Once we figured out how I might get a transit pass as it's so complicated here with passes for hours or the number of stops your are going to travel or days or weeks or.... oh the list goes on but it is kind of overwhelming but we got to Museum station where Wensceslas Square is.
Once we got out of the subway and up to street level there were 1000's of people! For my first few days in the Czech Republic I have seen few people but here. Wow! What a difference. There were hundreds of tour guides and their mob of followers in this area. It is quite large so it wasn't too bad with the amount of people but it was such a change from what I had been seeing over the past few days. Now, though, we were in the thick of Prague. This is where the history is, this is where it all comes together.
Meeting Lucie was wonderful. She was going to take me to all the true sights of Prague and orient me to the city so I would be able to come back on my own and check out the things I wanted to see again or in more detail. She was able to explain to me and show me the difference between Baroque architecture vs. Renaissance and Art Nouveau and Art Deco and Gothic and.... phew! So much to see!
It was the most amazing time and I have a hundred pictures of the most beautiful buildings in the world. I cannot put them all on this blog now but I will show some of the most famous things and parts that I found exciting. High lights of the Old Town were the Church of St. James, the Old Town Square and the cobble stoned everything! Lucie took us down some smaller streets that were less congested and having a personal tour guide was so special in this way. We also chatted about what each other did for work and our families. It was a lovely time!
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| Inside an Art Deco Cafe |
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| Old Town Square and the Church of Our Lady Before Tyn |
After 3 1/2 hours of walking all over Old Prague, venturing over the Charles Bridge to the other side of the Vltava river we ventured around Little Town. A little different in architecture but the same feeling. For some reason there were less people around which is just as well as the streets are VERY narrow here. We saw the consulates for British, American, Serbian, Italian and Irish which are housed here. There was a great vantage point from this side of the Vltava to see the skyline of Prague. I'm sure I have a picture somewhere of this from Dad's collection of things. It was spectacular though! The penguins you see below in the picture are part of an Avant Gard art display. I have included this picture for my friend L, who LOVES penguins! The statues were about 4 feet high!
We met Vlasta at the base of the Funicular tram for the ride part way up the hill to a restaurant that has a lovely patio and overlooks the valley of Prague city and is on the same elevation as Prague Castle. This was outstanding. Words cannot express how lovely this moment was. Everything was just perfect and I could have sat there ALL day!
After our meal, Martina joined us and she and I walked along the walkway to the back part of Prague Castle. This was a beautiful vantage point to see all of Prague stretched out beyond us. She and I had a great converstation time and we talked about our lives outside of this visit here. She is a talented and fun girl and I know she will be a great success in what ever she does. Right now she's working on her thesis for sport psychology and is looking forward to her research. She is also an elite snowboard cross competitor and, again, a sports nut like the rest of her family. She and I walked to some places that I might not have seen in any other tour!
But first there were these lovely steps to walk up. In Prague there are small streets that join different parts of the city together, well, this is a walk way!
We had a lovely time wandering all through this part of Prague.
As Martina had to head off to a meeting I was to meet Vlasta near the apartment via Tram. The trams are more like our streetcars with dedicated areas for the tracks to be. I found the right one for my trip (#17) which happened to be the same one for Martina but going the other way. It was rush hour time in Prague, also with the influx of tourists at this time too it was quite something. The trams were packed but I'm used to that travelling in Toronto so I piled on and waited for my stop. I am quite comfortable in the transit system here as it is quite similar to the Toronto one. Thankfully the stops were announced and displayed for me to see! No problem!
This tram took me along the Vltava river and I could see a place where swans were gathering and people were there feeding them and there was a lovely island where other people were relaxing in the nice weather. There were many rowers on the river and I decided then that I will have an afternoon there wandering around. Everything is accessable by walking or tram here. I don't know that I'll need the subway but it is a faster way to the Old Town.
Next week I'll have several days to explore Prague again on my own and I am grateful for the tour today and the opportunity to take the tram on my own and see what it was all about.
After a well deserved (and needed I think) shower and relaxing time in the apartment Vlasta and I shared a light supper and a glass of wine! It was girls night in as Mirek is away for a few days in Germany on a conference.
On Tuesday (day 6) I am alone for the morning, tidying up all my brochures and things and taking some time to catch up on my blog and pictures. If I don't lable the pictures now I'm doomed! So it's also a chance just to slow down, it seems like we've been on the run, going here and there for 5 days now.
So again, a beautiful day (the weather certainly helped) and sight seeing with a fantastic lady and guide and a lovely lunch with her and my cousin!
This is just GREAT!
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| Day is done... gone the sun... |
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