Sep 26, 2018 - Last day in Prague

We woke up this morning to blue skies and the best weather we have had so far. Mike went to our local coffee supplier (Costa Coffee) for the usual lattes and we began packing for our departure later in the day. Once packed we walked into the Old Town and Republic Square area looking for a glove store one of our fellow travelers told Denise about. After an unsuccessful search we headed for Charles Bridge (circa 1357) where we mingled with thousands of our new friends who were intent on impaling us with their selfie sticks, civility gave way...

Sep 25, 2018 - Prague day 3

We headed out on a sunny, but cold morning to get to town for a nice breakfast/lunch before heading out for our castle tour. As we reached town the sky opened up and we decided we needed to get a cab and get back to the room to get our rain gear. While our taxi driver from the airport was honest and fair, the driver from town took us on a very scenic route and charged us $15 for what is normally a 15 minute walk. We grabbed our stuff and headed back to town, but now with limited time to grab a bite to eat. We met our guide at the statute of...

Sep 25, 2018 - Cesky Krumlov

Took a tour to Cesky Krumlov today. It is a little village about 2 1/2 hours outside of Prague. It is very charming, surrounded by the Vtlava River with a castle and clock tower which we climbed. We had "typical" lunch that was provided - chicken for Mike with dumplings (more like sliced bread), potato pancakes and cabbage soup. For Denise it was salad, a sort of frittata, mixed green veggies with garlic, potato pancake and hummus - not too bad. Had a beer from the local brewery in town - Eggenberg - and it was very good. Visited the...

Sep 24, 2018 - Prague day 2

Happily there was a coffee shop around the corner for a much needed wake up jolt. After returning to the hotel we were picked up for our tour of the Jewish Quarter. We joined a group of 4 other people and took off with our less than wonderful guide. He was very into architecture and the various examples and dates of Gothic, Cubist (who knew cubist was an architectural style?), Art Deco, Art Nuevo, Rennaisance, etc. There really are an amazing array of architectural styles in Prague and they are all beautiful. We continued through Old Town...

Sep 23, 2018 - Arrival cont

We had a bit of a long walk back to the hotel, had a glass of wine, and went to a local check restaurant/beer pub. Mike had the beef goulash with potato pancakes and dumplings and red cabbage. The red cabbage tasted more like red onions but who knows and the potato pancakes and dumplings are very different here than at home. Denise had a garlic soup with hey local cheese that was quite tasty. Finishing dinner we headed back to the hotel for the night.

Sep 23, 2018 - Arrival at Prague

We landed at Prague airport approximately 11:45 AM on Saturday the 22nd. The flight from San Francisco to New York was delayed one hour but it turned out not to be a problem. The flight from New York to Prague again was late but landed on time. Clearing customs was a breeze and we look for our pre-paid airport transfer person who apparently did not exist after spending some time hunting for him we gave up and took a taxi to our hotel. The hotel has some age on it but all in all it is more than adequate for the price we paid. Our journey...

Sep 15, 2018 - Cesky Krumlov

Our last stopover in Czechia was in Cesky Krumlov another mountain town not too far from the Austrian border. An early start, at least for us, allowed us to call in to a number of towns along the way from Kutna Hora. Those included Telc, Jindrichuv Hradec, Trebon and Cesky Budejovice. All were very colourful especially around their centre squares but Jindrichuv Hradec stood out for its lakeside setting. The onward 5 hour drive once again passed through undulating farmland on roads seemingly planned for bike riding. The only obstacle was...

Sep 13, 2018 - Kutna Hora

Kutna Hora in Central Bohemia held more special treats for us. We visited a small church which had been part of a monastery dating back to 1142. What made this site remarkable was the 60-70k human bones providing interior decorations. Bones, bones and still more bones supposedly assembled by a half-blind monk into chandeliers, ceiling hangings and wall features. Apparently his sight returned when he had finished his work. If we were to believe that we should proceed with our offer to buy the Sydney Harbour Bridge, we heard its going...

Sep 11, 2018 - Kromeriz

We headed back into Czechia and made a stop-over in Kromeriz which was one of our best choices. The town and our hotel were excellent and to top it off we visited the 1665 Flower Garden. That place was gorgeous. A colourful 17th C garden with a 250m long colonnade displaying 44 Greek and Roman Gods plus a spectacular Rotunda and huge water features made this visit very special.

Sep 2, 2018 - Karlovy Vary

The very colourful spa town, Karlovy Vary, was a fascinating stopover. Spectacular old buildings were everywhere and wide pedestrian plazas a big feature. Curative hot thermal springs were the big thing in this West Bohemian town which was founded by Charles IV back in 1350. Three rivers meet within its boundary which added to its great atmosphere. Outlets delivering 61degree F thermal spring water were available along the thoroughfares for people to drink from. Souvenir shops flogged appropriate mugs to the multitudes. It would be a good...

Aug 31, 2018 - Pilsen

The moment we crossed into the Czech Republic it seemed like we had entered another world. The road quality dropped slightly, the drivers were a little less courteous while the landscape was consumed more with farming and less with industrial structures. We spent more time wandering country roads and stopping at villages and towns rather than staying with the main interstates. The landscape varied but was always very pretty and would be perfect for bike riding. It was great anyway. Blovice, Spaline Porici, Zinkovy and gorgeous little...

Aug 14, 2018 - Tuesday, 14th

Hello everyone again, Well it is Tuesday evening and we have arrived in Prague. Tonight we are off for a river cruise. Today as we travelled we stopped at a town called Rothenburg. It was a pretty small town. We were shown how the snowball was made. It is a dough mixture with lots of eggs, flour and deep fried. It is like a pastry thing in a ball. Apparently very special treat but liked the chocolate flavoured one the best. We visited the Christmas decoration shop, apparently very well known. Thought the car out the front was great. Well...