Prague: Day Two

More history, religion, and politics. Yesterday was filled with synagogs, today was filled with churches. As part of our tours to Prague's Castle complex and the town of Kutná Hora, we visited St Nicholas Cathedral, the baroque church where Mozart's funeral was held, St Vitus Church, the gothic church within the castle complex, and Santa Barbara Church, which while still beautiful is plain in comparison to the other two.

From our guides, Marketa and Nina, we learned stories of the royals, religious leaders, and top political leaders; and how they each influenced the lives of the Czech citizens throughout the centuries. The adjustment from Communistic rule is still relatively fresh, and it was interesting to hear from both our guides who grew up during that time

We had lunch in the castle Vineyard restaurant, then left Prague to visit the small town of Kutná Hora. Our first stop in Kutná Hora was Santa Barbara church, which offered a strikingly quiet, serene experience compared to the ornateness and crowds of the churches of historical Prague.

Next up for the others was a tour of the silver mines where they retraced the steps of the miners and experienced, if only for a moment, the fascinatingly dangerous working conditions. The guide reported that as many as 5 miners died working each day. The spaces were incredibly small, dark & damp. With only a small oil lamp to see, it was very difficult to find the silver. The miners actually relied more on smell and sound than sight. It's amazing to realize how tough their working conditions were.  --  Too claustrophobic for me, so instead I had a one-on-one walk through the mostly empty streets of Kutná Hora with Nina. It was interesting to hear about the current Czech times in terms of economics, education, and family life.

Our last stop of the day was the Bone Chapel. Inside there were 6 pyramids, one chandelier, and various decorative elements.... all created from actual human bones. Pretty creepy! Pretty amazing too! In fact, the chandelier contains every bone in the human body.

Back in Prague, we finished the evening with our best meal yet at V Zátiší. Our charming waiter served each course with warmth and charm. By the time dinner was through it was already close to 11:00 p.m. and we were thoroughly exhausted. We all turned in, ready for a good night of sleep.

Tomorrow we say goodbye to Prague and hello to our ship, Viking Njord, in Nuremberg.

Prague: Day One

We began our day with history, religion and politics. What an interesting morning! Our guide, Vida, led the six of us through Prague's Jewish Museum, which is made up of five synagogues and a cemetery where remains are buried twelve layers deep. So deep and thick that you can see headstones embedded in tree trunks that have grown around them.

Having a private guide, we skipped lines, got around crowds quickly, and received an up-close and personal account of Jewish life in Prague throughout many different periods of history. We learned how Vida's father survived the holocaust by escaping the death camp, yet how his name is one of the first listed of those extinguished (and the special story behind this error). 

We saw the drawings some of the children created while living in Terezin, the "first stop" concentration camp; and how the camp and prisoners were misrepresented to the Red Cross when this organization paid a visit. The Nazi's picked the newest and therefore most naive of what was to come, fooling the Red Cross into believing that the horrendous circumstances did not exist. It is also amazing that the many synagogues are still standing after Nazi occupation. The reason: Hitler envisioned this favorite City of Prague as a wonderful Nazi city with the synagogues converted for his and his Generals personal use. 

As we passed the many large tour groups, I grew more and more satisfied in our decision to use a private guide. Vida was able to delve into detail, share her personal family history, and answer all of our many questions; and we never had to strain to hear her or wait for stragglers in a large group to catch up. It was such a valuable experience!

Completely switching gears, we took a Segway tour through Kampa Park in the late afternoon. Fun on wheels, and beautiful sights! Until it poured rain. Even though we ended up soaked to the bones, we came back smiling! We will be laughing about the unexpected downpour over and over again.

Tomorrow: the Castle District, St. Charles Bridge and Kutna Hora. 

Arrival Day

We were out of the country on 9/11, traveling by air. As I thought of those that lost their lives, the families who lost their loved ones, and the first responders, the significance of the day weighed on my heart.  I will never forget.

As we made our way to Prague, we connected through Frankfurt.  This airport is huge!  I was so glad we had a two hour layover, this would not be a good airport for a tight connection!  We made our way to Lufthansa's business class lounge.  Wow, so many people, it took quite a while for two seats to open up.  A new lounge is being built to alleviate the over-crowding and is scheduled to open in October.  Frankfurt airport is very clean and has great shopping!  My favorite? The caviar store!  

It was time to board for our 45 minute flight to Prague. After flying to Frankfurt on a 747, the A320 felt like a sardine can. Thankfully it was a short flight, and we landed in Prague safely.

Our arrival in Prague was smooth, quick and easy.  Our driver was waiting to transfer us to our hotel.  The weather is cool, cloudy and grey.  Perfect touring weather (IMO)!  It's always strange to be in a country with a different language, simply guessing what signs say.  Intuition goes into high gear.

We checked into our hotel the Mamaison Pachtuv Palace - a beautiful, classic property.  Then we went for a tasty late-night dinner that took way too long for our over-tired souls.  

Tomorrow we begin our adventures!