Time capsule - European Vacation Part 3 - Prague

Week 8 - Time Capsule  - European Vacation  Part 3

Prague, capital of the Czech Republic

This the part 3 of a 5 part blog detailing a recent trip my husband Burt and I made to Europe.

      Part 1 covers our time in Switzerland and a visit with my cousin Aline Reppel. 

      Part 2 covers our time in France with cousins who live in the Alsatian village of Mussig 

      Part 3 covers our time in Prague the capital of the Czech Republic

      Part 4 covers our Avalon Danube River cruise in Germany (from Nuremburg to Passau)

      Part 5 covers our Avalon Danube River cruise in Austria and Hungary

Day 10 Oct. 30 — Train to Prague

In Strasbourg we boarded the 7:00 am train that was heading directly to Munich. Our supplement (7.8 € or $10.75) was 2nd class, so we waited until we crossed the border into Germany before moving to the 1st class section.  We found an open compartment and parked ourselves. Each compartment had 6 seats, 2 sets of 3 facing each other. At one point 3 young men entered the compartment was said they had reserved it but since there was room for all of us, they told us to stay. They exited at perhaps Stuttgart. Later a couple came to the compartment and said they had reserved it but again allowed us to stay. There was only cold refreshments on the train, so we waited until Munich for food.

We purchased a sandwich and 2 small salads in a cup (2.9 € about $ 4). We were set for drinks as Marie-Laure gave us two bottles of water before we left Mussig. At the Munich train station you have to pay (.5 Euros) to use the toilet. We checked the Departure board and found our train listed. When we went to the platform the train was there. A nice lady who worked for the railroad helped explain which set of cars we needed to be in as most of the cars were not going to Prague. So we boarded early and ate our lunch on the train. Soon the train was off to Prague. 

We arrived in Prague at 18:44 and took a taxi to the hotel (30 € about $42). We had a nice room at the Hotel Intercontinental located on Parizstr (the Rodeo Drive of Prague).

Due to the late hour and the rainy weather, we ate dinner at the hotel. I had salmon with zucchini and potatoes. The zucchini was interesting it was cut like spaghetti and in a vinaigrette of some kind. I really liked it. Burt had beef dish with mixed vegetables. The dinner for the two of us cost 1,160.00 Kč (Czech crowns) or about $60. We went to our room and hit the sheets soon after; it was a long day.

The beds in Europe are interesting. At Aline's house and in this hotel, there is no top sheet. Instead there is a duvet which is folded in half and used to cover yourself. We learned at Aline's to unfold the duvet, otherwise we were too warm. In general we were very warm indoors in Europe; perhaps they had the heat on. The Europeans must be used to it as it didn't seem to bother anyone else.

Day 11 Oct. 31 — Prague

After walking up we went down to breakfast. The room came with a full breakfast. The buffet had everything from American eggs and pancakes, German cold cuts and boiled eggs, Scandinavian fish, French croissants, and more. The had a coffee machine that you could select the type of coffee you wanted including American style filtered coffee.

A book in our hotel room described Prague as follows:

      A land of cobbled streets, fascinating facades, enchanting spires and 

      charming buildings presided over by a monumental castle.

All of which are true. The city is known as the city of a hundred spires. According to a tour guide someone counted them and there is actually over 400 of them.

 

The Avalon River Cruise provides a free city tour for most of their stops. We took the included tour of Prague on our first morning in Prague. The tour began by loading us onto a bus and transporting up the hill to the Prague castle. Our tour guide Zdana was quite knowledgeable and had a quick wit. The country has a long history. It was ruled for many years by the Hapsburgs. The compound included gardens, a Gothic church, a receptions hall and much more. the religion also is quite varied.

Prague castle is the most visit attraction in Prague. The castle was founded around 800 A.D. According to the Guinness book of world records, the castle compound is the largest coherent castle complex with an area of almost 70,000 square meters.  

We arrived in time to view the changing of the guard.

One of the earlier protestant movements began in Bohemia (current day Czech Republic) by reformer Jan Hus who was burned at the stake in 1415. Protestantism was later suppressed and Roman Catholic was made the state religeon in 1620. Under the communists rule, all religion was suppressed.

According to Zdana, their ruler who was in power just prior to the communists was well liked by the people. The communists tried to paint his regime in a poor light. The teachers at the schools would end the year without covering this period so the wouldn't have to cover it with the required propaganda slant.

Upon arriving at the castle, we passed by the Royal Gardens. The current Czech president declined to live in the residence adjacent to the gardens which has allowed the gardens to be opened for public use. The Renaissance garden was built for one of the Hapsburg queens. The queen died giving birth to her fifteenth child before the building and gardens were complete.  According to Zdana, royalty used wet nurses thus depriving them of the natural birth control that breast feeding often provides.

We passed by a building with an interesting architectural feature, a multicolored plaster facade. Although it looks like the design was painted on, according to our tour guide, it is two layers of colored plaster. The Czech people are very proud of their long history. When a building had to be rebuilt, they would preserve a portion of the original. Archaeological research has been conducted; some of the sites have been made accessible to the public via viewing windows. Mathias gate, one of the original gates to the castle was incorporated into the palace wall. On the castle ramparts a group of muscians were playing:

The castle had some interesting statues:

St. Vitus Cathedral is located in castle compound. It is the seat of the archbishop of Prague. It is a gothic style with beautiful stained glass windows. It was built upon Roman ruins. It is home to the chapel of St. Wenceslas and contains the tombs of many kings. Follow link for a History of the Prague castle.

Prague is home to the Charles University. Founded in 1348, it was the earliest university in Central Europe. Classes were originally taught in Latin.

King Wenceslas is the Patron Saint of the Czech Republic. Wenceslas was the king of Bohemia in the 10th century. He was granted Sainthood following his assassination by his brother. His good deeds is the subject of the "Good King Wenceslas" Christmas carol. (The Feast of Stephen is celebrated on December 26th.)

      Good King Wenceslas looked out, on the Feast of Stephen,

      When the snow lay round about, deep and crisp and even;

      Brightly shone the moon that night, tho' the frost was cruel,

      When a poor man came in sight, gath'ring winter fuel.

After leaving the castle, we returned to Parizska street. We walked towards the town hall. Along the way we passed the Jewish quarter where the oldest active synagogue stands. The synagogue has a list of the Prague Jewish residents who died in the concentration camps or failed to return after the war. Behind the synagogue there is a Jewish cemetery that is suppose to be very interesting. 

Prague once had the largest Jewish ghetto in Europe. Most of it was torn down and replaced with a splendid boulevard modeled after those in Paris.  The boulevard was named Parizstra.

We continued toward the Old Town Square which has been the city’s main marketplace since the eleventh century. The best known tourist attraction on the square is a medieval astronomical clock which was installed in 1410 on the wall of the Old Town City Hall making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still working. In the Middle Ages, it was considered one of the wonders of the world. Legend has it the clock maker was blinded by the city councillors to prevent him from building another clock.

At the top of the hour the clock puts on a small show for a ton of tourists. Four figures on the side of the clock become animated and two small windows open to reveal the apostles walk. On the side of the clock is a skeleton (death) which rings a bell, a Turk (vice) shaking his head No, a Miser (with a purse full of money) and Vanity (admiring himself in a mirror). The show endw with the crowing of a golden rooster and the hour ringing from belltower.

  

There were tons of people, for a show that short and didn't warrant the tons of people waiting to see it. Although when you think about the age of the clock, it is impressive.

We walked towards the hotel and located a restaurant a block from the hotel. It had a smoking area. This is the first town in Europe we have been in that still has few regulations on smoking. I ordered a Czech dish, beef in a cream sauce (which was slightly sweet) with bread like dumplings and a cranberry and sour cream garnish. I wasn't crazy about the dumplings, but the beef dish was tasty. The lunch for the two of us cost 393.00 Kč or just over $20.

Around 4 p.m. my friend and former room mate Lee and her husband Jim met us at our hotel. I hadn't seen Lee since Christmas 1977. We picked up our relationship without skipping a beat. (The next day Jim said Lee had been "Margaretized" — apparently our meeting left her all keyed up.)

We walked through the Jewish quarter, unfortunately they were just closing. We continued to the Old Town square. There were street performers - human statues, musicians, and more. There was an artist making pictures with 2 cans of spray paint, and a woman was making giant soap bubbles. 

We found a pizza shop about a block away. Lee ordered Goulash, Jim a pigs knuckle, Burt and I split a pizza. It was very good. After dinner we called it a night and returned to our hotel.

Day 12 Nov. 1 — Prague

After breakfast we met up with Lee and Jim. We decided to walked to the Charles bridge. We strolled along the banks of the Vltava river on our way to the Charles bridge.

 

The Charles Bridge is a medieval stone bridge that crosses the Vltava river. The construction of the bridge started in 1357. It is said that egg yolks were mixed into the mortar to strengthen the bridge. If true is must have worked because the bridge has survived many floods. Today it is a cobblestone clad pedestrian only bridge that is lined with statues. The bridge is flooded with tourists, street performers and vendors.

 

Afterwards we walked through the medieval streets near the Old Town Square. We stopped at the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch where the service was good and the food enjoyable. The lunch for the four of us cost 1490.00 Kč (Czech crowns) or about $78.

After lunch we did some shopping in the many souvenir shops. Prague is known for their garnets. Blood-red garnets are the official Czech national gem.  Garnets are one of the country's top exports. We looked at garnets in some of the many jewelry shops in the tourist area. I bought a book on Prague and a couple of post cards for  250.00 Kč (Czech crowns) or about $13. While wandering around we passed by some food vendors in the Old Town Square. There werehorse carriages touring the Old Town.

We looked at the interesting street scapes and architecture as we returned to our hotel.

Not feeling like going out for dinner, we ordered room service.  I had the goulash and Burt had the potato cabbage sausage soup. The dinner for the two of us cost 558.00 Kč (Czech crowns) or abpit $30.We enjoyed both of them.

Day 13 Nov. 2 — Leave Prague for Germany

After breakfast we returned to our room and packed our bags. Avalon arranged for the pickup and transport of 2 pieces of luggage.  Although we had free time until our scheduled 1 p.m. departure for Nuremberg, the weather was foul, cold and rainy. We checked out of our room prior to the 11:00 am checkout. Our cost of our room was included in the Avalon river cruise. We only had to pay for the items we had put on our room. We were charged 240 Kč or about $12.60 for 2 bottles of water.

So after checking out of the hotel, we had a poor imitation of my Alsatian favorite "Tarte Flambee" at a cafe at the hotel. The lunch cost 455 Kč or about $24. Afterwards we hung around the lobby with our fellow Avalon cruise mates.

It was a 3 hour bus trip to ship. We made one stop near the border for snacks and a bathroom break. We arrived at the ship named Transquility around 4 p.m. The ship was located on the Main-Danube Canal. Upon entering the vessel, all passengers were required to disinfect their hands. We were informed this was required before every meal and upon entering the vessel.  (They made every effort to prevent a virus outbreak such as the notorious Norovirus outbreak that affected some of the Carnival Cruise ships.)

The staff quickly assigned room keys and escorted the passengers to their assigned rooms. Our room was at the back of the ship on the same floor as the lobby. The room was small but nicely appointed. After settling in we went to the lounge for the mandatory safety briefing and an introduction to the staff.  We were informed this was the last sailing for the Tranquility under Avalon management; after this voyage the ship is going to be sold. Avalon is in the process of upgrading their entire fleet. 

After the briefing, we went to dinner. The ship had open seating in the dining room - we found seats at a table for 6 and were soon joined by 4 fellow travelers. We had a choice of 3 entrees of the day. The menu also included some standard choices which were available everyday if one of the daily specials wasn't appealing.

When we retired to our room, Our bed was turned down, a piece of chocolate was left on the pillow, and a towel folded like a seal was left on the bed.

To be continued