castle is a castle complex dating from the 9th century and the official residence of the President of the Czech Republic. The castle was a seat of power for kings of Bohemia, Holy Roman emperors, and presidents of Czechoslovakia. The Bohemian Crown Jewels are kept within a hidden room inside it.
According to the Guinness Book of Records, Prague Castle is the largest ancient castle in the world.
Before we toured the grounds we had lunch at a sidewalk café (see pictures below). I will comment on prices in a later post, but this one was a good example. We should have known when the menu did not have prices on it. The food was OK, but the lunch cost over $40!
Sidewalk cafe close to Prague Castle
We did not tour the Castle, but the buildings were magnificent and the view of the city was outstanding. Here are a couple of photos.
Prague Castle
View of Prague from Prague Castle
As we walked over to the city overlook, we noticed this sign:
When we looked below here is what we saw {grin}:
It turns out that in most of the cities we have been in, have lots of Starbucks, McDonalds, Burger Kings, and Subways. We have avoided all of them. I should probably stop in one of the Starbucks to see if their coffee is different over here. The coffee in Europe is quite strong and I enjoy the taste.
This post is getting a bit long, so I will stop for now and continue in the next post.