Leaving Switzerland was definitely bittersweet; we could easily have stayed longer! But we had an itinerary, airline tickets and Prague was waiting. Alex came with us on the 1.5 hour train ride from Lyss to Zurich. The train brought us right into the Zurich Airport. Europe seriously has a lock on commuting convenience! How's that light rail going Ottawa? (sigh)
We flew Zurich to Dusseldorf and then Dusseldorf to Prague. Pretty uneventful flights, unless you count Jenn '
temporarily' losing her passport! We had just come off the first leg of our trip and we had a few hours before the next flight. I suggested scoping out the gate, before getting a bite to eat or something to drink. As we checked out the area, we noticed the Passport Control counter. Al and I thought nothing of it, but from the paniced look on Jenn's face it was obvious something was up. She began frantically checking her purse and pockets, but no passport. We rushed back to where we had just deplaned. That plane would be leaving within the hour for Zurich and with it any chance of finding Jenn's passport. We inquired at the counter and the very nice ladies got right on it. One lady picked up the phone and began making numerous calls. We were 'assuming; one of these calls was to the plane, but it was all in German and she was also busy dealing with other calls and people at the counter. We understood when she gave 'whoever' our seat numbers, but little else. When she suddenly said, "kanadischen Pass?", we all three looked at each other and smiled. We'd never told her we were Canadian, but there was no doubt in our minds that she was referring to Jenn's Canadian Passport! Phew that was a close one. At the gate in Zurich there was some computer confusion with our boarding passes and amid the confusion Jenn had slipped it into her back pocket. Who knew that it would slip out again? Crisis was adverted and all thoughts of food was gone. We enjoyed a nice beer (Prost!) to celebrate the luck of finding the passport in time.
We arrived in Prague and there was a taxi waiting for us. I had made all the arrangements and was happy to see our name, even if it did say Mr. Gabel. He smiled apologetically when he saw the 3 of us! We stayed at Boutique Hotel Seven Days for 5 days, 4 nights. If you have a chance to visit Prague this is a great place to stay. It's centrally located and not far from Old Town and Wenceslas Square. The hotel has an old school charm with lots of guilded furniture and wood decor and brocade carpeting on the steps. The people were extremely nice and helpful. The buffet breakfast was a delicious way to begin our days and with all the walking we did, we really needed it! We ate a few nights at the restaurant and the food and wine was always good,
We came to Prague, not knowing alot about the city, but after walking it's length and breathth we really got to know it. We were unaimous in our praise. Prague is a beautiful old city with the Vltava River running though and countless bridges. The Charles Bridge with its tower at one end is a gateway to Old Town. Prague contains one of the world's most pristine and varied collections of architecture, from Romanesque, to Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Neo-Renaissance, Neo-Gothic, Art Nouveau, Cubist, Neo-Classical and ultra-modern. The Dancing House, building for example, seems too modern, but the amazing archetecture everywhere you look is all part of Prague's charm. This is a unique city well worth seeing. Surprisingly, the people of Prague, with the exception of the Hotel staff, weren't all that friendly. It was almost like speaking English offended them. The friendliest person we encountered was a Vietemese shop keeper and she and her daughter aren't even Czech! But don't be discourage because Prague is still well worth seeing. Maybe we just caught some of them on a bad week or year!
Each morning after breakfast we headed out for a full day of exploring. We lucked out with the weather as each day was sunny, with highs of 17 and 18 C. It took a fair amount of time to decide on what to wear as heavy coats weren't needed, but the breeze could be cool. We figured it out and with knapsack, cameras, and iPad we were 'those tourists'.
It's extremely difficult to narrow down the search of pictures that will give you a sense of what we saw in Prague, but here goes. Our first day we just walked and walked and were blown away with the beauty, age and uniqueness of the city. We enjoyed soaking it all in.
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| Prague main drag! |
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| Contemplating Crossing the street |
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| Schweet Girls |
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| Anyone got the time? |
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| Crowded square waiting for the clock to toll |
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| Lunch spot on the water |
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| Vltava River View |
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| Lunch Time |
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Cheers |
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| Chillin' |
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Prague is a beautiful city and we did our best to see all that we could. The weather in April was beautiful and certainly contributed to our sightseeing excursions. Keeping up with the Girls was a challenge....................to my feet! Allison basically mapped out the sights that were interesting and each morning after an amzing breakfast we were off and walking and walking.
I'm here looking at this Blog entry (August 2016) and realize it was never posted! Ooopsies! But so much has gone on since. Suffice it to say that we left Prague full of memories and pictures and continued our tour to Warsaw, followed by Belgium and then on to Ireland. I'll get back to those incredible travel destinations in another Blog, but I feel this entry is long overdo, so time to post!
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| Trip of a Lifetime! |
