PRAGUE: A Real-life Fantasyland!!

Our arrival during rush hour traffic on Friday night made for a slow entrance into the city. However the slowly-moving bus gave us a chance to see some of the landmarks of this magical city. After we checked into our B&B we reconvened outside for a fast track tour of the city. It was 6:00pm and the sun was beginning to set. The lights began to twinkle from many of the fairyland buildings. The city was ALIVE with people - many of them students. We ended our mad cap run at the Charles Bridge. Whoa!! We are talking spectacular views of the Prague Castle and assorted beautiful churches and buildings from the bridge.



We finished with a Czech meal and lots of beer before drifting off to sleep. The weather has been good. Most days have been in the 50's and 60's with some sun and no rain. The weekend looks very good as we spend three nights in this beautiful city.

Prague became the capital of independent Czechoslovakia after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian empire in 1918. During World War II, Prague was occupied by Nazi - Germany. In 1946 the communists became the dominant party and formed a coalition government with other socialist parties. Now the Czech Republic is a member of the EU. However they don't use the Euro. For $1.00 you get 20 Czech Kronas. That makes it challenging to go to the ATM and withdraw $4000 Kronas from our Downers Grove checking account. A beer costs 40 Kronas - $2.00.








Saturday morning we took public transportation (a tram) to Prague Castle - the #1 tourist attraction in the Czech Republic. This is where it all began with Charles IV, the Holy Roman Emperor who ruled his vast empire from Prague in the 14th century. Our visit to this large expansive castle on a hill overlooking the city included a wide assortment of buildings that included the king's palace as well as the residence of the Catholic archbishop and the Cathedral of St.Vitus. The Cathedral took 600 years to complete and was dedicated in1929 on the 1000th anniversary of St. Wenceslas, the patron saint of Prague. I took shots of this gothic cathedral and the beautiful stained glass windows. The castle grounds also included the Romanesque Basilica of St.George. Lots of commingling between church and state. Debbie is pictured in front of this Basilica.


I included a photo of our local guide in the Cathedral with our group (Deb on the far left). The quality of the guides from Ric Steves tour group has been outstanding. They truly are experts on the sites we visit.


We witnessed the changing of the guard at noon before breaking for lunch. At one point we were taking a restroom break and I was a little overwhelmed observing the tons of diverse languages in evidence on the castle grounds - Chinese groups along with groups from France and Germany, Japan and America. I was seated on a bench when two gentlemen joined me and sought out each guy's country of origin. Both spoke limited English but chose that language to begin the conversation. One man spoke respectable English and indicated he was from Brussels in Belgium. The other man shared that he was from Iraq. As he spoke his 7 year old daughter approached and embraced him. I thought to myself that the world is really rich in diversity her in the Czech Republic sitting on a bench with citizens from Brussels and Iraq. Go figure.






Following our tour we went behind the Castle to St. Norbert's Monastery which has a reputation for it's beer recipe. The six of us grabbed a table, ordered a 3 liter pitcher and individual ethnically-prepared entrees for 1200 Kronas ($60 for all 6 of us). We enjoyed the sun, the food and the fellowship before strolling downhill across the Charles Bridge packed with people out enjoying the beautiful autumn day.


Following dinner and drinks for 1600 Kronas ($80) for six of us we enjoyed an evening of classical music in one of the rich music halls of Prague.


It doesn't get much better than this.

Here is a picture I took in front of a Czech bookstore. My grandchildren might enjoy seeing this.