April 20

Today we wanted to check out some of the tours that are offered from Prague into other parts of Europe. We decided to kill two birds with one cobble stone and see one of the first mega shopping centres built in Prague after the velvet revolution. Centrum Cerny Most. The only picture opportunity I found worth while was the in the food court where there was a stand called "Smak Ceske Kuchyne" which in English means Taste of Czech Cuisine. They offer a really good cross section of the most popular dishes found in Czech cooking.

We also stopped at local bus tour agency and enquired about a five day excursion to Paris. We found one that includes the bus, two nights in a Paris hotel, guided tours and hotel breakfasts. The price? Equivalent of $520.00 for both of us!

Once again, this mall is very accessible via city bus or metro.

After the mall we went back into the city centre and did a little sightseeing starting at "Namesti Republiky" 

And the "Prasna Brana" or The Powder Tower

And then wound our way through The Parisienne Street 

on to the old Jewish quarter

With the oldest synagogue in europe.

After visiting the Jewish quarter we continued towards the river and went by the Rudolfinum which is a major concert hall and a venue for most of the big musical events in Prague.

And just because I can't help myself, here is another shot of the castle with yet another bridge in the foreground

During our various walks we noticed that many of the national treasures, be it old heritage buildings, churches, statues, etc., are being meticulously restored. Below are a couple of pictures showing some of the work being done.

Worker using a wire brush to clean a statuary

Church façade being restored

After crossing the river

and taking a couple of pictures we wound up in an area called Kampa

Prague's little Venice

On the way home we stopped at Albert which is one of the big supermarket chains here and bought groceries for the next few days as it is much cheaper to cook at home and healthier.

Good night.....

April 18

Today we went to a place called Vysehrad. This is one of the oldest castles/forts in Prague. It was established somewhere around the 10th century which makes just a bit younger than Prague Castle. It is situated on a bluff over the right bank of the Vltava river and one can enjoy a spectacular view of most of the southern part of prague. Access is quite easy. 

This is the gate to the grounds

 We traveled on the metro and got off at Vysehrad station and from there it's just a 10 minute walk to the grounds.

Metro

Some of the spectacular views from Vysehrad 

These are some of the original ramparts going back to the 10th crntury.

Basilica of St. Peter and Paul

After visiting Vysehrad we were invited to come and watch my cousin coach some kids how to play tennis. We walked back to the metro station got on the C train, transferred at a place called "Florenc" on to the "B" train which took us to the Smichov train station where we got on the "City Elephant" commuter train and rode to Radotin.

Our commuter train to Radotin

This is the place I grew up in

At the Radotin Tennis Club we met up with my cousin, his wife and one of his daughters (whose daughter is one of the kids my cousin is coaching) and watched the class in one of the inflatable "bubbles" 

My cousin at the net

And the kiddies he's coaching

After that we went on a bit of a ride in the country before stopping to buy a few groceries and heading home.

April 17

Lots of walking today! We went to sight see all the regular touristy stops or, in other words, the "essential Prague". We had breakfast and then walked across the street from our apartment (which is in the boonies on the very outskirts of Prague) got on a bus which runs every five minutes or so, the bus took us to the nearest metro station where we boarded the "B" line metro train and 15 minutes later we got off in the heart of the city at the foot of Wenceslas Square.  As a side note: The transit here is phenomena and inexpensive. We purchased a there day pass which allows one to use the bus, tram, subway, commuter trains and the water taxi ferries on the same pass. the three day pass sells for 310.00 Ck which is the equivalent of about $15.20! And the system is solely funded by the riders!

At this point the camera came out and the picture taking commenced! We have walked pretty much through the whole of Old Town winding our way towards the river  

Stopping at the Parisienne Street, The music hall where Strauss wrote lot of his music, visiting the Chapel of Bethlehem where Mister Jan Hus was the prominent priest 

And then stopping to watch the 12 noon display of the Old Town Square astronomical clock. If in Prague, even just for one day, this is a must see.

Then we continued on to Charles Bridge 

But not before taking a picture of the iconic Prague Castle which is the oldest continuously used seat of government in the world 

The gateway to the bridge

The bridge

The gate on the other side

St. Michael's Church is located in the Lesser Town Square where we caught a tram which took us to the castle

We arrived at the castle through one of the guarded entrances 

This is the famous St. Vitus Cathedral which forms the very recognizable silhouette of the castle 

Of course we snuck a peek inside as well.

Most buildings in Prague have red clay tile roofs and one of the mottos of Prague is that it is a city of a hundred spires

Here are some of them

Stay tuned.

April 16, 2015

Well, we arrived at the airpot at the prescribed two and a half hours prior to departure only to find out that our originally scheduled 8:50pm flight was delayed until 11:00pm! British Airways were quite nice about it and they re-booked us on a later connecting flight from Heathrow to Prague. They also gave s a couple of vouchers for food as their way of saying "we are sorry for your inconvenience". Upon reflection, we should have read the fine print where it stated that the voucher was only good for that particular date and that particular location (YVR). By the time we got around to actually having to use them in London they already expired.

It was a long haul and by the time we were met at the Prague airport it was already eleven pm local time. Czech immigration was a breeze. The We showed him our passports, he scanned them put a stamp on a page and off we went. Not a single word was spoken. Total wait time - 10 minutes. Our luggage was already on the carousel by the time we passed through immigration and customs people did not show the least bit of interest in us so we just walked right through. 

After a 10 minute drive we arrived at our home away from home which is indeed a very nice studio apartment. Today we are going to get some transit passes and deal with adding more data on my phone plan.

You are now up to date. 

One more sleep!

One more sleep! We are quite excited. This trip was twenty two years in the making and we are going to make the most of it!

Stay tuned - the adventure begins tomorrow!

Packing

The bags are almost packed. Not a good time to find out that one of my shoe laces is broken.

2 days to go!

10 days to go!

It is Easter and we have just 10 days to go. We are fully in the preparation mode, medical insurance is purchased, local currencies are ordered at the bank and suitcases have been dragged out of the closets.

Now comes the time to decide what we take with us and what stays. We will pack light since, the rumour has it, it is actually possible to buy socks, underwear, shorts and t-shirts in europe.

10 days to go!