Greetings! This post is the fourth of four posts inspired by my trip to Central Europe last November. My sister and I visited Budapest, Vienna, Bratislava, and Prague. I wrote about our stay in Budapest here, in Vienna here, and our walking tour in Bratislava here. I hope you enjoy my highlights of our stay in Prague and the selected pictures below.
DAY 6, Thursday November 16 - Arrive in Prague
After an excellent breakfast this morning, we departed Austria for the Czech Republic, also known as Czechia. The journey took about 3.5 hours, without border control between the two countries. We had a lunch break at the Melikana restaurant then continued our journey, made our way through Southern Bohemia, and on to the Czech capital city, Prague, nicknamed "the City of a Hundred Spires", also known as Praha to the locals.
We checked in our comfortable hotel room, then regrouped to hop on the tram for a short ride to the Municipal House, Prague's most lavish Art Nouveau building that is now a concert venue.
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| Municipal House, Prague |
Michael, our tour manager, gave us a quick orientation then we were off to explore on our own. We walked past the Powder Tower to reach the Old Town. Prague Old Town, is architecturally beautiful with about 900 years of history. The Old Town centre is pedestrian-only. No matter where we looked, there was a row of beautiful buildings looking back at us. We happily spent hours exploring the Old Town and visited Charles Bridge. The bridge itself is a gift to Prague from the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV.
Prague is built on seven hills, which slope gently down to the Vltava (Moldau) river. The riverside location, enhanced by a series of graceful bridges, makes a great setting for Prague's fairy-tale architecture. It looked and felt romantic day or night.
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| Prague river view |
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| Prague at night |
We took the tram back to our hotel, and from there walked to a local restaurant for dinner. Prague's beauty has exceeded my expectations. It is a gorgeous city with stunning Gothic and Renaissance architecture. I looked forward to our city tour the next day.
DAY 7, Friday November 17 - Prague City Tour
Our morning sightseeing tour of Prague includes a visit to the Royal Castle District at Hradcany, former residence of the Bohemian kings.
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| Guards at Prague's Royal Castle |
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| Panoramic view of Prague & Charles Bridge |
We enjoyed the panoramic views of the city and Charles Bridge below as well as a visit to St. Vitus Cathedral, the largest and most important church in the Czech Republic.
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| St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague |
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| Prague Castle |
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| High Synagogue, Prague |
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| Clock Tower, Prague |
In the evening, we joined our group for the farewell dinner with live music at a Czech restaurant. The restaurant owner invited us to sample Becherovka, a traditional and herbal bitters that is produced in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic.
DAY 8, Saturday November 18 - Depart the Czech Republic
We had breakfast and said goodbye to our tour manager and fellow travellers. Our driver came on time to transfer us to the airport for our departure flight. Check in was smooth. We had a flight connection at London Heathrow, and arrived in Toronto several hours later.
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| Prague (Praha) airport |
This concluded our fantastic visit to Central Europe and a memorable trip for me and my sister. I'd highly recommend Prague to all travellers. It's now one of my favourite European cities.
