Memory in Prague

 01/04/15

Our second day in Prague was full-on and the weather was temperamental (it had rained, shone and snowed!). We were not really prepared for those kind of weather since we thought April weather would not include snow, hence no snow/rain-proof coat, hat or shoes were available - only humble coat that we brought and our travel spirit! :)

We chose to do a 6h local tour (by foot) to sight-see Prague. The tour by sequence route is as follows:

Prague castle complex, St. Vitus church, Little Quarter (Kampa Island), Vltava river cruise, Charles Bridge, Czech lunch, Jewish Quarter and Townhall/Old town square.

We also returned to Charles Bridge to see how the city looks at night

I did not read historical book prior and not sure what to expect when hearing "Castle Complex" in Prague. Maybe something like Versailles? Or like Russian castle with Onion-shaped roof? Well, the castle complex itself is rather elegant and pretty due to Austrian power in the past.

Prague Castle Complex

 

Schwarzenberg Palace

We then visited St. Vitus church which is inside the Castle complex. It has Gothic style and is in UNESCO heritage list. It is a beautiful church inside and outside but maybe not something super-duper special if you have visited other Gothic churches in Europe. Since the castle complex area is elevated, by the end of the complex you can overview the city from the top. It was still exciting for us even on a cold and cloudy day (I think it will be surreal on a clear beautiful day)

St. Vitus Church

City View from Castle Complex

In Little Quarter (Kampa Island), we looked at the famous the Devil's stream. It was interesting because looking at the building in the area, I felt like in Italy (with the wash-out paints and flower pots :)). Other memorable area in Kampa (at least to me) is John Lennon's wall, which symbolizes the freedom of speech for the Czechs after long suppression. Even in weekdays there were musicians playing Beatles music - Oh what a feeling!! 

Devil's Stream (Kampa Island)

Streets on Little Quarter

Part of John Lennon's Wall (I HEART IT!)

John Lennon's Wall in Prague

Moving on from Little Quarter, we hopped onto 45 mins cruise along the Vltava river where we had our tea-break. The cruise had an open rooftop where we could chill out but must have admitted that it was so cold, we needed to refrain from staying too long outside.

Inside the River Boat

Vltava River Cruise

We could see Charles Bridge from Little Quarter and just in time as the sun was out. Walking through the bridge, there are plenty of statues with bronze part, which people queued to rub due to popular belief it brings "good-luck". Coming to this old charming city, I now can imagine the Medieval knights era - Knight on horse passing through Charles Bridge!! :) :)

After lunch, we went to Jewish Quarter where we saw the Old-New-Synagogue and is located close to Old Town Square. By the way, the area is surrounded by expensive boutiques (to those shoppers *

I gasped when arriving in Old Town Square. Church on the background, colorful Renaissance European buildings, horse-drawn carriages and red-roofed wooden kiosk...hands down beautiful! 

Old Town Square

Old Town Hall with its Astronomical Clock

Souvenir Shops in Prague

We returned at night to view the city. I think the photos below say it all. 

In all, this Bohemian city feels like three countries in one (France, Italy and Russia). Besides the beautiful Gothic churches and Renaissance-styled buildings, I can feel the strong Russian influence in Czech: lots of Babushka (Russian doll), vodka in their souvenir shop (even plastic packaging for a shot vodka). Prague is charming and incredibly beautiful (and cost reasonable too!). We will definitely return. 

Prague Castle Complex via Charles Bridge (Night View)

Powder Gate and Old Town Square (Night View)

My travel tips (which I will consider in the future should I travel again to Prague/elsewhere) based on today:

3. If you have limited number of day in a place, it is worth to join local tour to understand the historical means of the places and to optimise the time - I would not think we would have visited some place without local tour (i.e. John Lennon wall)

4. Suggest to visit Old town square (OTS) more than once (at least once on the day and once at night) as it offers different look - Church of Our Lady on OTS area looks magical at night

Prague, March 2015 - DAY 1

My blog started in Prague. I was travelling with my husband from Sydney, Australia to Amsterdam via Abu Dhabi and we planned our own itinerary. I am writing a blog to review our journey which will be useful if we decide to travel again to Europe or for anyone else out there.

Based on our experience today, my travel tips:
1. Consider to take land (i.e. train) rather than air transport in Europe

2.  It may be better to reserve paid activities (i.e. concert/performance) the next day after travelling - no obligation to turn up if you feel too tried after long journey

Why so? Let's start....

“31/03/15 Prague, Czech Republic (Aww..feeling exotic already!)

Flight from Amsterdam to Prague via Easyjet was delayed for 3 hours due to the wind. Thinking about it, the total air time including delay from Amsterdam to Prague ends up to be approx. 7 h (0.5 h from hotel-airport + 1.5h check-in + 3h delay + 2h air travel time), which we might have already arrived to Prague if by train :P 

Arriving in Prague hotel, the sun was out after a heavy rain (according to the driver) and felt ‘warmer’ than Amsterdam :). We had pre-booked our transport for hotel in Prague to pick us up which was very convenient (since no public transport from airport to hotel anyway). I was kinda surprised that there is no major roads (i.e. Toll) from airport to city center. Our hotel in Prague was called “Grandier” - it was a modern hotel compared to its surrounding and close to nearby shopping mall called “Palladium”. The room was spacious, modern style and best thing for the ladies was  all toiletry was L’Occitane including its shower caps! :D ;D. Hotel price was super reasonable (compared to Sydney) which include breakfast (AUD $120 / night). 

Charles Bridge and I

At night, we had booked tickets to watch 90 mins Marionette show (approx. AUD $20/person) in National Marionette Theatre. The play was “Don Giovanni (Music by: MA. Mozart)” who was the ladies charmer (aka. playboy) :). We never watch Marionette show before and did not know what to expect. The theater itself was rather small compared to its name “National Marionette..” That night was freezing but the show was superb (I HEART it!!). 

Here is why.. Background stage was dreamy and colorful (like in a children story book), very lively puppets due to their very fluid movement, music was great since there were 4-strings quartet..(kidding..none like that, I think music was pre-recorded. We do not know Mozart’s piece but now we know! since Mozart was the music composer for this play), whole plot was rather funny and interesting (about a heart-breaker adventure :)). Overall, I think it is a very great entertainment for young, old, family, even classical music dummies like us!

It is great to have something plan for the night since museums and other historical buildings are typically closed.