Day 04 - Prague Day 03, Panoramic Prague

This morning was a sluggish wakeup after having a late evening tour last night and an early wakeup for the morning tour. We met Roy and Gwyn at 7am for another delicious breakfast in the hotel. 

Arriving at the Viking area in the lower lobby, it was packed with people. Everyone going on our ship who did not do extended days in Prague had arrived yesterday to enjoy today as their one full day in Prague. We decided we wanted the same tour guide as we had last night since she was so good. Roy made it happen and got us switched onto the bus for her group. We were soon on our way for a short ride up to our first stop at the Prague Castle area. 

The Prague Castle complex houses many buildings of historic relevance and architectural interest. The castle was founded around 880 by Prince Bořivoj of the Premyslid Dynasty. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Prague Castle is the largest coherent castle complex in the world, with an area of almost 70,000 m². 

A UNESCO World Heritage site, it consists of a large-scale grouping of palaces and ecclesiastical buildings of various architectural styles, from the remains of Romanesque-style buildings from the 10th century through Gothic modifications of the 14th century.

Next up was the Gothic style St. Vitus Cathedral. Its construction began in 1344. Unfortunately, in 1419 the construction of the Cathedral stopped because of the Hussite (Bohemian) Wars. The Cathedral remained uncompleted for whole centuries. In 1541, the cathedral was heavily damaged by fire. In 1844, work began to organize repairs and the completion of the cathedral. Under the Union for the Completion of the Cathedral, work to repair and finish the cathedral in a Neo-Gothic style began in 1861. The church was completed and consecrated in 1929.

We especially liked these creepy gargoyles appearing to launch themselves from the building.

Our tour did not include interiors today. Our guide said 3 hours minimum is needed to visit the castle and cathedral interiors. Next, we walked into the Lesser Town neighborhood where we visited last night. It was bursting with people due to the holiday. 

Today, the 8th of May holiday in the Czech Republic, also referred to as Victory in Europe Day (V-E Day) marks the end of WWII in Europe and Czech’s liberation from Nazi rule. Today marks the 80th anniversary of this very important day in Europe.

Our guide gave us a 45-minute break for snacks or shopping. We found a cozy cafe and ordered apple pie strudel crepes, a cappuccino for Roy and chamomile tea for Michele, and rested our feet.

After the break our guide took us along Charles Bridge, where we walked two days ago. It is the oldest stone bridge in Europe, built from 1357 to 1402 over the Vltava River in Prague. It was commissioned by King Charles IV to replace a narrower bridge built 200 years prior that was flooded out in 1342. The architect was a German mason who also designed St. Vitus’s Cathedral. It was the only bridge over the Vltava in Prague until 1841. It was packed shoulder to shoulder with people, several vendors, and a few outdoor musicians. Our guide said the vendors must be pre-approved. The light was better today for photos than when we walked across two days ago. 

Next we briefly stepped inside the Church of St. Salvator that is the most Italian in style in the city according to our guide. St. Salvator is considered to be one of the most valuable examples of early-Baroque architecture in the city. It was built in the Gothic style between 1578-1601, but significant Baroque features were added between 1649-1654. It houses two organs used for classical concerts.

Then we visited the famous Prague Astronomical Clock in the Old Town Square in time for the 1pm mechanical chimes. It was Times Square New York busy, just mobbed with people and tour groups. We googled its history and found that the clock dates back to 1410, making it the third-oldest clock of its kind that is still in operation. Mikuláš of Kadaň, under the direction of the King, created the clock in 1410, with a calendar plate and the Death figure (positioned on the right side near the 2 o’clock position of the clock face) added in 1490. In May 1945, the Nazis destroyed the Town Hall resulting in damage to the clock mechanism and the wooden figures. The clock was operating again in 1948 with new figures. In 1976, replicas replaced the original statues and sculptures that are now at a museum.

When the clock strikes the hour a procession includes the Twelve Apostles of the New Testament (they can be seen once the blue doors open). There are also other moving figures: the famous skeleton that rotates an hourglass while shaking his head and ringing the bell symbolizes the Turks oppressing the region, and figures of a Miser and Vain man. Besides being a functional timepiece over 600 years old, the clock’s astronomical part shows relative locations for the sun, moon, Zodiac constellations, and sometimes, planets. The dial for the astronomical aspect of the clock is an astrolabe. Gothic statues and a golden crowing rooster accentuate the clock’s unique design.

Done with that, we walked through the ritzy part of town with high end couture shops to meet our bus to take us back to the hotel. We had a late lunch at the hotel cafe. Rob said an older guy, “a know-it-all” at the next table, was wrongly telling his friend how to find FaceTime on his Android phone. (FaceTime is an Apple-only product). 

After lunch Michele wrote the blog and took a nap. We met Roy and Gwyn for dinner and dessert after 6pm. 

Rob is unhappy that he has to share his dessert.

Tomorrow we say goodbye to this vibrant and fun city, and the kind Czech people we met. We travel by bus over the border into Germany where we have a stop in Nuremberg for a tour, and drive to Bamberg to board our ship around 5pm. 

We forgot to include these photos from our Tuesday walk in the city. Little kids can practice bicycling and following street signs in a safe area. 

These unusual and very large baby statues were made by artist David Czerny. 

Day 03 - Prague Day 02 - Kutna Hora

Today was full of amazing scenery and architecture.

We started earlier today with breakfast at 7am. We met our tour guide and boarded the bus at 8:30am from the hotel lower lobby. On our way out of the city, our tour guide, Margaret, told us about the world’s ugliest tower.

This was a tower built and used by the Soviets to interrupt TV and radio signals from the west until the collapse of the USSR in 1989. It is easy to forget that the modern day Czech Republic is only 36 years old and many Czechs still have very vivid memories of their lives under Soviet rule. Margaret was just 21 when the Soviet Union collapsed. She shared many interesting experiences she and her Czech counterparts had during and after the Soviets.

On our way out of Prague we passed the location where Reinhard Heydrich was assassinated. Here is the monument to the Czechs that participated in that operation (Operation Anthropoid) that we learned about in yesterday’s tour.

We enjoyed seeing Czech farmland and more rural areas along the drive. About two hours after leaving our hotel, we made our first stop. We walked by the Sedlec Abbey. Weirdly, a Philip Morris tobacco museum is directly attached to it, the yellow building on the left. 

We did not visit inside this church as it was not the primary reason for our stop. We were on our way to the Church of All Saints. 

We walked by the Lego shop with a skeleton made of Legos sitting on the building sign. This was a hint at what we were going to see.

A short stroll beyond the Lego shop, we reached the Sedlec Ossuary.

In 1278, Henry, the abbot of the Cistercianmonastery in Sedlec, was sent to the Holy Land by King Ottokar II of Bohemia. He returned with a small amount of earth he had removed from Golgotha and sprinkled it over the cemetery. The word of this pious act soon spread and the cemetery in Sedlec became a desirable burial site throughout Central Europe.

Around 1400, a Gothic church was built in the center of the cemetery with a vaulted upper level and a lower chapel to be used as an ossuary for the mass graves unearthed during construction, or simply slated for demolition to make room for new burials. It is estimated that between 40k - 70k people were unearthed.

In 1870, František Rint, a woodcarver, was employed by the Schwarzenberg family to put the bone heaps into order, yielding a macabre result.

No pictures were allowed inside so here is one from a google search to give you an idea of the strange decorations.

After, Michele heard a few people comment on this strange place, feeling a bit disturbed by it. Back on the bus, we had a short ride to the town of Kutna Hora. Kutna Hora’s early claim to fame in the 1200’s was silver. The mining of this metal brought significant wealth to the town. Here is a map of the town that was on the sidewalk.

The main structure in this town is St. Barbara’s Church.

Construction on the church began in 1388 and would not be completed until 1905! (That makes Rob’s progress on our bathroom very speedy in comparison!)

The church is a gothic or neo-gothic style. The inside is as spectacular as the outside, especially the vaulted ceiling and the huge pipe organ.

There was also a smaller organ half-way up the nave.

The wood carvings were very ornate.

Beautiful stained glass and the lectern and altar were amazing.

More ornate wood carvings for the side pews, each one with unique decorations and details.

We said goodbye to the church and made our way into the main area of Kutna Hora for lunch.

Our lunch spot at #1 rated Dacicky Restaurant started around 1:00pm.

Rob was deeply reflecting on something here while we waited for our food. We had a choice of a chicken dish, pork with plum sauce, or vegetarian. Our guide said the chef has a pate unique to the restaurant and asked her to tell everyone how special it is so we’d try it. We did try it, some enjoyed more than others. We all enjoyed our main meal choices and had apple strudel for dessert. 

Lunch was over by 1:45pm and we continued our walk through town.

We took the bus back to our hotel where we arrived around 4:45pm. Rob and Michele rested and got a margherita pizza in the hotel cafe for dinner. We met Roy for the Prague by Night tour at 7:45pm. Gwyn opted to rest after the long walk earlier today. Our tour guide was a different Margaret who was one of the best guides we’ve ever had. Her english was strong, she was very knowledgeable about everything in sight, and quite funny. A short bus ride into the city and up the hill, we arrived at the Strahov Monastery, founded in 1143, and enjoyed views of the city.

Next we walked nearby to a beer hall to sample local beer. Margaret all told us how to say “beer” in Czech, “Pivo”. She said you can use it as a general greeting since beer is so loved in the Czech Republic! Michele does not like the taste of beer, but in an effort to join in, she told the waiter “Pivo Mi”, which means “beer me!”. She recieved the Nectar of Happiness beer. 

A few minutes after our beers were delivered, Margaret explained to us that we would have to drink our beers like Czechs, very fast, as we had to move along in the next few minutes. Beers consumed, we got back on the bus for a short ride over to the entrance of the famous Charles Bridge and the scenic neighborhood at the end of it. The bridge has a 20-year renovation underway.

Check out this very specialized shop.

We saw Little Venice named for being the only canal in the city, and the Waterwheel.

Kabourek, a grumpy old water goblin at the edge of the pier, guards the old mill. He is popular in Czech and Slavic fairy tales. 

Next we walked to the Lennon Wall. This wall represents non-violent resistance.

We finished the tour with views of the Church of the Virgin Mary under the Chain, built by the Knights of Malta in the 12th century. The name derives from the knights using chains to block boats from proceeding on the river before paying customs duties. 

A quick ride back to the hotel and we said our goodbyes for the night. Tomorrow we have a half day tour of other city sights.

Day 02 - Prague Day 01 - WWII Czech Resistance

We woke this morning at 7:30am. It felt good to have a full nights’ sleep after having stayed awake for 24 hours on our travel days to get here. We got ourselves ready and out the door at 8:15am to meet Roy and Gwyn for breakfast. The hotel has an enormous layout of food for breakfast: breakfast cakes, fruits, various cold meats and cheeses, breads, pastries, bacon, scrambled and hard boiled eggs, a made to order omelette station, roasted vegetables, yogurts and even hot pretzels.

The four of us had a nice breakfast and afterwards, stopped by the Viking desk on the lower lobby to verify our excursion times. Roy said that was the last time he would need to do that because Rob and Michele are doing the same excursions after today and so he would just ask Rob. Rob and Michele’s WWII Czech Resistance tour started time was 2:40pm— a few minutes later than originally scheduled— and Roy and Gwyn’s traditional folklore dinner started at 6:50pm—20 minutes later than originally scheduled.

We headed back to our rooms and agreed to meet for lunch at noon in front of the hotel palm tree.We watched a few ships make their way through the canal locks. It takes about 15 minutes from entering to exiting the three lock gates.

We met Roy and Gwyn for lunch at the Cafe & Bistro in the hotel. We each tried what the other had the day before. We ordered the club sandwich and they tried the fried chicken sandwich. 

After lunch, we went back to our rooms to get ready for our WWII Czech Resistance tour. After checking in at the Viking meeting area at 2:30 we were given ear pieces and a portable radio receiver. We boarded a small Viking bus with 12 other people. 

We took a short bus ride to the Cathedral of Saints Cyril and Methodius and our guide, Eva, talked to us about the occupation of the Czech Republic by the Nazis in 1939 as well as the most famous resistance operation, Operation Anthropoid. Operation Anthropoid was a 6-month plan that culminated in the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich. Reinhard Heydrich was the commander of the German Reich Security Main Office (RSHA), the acting governor of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and a principal architect of the Holocaust. A very evil soul with a charming exterior, as our guide described him. 

The seven resistance fighters made their last stand at the crypt of the cathedral nearly two weeks after the assassination. The extreme reaction of the Nazis after the assassination gave support for countries (starting with Britain) to consider the 1938 Munich agreement (it provided for the German annexation of part of Czechoslovakia called the Sudetenland, where more than three million people, mainly ethnic Germans, lived) null and void.

We watched a short video about the operation and walked around the crypt before getting back on the bus and returning to our hotel.

After returning to our room at 5pm we decided to do a little exploring. We walked on the pathway that followed the Vltava river, making our way up river towards the famous Charles Bridge. Rob wanted to see if we could get a get view of the Prague Castle. We crossed over the Charles Bridge, but since the setting sun was behind the castle, we did not have a good shot of it. No matter, the other views were great.

So, we continued up river another 1.25 miles to the Legion Bridge and crossed back over the Vltava river. Prague is a really photogenic city. The architecture makes for stunning views.

On the Legion bridge, we were able to get a picture of the castle protected from the glare of the sun.

We walked the 2.25 miles back to the hotel for dinner, passing more elaborate buildings on the way. 

We arrived at the hotel around 8pm and went straight to the Hop House and ordered the exact same meal we had the night before.

Tomorrow will be an earlier day for us. Our first excursion starts 30 minutes earlier than planned, at 8:30am, to visit a historic town an hour outside the city.