Prague

We arrived into Prague at 6pm after a really long day of riding – and the last 20km in the rain which was a pain. But the GPS found the hotel for us (thank goodness for GPS …. !!!). We are in a nice hotel reasonably near the centre of town and have spent the last 2 days walking and walking and walking.

Prague Day 1 photos click here

The rain cleared on the first morning and we went on a 4 hour walking tour to give us some general history of the region and an introduction to the major landmarks. Prague is a very beuatiful city that largely escaped any damage during WW2.


The facades of all the buildings in the old quarter are so ornate and beautifully painted and decorated with statues. That first morning was one of those moments when you click with the camera at every turn. Our walking tour took us through the old quarter, over famous bridges, up the hill to the castle and the incredibly beautiful St Vitus Cathedral, then back through the vineyards to the Jewish ghetto – which was unfortunatley all closed because it was Saturday. They don't tell you that when you are booking the tickets!

All the narrow roadways are made of cobblestones, and the footpaths are just smaller pieces of stone, hammered into the sand. We were watching a group of workmen repairing some of the paths – what a labor intensive task. But it keeps the character in the heart of the city. We walked through the old town again at night to see the lights and the sun setting over the river.

Today the sun was shining so … more photos! And we went through the Jewish ghetto, cemetary and synagogues. It was very well displayed with heaps of information on the fate of the Jewish community in Prague during the war ( 80,000 in the ghetto before the war, only 192 Jews in Prague today). This afternoon we hopped on the bike and went to see Karlstejn Castle which is about 30km out of town. It was nice to get out of the city – but the roadworks make navigating a nightmare. Again – thank goodness for the gps. Poor lady was working hard trying to keep up with where we were as Warwick was frequently not able to take the exit she wanted us to. They just block off exits – or even whole sections of the motorway, if it suits them but it makes it awfully difficult trying to find the direction to go.

The weather is warmer now we are further south – yay !! And tomorrow we head south again into Austria and then onto Slovenia and Lake Bled.

Thank you for those who have read our previous entries and made comments!

Prague day 2  photos click here