Bohemia, Beer and Beer...
The capital of ancient Bohemia and now Czech republic is Prague, our first stop in this former communist country.
Think about this for a second. Have you ever gone somewhere where they say they are known for their wine...or their beer? Seriously... Everywhere right? (Sort of I guess...maybe not in the middle east, but I digress...). Italy, France, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Australia, South Africa, Hungary... Southern Ontario...?! OK you get my point. They all claim some of the best wine or beer... Well so does the Czech Republic. Maybe I'm speaking too soon...(
or a little tipsy from the suds myself)...but I think they're really on to something! OK I'm also a bit biased as Pilsner/lager is my choice of barley beverage and the stuff was invented here, but there is some really great beer in Prague!
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| na zdraví |
Yeah, there's a castle (largest medieval), and the oldest functioning astrological clock in the world...but did I mention the beer?...
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| Charles bridge and Prague Castle |
It's no surprise that Prague is an amazingly beautiful city. There is an old city center that's packed full of cobble stone streets and medieval buildings. It's definitely a great place to wander and get lost. ESPECIALLY easy to get lost considering most blocks are either triangular or seemingly octoganal!
Walking around Prague, or most cities in Eastern Europe for that matter, it's hard to understand how just 25 years ago all of this cool architecture was, for the most part, cut off from most of the world. Thankfully in 1989 with the fall of the iron curtain things changed drastically in Eastern Europe and we are now very fortunate to travel across these borders without trouble.
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| Portion of the old city square |
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| The powder tower, once, one of a few gates to enter the old city. |
Right in the center of Prague is a huge town center/square, possibly the largest I've seen in Europe. It's a great place to watch all the goings on and have a look at the architecture from afar. Of course not to be missed, and possibly Prague's most famous landmark is the astrological clock. The oldest functioning one in the world. Of course after having a quick look at it I had it all completely figured out...NOT!
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| Astrological clock |
We had a walk across the Charles bridge to see what this castle was all about. One thing that really strikes me is how you can see the different styles of architecture. We often think of these things as having been built as this completely awesome castles with towers, moats, walls, torture chambers (right?...you all think that way too?...) but then that's it. Done, the castle is complete and the Kings and Queens live in them and all is well in the world. But the reality is someone builds a castle (Prince Borivoj in the year 870), someone else knocks half of it down. Someone else builds it a bit bigger and better, then someone else comes and fires a few cannonballs and knocks more down... Someone else builds a bit bigger and... OK, you get my point. I just find it pretty cool to be able to walk around and see all of these centuries of castle building all together.
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| A view from Prague castle into the old citycity. You can see why it's called the city of 100 spires. |
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| An example of the different architecture styles together at Prague castle. |
We were staying a few blocks from the downtown area, which is always pretty cool because you get a feel for some of the non tourist oriented places. There was a park on a hill just down the street and we could hear live music filling the neighborhood, so we had to go explore. Wouldn't you know it, darn the luck. We stumbled upon A BEER FESTIVAL! (Because Prague really needs a beer festival).
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| Beer festival! |
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| This is a former cold war nuclear bunker turned into a bar. |
Kutná Hora
We took a day trip from Prague to a town called Kutná Hora. It is known for it's "unique" chapel called the Seldec Ossuary, or by its nickname the bone chapel. I'm a bit foggy on the details of why its decorated the way it is, because frankly it's a bit creepy, but basically it's a chapel that has its interior "decorated" with human bones. Literally, chandeliers with arms legs and skulls etc… Honestly, I don't know what more to say about it so I'll let the pictures do the rest... WEIRD!
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| You wouldn't know it from the outside. Looks pretty normal I guess... |
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| How about this chandelier above the dinner table. |
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Coat of arms...(and legs, maybe a few fingers and toes...let's not forget heads... OK, I'm done...) |
Olomouc
In what seems to be our usual repertoire for Europe, we decided we needed a break from the big city for a few days. The eastern Czech town of Olomouc was the place we chose.. It was kind of strange actually. We were walking around these big squares, again surrounded by old churches and buildings but there was one big element missing. People! At times we were literally the only people around.
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| Sitting upside down is the new black... especially when the square is empty. |
Well that's it for the Czech republic. We hopped a bus and had only five minutes between arrival and departure to make our connecting bus. There was a bit of watch staring towards the end, but we made it right on time... Next stop.... Poland!
