We left Berlin around 6:30 a.m. and arrived in Prague around noon, an incredible city that has a strong tie to the past but is also very modern. The architecture is stunning, as I'll try to show below.
The Dancing House, a leaning and curvy edifice along the river. It was designed by Frank Gehry and Vladi Milunic.
We got off the train one stop too early when we arrived in Prqgue, but it turned out to be a good decision as the station wasn't nearly as busy as the main station and we had time to take out some money and figure out the Metro system. We have been using euros since we arrived in Europe, but the currency here is the Czech Crown. There are about 20 Crowns to each dollar, and the prices are very reasonable in Prague.
We took the metro and tram and then walked a short distance to check in around 2 p.m. in our hostel, located in the New Town but only a short walk from the Old Town. We have a double room tonight after spending the last four nights in shared dorms.
We made our way to the Old Town shortly after arriving. Along the way, as we walked along the Vltava River. We saw the Prague Castle on the way ... we will tour it tomorrow.
The Old Town was how I pictured Eastern Europe to look: small, narrow, crowded streets bustling with activity and full of old buildings. One of the first sights we saw was the clock tower of the Old Town Hall. There is an astronomical clock here and it goes off every hour at the top of the hour.
The astronomical clock
We spent the rest of the afternoon navigating through the Old Town's winding streets before buying some cheese, bread and croissants for a late lunch. We spent a few hours back at the hostel and then ventured out to try another one of the "Lonely Planet's" recommendations for dinner. We ate at U Ferdinanda, a cool Czech pub. This was dinner tonight:
Tomorrow, we are off to explore the Prague Castle and Little Quarter. Looking forward to seeing more of Prague.
Happy July 4 to all!
Justin
No comments:
Post a Comment