Journey to Prague

When I last wrote I talked about the last night in Berlin.  I was sad to leave as I felt very comfortable in Berlin.  I feel I saw a lot but I also know there's so much more that I didn't get to see. 

So that morning we left on the bus to drive to Prague, in the Czech Republic.  On our way we stopped at the German town of Dresden.

Dresden was an interesting place.  We only stopped there for about two hours to get lunch and do a little shopping.  Its a tourist stop because the city is home to The Zwinger Castle.  In World War II it was subjected to contraversial bombing by British and American forces. The bombing created a massive firestorm that devasted the heart of the city.  The human tragedy and suffering of this event is what I think of more than anything when I see the pictures.  The bombing happened at the end of the war and there is debate that it may not have been of military importance.  It destroyed the Zwinger Castle and many other sites of cultural and historic importance. 

The Zwinger Castle has been rebuilt but I can't help but wonder what it looked like before.  Even if it looks similiar it felt like a recreation.  The area is gothic and ominous.  Many of the statues have turned black from pollution.  For me it felt like a very sad place.

We got back on the road and made it to the Czech Republic in a few hours.   We were stuck at the border for about an hour.  The Czech Republic is a new member of the European Union and I don't know if that had anything to do with it.  All the other countries I entered (Netherlands, Germany, and Austria) were pretty easy.   But at the Czech border we gave them our passports and it took an hour to get them stamped while we waited on the bus.

After arriving in Prague we had dinner and then went for a walk.  (Dinner was uneventful, at the hotel)

After dinner it was dark and we took a walk with Jacqui (our tour guide)  to the Old Towne center known as Jan Hus.  I took this great panoramic photo the next day.  At night the Old Town was very impressive.  The buildings are lit up and there's activity everywhere.  Our hotel was only five minutes walk from Jan Hus.  I also loved that everything in Prague was pretty much walking distance.  I didn't take the subway or a taxi the whole time I was there.

In Prague beer is a big deal.  I'm not a big beer fan, american beer is just bad tasting.  That first night we walked around until we found a bar. It was dark and had lots of personality.  And the beer was good!  The two most common beers in Prague were Budweiser (not like the U.S. at all!) and Pisner Urqell. I enjoyed both but the Budweiser was very smooth and what I drank.   And it was also very cheap.  A pint of beer that night was 30 Krona or about $1.30.  I drank beer with most meals since it was cheaper than water.

We explored the Charles Bridge at night and we made a little bit of a big deal of crossing it before finally heading back to the hotel.  It was great hanging out with the group and seeing a few of the beautiful sights.  I knew I'd enjoy the next two days in Prague.