| We arrived in Prague in the middle of the day. Since we were living the old part of the EU and go to a new member, we had to go through border check on the train. We recieved new stamps in our passport. Prague was different then any other city. It was backed with tourist from all over. We didnt undertand the language for the first time and the money three us. 800 krona to spend the night, yikes! Actually it was only about 25-30 bucks, not bad. The first night we just explored the city. We walked around the Main Square and without moving could see several buildings with different architectural style. It is was not destroyed in World War 2 and has kept its beauty intact. |
| Now it's back to the Youth Hostel with our 2 Australian roommates and the New Yorker conducter. To continue your virtual tour, follow the links to the cities at the top or bottom of this page, or simply click next |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Prague, Czech Republic "The Golden City" September 9-10th, 2004 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| The Hanging man sculpture . Just another random site you can see in prague |
 |
| On the train to Prague, still suffering from jetlag but trying to get by on nutella and playing Skip-Bo for the 6 hour train ride. |
| View of the Jan Hus site. This denkmal was Marianne's favorite, because it was not a realistic piece but rather impressionistic. Everything is connected. On the back side of this memorial were people suffering and then a representation of their tombs. Marianne would like to think that it is representing those people who gave their lives for religious freedom or not. |
| Above: archeticture of the Carolinum or first univeristy in the east. Below: the square to which Jan Hus is looking. |
| Far left: Tower over looking Main square. Pink building to the right was the only building destroyed by Germans during World War II. It has been the City Council building. Towards the end of the war the |
| the city council ran into the basement of this building to escape the Germans and the war. The Germans burnt the building down as one of their last acts before they were forced to leave the city. They hoped they would smoke out the city council and kill the furture government. The city has left it as a reminder of what happened there. This was also a site were some religious figure were also executed, to remember them they have white cross set into the cobblestone. (Pictured Above:) On the left side of the tower is where you will find the astronomical clock. |
| This clock can tell you the hour time, the seasons, the calendar day, and your name day. For example, Veronika day is on September 5th. On the hour 12 apostles march to a window and show their faces. The skelton ?(pictured above) holds an hour glass and pulls the chime for the hour. |
| (Far Left) a Life size face mounted on a door, a picture taking must. (Middle) The White Tower leading out of the city center. |
 |
| (Pictured Left and bottom Right) The Municpal house, a jugenstil or Art Nouveau masterpiece. The building just shimmered in the everning hours on September 9th. It was like watching a show. Looked like it was built yesterday. (Picutred Top Right) A Beautiful Building. |
| Our Next stop was the Jewish Quarter. In this quarter was were Franz Kafka was born, who was known for his writings particularly Metamorphis. (Pictured Above Left) The Jewis town Hall, notice the two different clocks one in Hebrew the other in Roman Numerals. (Picuted Middle) We took a tour of this one main room Jewish New-Old Synagoye from a sweet old lady who spoke both English and Germany. It is oldest operating Synagoye in Europe. Much of this Jewish Quarter had been a Ghetto during World War II but was later changed when the Soviets occupied the Czech Republic. Now only the Synagoye and Jewish Cemertry remain. |
| (Pictured Below) Dinner in Prague in an old cellar. We shared a table with a british couple. Doug tried tradtionally Czech dumplings basically dry bread. |
 |
| The next morning Doug and Marianne decided to leave the explain to someone's besides our guidebooks and caught an English tour. Our tour guide was a native Prague citizen who tooks us on a walk for 4 hours. She explained the history from the early rulers to the present state. Her tour reminded us of all the things we had learned in our college classes. This is when we decided that this trip was the capstone to our education, making history come alive. |
| Charles Bridge at night |
 |
 |
| Church of our Lady |
| One of the most recent tradegies in Prague was the floods in 2002. As you can see in this picture of a picture the flooding covered some buildings to the first floor. Flooding is common in Prague and for this reason they are constant revamping their flood controls. The city center was protected but the mala strana took the brunt of the actually flood. The main city suffered the side effects of flooding, the metro had to be revamped and did not work for several months becaue it was completely submerged. The sewer system was flooded and caused a foul smell to permeate through the city. |
| Our last stop in Prague before running and trying to catch the train was the Hrad Castle. (Pictured at left) The main entrance still protected by guards and just like in London tourist come from all over to try and have the soliders break into a smile. This are at least as far as we understood it is where the royalty spent their time. It was a city inside a city. The are is comprized of several buildings. We spent most of our time at the church. (Picture below) It looks very similiar to the Notre Dame and for good reason, the same architect worked on this building and on Notre Dame. Unfortunately he did not finish and so the artictect that had worked on the cologne cathedral extended the church. |
| Unfortunately he did not finish either, it was not finish until early 1900, by a man that tried to mimic the same style. Thus the building a three different sections but to an untrained eye the front and back of the building would seem congruent but suttle difference show the varying ages of the structure as well as the cost. The other section of the church costs money but the newer section is free to all. |
| After being let loose from our tour we decided to take a recommendation from Rick Steve's and See the Golden Lane. A small weg inside of the castle which was the designated living quarters for the servants. These homes only consisted of two rooms and have seen been turned into gift shops for tourists. The little homes reminded you of Snow white because you had to duck to enter the doorways and ceilings were not very tall. There was no toilet or kitchen area, mainly just a sleeping area. This 7 minute walk in the past also cost. Quite remarkable because we had to pay to go to these shops. We've never done that before. |
| _____________________________________________________________ |
| Prague |