My wife and I returned home on June 9, 2016, after 2 full weeks in Prague. First impression was a spectacularly beautiful city, clean, safe, and very friendly residents. Last impression only amplified our first impression.
Prague was largely untouched by the two world wars, which therefore left its Middle Ages and later buildings intact, subject to the various additions, re-building, and necessary ongoing restorations and maintenance. Viewing, touring, or sitting in a palace, cathedral or restaurant places you as far back as the 14th century or earlier. The cathedrals and palaces are awesome works of artistry, architecture, engineering, and monuments even today; one can only wonder at how much greater their presence must have had on Middle Ages peasants, serfs and nobility.
I think most visitors to Prague probably spend 2-3 days, individually or in a tour group, and visit some of the key sites, certainly all worth seeing. But Prague is so much more than that. Neither my wife nor I are history buffs, and while Prague is a mecca for history buffs, our goal in visiting Prague was to experience Prague as it is today, home to a proud people with a rich historical, ethnic and cultural background, but living in the 21st century. We were not disappointed.
We rented an apartment located in Prague 1 on the east side of the Vlatava River, just a short walk to the Prague Castle, up the hill from the Charles Bridge, and close to the public tram transportation system. We spent the first two days just walking around, getting oriented to the city and the transportation system, and we found the GPS map system on our phone an incredible help because we could wander anywhere and quickly locate where we were and find where we wanted to go. After those first two days we focused on one or two main things to do during the day to keep each day relaxing, interrupted by a stop or two for Czech beer, and we always finished the day at a restaurant and a walk or tram ride back to the apartment. We also saw three music events, including the opera Carmen at the State Opera House, we attended three venue items of the ongoing Fringe Festival, and we experienced one round of the World Mountain Bike Championship series which had its finish line almost within site of our apartment. Each day was a memorable experience on its own.
We have hundreds of pictures and haven't sorted them out yet. On-line pictures probably do a better job of showing the sites. Our pictures are full of memories for what we experienced.
There is so much to talk about, but I will leave this for questions to shape the discussion.
Prague was largely untouched by the two world wars, which therefore left its Middle Ages and later buildings intact, subject to the various additions, re-building, and necessary ongoing restorations and maintenance. Viewing, touring, or sitting in a palace, cathedral or restaurant places you as far back as the 14th century or earlier. The cathedrals and palaces are awesome works of artistry, architecture, engineering, and monuments even today; one can only wonder at how much greater their presence must have had on Middle Ages peasants, serfs and nobility.
I think most visitors to Prague probably spend 2-3 days, individually or in a tour group, and visit some of the key sites, certainly all worth seeing. But Prague is so much more than that. Neither my wife nor I are history buffs, and while Prague is a mecca for history buffs, our goal in visiting Prague was to experience Prague as it is today, home to a proud people with a rich historical, ethnic and cultural background, but living in the 21st century. We were not disappointed.
We rented an apartment located in Prague 1 on the east side of the Vlatava River, just a short walk to the Prague Castle, up the hill from the Charles Bridge, and close to the public tram transportation system. We spent the first two days just walking around, getting oriented to the city and the transportation system, and we found the GPS map system on our phone an incredible help because we could wander anywhere and quickly locate where we were and find where we wanted to go. After those first two days we focused on one or two main things to do during the day to keep each day relaxing, interrupted by a stop or two for Czech beer, and we always finished the day at a restaurant and a walk or tram ride back to the apartment. We also saw three music events, including the opera Carmen at the State Opera House, we attended three venue items of the ongoing Fringe Festival, and we experienced one round of the World Mountain Bike Championship series which had its finish line almost within site of our apartment. Each day was a memorable experience on its own.
We have hundreds of pictures and haven't sorted them out yet. On-line pictures probably do a better job of showing the sites. Our pictures are full of memories for what we experienced.
There is so much to talk about, but I will leave this for questions to shape the discussion.
