Vanessa's turn to blog today :)
We had a great day wondering around the city in Prague yesterday. We took Lonely Planet in hand and set out for Charles bridge and some of the Old Town. We found a tour that was leaving after lunch so we thought we'd try our own exploration for a few hours.
In classic Freke style, we got semi-lost trying to get from our accommodation to the bridge. However, we saw lots of great stuff on the way, and got to the Charles Bridge from the next bridge down. We then wandered along the river bank to the bridge; and then obviously across the bridge itself. We were there early, meaning fewer crowds - which was nice.
We then hit Old Town proper. It's easy to see how it gets crowded - the buildings are close and the streets narrow. Again, I applied the Robert method of navigation (i.e. based on what looks interesting), which worked well about 50% of the time - we accidentally stumbled on the church in the wall, but then couldn't find Wenceslas and didn't realise we'd passed Municiple House. There was some stunning amber and garnet jewellery - I'm resisting it though.
The tour we took was 4 hours of walking (after already walking for 3 hours ... ) but worth the price to learn the direct ways through the Old Town (sorry Cameron) and to learn more about some of the monuments. For example, the cobblestones are mostly new (last 20 years or so), replacing bitumen. Lots of the Jewish Quarter is also turn-of-the-20th century, as it was demolished in the late 1800s and rebuilt. A restriction on new buildings keeps them in a traditional style - even if they are concrete underneath. The tour finished with a quick jaunt around the Castle - and some breathtaking reflections through the St Vitterus Cathedral stained glass windows.
Despite Cameron's claims yesterday, we were not fully over our jet lag, as demonstrated when we fell asleep at 730 before dinner. Waking up at 1130, we decided to stay asleep ... but then breakfast isn't until 8, so it was a long morning. Cameron has discovered reading though (hope you are all sitting down), and I am onto my second book (the first having been finished before reaching Korea).
Today, we are going to stay on this side of the river and explore the Castle, Petrin Hill and the Monastery up the road. We are also going to find Cameron some food - it's been hard not knowing the language to find GF stuff. You try remembering these terms:
gluten free - bezlepkový
gluten - lepek
flour - mouka
wheat - pšenice
I struggle with please (prosim) and thank you (?? - see I really can't remember) !
Cameron is coping ok with the lack of tech - we are blogging every morning at breakfast though, and there's only been one rant on my behalf about the ipod / camera / ds / etc charging / use / being made to look at. Still, there's another 5 1/2 weeks to go ...
Cameron and Vanessa
PS - Mandy - 75 steps to our room, but 100 when you count the stairs from breakfast.
PS - Cameron will post photos when he remembers how to mount a drive in linux (Sam, Andrew - stop giggling).
5 comments:
$ mount /dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy
Tom
giggle :)
Like tom said but some flavours call drives different things. They make sense when you look at the directory though.
Is the all-in-one charging solution working ok?
It's a beautiful warm day here in Brisbane. Why am I at work :(
Andrew H
Vanessa
I am missing our toast and coffee every morning and I just know that you are missing me:) Chantel and I are settling in very well, you will love the new pad!!
Ange
Yeah Czech is one of the hardest languages you could imagine... So difficult that I gave up trying to keep even basic 'Thank You' type phrases in my head for even a minute... How can something dissappear from your conciousness within one minute from reading the phrase book?
May as well be Klingon or Finnish :-)
Craig.
When I was in Prague, I realized that seeing the city in all its glory requires several days. The centre alone has plenty of gorgeous and quirky details that can be missed if going strictly by a guidebook. Of course, such structures and locations as Prague Castle, Old Town Square, Charles Bridge, Lesser Town Square and Petrin Hill are must-sees. But quarters outside the centre, such as Zizkov and Vinohrady, also have plenty to offer to those interested in sightseeing, dining, and drinking some of the world’s best beers and wines. The zoo in Troja is also worth mentioning as its standards, along with its number of attractions, have been increasing on a yearly basis. But the highest tourism season in Prague is from April to October and during holidays such as Easter, Christmas or New Year’s. During the busiest season it is highly recommended to book your Prague accommodation at lest on month in advance, for the New Year’s even earlier.
Post a Comment