Jessica's Euro Roadtrip - Czech Republic

Czech Republic:
Praha
We spent 5 nights in Praha (or Prague) at the Hotel Palace Praha. The hotel is centrally located within a block of Wenceslas Square & directly across the street from the Alfons Mucha museum. Hotel had some nice amenities like large rooms, carrara marble bathrooms, secured underground garage, a heat sauna, access to a gym (located 2 blocks away) & a business center with complimentary hi-speed internet access:

The hotel's Gourmet Club: prague ham, mesclun with edible flowers, grilled black tiger prawns & raspberry vinaigrette & local 1999 Andr� Chateau Dowina.
Beef tournedos in cognac sauce, mushroom gnocchi & fried french greenbeans & 2000 La Bernardine Ch�teauneuf-du-Pape

UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) identifies and preserves cultural & natural heritage worldwide that are deemed to be of outstanding value to humanity (cultural refers to structures, buildings & monuments; natural refers to biological & geological formations). In 1992, UNESCO added Prague's historic centre to its cultural & natural heritage list. Built in the Middle Ages, between the 11th and 18th centuries, Prague's historic centre is divided into three districts on the right banks of the Vltava River: Star� Mesto (Old Town), Mal� Strana (Lesser Town) and Nov� Mesto (New Town).

The National Museum & great building facades off of Wenceslas Square, located in Mal� Strana:

The State Opera Building (we saw Verdi's Nabucco) in Mal� Strana:

The winding streets towards the Old Town Square are a shopper's delight

The Old Town Square in Star� Mesto:

On the left banks of the Vltava River are magnificent monuments, such as Hradcany Castle (Prague Castle), St. Vitus Cathedral and numerous churches and palaces, built mostly in the 14th century under the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV.

Prague Castle & the Vltava River:

In 1357, Charles IV commissioned the building of Karluv Most (Charles Bridge), a stone bridge that connects the Old and Lesser towns. In 1683, the first of 30 baroque and gothic statues was erected on the bridge. Today, artisans & musicians vie for a place on the bridge to sell their paintings, jewelry & music.

Karluv Most (Charles Bridge):

The pedestrian bridge is also an outdoor gallery of 30 statues.

To demonstrate how everything balances out in the end: one night we had a late dinner at Bredovsk� Dv�r, a Czech pub less than a block from the hotel (14 Politickych, Praha 1). Cost of a pint of Pilsner Urquell on tap, $0.68; a pat of butter, $4.00:

Friends, don't let friends order butter in Prague.
In addition to some good pilsners, Prague offers an endless selection of herbal liqueurs, including absinthe distilled from wormwood. First learned about absinthe from a knowledgeable wineseller at the Noe Valley PlumpJack store in San Francisco. He turned me on to Chartreuse & Pastis, both absinthe cousins. Czech absinthe is bright green & bitter (due to the wormwood or artemisia absinthium). Because wormwood contains thujone, absinthe has been banned from the U.S. and most countries for decades. Rumour has it Vincent Van Gogh was addicted to absinthe & severed his ear in the depths of an absinthe binge. Pal�rna u Zelen�ho Stromu Starore�n� Prost�jov (Green Tree Distillery) reportedly makes one of the smoother Czech absinthes, produced with anise according to a recipe from the 1800s (70% alcohol and 9.6 mg/liter of thujone).

Karlstejn Castle:
Having visited the imperial palace in town, we drove to the country to visit the royal residence in Karlstejn. The drive is 40 minutes along the highway south of Prague, then 30 minutes thru vineyards & winding backroads that never register on the nav-system. The scenic drive leads to the small village of Karlstejn, with its lush forest & medieval castle perched on a hill. Charles IV built the castle from 1348 to 1357 to safeguard the crown jewels:

inadvertently parked in reserved parking & was given my 1st european parking ticket

Next, Munich, Germany

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