Our friends Vicki, Emily, Blake, Molly, and Parker came to visit us! They may also have wanted to see a bit of Prague. First things first, we walked out to the Charles Bridge to have a look at the Castle.
On our first full day, Wednesday, we went up to Prague Castle to see the many sights. We saw the changing of the guard ceremony at noon.
Next we went inside St. Vitus' Cathedral, and were completely stunned by the beautiful stained glass and the vaulted ceilings. The cathedral was started in 1324, but only finished in 1929.
The next morning, we finished up the sights at the Castle, including the Old Royal Palace and Loreta Church.
For lunch, we visited a different pub serving St. Norbert, and sampled the smoked porter, the lager and the dark beer.
In the afternoon, we went to Old Town Square, and went up inside the Astronomical Clock.
That evening, we visited the Museum of Communism, to learn about Czechlosovakia's experience during WWII and after.
On Friday, we visited some of the sights associated with the Prague Jewish Museum, which is really a complex of buildings in the historically Jewish neighborhood. These sights include the Old Synagogue, built in the 13th century, which now sits below street level as the neighborhood around it has been raised over the years to avoid flooding. Another noteworthy synagogue is the moorish Spanish Synagogue, also used for displays about the Jewish Enlightenment, Jewish writers or artists, and conditions for Jews during WWII.
Pinkas Synagogue has been made over as a monument to the Jews from Prague who died during WWII. Their names are hand-written on all the walls upstairs and downstairs. There was also an exhibit upstairs showing art drawn by the children in concentration camps.
Outside Pinkas Synagogue is the Jewish Cemetery, which has around 3,000 stones but perhaps 10,000 bodies. Because space was limited, remains were layered over time.
We ate lunch at a "British" pub specializing in fish and ships, which was showing Mr. Bean shows non-stop.
That afternoon, we visited the Charles Bridge for some shopping.
In the evening we walked to Wenceslas Square, notable as the location of protests, including the Velvet Revolution protests in 1989.
On our last day together, we took the tram south to Vysehrad Citadel and Cemetery, which turned out to be quite a nice park area. I learned that this area was originally settled in order to build Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral and establish a separate "chapter," a region outside of the dominion of the Bishop of Prague, and instead answerable only to the Pope. Eventually this area was fortified and a town grew, and now it is a suburb of Prague City.
The cemetery was started in the 1900s, and is the resting place of many Czech writers and artists, the most notable of which (to me) is Antonin Dvorak.
We went to the TV Tower, Prague's tallest landmark, built around 1990, to take the elevator up to the viewing platform. There are babies crawling up the tower now, part of an art installation from 2000 that the residents lobbied to keep.
Molly is showing Parker the sights.
I think that is a mini-golf course down there.
We are so grateful that our friends came to visit us and we had so much fun! We had a few rounds of Flapjacks and Sasquatches, without any serious injuries. We were so sad to see them drive away. Alan and me, on our own again.
Alan and I had two more days in Prague, which we spent with Alan's friends Jan and Jana and their daughters, at their home. We really enjoyed being with them in their home, and seeing a bit of daily life in Czech.
On our first full day, Wednesday, we went up to Prague Castle to see the many sights. We saw the changing of the guard ceremony at noon.
We explored Rosenburg Palace, Golden Lane, and St. George's Basilica. St. George's was established in the 10th century.
Next we went inside St. Vitus' Cathedral, and were completely stunned by the beautiful stained glass and the vaulted ceilings. The cathedral was started in 1324, but only finished in 1929.
That afternoon, we visited Strahov Monastery, where the monks brew beers under the St. Norbert label. That day we tried the Light beer and the Wheat beer. Emily and Blake enjoyed a pint. But wait! Who is watching Rue??, you ask. Blake's brother, Mitch, is on Rue duty.
The next morning, we finished up the sights at the Castle, including the Old Royal Palace and Loreta Church.
For lunch, we visited a different pub serving St. Norbert, and sampled the smoked porter, the lager and the dark beer.
In the afternoon, we went to Old Town Square, and went up inside the Astronomical Clock.
On Friday, we visited some of the sights associated with the Prague Jewish Museum, which is really a complex of buildings in the historically Jewish neighborhood. These sights include the Old Synagogue, built in the 13th century, which now sits below street level as the neighborhood around it has been raised over the years to avoid flooding. Another noteworthy synagogue is the moorish Spanish Synagogue, also used for displays about the Jewish Enlightenment, Jewish writers or artists, and conditions for Jews during WWII.
Pinkas Synagogue has been made over as a monument to the Jews from Prague who died during WWII. Their names are hand-written on all the walls upstairs and downstairs. There was also an exhibit upstairs showing art drawn by the children in concentration camps.
Outside Pinkas Synagogue is the Jewish Cemetery, which has around 3,000 stones but perhaps 10,000 bodies. Because space was limited, remains were layered over time.
We ate lunch at a "British" pub specializing in fish and ships, which was showing Mr. Bean shows non-stop.
That afternoon, we visited the Charles Bridge for some shopping.
On our last day together, we took the tram south to Vysehrad Citadel and Cemetery, which turned out to be quite a nice park area. I learned that this area was originally settled in order to build Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral and establish a separate "chapter," a region outside of the dominion of the Bishop of Prague, and instead answerable only to the Pope. Eventually this area was fortified and a town grew, and now it is a suburb of Prague City.
The cemetery was started in the 1900s, and is the resting place of many Czech writers and artists, the most notable of which (to me) is Antonin Dvorak.
Molly is showing Parker the sights.
I think that is a mini-golf course down there.
We are so grateful that our friends came to visit us and we had so much fun! We had a few rounds of Flapjacks and Sasquatches, without any serious injuries. We were so sad to see them drive away. Alan and me, on our own again.
Alan and I had two more days in Prague, which we spent with Alan's friends Jan and Jana and their daughters, at their home. We really enjoyed being with them in their home, and seeing a bit of daily life in Czech.
Thanks for reassuring us that Rue was being well taken care of during their visit. So glad you guys had fun :)
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