Results tagged “Concerts” from Europe Honeymoon 2008
OK this waking up at 6am thing is getting a little old...
Breakfast was quite crowded and we actually had to wait to get a table. But it was pretty good and it even had some very nice bacon so had quite a bit of that ;)
After breakfast we wandered out to head into town. We didn't really have any set plans, so we just wandered up to and over the Charles Bridge and drifted with the hoardes of other tourists up the hill to the palace/cathedral. By the time we were halfway up and had passed never-ending tourist stores and stalls, as well as being crowded by the other tourists, we were pretty much over Prague. We stopped at Starbucks so Stu could a coffee before trudging onward and upward. The palace wasn't hugely impressive, but the cathedral inside was very nice. Not as big as Köln obviously, but still very detailed. We didn't feel up to queuing up to go inside (or up the tower), so just started wandering down the hill again.
At the bottom of the hill we stopped to have lunch at a "Bio Cafe" which was very nice, but very expensive for the amount of food we got. In fact all of Prague (or at least the touristy bits - I'm told once you get out of the tourist areas the prices drop considerably) is very expensive. Right up there with the other places we've been so far, maybe even more so.
Continued wandering into the old town area to the market place. Where we stopped to have a couple of beers while watching the world go by. At 3pm I went over to the Astronomic Clock because crowds had been gathering for twenty minutes and thought might see something interesting. Alas it was a massive anticlimax! Oh well. Went back to finish my beer.
Kept on wandering and ended up back at the hotel to rest for a bit.
For dinner we went to the chinese restaurant next door to the hotel because the board out the front had some cheap prices and we only had 300k left in cash. Except when we got inside most of the mains were like 280k *each* :( So that was a bit silly. In the end we found some cheap options but we couldn't afford drinks (just got some chinese tea) and they don't understand the concept of tap water in this country either :(
Then we wandered back into town to the Rudolfinum to see a performance of Smetena and Dvorak It was brilliant!! It was 900k each for unreserved seats so it was a little pricy for a one hour show. But the orchestra was amazing, a really good performance. I didn't know the music either, but Stu did and he enjoyed himself immensely.
So that was our day in Prague. Maybe we should have gone on a tour. But we were kind of over the place before we even started which didn't really help :( Next time we'll have to go to one of the less touristy cities...
Breakfast was quite crowded and we actually had to wait to get a table. But it was pretty good and it even had some very nice bacon so had quite a bit of that ;)
After breakfast we wandered out to head into town. We didn't really have any set plans, so we just wandered up to and over the Charles Bridge and drifted with the hoardes of other tourists up the hill to the palace/cathedral. By the time we were halfway up and had passed never-ending tourist stores and stalls, as well as being crowded by the other tourists, we were pretty much over Prague. We stopped at Starbucks so Stu could a coffee before trudging onward and upward. The palace wasn't hugely impressive, but the cathedral inside was very nice. Not as big as Köln obviously, but still very detailed. We didn't feel up to queuing up to go inside (or up the tower), so just started wandering down the hill again.
Prague Castle over Bridge of Legion (Most Legií)
Vltava River and Charles Bridge (named for Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV)
Prague Castle over the famous Charles Bridge
Old Town Bridge Tower on the eastern end of the Charles Bridge.
I think the single extra tower on one corner makes the tower look
like it's *missing* something!
Tourists and vendors on the Charles Bridge. Most of the traders were
selling art and photographs.
Bridge tower on the western end of the Charles Bridge.
The taller, Late Gothic tower was erected in 1464 on
the orders of King George of Podebrady who wanted
a counterweight to the Old Town Bridge Tower.
This McDonald's seemed strangely out of place in
such a pretty city as Prague
Trudging up Ke Hradu. No real need for a map here, just follow the
hoards of tourists
St. Nicholas Cathedral (Chram sv. Mikulase) and Prague from part
way up the hill
Summer Archbishop's Palace or Summer Archiepiscopal Palace (Letný
arcibiskupský palác) - apparently was in the movie Amadeus
Front of Saint Vitus's Cathedral (Katedrála svatého Víta). You can't get
the whole of the front of it in in one shot.
Detail on the side of the cathedral
Obelisk outside the cathedral in the castle grounds
Saint Vitus's Cathedral
I love this photo Stu took of us because it pretty much
summed up our mood with Prague at the time
But we did put on a happy face :)
View towards the old town from the palace walls
At the bottom of the hill we stopped to have lunch at a "Bio Cafe" which was very nice, but very expensive for the amount of food we got. In fact all of Prague (or at least the touristy bits - I'm told once you get out of the tourist areas the prices drop considerably) is very expensive. Right up there with the other places we've been so far, maybe even more so.
Continued wandering into the old town area to the market place. Where we stopped to have a couple of beers while watching the world go by. At 3pm I went over to the Astronomic Clock because crowds had been gathering for twenty minutes and thought might see something interesting. Alas it was a massive anticlimax! Oh well. Went back to finish my beer.
Charles Bridge and tower
Tethered ballon over, and boats on, the Vltava River
The Rudolfinum where we later saw a concert
Cute trams
Old Town Square
Týn Cathedral and buildings in the Old Town Square
Jan Hus Memorial. This dude was burned at the stake in 1415
Goltz-Kinsky Palace in the Old Town Square
St. Nicholas Church (Kostel sv. Mikuláse) in the Old Town Square
Relaxing with pilsners in the Old Town Square and watching the tourists
Prague Astronomical Clock on the southern wall of
Old Town City Hall in the Old Town Square
It's quite pretty, but the 3pm ringing was a
complete anticlimax
Kept on wandering and ended up back at the hotel to rest for a bit.
kostel sv. Kříže Menšího
If you can't get your family to get you one of these when they go to
Russia, you have to get one yourself in a former Eastern Bloc country.
This one has eleven nested dolls.
For dinner we went to the chinese restaurant next door to the hotel because the board out the front had some cheap prices and we only had 300k left in cash. Except when we got inside most of the mains were like 280k *each* :( So that was a bit silly. In the end we found some cheap options but we couldn't afford drinks (just got some chinese tea) and they don't understand the concept of tap water in this country either :(
Then we wandered back into town to the Rudolfinum to see a performance of Smetena and Dvorak It was brilliant!! It was 900k each for unreserved seats so it was a little pricy for a one hour show. But the orchestra was amazing, a really good performance. I didn't know the music either, but Stu did and he enjoyed himself immensely.
Charles Bridge in the early evening
Prague Metronome, erected in 1991, and stands on the plinth left vacant
by the destruction of an enormous monument to former Soviet leader
Joseph Stalin
Prague Rudolfinum interior
Prague Castle and Charles bridge by night
So that was our day in Prague. Maybe we should have gone on a tour. But we were kind of over the place before we even started which didn't really help :( Next time we'll have to go to one of the less touristy cities...