What a lovely city! We took a bus from the train station to the stop nearest our hotel & quickly realized that we were in another era. From the centuries-old cobbled streets to the skyline of ancient buildings, churches, & towers topped with spires, Prague is a storybook site! Our hotel, The Bishop's House #2, was in a perfect location, just across the famous Charles Bridge from Old Town, where all tourists want to visit. In so many ways this entire area reminded me of the French Quarter in N.O. -- both very old, unique in character & architecture, with wall-to-wall people walking the narrow streets. The walk across the Charles Bridge into Old Town is a special treat. The river it crosses is magnificent (the Vltava). Musicians & artists line the bridge with crowds around them. Oh, so much like the French Q-- and what they played was Dixieland!!WOW! Walking the bridge was a treat, which we did at least 6 times.
For me a highlight of Old Town was a magnificent store called Swarovski. The display windows were covered in clear Swarovski crystals of all shapes, perfectly lit for maximum effect. The creations inside I've never seen before- colorful birds perched on branches, colorful flowers, and jewelry -- all elaborately made with the finest man-made crystals in the world. Amazing works of art!
On our 3rd booked day, we took the bus to The Castle that overlooked the city & the river from a hilltop...quite a site with its basilica, cathedral, & many clustered buildings. Wish we'd done a tour, but we were both pretty creaky from all the walking, so 3-4 hours on site was all we could muster. It was beautiful.
Did I fail to mention SHOPPING? Prague's Czech crystals are certainly not Swarovskis, but they're a bargain for 2nd best:) So I did my part to help the economy & can't wait to show off my new earrings. Also, my new fancy garnet earrings just scream for a night on the town! And thinking of future customers, I bought some lovely Baltic amber stones. My fingers are itching to wrap some wire around them.
June 8 was scheduled for our return to Munich for 1 night's sleep at Laurie's apt, then on June 9 pick up our rental car & begin our drive through the German countryside. But guess what?...
1 comment:
Cheryl, you must have visited the same Swarovski store we did when we were in Prague July of 04. Your description of the location sounds like the way I remember it. Loved the crystals and the garnets but didn't buy any.
We want to visit Prague again because we didn't get to the castle - arrived too late that day.
Loved Prague.
Linda Nelson
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