Prague

Our journey to Prague certainly did not go as planned!  We were looking forward to taking an overnight train, complete with our own couchette.  We got to the train station and were told we needed to take a different train to the next stop, but when we got there they told us our overnight train had been cancelled because of a railroad strike that was beginning in a few hours.  We were able to jump on another train, then a second one that took us to the airport in Dusseldorf.  We thought we might be able to find a flight or a rental car there.  We were grateful there was a Sheraton there, so we got a room for what was left of the night.  There were no rental cars available, but thanks to my brother's perseverance and Frequent Flyer miles, we were able to get a flight to Prague. Unfortunately it was at 6 A.M., so it was a short night, but it beat sleeping in a train station.  We finally got to Prague and found our hotel.  We couldn't check in yet, but were able to drop our luggage, and we went exploring.  It didn't take us long to figure out what a wonderful place this is.  It is a beautiful city. We walked along the river, into Old Town, across the Charles Bridge and back to our hotel, just soaking in the magic of this place.  There's so much history here, and so many things to see, we'll never be able to do it all.

We didn't think our first sight of the Czech Republic would be from an airplane.

Okay, we're ready to take on this city!

One of our first sights in Prague.

They call this the dancing house.

Another view along the river.  A boat cruise/tour on the river is on our to-do list.

Our first day was spent just walking around and getting acquainted with Prague. We did walk to the town square and across the bridge after dark, and also enjoyed a concert in the Church of St. Francis, a masterpiece of religious baroque architecture built around 1679.

Today we figured out the Metro and bus routes and took the Metro to a station near the Prague Castle.    We spent a lot of time here. It was definitely time well spent.  This is a back view, showing St. Vitus Cathedral, which is the focal point of the complex.

They have a changing of the guard every hour on the hour.

We could have spent a whole day exploring the gardens.  I think we saw more tulips here than we did in Amsterdam!

There are magnificent views from the castle.

After we came back down to the Old Town area, we decided to do a city tour with one of the locals.  He was very knowledgeable, personable, and funny.  We had a great time with him.

We went to the top of the tower at Old Town Hall, and were rewarded with magnificent views of the city in every direction.

We have two more days here, and I don't think we're going to run out of things to see and do.  We did hear that the air traffic controllers in France are going on strike for a couple of days, so we're hoping it gets resolved before our flight out of here on Saturday.  In the meantime, we've got a lot more of Prague to enjoy.