To the Land of My Grandparents

Many months ago, my Uncle Larry emailed me asking me if I would be willing to go with my Aunt Linda to visit the Czech Republic.

Sure, I said.  And so began the planning. That was back in in  March.  Now we are here!

We began our trip in Portland. Ten hours later, we arrived in Frankfurt, Germany, then made a connecting flight to Prague.

I want to give a shout out to Lonely Planet Travel books and websites.  I've been using them since I lived in Ecuador 30 years ago (Wow! That was a long time ago!). They are well researched, and I've never gone wrong using their recommendations.


We arrived in Prague September 5th. We made our way from the airport to the hotel with a pre-arranged driver who took the scenic route and provided some good color commentary about the sights on our way.  The Dominican Hotel is right in the middle of the old town and within walking distance of all of the sights worth seeing here.

After unpacking and cleaning up a bit, we walked out towards the Old Town Square.  We wanted to start getting oriented to the city and get a bit of exercise in since we had been sitting on planes and airports for most of the day.  Even at 8:30pm  there were crowds of people out enjoying the sights.  It was warm, the shops were still all open, selling all kinds of things to to tourists there.

Back in the hotel, maps in hand, we made plans for our outing the next day.

Old Town Square the next morning. 

After a hearty breakfast, we started out on our orientation route.  First, money exchange, then we  headed toward the Charles Bridge over the Vltava river.  What a beautiful sight.

The Charles Bridge. Prague Castle is on the hill to the left.

So we made are way to the bridge and had to pass through the bridge towers. Built in the late 14th century, the bridge was made pedestrian only after WWII.


There are about 20 statues that were erected by Catholic orders over several years after the bridge was built, like "ecclesiastical billboards," according to the Lonely Planet Guide.


On the bridge are artists selling their wares, and musicians busking.  We heard a string quartet playing "I Love Rock & Roll." There are people dressed as statues, standing still (mostly), and making sudden moves to passers by. Paintings and prints of of the local landmarks were available.  It was quite a scene.

On the other side we discovered the John Lennon Wall.  After Lennon's murder, he became a pacifist hero for many young Czechs. This wall became a political focus point for Prague youth, and the owners of the wall have bowed to the inevitable and have ceased whitewashing it, as the graffiti just comes back.

Prague Castle 

The next day is dedicated to exploring this 700,000 square meter area.

We started our day by taking the funicular up to the top of Petrin Hill.  There, we walked around the rose garden next to the Stefanik Observatory where they have three refracting telescopes that they use for scientific research, but also for public education.

At the top of the hill is the Petrin Tower. From the top of the tower we were able to get a stunning view of Prague. The weather was a bit grey. Kind of like Portland in the fall.

We have been walking. About 20,000 step or about 9 miles a day.  We are certainly getting our exercise. Walking is the best way to see things on trips like this.  From the top of Petrin hill, we made our way down toward Prague Castle.  It was a bit confusing, as there was minimal signage, but we finally made our way to the castle gate in time to see the changing of the guards.  I am so grateful that my mobile carrier and plan works here for data and texting at no extra cost. Google maps have been so helpful.

The castle is really a collection of buildings, some of which were clearly being used for government business, as well as historical sites that tourists were visiting.  We again found ourselves amusingly confused about where to purchase tickets and information for touring due to minimal signage, but we finally did after asking several people and then finding the ticket office behind us. After finally getting a detailed map of the castle area, we made our way to view the sights.

The first thing you see upon entering the courtyard is the south tower of St. Vitus Cathetdral  This is a huge structure that pretty much dominates the landscape here.

Inside is impressive with all the stained glass and art filling the building.  That pretty much sums up most cathedrals and other Catholic churches I've been in in other countries, some much poorer than here. As impressive architecturally these kinds of buildings are, they also represent some of the worst qualities of religion for me.  The opulence and wealth that the art display represent what I believe is a darker side of organized religion.  And while the Catholic Church played a big role in the history of the Czech Republic, its influence is less so now.






Down the "golden lane," also within the castle walls, displays the more common folk scenes with small residences and workshops.  Some of them refitted as gift shops.

Makine our way out of the castle, we used our Prague card to hop on the tram back to our hotel.  Great day.  More touring to come. Stay tuned.