Beautiful Prague - The Final Chapter

In our precious two days left we had lots of territory to cover....we did take a car trip to Steve's facility about 1 hour away from Prague and the scenery looked a lot like this....
very rural, farm country and beautiful. I have to add we stopped about 5 times for directions as we could not get the GPS to work and the roads are not marked that well, but it was a beautiful place to be lost!

Little churches dot the area and no billboards or power lines - very old country. Steve's facility is next to an abandoned Russian air strip...lots of American Corporations are building EU centric facilities in the area.

On the road back we had a better view of all of Prague....we stayed mainly in the historic district and I ventured out (was lost) in several areas of this beautiful city.
When we returned late in the day we walked to a traditional Czech restaurant and feasted on these delicacies - not sure what we ordered, but this is what we got

Pork steak, hash brown medallions and a green salad.

Brats, Ham, stuffing and some kind of bread dumpling.....all very good!

The next day I made sure Steve saw all the things he wanted to see again and some of the new things that I had found. He wanted to go back to the Astronomical Clock and this time got a great picture of the Apostles and gold rooster.

We went to the castle and walked all over the gardens and the vineyard. I took him into St. Vitus and all around the courtyards.

We walked down by the river with the St. Charles Bridge in the background - can you tell how cold it is by our bundled up bodies? It was so windy I had to wear my hair in a braid or pony tail.

He wanted to see the Lennon tribute wall so we went over there and he loved it as much as I did

Lennon was right - 'All you Need is Love'.....

So while we had the opportunity I had to add more of Adam's stamp on Lennon's Wall...I put Adams' favorite song title and the one we danced to in the Mother Son dance when he and Shannon were married....'In My Life'....

So we walked and walked until late that night just soaking in Prague - I would love to go back. The next morning we took the long flight home (17 hours) thru Amsterdam and Atlanta and it was so good to get home. Like my little plaque says 'Away is Good; but Home is Best'.

Thanks for sharing

Prague - Part 3 - Prague Potpourri!

Wednesday I had a list of things all over Prague I wanted to see and also found a lot of things I did not even know about. I also wanted to 'Scout Out' some highlights to share with Steve when he finally had some time off! I was out the door early, did my pilgramage to see 'The Infant' now that I new the tram route like a local ;) and then wandered my way back to Old Town.....

'The Addie" told me about this tribute wall to John Lennon. It was a place of compassion and peace for young Czechs during the 'Velvet Revolution' which led to the end of communism - only about 20 years ago. It is 'every changing' as they still have tributes and it is a sort of meeting place in the evenings for music and gathering.....it is amazing that the city allowed that and it is treasured and respected.

Here is a closer look at some of the graffiti - most of the people write words to Lennon or Beatle songs....

Had to leave a little of 'The Addie' stamp on this treasure right on the All you Need is love artwork.....

I also wanted to see the Church of St. Nicholas (different from St. Nicholas) where the communist troops were stationed during the wars - hard to believe this beautiful structure was basically a barracks at one point. I wanted to see the incredible Bohemian Crystal Chandelier and the frescoes on the dome - they did not disappoint.

Can you imagine troops getting their orders under this chandelier?

I walked past one street where this was displayed - not sure what this symbolizes and it was not a museum or anything.....

One of the pastry shops I passed with their breads and sweets.....

A blacksmith in the Christmas Market - there were several and some locals brought things for him to fix.

In a gift shop the cutest Yorkie (must have been a relative of Rocky) dressed in his Adidas Outerwear chasing a Weasel toy....they are many small dogs there and mostly Yorkies - made me miss my pup!

In the Christmas market a HUGE fruitcake - my mom is the queen of fruitcakes so this shot was for her

Walked by the Jewish Ghetto which is really just an old area of town where they have so many wonderful synagogues and galleries - this is a shot of the old cemetery....laid a few rocks here and there for respect....

This is an area across the river that is another silent protest against communism....thousands of locks on the bars to symbolise the restraints of communism....loved this

Mistletoe is huge here for the holidays....lots of people buying it and some sprayed gold....not sure the reason why but it was pretty....

Some kind of lookout by a bridge I was crossing.....

a beautiful nativity all made from straw.....

All the Christmas trees I saw were not trimmed up and shaped like ours and I found it refreshing to see trees in their natural state...

This also amazed me....of all the cities around the world I have been in I have never been more confused by their signs and directions....it is nearly impossible to try and figure out most areas, except the Metro universal sign

One of the shops I went in to was family owned and they spoke very little English and I complimented the little girl on her artwork and she was so proud....I wish I could have taken her picture with this but hard to ask for that in the language translation.....

As I was walking the streets I found these workers doing work repair on cobblestone....all hand labor....

Found this beautiful water wheel still working on one of my bridge crossing.....

I happen to catch this marionette getting his strings uncrossed.....just cracked me up....
doesn't the puppet look exhausted?

Uh - Ok....

Today's lunch and it was delicious!!! Berry Cups! About $3.00 USD

Lots of Marionette shops.....I could see their little personalities and I have to say some of them scared me!

They are huge on 'Thai Massages' there and first I was thinking I would love to have one, but the first step is they put your feet in this fish tank facing the front of the street and let the fish clean them.....decided I would get my massage back at home ;)

another beautiful nativity made from natural products....this one carved

They wrap dough rolled in cinnamon and sugar on these rolling pins and cook it over charcoal...pretty tasty!

I headed back to the hotel around 3:00. We had a 'road trip' scheduled for Thursday, so I planned out everything I wanted to show Steve on Friday. He came in around 5 and changed and then we took the metro down and ate at the street vendors....I had chicken shisk ka bob and he had a brat. We walked around and enjoyed the music and lights and came back to the room and ordered hot tea and apple strudel! Yum

Prague Part 3 - Time to get my Goth on!

Tuesday the wake up call did not come and we woke up at 7:50 and Steve needed to be out the door at 8 so we rushed around and I helped Steve dress and get his laptop and documents together and out the door he went! After he left I 'layered on' again and headed out. One thing I love about Prague is that it is an 'early city' and their day starts early like I do....none of this 10'ish stuff you see in Paris and St. Petersburg....these people are on it! I really wanted to focus on Gothic architecture and art today. The Concierge was busy that day and I just used my own plans and took the Metro into Prague castle (found a better way a few days later) and walked the 'old castle step' which were steep and all rock and wide...it was a good workout but way too long and out of the way.....


First - I wanted to share this shot where it really shows the contrast in architecture in Prague....Baroque (Dome) on the left and Gothic (Spires) on the right. This was taken crossing the St. Charles Bridge into Old Town....



So inside the Castle walls is the most beautiful Gothic structure - St. Vitus....it is amazing. St. Vitus is the one that dominates the city skyline and is visible from far and wide.
St. Vitus is the spiritual symbol of the Czech state. Work on the cathedral was commissioned by Charles IV and began in 1344 upon the site of an earlier 10th century rotunda. In all, it took nearly six centuries to complete.
Its first builders, Matthias of Arras and later Peter Parler, built the chancel with a ring of chapels, St. Wenceslas Chapel, the Golden Portal and the lower part of the main steeple.
The final phase of construction only ended during the period 1873-1929.
As well as being the largest and most important temple in Prague, St. Vitus Cathedral also oversaw the coronations of Czech kings and queens.
In the chancel of the cathedral, in front of the high alter, is the royal mausoleum. Below this, in the crypt, there are the royal tombs. Czech kings and queens and patron saints are interred here.
St. Wenceslas Chapel is decorated with frescoes and semi-precious stones. A door in the south-western corner of the chapel leads to the Crown Chamber in which the Bohemian Coronation Jewels are stored. If you get a chance read about St. Wenceslas who was killed by his brother while heading to mass, it was a coup and the monks were in on it.


First I walked around the outside to capture the amazing structure and marveled at the thought of this being built without any industrial tools - all by hand and no computers - have we dummed ourselves down?

These pictures do not due it justice - but look at the carving in stone.....wouldn't you have loved to watch the masters work on this?

Time for some inside views - it was dark inside (perfect for Goth!) and again I had the place to myself and was able to take time to enjoy and soak it all in. Note the 'flying buttress' arches - way ahead of it's time. The incredible stained glass windows reminded me of my cousin Connie and her love and knowledge of stained glass. I wished I could have had her right beside me telling me what the images represented, I mean, I could tell it was certain things, but she knows the meaning if a lamb has one foot up, if a head is turned left, etc - all the artists nuances.....

The inside shots were so dark, so if you would like more info and professional shots - here is a good link: http://www.prague.net/st-vitus-cathedral

Stopped by to say hi to the Infant and then walked over the St. Charles Bridge and into Old Town for some more Gothic gazing.....

The beautiful 'Our Lady Before Tyn'....we are talking 12th century here....not allowed to take pictures in here - not sure why, was the only place they did not want cameras.....here is a good link that actually has pictures: http://www.prague.net/church-of-our-lady-before-the-tyn

After all that I went back into the Christmas Markets and all the outdoor vendors were cooking....today's lunch - Czech Pasta with sausage and tomatoes and cabbage.....warm and hearty! I purchased some and stood by the Astronomical Clock and watched that and shopped around a bit.

Around 2:30 I headed back to the hotel and regrouped....Steve came in and changed and headed out to a working dinner and I did room service and studied up for my Wednesday plans!