Central Europe Trip, Day One

Central Europe June 2011 Day One

Paul and I took a group of students on a tour of four major European cities in 10 days. It was exhausting and thrilling. I am going to attempt a few highlights on my blog so I can remember things about the trip and share a few pictures. The first city (after a full day and ½ night of flying) was Prague, Czech Republic.

Prague is beautiful. It was not destroyed in WWII as many European cities were because of a pact with the Germans, so the old buildings are still largely untouched and so amazing. The streets are cobblestone which can be quite tricky for the feet, but also so beautiful. One of the first things we saw was Charles Bridge. Its construction started in 1357 and finished in the beginning of the 15th century. As the only means of crossing the river Vltava until 1841, the Charles Bridge was the most important connection between Prague Castle and the city's Old Town and adjacent areas. This "solid-land" connection made Prague important as a trade route between Eastern and Western Europe.
View of Charles Bridge from the Bank and the entrance tower. Interestingly, Prague (and all European cities) have a lot of graffiti. Our tour guide said it was young people imitating Americans.

John of Nepomuk was a priest under King Wenceslas IV who received the confessions of the Queen. Unfortunately for John of Nepomuk the King was a very suspicious man. He wanted to know the Queen’s confessions which Nepomuk would not reveal, not even to the King, because it would be against his commitment of confidentiality. Nepomuk was therefore executed by being thrown into the Vltava River from the bridge and drown. Czechs say if you touch St. John of Nepomuk's plaque to the right of his statue with your left hand, you will return to Prague someday. So Paul and I both touched it for fun and in hopes to be back someday, of course!

This link is to a panoramic view of our next stop...Old Town Square.

http://vizerra.com/en/locations/prague

Old Town includes the historic Astronomical Clock. The medieval clock was first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the only one still working. It was fun to see it work at each hour and listen to the trumpet players at the very top. I also had fun looking at the crowd! It was quite a crowd. Prague was VERY crowded with tourists, especially groups of older retired people.

Old Town also has beautiful churches. My two favorites were the gothic Tyn Cathedral from the outside and the baroque St. Nicholas Church from the inside.

Outside of Tyn Cathedral and St. Nicholas' Church

Inside St. Nicholas' Church and a look at the dome.

We made a short vsiit to Kinsky Palace to see some art and had some interesting run-ins with the older generation guards (left-overs from the communist era?). Mr. Plank had fun imitating this statue.

After an early dinner at the Grand Café Praha (an old hang-out of Franz Kafka to Mr. Plank's pleasure) and being up all night (Pacific Time) we crashed at the Hotel Duo outside of town and were ready for day 2 at the Prague Castle… Here's a look at the view we saw from the top of the Prague Castle hill...breathtaking!