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The only way to have this in chronological order is to reverse the dates and times. No matter, it just reads easier this way so the sequence doesn't really matter..Kim and I visited Prague from May 12-18 and Paris from May 18-24, 2013.
Scroll down and click on older posts to continue or simply go to the right of the page and choose any of the entries. Click on the thumbnails to enlarge a photo....Hope you enjoy!

The Journey Begins!

Go Leafs Go!!

Leaving on a Mothers Day, May 12, 2013 @ 20:30hrs ...flying to Prague, Czech Republic through Frankfurt, Germany to meet up with our friends Barb and Chris for a week. What better place to celebrate Barbs birthday?

 

We had an hour or so to kill before boarding so Kim and I had beers and a quick bite at the Bacardi Rum Bar at Pearson. We caught the first 2 periods of the First Round...game 6....Leafs vs Bruins-Stanley Cup Playoffs while waiting for our flight....sadly we had to board before the end of the 2nd period but alas...still no score.
I must say we were thrilled when the Captain announced over the on-board PA system that the Leafs had beat Boston this evening 2-1!!!

Arriving in Prague, Czech Republic

Fields of mustard seed

Kim being as smart as she is, booked us seats in "the bulkhead" row....a choice second only to First-Class at a fraction of the cost! Bulkhead seating is definitely worth the price where leg room and accessibility is concerned, but the window seat (a misnomer) was adjacent to the emergency door...no window in sight. The "window seat" was a little drafty and needless to say, that draft from the outside air, with an average temperature of -60F blowing for 7 hours on my left knee was irritating to say the least. However...it was way more comfortable than regular seating.When Kim and I travel it's like being in an Indiana Jones movie...always on the edge of our seats! We arrive in Frankfurt on time....so far so good....we need to connect to Prague and lo and behold our flight is departing in  roughly 30 mins from the time we hit the ground at opposite end of another terminal. By time we deplaned, walked with "the cattle" to the next security point....where every connecting flight in that terminal needs to pass through....we literally ran, OJ Simpson style to make the connecting flight with seconds to spare.  (Anyone over 50 knows what i mean) .....Time to sit back and relax for the 45 min flight to Prague.  It's 1pm here and 7am in Toronto where our biological clocks are still set....but I think a yummy Czech pilsner might be in order once we land!

Welcome to Prague

Welcome to Prague

Jilska 4-1st apartment

Kitchenette

Well....the adventure continues. We arrived at the apartment in Old Town Prague...a bit of a dump.....totally misrepresented on the website? The driver handed us the keys and was gone before we turned back around!! NOT what we had paid for....so... a few phone calls later we were move to a decent 2 bdrm....the one we saw on the website...and had actually booked .....all is good again. Crisis averted!

Not Jacobs ladder!

the loft bedroom

Umm...living room

Jilska 4- The Right Apartment

Jilska 4 is the address of the apartment building we stayed...The Old Town Apartments. It was perfect for what we needed!

living room

full kitchen

We put the kitchen to good use each morning. Did our shopping at the local Tesco...bread milk, coffee..the basics....enough to have breakfast and light bedtime snacks. Perfect!!

Jilska 4- The Right Apartment

The Master Bedroom

The Guest Bedroom

There was plenty of room and beds in this apartment.....an extra bed in the living room as well.  I was able to let Kim sleep in a bit, something that rarely happens....very relaxing. Nice to have the living area to escape to so she could have peace and quiet.

U Vejvodu

"Our" Bar

Really??

"Our" Bar

The currency here is the Czech Korun or Crown $1cdn= 20 Czech Crowns...

.5L of draft beer is 35 Crowns roughly $1.50cdn

We had a bar/café attached to our apartment called.....U Vejvodu...pretty sure it means.."drink up, the beer is dirt cheap!
"Its only a 3 min walk to the Square and 10 mins to the Charles St Bridge. 

To the courtyard

Snacking on pretzels

The Courtyard Café

Mmmm

Every table had 10 pretzels on the rack....about 5 cents each if you chose to eat one. Plisner Urquell on the left, invented and brewed in Pilsen, Czech and Masters Dark Ale of the right.....equally as yummy.

10 pretzels

Exploring the Old Town

So clean

The cobblestone streets are narrow and wind all through the old town. Most lead to the Old Town Square.
Old Town Prague-established circa the 9th Century and the New Prague expanded circa 14th Century......New Prague?? Check out the link below.
Prague is the cleanest city we have ever been in...including our own.

Cobblestone Streets

Extraordinary architecture

All the outdoor restaurants have blankets draped over the chairs to put over your lap while you dine....interesting. Weather was cool enough at times to use them this week too. Thanks Prague.    

Lap blankets

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Town_(Prague)

Winding streets

The Hanging Man

We came across this random statue as we walked the streets. This statue form expressing the human condition related to our need to consciously make the decision to live life or to let go. It was made in 1996 by a Czech artist/sculptor and became so popular it was exhibited not only in Prague, but also in London, Berlin, Rotterdam and USA - Chicago and Michigan. People were so shocked to see it, they called 911. Police and Fire were also shocked! 
I admit to a "double take" myself.

Hanging Man??

Old Town Square

Jan Hus Memorial

Old Town Hall

damage from shelling

A grim reminder

The square's center is home to a statue of religious reformer Jan Hus, who for his beliefs was burned at the stake. The statue was erected on July 6, 1915 to mark the 500th anniversary of his death.
On the bricks beside the town hall are 27 white X's to mark the spot where 24 people were beheaded and 3 hanged in June 1621 after the 30 Years War circa 1618...a result of religious vs political differences. 

X's Mark the Spot

Tyn Church

Tyn (Teen) Church started in the 14th century and completed in the 15th has been the main church in this part of the city since it was built.

St. Nicholas Church

St. Nicholas Church was built in 1735. Both these churches changed ownership from one denomination to another over the years to whatever they are present day.

Charles St. Bridge

I highly recommend the sightseeing tour which includes a walking tour and a boat tour of the river...approx 6 hrs duration. The tour was spectacular...the Former Jewish Ghetto circa 1270 AD, Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral 870 AD, then on the Moldau aka Vltava River.

Charles St. Bridge

From on the water

Lamentation of Christ

John of Nepomuk

Crucifixion

 

Vltava River

Charles St Bridge

Charles St bridge construction started in 1357 and was complete in 1402 AD. It was called the Prague bridge and until 1742 was the only bridge on the river...renamed the Charles St bridge in 1870 after King Charles IV who had the bridge constructed. It was built wide enough for 2 horse drawn carriages to cross at the same time. Became a pedestrian bridge in 1950. Statues were added throughout the years each representing a significant person or event in Prague...the first one, John of Nepomuk, being added in 1683. Check out the link below for a list of the statues on the bridge.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_statues_on_Charles_Bridge

Charles St. Bridge

Wenceslas I

On the bridge

On the bridge

Archway to the bridge

Archway to the bridge

On the bridge

Too bad this historic landmark is cluttered with vendors and performers. The historical society removes the statues one by one to clean and restore.

Our walking Tour

Beloved King Charles IV

In front of King Charles

According to legend, the first stone of the Charles Bridge was layed in 1357, July 9th, at 5.31am. These lucky numbers were given to King Charles IV by astronomers (135797531). However the bridge wasn’t completed until the year 1402


                              

July 9, 1357@5:31am

Andrew and Austyn

Sweet ride!