2014 PRAGUE: Day 1 CLE-IAD

June 25

Cleveland - Washington DC Dulles

Our summer vacation trip is finally here!  We are so excited to be traveling to Europe to checkout Prague!  Here we go!

We had time to have lunch before catching our 1st plane -- Panini's Bar and Grill

 

Uh oh, it's a propeller plane, and we're sitting right next to it!

So glad to be in Washington DC!  The short propeller plane ride was rough on me!  I'm not feeling too good now.  Wow, we only had time to use the restrooms and walk over to our gate.  We are back on our next plane ride!

2014 PRAGUE: Evening 1 FRA-PRG

June 25

Washington DC - Frankfurt - Prague

Aloha Frankfurt, Germany!  It's Aaron's first time in Germany; my first time in Frankfurt. Our long flight was great!  We ended up not having the 3-seat row to ourselves as I had planned, but we were in Economy Plus with more leg room and we had our own entertainment screens to view newly released movies, etc. We even had complimentary dinner and breakfast!  We exited through this fancy airplane stairs into nice 70 degree weather and bright blue skies.

Shuttles had to take us to another part of the airport, like on the other side.

We had some time to grab lunch before catching our last plane ride.  Oddly we picked panini style sandwiches for our snack, with coffee.  Is there a theme going on?  Everyone has been so nice and friendly the whole trip over.  And it was easy to navigate around, even if they are speaking German here.  It made things easy for us.

We are still in good spirits.  Prague... here we come!

2014 PRAGUE: Prague Airport & our shuttle to the Little Quarter

June 26

Aloha Prague, Czech Republic!!  The Brlas' are here!  We were blessed again with nice cool weather and clear weather.  Since Vaclav Havel Airport was small we didn't have to walk around too much to retrieve our luggage.  We breezed through customs since we had no alcohol or cigarettes.  We did have a bit of trouble getting some Czech koruna (Kč) from the ATM machines.  We had to get some money from a Cash Exchange vendor with a not-so-great exchange rate, US$1 = Kč19.  Oh well.

Our driver Martin was waiting for us at the exit.  It was so nice to see "Aaron Brlas" on a sign, and spelled correctly!  Our shuttle van was just across the street and the drive over to the Little Quarter (Malá Strana) was very pleasant.  Martin was very mellow and informative.  Just arriving in our neighborhood and passing the Prague Castle and St. Nicholas Church made me verklempt -- so overwhelmed that I forgot to take any pictures!  Well we have some time to do just that.  Because we are finally here!

2014 PRAGUE: Hotel Residence Malá Strana

June 26

Our hotel isn't a Four Seasons but I think I did well on location.  It's walking distance to all the major neighborhoods and tram/metro stops.  Our Senior Suite is spacious and the only room on the main floor. Drawbacks?  The smoking area is below our living room window, and no A/C. Thank goodness the weather forecast calls for 60-70's temperatures this week!

Our hotel and our street -- Melnicka 9, Praha 5

2014 PRAGUE: What architectual style will we like?

This city has structures built as early as the 9th century!!  They have examples of Romanesque (800-1200), Gothic (1100-1450), Renaissance (1400-1600), Baroque (1600-1830), Rococo (1650-1790), Neoclassic (1730-1925), Art Nouveau (1890-1914), and an occasional Modern (1900-present) everywhere.  To be honest I wasn't really good at history so to put the styles with the centuries will probably go over my head.  But the good librarian in me will do research about each building before, during and after our trip.  Aaron and I will let you know what we end up liking the most later.

What's your favorite style of architecture?

2014 PRAGUE: Day 2 The Jewish Quarter

June 26

Walking the Vltava River and visiting the Jewish Quarter (Josefov)

Oddly I'm ready to go for a walk after that long trip over here!

Down the street in Malá Strana

 

One of the locks along the Vltava River

Crossing the Legion Bridge (Most legií) we can see the Charles Bridge (Karlův most).

The National Theatre (Národní divadlo), opened in 1881 in a Neo-Renaissance style.

 Kranner's Fountain

The Rudolfinum, home of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, was built in 1885 in a Neo-Renaissance style.

Rudolfinum

The Jewish Quarter (Josefov) was established in the 10th century, with only six synagogues, the old cemetery, and the Old Jewish Town Hall. The Nazi occupation could have wiped out the old ghetto however the area was preserved in order to provide a site for a planned "exotic museum of an extinct race" and Jewish artifacts from all over central Europe were gathered.  They are on display in Josefov for us to remember and appreciate now.

On the left the Old New Synagogue (Staronová synagoga) was built in the 13th century, Gothic style.  In the middle the High Synagogue (Vysoká synagoga) was built in the 15th century.

 

Dinner at the Kolonial, a bike-themed bar and restaurant.  Aaron's trying Czech dark beer, Velkopopovický Kozel Černý.  He's a happy boy!

I had Pork Schnitzel and potato salad (Smažený vepřový řízek, z vepřové panenky, podávaný s lehkým bramborovým salátem).

Aaron had Czech goulash in a bread bowl (Pivní guláš v chlebu, jedinečný hovězí guláš z tmavého piva a cibulky).

 

Walking up the U starého hřbitova

 

The Old Jewish Cemetery (Starý židovský hřbitov), dating back to the 15th century is the oldest surviving Jewish cemetery in Europe.

 

The Jewish Ceremonial Hall (Obřadní síň) was built in the 20th century in a Neo-Renaissance style.

2014 PRAGUE: Evening 2 Old Town

June 26

Walking back to our hotel via Old Town (Staré Město) and the Charles Bridge (Karlův most)

A view of Prague Castle (Pražský hrad) on the hill, across the Vltava River

 

Antonín Leopold Dvořák was a famous Czech composer.

Entry to the Prague Metro

 

In Old Town Square (Staroměstské náměstí), with a view the Church of Our Lady before Týn (Kostel Matky Boží před Týnem) in the background.  It is an 11th century Romanesque-then-Gothic church.

The Astronomical Clock (Pražský orloj) is a Medieval clock from 1410 and the oldest still working in the world.  It tells Astronomical Sun-Moon in the sky time, calendar time representing months, zodiac time, and the "Apostles Walk" in hourly time.  It puts on a spectacle every hour.

  

The Charles Bridge Old Town Tower was built in a Gothic style.

On the Charles Bridge at dusk, walking toward Malá Strana and our hotel

Statue of Saints Norbert of Xanten, Wenceslas and Sigismund (sousoší sv. Norberta, Václava a Zikmunda) is one of 30 statues on Charles Bridge (Karlův most) designed in 1853.  St. Wenceslas is in the middle.

I overdid it with the walking.  I intended to cut through Old Town back to our hotel but we got lost a couple of times which made our walk home much longer.  As it's mentioned in all the guide books, no street is straight and square here.  Just because you are taking a street going in the direction you want to go, it doesn't mean it won't curve the other way.  Like my driving (my sister can attest to this) we made a couple of circles back to where we started.  This is not the city to "wing it" -- must consult maps!

We took a long nap and woke up too late for dinner.  We walked towards the nearest McDonald's but found a cozy Mexican restaurant on the way.  We were happy with our grand burritos! And that we didn't break our rule to not eat at any American chain fast food joint out of country.

Aaron opted to drink a Czech beer instead of a Mexican Dos Equis

Finishing my guava Jarritos on our walk home -- ono!

Burrito Loco on Štefánikova -- a wonderful find at midnight