~I have returned from my trip to Prague! The trip was fantastic and I met a lot of great people, but it's also good to be back. Over the next few weeks, I will present some of the better pictures I took while in the
Czech Republic, along with suitably-embellished accounts of my time there. I'll be posting the pictures in roughly-chronological order, and each post about Prague will end with a panoramic image.
After a long transatlantic United flight (they gave me pasta! and I got to watch both
National Treasure 2 and
Cloverfield!), I arrived at
Ruzyne airport on the outskirts of Prague, which is a very modern facility. I was met by a student from Charles University and her boyfriend, who both spoke good English. They helped me change my money and get a shuttle bus to the center of the city.
Upon arrival at my
hotel (great location, no air conditioning, occasional hot water outages, and five TV channels), I found that I had a few hours left until I was scheduled to meet up with the other group members. After walking around a bit, I found a large, old tower nearby (the "
Powder Tower", once used to store gunpowder) and was able to climb to the top for a few pictures:
^ The streets of Prague are like canyons, with solid walls of apartment buildings on either side.
^ Most of the buildings have distinctive red roofs, and there are many cathedrals such as the one in this picture. In the old town area (depicted above, and where my hotel was), there are no
skyscrapers or very tall buildings.
^ Many of the buildings are very decorated with statues, pictures, friezes, embellishments, etc. This unusual statue is just sitting on top of a bank, ignoring the satellite dishes nearby.
^ One thing about Prague that I particularly enjoyed was how friendly it was to pedestrians. Many of the roads in the old town area are pedestrian-only or have very large sidewalks. The city also has an excellent system of subways and trams that are inexpensive and easy to use.
^ This dome is above the
Municipal House, where I went to hear an amazing string concert.
^ See what I mean about the red roofs?
^ This golden crest is located above a concert hall. The lion in the middle is the
coat of arms for the Czech Republic.
^ One of the city's more recent (and distinctive) landmarks is the
TV tower in the background, which was built during the communist era. If you click on the picture, you'll get a larger view, and if you look carefully, you may see bumps on the middle part of the tower. They are disturbing
sculptures of babies, which were controversial and were taken down a few years ago, only to be recently reinstated.
^ The first panoramic picture I took of the Prague skyline. Please click on the picture for the full effect!
~More tomorrow!
^ This is the "Old Town Square" in the heart of Prague's Old Town district (or "Nove Mesto" in Czech). The large statue commemorates Jan Hus, a Catholic reformer who was burned at the stake. The area around the square contains famous churches and concert halls, as well as innumerable souvenir shops.
^ One side of the Square was lined with horse-drawn carriages, ready to take tourists around the city. The horses added to the local color...and the local stench.
^ Here's a closer look at the buildings on the right of the previous picture. As you can see, the buildings are covered in art, with paintings, statues, banners, carvings, etc. The entirety of the Old Town is like a gigantic art museum.
^ As I mentioned earlier, a majority of the buildings in Prague are five or six stories high at most. Only on the outskirts of the city are taller buildings, such as these skyscrapers, being constructed.
^ This impressive fountain sits outside of the National Museum in Prague, which I didn't have time to explore.
^ One of the most iconic sights of Prague is the legendary Charles Bridge, a pedestrian-only crossing that is lined with famous statues. I was able to climb this tower at one end of the bridge for a better look around.
^ By day, Charles Bridge ("Karlov Most" in Czech") teems with tourists, entertainers, and souvenir vendors. Tour boats go up and down the river beneath the bridge. I purchased an illustration of the bridge by night.
^ An example of one of the entertainers on Charles Bridge. This guy had his puppet play the guitar in time to the music.
^ One of the thirty statues that line the bridge. A complete list of the statues can be found here, but not all of them are the originals. I did see some of the originals, which are stored underground in an old fort.
^ A panoramic view of the river, taken from on Charles Bridge. As always, please click on the image for a better look.
^ The streets of Prague are like canyons, with solid walls of apartment buildings on either side.
^ Most of the buildings have distinctive red roofs, and there are many cathedrals such as the one in this picture. In the old town area (depicted above, and where my hotel was), there are no skyscrapers or very tall buildings.
^ Many of the buildings are very decorated with statues, pictures, friezes, embellishments, etc. This unusual statue is just sitting on top of a bank, ignoring the satellite dishes nearby.
^ One thing about Prague that I particularly enjoyed was how friendly it was to pedestrians. Many of the roads in the old town area are pedestrian-only or have very large sidewalks. The city also has an excellent system of subways and trams that are inexpensive and easy to use.
^ See what I mean about the red roofs?
^ This golden crest is located above a concert hall. The lion in the middle is the coat of arms for the Czech Republic.
^ One of the city's more recent (and distinctive) landmarks is the TV tower in the background, which was built during the communist era. If you click on the picture, you'll get a larger view, and if you look carefully, you may see bumps on the middle part of the tower. They are disturbing sculptures of babies, which were controversial and were taken down a few years ago, only to be recently reinstated.
^ The first panoramic picture I took of the Prague skyline. Please click on the picture for the full effect!
