So, the problem with blogging is that I’m inconsistent. I admire backpackers who can travel for 6 months, and blog for 160 of those days, while sleeping in hostels with spotty internet or crashing on a stranger’s couch. Then there’s me — I come home to a nice apartment, with pretty reliable internet (by German standards) and can’t manage to blog more than every other trip — on which I stay in hotels or bed & breakfasts.
Just two days ago (in real time), we finished a tour of the Rhine River and Romantic Road in Germany. However, since I never finished blogging about our Eastern Europe trilogy (Austria, Bratislava, and Prague) that happened in February, I will now post some pictures and commentary from Prague.
And to complete the timeline for you — Prague happened in February; then there was a trip to London in March, when we got to surprise Breighton (more on that later), I got to see “Spain Kate” who I haven’t seen in ELEVEN YEARS, and Jeff and I survived horrific food poisoning; a trip to the US (for me) in March/early April; a trip to Oslo in late April; and then the Rhine River/Southern Germany tour. Clearly, we’re turning on the travel heat since we’re leaving in less than a year. Oh, and I still am working (as is Jeff, obviously) so we’ve been a little busy.
PRAGUE
I would say the highlights of Prague are as follows, and in no particular order:
- Free NewEurope Prague tour. This was about three hours and hit all the main sites. It was also a foundation that the company used to build groups for their paid tours. We also did a paid Prague Castle tour, which frankly, wasn’t as good. Pictures from both are below (more on the Castle and the Jewish quarter later!).
- The beer. Cheapest in Europe — half liter, about a Euro. And generally, it’s pretty inexpensive.
- King Charles Bridge, the building of which began in the 1300s. Not overrated.
- St. Vitus Cathedral up at the Prague Castle. Most amazing stained glass I’ve seen, and also some of the most elaborate tombs for Holy Roman Emperors and Bohemian Kings. This has Westminster Abbey beat by about 1,000 points in my book (more of those shots in next post).
- The clock tower is pretty cool once you know the history; but before that, you wonder why it’s so famous. Then, you learn things like this: the builder/engineer of the 600-year old astronomical clock was blinded and muted (tongue cut off) so he could never build another clock like it elsewhere. Who needs confidentiality agreements, non-disclosures, non-competes, or any other legal brainchild when you can just poke someone’s eyes out and cut off their tongue?!
- Climbing the clock tower for a great view of Old Town Square.
- Pretty much everywhere you look there’s something awesome and ornate to look at. Prague was not bombed at all in the last century’s wars, so it’s pretty well preserved.
The “low lights”:
- Prague in February is FREEZING. Seriously, FREEZING. Thank God for my robe-like puffy jacket, hot wine to drink, and hot pastry.
- I think that’s it. Really, in the spring, this place would be perfect.
Here are some pictures. I took well over 500, so it’s hard to pick. But this is a rough sampling… I actually have more on the iPad of the Prague Castle that I will upload in the next post! Also, these are completely out of order because WordPress is currently having a temper tantrum, but you get the idea.
[…] Here are some more outdoor and indoor pics, including some from our climb to the top (others included in last Prague post). […]