Trip to the Czech Republic (Click on any image to load a larger copy)
Introduction
On May 1, 2004, 10 countries joined the European Union, increasing it to 25 countries. To celebrate this, I
decided to visit two of the new members (The Czech Republic and Slovakia) a few days after they joined. To round
off the trip I also decided to visit Vienna, Austria - one of may favorite cities to visit. I had originally
planned to fly from Washington to Vienna where I would take a train to Prague, but this was about to change. As
I was about to check in, the Manager of Austrian Airlines in Washington asked me if Vienna was my final
destination. It seems that the flight was overbooked and that the airline needed to move some passengers to
other flights. I indicated that I was going to Prague. The manager offered to fly me to Prague via Frankfurt on
Lufthansa and give me 200 USD cash. This was an offer that I could not pass up - I would no have to pay for a
train from Vienna to Prague and I would arrive in Prague 6 hours earlier then I had originally planned. As a
bonus I would have more cash to spend on my vacation and I could get frequent flyer miles on Lufthansa.
I arrived the next morning in Prague after changing planes in Frankfurt. Took a bus from the airport to the first subway station and then took the subway to my hotel U klenotníka - a nice small hotel located near Wenceslas Square. After checking in, I headed off to see the Old Town Square. The Old Town Square is a pretty square a with large statue of Jan Hus and an Astronomical Clock. The Square like the rest of Prague is well preserved area full of tourist, cafes, and shops. This day many of the tourists were wearing jerseys of their national hockey teams as Prague was hosting the World Hockey Championship.I walked around the Square and old town Prague (Prague is a nice place just to walk around in) for a while before I headed back to my hotel, I was tired after a day of traveling and the next day would be a long day.
The next day I was refreshed and headed off to the Prague Castle. The castle sits on top of a hill and contains several palaces, churches, and museums. It even contains the office of the President of the Czech Republic. As I was arriving, I witnessed the changing of the guard at the gated entrance. I bought my ticket, which covered all of the various sites with in the castle, and began exploring the castle. My first stop was at St. Vitus Cathedral. It the most important church in the Czech Republic where Kings were coronated and burled after death. I climbed up to the top of the Great Tower - 287 steps - and saw a magnificent view of the city. While up there I also saw a military parade take place. I next went to see the Old Royal Palace, where the royal family lived in from the 13th to 16th centuries. It is also where the President of the Czech is sworn in. The last stop I had in the castle was to see the Golden Lane. This is a small street where goldsmiths used to work and live in. The houses are quite small but the area is well preserved.
After visiting the castle, I had a great lunch near the Czech Parliament. Czech food is Germanic so that means lots of meat, dumplings, and great beer. After lunch, I continued my tour of the city by crossing the Charles Bridge. This is probably the most famous attraction in Prague. It is a very old bridge, construction completed around 1400, and has many statues build along its sides dedicated to Czech saints. I continued my travels back to Wenceslas Square and my hotel. Later in the evening I watched the US play Slovakia where the US won.
On my third day in Prague, I headed off to see the Prague Museum. The museum covers the history of the city and has several miniature models of the city. These models show Prague at various times in history and are quite amazing to see. In the afternoon, I took my first walking tour of the city. I also like taking walking tours of cities and this one was quite interesting. It was the Revolution Walk covering the Czech Republic during Communist times. Highlights including the Prague Spring Revolution of 1968 and the Velvet Revolution of 1989.
I took two walking tours on my forth day in Prague. The first was Prague by Boat - an introductory tour of the city including a trip down the Vltava River. Later in the afternoon I took a tour of Prague's Jewish Quarter. The Jewish Quarter was a ghetto for Jews from the 13th century to 1848, when it was inc orated into Prague and the wall surrounding it were torn down. It contains many synagogues that survived the Nazi unlike the Jewish people of Prague.
The next morning I checked out of my hotel, took a subway to the train station, and caught a train to the second largest city in the Czech Republic, Brno. Brno is also the capital of Moravia, one of the two nations that make up the Czech Republic (The other nation is Bohemia). The trip took about 3 hours and cost me 6 USD. It was an enjoyable trip as I could see the Czech countryside. Brno was a great place to visit. First my hotel - Hotel Pegas - was above a brew pub and second, the city had almost no other tourists. I could see the real Czech Republic here, not the touristy pseudo Czech Republic found in Prague. The only problem with almost no other tourists is that I would not hear a conversation in English for the next four days. I was able to use English to talk with people at the hotels, restaurants, stores, and museums but had no extended talks with anyone. Quite an interesting experience.
My first day in Brno, I walked around the city visiting the Capuchin Monastery (a strange place that has mummified monks on display) and the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, I spent the afternoon just walking around the city and ended the day with a really good meal at the brewery on the first floor of my hotel. The next day I visited the Spilberk Castle. This castle contains a museum on the history of Moravia & Brno and a former prison that was used from the mid 18th century to 1853 but reopened in World War II by the Nazis. The next morning after checking out of my hotel, I walked to the train station and took a 2 hour train ride to Bratislava, Slovakia (See Trip to Slovakia).
I arrived the next morning in Prague after changing planes in Frankfurt. Took a bus from the airport to the first subway station and then took the subway to my hotel U klenotníka - a nice small hotel located near Wenceslas Square. After checking in, I headed off to see the Old Town Square. The Old Town Square is a pretty square a with large statue of Jan Hus and an Astronomical Clock. The Square like the rest of Prague is well preserved area full of tourist, cafes, and shops. This day many of the tourists were wearing jerseys of their national hockey teams as Prague was hosting the World Hockey Championship.I walked around the Square and old town Prague (Prague is a nice place just to walk around in) for a while before I headed back to my hotel, I was tired after a day of traveling and the next day would be a long day.
The next day I was refreshed and headed off to the Prague Castle. The castle sits on top of a hill and contains several palaces, churches, and museums. It even contains the office of the President of the Czech Republic. As I was arriving, I witnessed the changing of the guard at the gated entrance. I bought my ticket, which covered all of the various sites with in the castle, and began exploring the castle. My first stop was at St. Vitus Cathedral. It the most important church in the Czech Republic where Kings were coronated and burled after death. I climbed up to the top of the Great Tower - 287 steps - and saw a magnificent view of the city. While up there I also saw a military parade take place. I next went to see the Old Royal Palace, where the royal family lived in from the 13th to 16th centuries. It is also where the President of the Czech is sworn in. The last stop I had in the castle was to see the Golden Lane. This is a small street where goldsmiths used to work and live in. The houses are quite small but the area is well preserved.
After visiting the castle, I had a great lunch near the Czech Parliament. Czech food is Germanic so that means lots of meat, dumplings, and great beer. After lunch, I continued my tour of the city by crossing the Charles Bridge. This is probably the most famous attraction in Prague. It is a very old bridge, construction completed around 1400, and has many statues build along its sides dedicated to Czech saints. I continued my travels back to Wenceslas Square and my hotel. Later in the evening I watched the US play Slovakia where the US won.
On my third day in Prague, I headed off to see the Prague Museum. The museum covers the history of the city and has several miniature models of the city. These models show Prague at various times in history and are quite amazing to see. In the afternoon, I took my first walking tour of the city. I also like taking walking tours of cities and this one was quite interesting. It was the Revolution Walk covering the Czech Republic during Communist times. Highlights including the Prague Spring Revolution of 1968 and the Velvet Revolution of 1989.
I took two walking tours on my forth day in Prague. The first was Prague by Boat - an introductory tour of the city including a trip down the Vltava River. Later in the afternoon I took a tour of Prague's Jewish Quarter. The Jewish Quarter was a ghetto for Jews from the 13th century to 1848, when it was inc orated into Prague and the wall surrounding it were torn down. It contains many synagogues that survived the Nazi unlike the Jewish people of Prague.
The next morning I checked out of my hotel, took a subway to the train station, and caught a train to the second largest city in the Czech Republic, Brno. Brno is also the capital of Moravia, one of the two nations that make up the Czech Republic (The other nation is Bohemia). The trip took about 3 hours and cost me 6 USD. It was an enjoyable trip as I could see the Czech countryside. Brno was a great place to visit. First my hotel - Hotel Pegas - was above a brew pub and second, the city had almost no other tourists. I could see the real Czech Republic here, not the touristy pseudo Czech Republic found in Prague. The only problem with almost no other tourists is that I would not hear a conversation in English for the next four days. I was able to use English to talk with people at the hotels, restaurants, stores, and museums but had no extended talks with anyone. Quite an interesting experience.
My first day in Brno, I walked around the city visiting the Capuchin Monastery (a strange place that has mummified monks on display) and the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, I spent the afternoon just walking around the city and ended the day with a really good meal at the brewery on the first floor of my hotel. The next day I visited the Spilberk Castle. This castle contains a museum on the history of Moravia & Brno and a former prison that was used from the mid 18th century to 1853 but reopened in World War II by the Nazis. The next morning after checking out of my hotel, I walked to the train station and took a 2 hour train ride to Bratislava, Slovakia (See Trip to Slovakia).
Photo Info
I used a Olympus C-750UZ 4.0 Megapixel Digital Camera. The images were cleaned up a bit with Adobe PhotoShop
Elements (To correct the color balance). Additional Camera Information
Prague
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| The Vltava river with the Charles Bridge on the right and Prague Castle in the background | Changing of the Guards at the entrance of the Prague Castle | The Guards of Prague Castle |
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| St. Vitus Cathedral | A Military Parade near Prague Castle | Closeup of a Military Parade near Prague Castle |
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| Charles Bridge and Stare Mesto (Old Town) | The Golden Lane | Josefov (Old Jewish Quarter) - Notice the clock with Hebrew Numbers |
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| The Spanish Synagogue in Josefov | The Powder Tower | Staromestske (Old Town Square )- Franz Kafka lived in the House with Black House at one time |
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| More of Staromestske (Old Town Square) with Jan Hus Statue | The Astronomical Clock on the side of the Old Town Hall | Closeup of the Astronomical Clock |
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| The Czech National Museum with a statue of King Wenceslas in the foreground - in 1969 A Student set himself on fire to protest the Soviet Suppression of the Prague Spring Revolution | Closeup of the Charles Bridge | The Prague Castle |
Brno
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| Brno from the Spilberk Castle | A small street in Brno with St Michael's Church | The entrance to a wine bar |
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| The fortifications of Spilberk Castle | Entrance if the Spilberk Castle |