Europe - Prague

Today's Garmin Step Mileage: 11 km

We travelled from Vienna to Prague on the RegioJet train line. We had booked "Comfort" class tickets for our train journey. It includes seat assignment, stewart service, free coffee and water. However, the train's air-conditioning was not working on any of the cars. I am not sure if it was because it was too hot out or if the trains were too old. But with it 40 degrees outside the train cars were smoking hot. We had comfortable seats, but sweating like crazy. Nothing you can do about it.

We got into Prague and found our way to the tram stop. Prague has trains and trams to get around, but none are through the old part of town. So if you take a tram or train you usually have to walk 4-6 blocks to your end destination. So knowing that we decided to only use the tram to get to and from the train station; we will walk everywhere else we need to go.

We booked an AirBnB right in the old part of town. Great

location and easy to get to everything we want to see. I would class this AirBnB at a 2-3 star. The accommodation was close to everything and large enough for the 2 of us. It had a full kitchen, full bath in the hall, and most of all a washing machine. However, it was in need of a bit of a clean up. The paint was peeling, the floors were dirty/dusty and everything was cheap crappy furniture. It did have a king size bed that was comfortable, so that was a bonus. We were in the upper floor in a room with dormer windows and the host provided a portable air conditioner. That was a complete saviour for us. It was smoking hot in Prague and nice to have A/C to help decrease the heat a bit in the room.

Accommodation: $344.84 CAD for 3 nights (AirBnB)

Once we got settled in we headed out to explore the city. We are only 2 blocks from the Old Town Square. It contains the Old Town Hall, The Church of Our Lady before Týn, and an Art Gallery containing the Old Stone Bell.

The Old Town Hall was established in 1338 as the seat of the Old Town administration. The oldest part of the complex consists of a beautiful Gothic tower with a bay chapel and a unique astronomical clock – known as the Orloj – where, every hour between 9 am and 11

pm, the twelve apostles appear. Unfortunately the clock was being repaired and is covered up at this time. But I would imagine that it is a great sight when it is working.

Church of Our Lady before Týn (Chrám Matky Boží před Týnem) is one of the most impressive Gothic religious buildings in Prague, it was built from the mid-14th to the early 16th centuries. At the end of the 17th century, the interior was reworked in Baroque style. The cathedral serves as an extensive gallery of Gothic, Renaissance and Early Baroque works, the most interesting of which include altar paintings by Karel Škréta and the tomb of the astronomer Tycho Brahe. The organ, dating from 1673, is the oldest in Prague.

We stopped at one of the local restaurants in the square for a few cold drinks and met a funny gal. She was helping to bring customers

into the restaurant. She played tennis 25 years ago and travelled to Canada to play. She visited Toronto, Calgary, Banff, Lake Louise and many other places. She was very animated and had a strong opinion about Americans and French Canadians. "I love Calgary people". Very entertaining. I think she actually said "Americans are F.**@$! Shit". When ever we passed by she would smile and wave "Hi Calgary".

From there we headed east, meandering through the old town streets (pedestrian esplanades with no motorized vehicles) toward the Charles Bridge (Karlův Most)- Prague’s oldest bridge. It was built to replace the Judith Bridge that had been badly damaged by floods in 1342. The Stone, or Prague, Bridge, called Charles Bridge since 1870, was begun in 1357 by Charles IV and was completed in 1402. The bridge is built of sandstone blocks, flanked at each end by fortified towers (Lesser Town Bridge Towers - west side, Old Town Bridge Tower- east side). From 1683 to 1928, 30 statues of saints were carved to decorate the bridge, the most famous of which is the statue of St John of Nepomuk.

Our next stop was to find something to eat and get a few groceries to have in our apartment. We often eat breakfast before heading out for the day, as well as, the occasional lunch or dinner. The streets in

Prague were definitely not planned and built on a grid system. Every where you went the road curved and turned or changed names. I got us lost on more than one occasion. After walking our feet off and getting a bit Hangry we finally found the grocery store. We were both tired after a long day of travel and walking.

Well tomorrow is another day full of adventure and exploring; hopefully tomorrow I won't get us too lost. Off home for a bite to eat and call it a night.