Prague day Six

 

Prague dome

After miles and miles of driving by farmland (corn, wheat, and plowed fields with toiled manure) on a straight shot, two-lane highway loaded with cars, going slower than molasses on a scorching day: We arrived in Prague.

Facades Prague

Boats on river Prague

 

Prague… where every facade is like a wedding cake of delicious, beautiful design. Each facade is a striking masterpiece. Since I have a thing for buildings, you can imagine how s-l-o-w-l-y I have been walking along the streets. Let's say a caterpillar next to me is doing the Indie 500.

Prague tower

When we arrived, I pulled out my French Husband's camera and filmed. I did not know where to focus as it was all good, and my eyes darted everywhere. I declared there are more towers, domes, and steeples in Prague than in Europe combined. You might think I am exaggerating, but I think not. (I am having trouble downloading the videos, darn it!)

In the last two photos, I took of the same church tower, the first one says 6:13, which is more or less when we arrived.

St charles bridge prague towers

We found our hotel (The Castle Steps 63 euro B&B for two), then rode around the center of Prague for the next two and a half hours, with eyes popping out of our heads!

Blue-green domes, statues on every flat surface, arches, columns, ornate design, murals, architectural beauty, history constantly unfolding before one's eyes… I don't know if I will ever sleep.

Pit stop in europe

We rode over 200 miles from Admont, Austria, to Prague, we stopped three times, and it took us about six hours. I drank a coke and a cola light, and it did not have any effect on my sleepiness… that straight shot, two-lane, slow-paced corn field after wheat field, the highway was as soft as a lullaby. We rarely saw a town—just miles and miles of farmland. At one point, I felt like Dorothy walking the Yellow Brick Road…. doubting that Prague (Oz) was ever going to arrive at the end of that highway.

Under st charles bridge prague

We will be in Prague for a few days.

 



Comments

50 responses to “Prague day Six”

  1. Wondering if you have a laptop with you or if you’re posting in an internet cafe… Gorgeous pics, as always. Glad you’re having such a glorious time.

  2. I am very happy that you and Yann have arrived safe and sound .The photo’s of Prague are lovely. I am looking forward to following you both around Prague. Have a great time.

  3. Jeanette M.

    You are making me so excited. I am going to Prague (for only 1 day) in two weeks. I’ve never been and I’m hoping to get some “insider” info from you. Be Safe.

  4. If you get the chance, look for the Lennon Wall…a great wall of graffiti! Enjoy this beautiful city. My son lives there. Such fun traveling with you.

  5. Amazing pics!
    thanks for sharing
    Regards

  6. well they say that prague is paris of the east…let’s hear what you think. )
    and i too love the cotton colours of some of the facades in europes…;))
    so happy you two made it!! now enjoy!
    xx

  7. so happy you’ve made it to you appointed destination…and the views from the city are quite beautiful.
    by now you must be getting used to willow and being a passenger?
    have a most wonderful weekend exploring and enjoying the sights and sounds of prague.
    hugs

  8. Oh…I have always wanted to see Prague…I think I’m going to start planning the trip now. Stunning images.

  9. Aren’t the buildings there beautiful? It’s such a treat to be a third passenger 😉

  10. Your images are jaw-dropping beautiful…..I wish I was there wandering around with you while the caterpillars zoomed past us.

  11. i can see how blessed this holiday is for you…i am living vicariously thru you…

  12. You made it!! Prague is gorgeous…now I’ll have to do some research on it as it’s never been a place I’ve known much about. Have a great time exploring the city.

  13. Thank you for taking us along, I am enjoying the ride.

  14. Marilyn

    Corey,
    I have a thing for buildings, too and I’ve spent quite a bit of time admiring the workmanship of the gorgeous buildings you’ve photographed. Absolutely stunning!
    Have a wonderful time in Prague. It’s such a treat to be on this trip with you and Yann!
    Marilyn (in Dallas)

  15. My family is on vacation while I am home, so yours is the only vacation I get this year. Thanks for sharing.

  16. Glad to know you arrived safely. Like Lia, I too have heard of the Lennon Wall and am hoping you’ll get the chance to see it, and snap some photos to post. (I may be the only person you know, virtually or otherwise, to have seen “Lennon: The Musical” when it was in tryouts in San Francisco [folded after a brief run in NYC]. I went with a bunch of Azoreans attending a conference across the Bay in Berkeley, which is a story in and of itself for another time).
    Re today’s 3rd photo: When a building’s built right into a river bank, what happens when said river crests above flood level?

  17. I would stay in Prauge for a few days too!! I think I would be hard put to stay only a FEW days!!!
    Jill

  18. Diogenes

    Dear Corey,
    Congratulations, you made it!
    Prague is truly beautiful! I read that it survived intact until almost the end of World War II. The US bombing in 1945 took out hundreds of buildings and many landmarks. Most of the ultra-modern buildings in the center of town, like the “dancing house,” were built on these sites (I didn’t know this when I visited).
    I hope you have time for a Czech Budweiser and have a wonderful, wonderful stay. 🙂

  19. Gorgeous pictures! Don’t miss the Budvar beer (it’s Budweiser’s origin). The clock is wonderful, but watch for pickpockets who haunt the square looking for patsies. The Jewish Cemetery was closed when we were there (both days) but I hear it is very nice and not to be missed. St. Charles Bridge. A tiny restaurant just across the bridge – two story – good food and reasonable prices. It overlooks the river and is cool on a hot day. Can’t remember the name. Thansk for taking us along on this wonderful journey!

  20. Born and raised in the Bay Area, this is the best window I’ve peered into.!!

  21. Marie-Noëlle

    Enjoy !!!

  22. You made it! Yeah!
    What a beautiful city!

  23. how wonderful that you have taken us on this adventure with you. thanks. 😉

  24. OMG I cannot wait for more pictures! I’ve had a couple of friends who’ve been to Prague and they could not stop raving about how gorgeous the city is. Thank you for sharing and I hope your stay there is fantastic.

  25. This is a wonderful trip we’re all on. Thanks.

  26. Thank you for taking us along. YOur pictures are amazing and your thoughts just crack me up…So glad you are having a wonderful time.
    love and hugs

  27. Ana Jacas

    Now your B….Side can take a well earned rest whilst your eyes do all the travelling. I love the pastel coloured facades to the buildings. I hope that you rest aswell. Take cae
    Ana

  28. Have fun. I went to Prague for a few days and stayed eight. And that was during December. Enjoying the vacation with you.

  29. What an incredible architectural city! I too could spend hours and hours just photographing the beautiful buildings. Thank you for sharing them with us~
    Have a lovely visit and safe travels,
    xo

  30. Have a wonderful time! Can´t wait to see more of Prague..we are going there next month.

  31. Glad you made it to the Castle Steps. It looks like you will have a lovely place to rest. The sights you show us are inticing, they make me want to be there with you walking very slowly.
    Marilyn
    in Oregon

  32. I am having so much fun with you!

  33. Kathleen

    great that you have both arrived safely and that you get to rest up and be tourists for a few days and we will get lots of lovely photos to drool over too!

  34. Yay! You made it safe and sound. Prague is on my list of places I hope to visit someday.
    Just wanted to tell you I’ve really been enjoying reading about your trip.

  35. You made it! I have been following your trip with joy and anticipation.
    It is almost exactly a year ago that I spent a week in Prague as a group leader for an Elderhostel tour. I remember clearly when we arrived in Prague how overwhelmed I felt by all the beauty and detail. I called it an ~assault on the senses~. In the best possible way 🙂 I made a website of that trip here http://www.kerstinmartin.com/travel/2008/0805/EuropeInTransition.
    I know you will continue to have an amazing time ~ you should be a travel journalist! Hang on. You ARE a travel journalist! Through life and the world 🙂

  36. Thanks for taking us along on this magical ride.

  37. I love your pictures! Have a great few days visiting Prague!

  38. Diogenes

    Corey,
    Almost forgot…from your hotel’s side of the river, if you head to the Charles Bridge, there is a short street to the right, just below the bridge’s entrance, and next to the river. There are 2 or 3 antique shops there (at least there were a couple years ago).

  39. I’m glad you made it! I worried about you falling sleep on the long roads across the flat lands. Prague looks lovely and you must take many, many pictures now that you are walking around on your feet. We look forward to your next post!

  40. Prague is my favorite city in the whole world and I’m so glad to experience it again through your photos and words. I was there in 1993 with a friend, so it was shortly after the fall of communism and very shortly after Czechoslovakia split. A wonderful time then, but from your photos it all looks the same. Yay! When I was there, we walked and walked and walked in circles around this part of the old town all day, even in rain. It was enchanting. Have fun and do share many more photos! I have your site bookmarked…

  41. Such delicious colours.
    Have funfunfun!

  42. The buildings all do look like cakes and we’d like a slice please.
    Looks like you’re having too much fun.

  43. YAY, so glad you’ve arrived!
    I’m looking forward to all of your pictures, it all looks so beautiful.
    I imagine you’ve seen some of the beauties on flickr…this one takes my breath away.
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/44548980@N00/153056022/

  44. Corey, I’ve been very quietly watching the drive from the backseat (though I almost moaned and gave myself away on those 39 hairpin turns, trice 🙂 – but I have to finally pipe up & congratulate you two – Woo-hoo! you made it!
    Wow – what ride! Thanks for taking us along…I didn’t know what Prague might look like – but it looks so lovely, no wonder you were drawn to it. Enjoy!

  45. Julie Ann Evins

    It is a special place indeed so enjoy a few days drinking it all in. I am wondering if you are a biking convert and this may be the first of further adventures to come ? Best take a view when your bottom has had a rest ! Love Jx

  46. Corey! You were in Cotignac at the same time as me! We were staying in our apartment for all of July!
    So good to catch up with you.
    Thank for a delicious blog.
    Prague is my husband’s favorite city, he is part Czech.
    Denise
    The summer Cotignacéenne

  47. Ellen Cassilly

    I’m so proud of you and your great adventure! Bravo. Thanks for bringing us along.
    Ellen

  48. What a gorgeous city. A friend just returned from a month in Austria (and of course as a musician spent lots of time in Prague) He said it was nearly impossible to return home.
    The hotel is marvelous. I thoroughly looked throuogh the site. Did you stay in a studio apartment? Is so, which one? The floors throughout are fabulous not to mention the open space in many of the places.

  49. This is a bold declaration but I think Prague is my favorite city…well, no, maybe not my ultimate favorite but it ties for the position with Paris, Berlin, and maybe San Francisco! And I haven’t been to Milan yet so maybe I’ll add that city, and Krakow, so maybe that one. It’s tough whittling it down – easy to keep adding on to!
    Thank you so much for these lovely pictures. I am so glad you’re enjoying your adventure!
    Tamara

  50. v.j. kohout

    Corey, I hope all the glittering church domes and spires, the statues on Charles Bridge, the winding narrow streets, the towers and gates made you temporarily speechless and nothing else. Maybe you and Yan are lost in some secret garden, way, way up with the view of all the glory, reluctant to find a way back….

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