Czech Republic

In 2003, many of my pictures were ruined when my film was fogged. So, my main purpose in visiting Prague was to revisit several places and take pictures. I first went to Loretto, a church in Hradcanska, known for its art. Alas, photography was not allowed there. From there, I went to lunch for pizza and watched the city go by. After lunch, I went to Petrin tower. This was a radio tower 50 meters tall on top of Petrin hill, itself about 300 meters tall. One can get some amazing views.

Our Lady Tyn Church	The Astronomical Clock
Town Hall	Kinsky Palace
Kinsky Palace	The Powder Gate
The Powder Gate	The Powder Gate
Municipal House	Municipal House
Cemin Palace	Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler
Prague Castle	The View
Prague Castle	More View
The City of Prague	More of Prague
An Alley	Karol Monument
Czech Stadia	Down the Side of Petrin Tower
The City	Charles Bridge
Petrin Complex	St. Vitus Cathedral
Looking North	Petrin Tower

Click on any image to see a larger picture

Only problem was that it was quite windy, and the tower felt like it was swaying. Also, climbing down means going down a spiral staircase, and the wind was playing havoc with that.

Then, it was on to the Charles Bridge, which was so crowded with people that it was insane. I am glad my photos of this bridge from 2003 were decent, since I could not get any others. I also went to the Old Town Square, and photographed the Astrological Clock developed by Brahe, and I finally returned to my hotel.

For dinner, I went back to U Supa, where I enjoyed gnocchi, a sausage, and goulash.

June 28

I spent this say re-photographing the castle and that area, plus seeing some more. St. Vitus Cathedral in the castle has some amazing gold, and stained glass. Even visiting the second time I am amazed at the amount of riches accumulated by the Catholic Church during the Middle Ages. Somehow, it seems improper to me.

After the Cathedral, I wandered the grounds of the castle. I saw an art gallery, plus a second chapel further in. Near the east end of the castle was a little shop row mimicking old-time shops. I am certain they were quite overpriced. I then visited the ballroom in the castle that I had missed on the way in due to a flood of tourists.

It is amazing how crowded Prague has become, there are numerous tour groups operating at every location at all times. They must be getting around 25,000 tourists per day. They end up cluttering the streets. I guess I added to the congestion, didn't I?

The castle was the bulk of the morning, after the castle I had a quick soda, and then took the train to V. Castle, a second castle in Prague, less popular than the main castle, but still worth a look. I had not visited this castle in 2003, so it was an added destination. Vysehrad was smaller, with less monuments, but with more green spaces, and with a fascinating cemetery. There was even a memorial for the victims of Communism.

Flood marker in Underground	A Statue
A Streetlight	Another Status
The Castle Gate	A Fountain
St. Vitus Cathedral	St. Vitus Cathedral
St. Vitus Cathedral	Prague Castle
St. Vitus Cathedral	St. Vitus Cathedral
St. Vitus Cathedral	Stained Glass in St. Vitus
Stained Glass in St. Vitus	Stained Glass in St. Vitus
Stained Glass in St. Vitus	Stained Glass in St. Vitus
Stained Glass in St. Vitus	Stained Glass in St. Vitus
A Tomb in St. Vitus	Stained Glass in St. Vitus
A Tomb in St. Vitus	A pulpit
Stained Glass in St. Vitus	A Tomb in St. Vitus
Stained Glass in St. Vitus	Stained Glass in St. Vitus
Stained Glass in St. Vitus	Stained Glass in St. Vitus
St. Vitus Cathedral	St. Vitus Cathedral
St. Vitus Cathedral	The Palace
St. Vitus Cathedral	St. Vitus Cathedral
More Palace	A Small Chapel
St. Vitus Cathedral	Vyserhrad
Vyserhrad	Vyserhrad
Vyserhrad	Vyserhrad
Wenceslas Square	Museum
Wenceslas Square	Wenceslas Square
Wenceslas Square	Hotel Europa
Wenceslas Square	The Astronomical Clock Chiming
The Astronomical Clock Chiming

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It was around 2PM when I finished here, I went to Wenceslas Square, which is the heart of the shopping district. I walked from one end to the other, taking some pictures, before stopping for a Bavarian sausage and frites. I did some more wandering around, and started looking for gifts to purchase, I replaced my mother's gift; I was mildly surprised to see almost the same assortment of souvenirs in Prague as I saw in Moscow. I found a nice gift for my sister, and I seriously considered purchasing a crystal chess set before common sense got the better of me. I did purchase a crystal candy bowl for myself.

At the end of a long day, I went back to the hotel and had a shower before dinner. I was returning to U Modre Kachnicky, "The Blue Duck." This restaurant specialized in Czech game preparations, and is considered one of the best in Prague. I started with a cold appetizer of smoked salmon and smoked trout, then had a wild game soup with boar meat in a rich broth. This soup was extremely strong, and very tasty. For my main course, I had honey roast duck with apples and raisins. This was absolutely exquisite, the duck skin was not too fat, and the meat was perfectly cooked. Desert was chocolate cake. All told, the bill was about 1200 crowns, or less than $60.

While I was in the restaurant, a rain storm built up, with thunder, and a torrential downpour. I had to arrange a car to take me back to my hotel, instead of catching cold by walking the half-mile with no raincoat or umbrella.

I paid my hotel bill before going up to bed.

June 29

Once again, I had to wake up early for a flight. This one was at 7:20, which meant a 5AM ride to the airport, and a 4:30AM wakeup. It had to be done. I was flying Alitalia from Prague to Venice via Milan. I had a brief time at Ryunze airport to do some writing, and then I had to catch the bus to the plane. The flight to Milan was uneventful.