Prague Day 2

Prague, Day 2


Slept in this morning and then made our way to the Old Town Square where we caught a 4 hour walking tour of Prague. We had a great guide, Colin from Scotland who was full of knowledge about the history and architecture of this great city.

Our group following along,there are tour groups everywhere

We visited Old Town and New Town as well as the Jewish Quarter. Old Town has been there since the 1000s and New Town since the 1200s. Prague which is the capital of the Czech Republic has a long history which unfortunately has been full of wars and occupations. The Czechs in recent history have endured both Hitler and Stalin as their rulers.

The largest statue in the main square, a reformer who was burnt by the Church

The Prague Clock, in its time the most advanced invention ever.The govt blinded the inventor after so he could not replicate it in any other city!

Everything is not old,there is a lot of modern street art

The buildings in Prague have many styles of architecture that have developed over many centuries. Many of them survived a lot of wars and even the bombings of WW II. Everywhere you look you see beautiful buildings that are well preserved and full of wonderful details.

A typical street scene

One of the most interesting parts of the tour for me was the walk through the Jewish Quarter. Today was an important Jewish holidays so it was quiet with a lot of the shops and other buildings closed. I really wanted to visit the Jewish Museum but it too was closed and it won’t be open tomorrow either since it is Saturday and the Sabbath.

The merchant stalls which unfortunately were closed

Colin in front of the oldest standing synagogue in the world

Even though Hitler occupied Prague the Jewish Quarter is one of the few that survived the war since it was Hitler’s idea that once all the Jews had been exterminated this area would serve as a memorial to a dead race so he wanted to preserve it. Some 77,000 Jews from Prague were killed by the Nazis. I felt very sad just walking through here.

After the tour we sat down to afternoon drinks and watched all the people go by which is a great way to spend some time when you are on holiday. Don is quite enamoured with the beauty of the women of Prague who are quite stylish and beautiful.

cafes everywhere

Oh yes, another fact about the Czecks, they are the biggest consumers of beer in the world. Here is a pic that proves it...

Yes, the car is filled with beer, took the guy a while to fit it all in.The trunk is full also.

We finished the day with a pot luck supper at one of the apartments. We all bought something to contribute to the meal bread,cheese,meats and dessert as well as beer and wine. The Aussies cooked up some pasta with red wine and a good time was had by all.

Enjoying our dinner together.