Overnight - Charlotte to London to Prague

Well, Here we go again - off on another vacation / holiday with Tom.

We wished a fond farewell to our wonderful next door neighbors, Scott and Cindy, who are watching our cats once again while we are away.

It was an easy drive to Charlotte on Tom's birthday to stay at a fantastic Marriott where, because of Tom's lifetime Platinum level . . . we were upgraded to an Executive Boardroom Suite.  

The Old Mecklenburg Brewery was holding their Louisiana Crawfish festival, and were handing out festive beads to everyone who entered. Tom did not want crawfish for his birthday dinner, so we chose another nearby pub and ate delicious pepper steak pie in a pastry cup. The next morning we were treated to a huge cooked-to-order breakfast at the Marriott, and allowed a leisurely late 3 PM check out.The Hotel provides free parking for the three (3)  weeks we're away . . . and shuttled us to the airport.Thought it would be fun to wear our beads during our all night flight  . . . and the flight attendants brought free Champagne when we told them our trip is to celebrate our 45th wedding anniversary. 

It was morning when we landed in Prague and - it - was - snowing !

It is very strange to land in a country where the signs are written in a totally unfamiliar language. Fortunately the ladies at the Money Exchange (they use Czeck Krona here), and the Tourist Information desk spoke some English, and were able to guide us in how to use the public bus and subway into Prague. Our AirBnB host met us at the charming apartment where we are staying, handed over the keys, and told us where the nearby grocery store is located.Tom had a Czech Bohemian beer with our quick dinner. Turning in early - soooooo tired, and we have to be ready for our walking tour of Prague tomorrow morning !

THE CZECH REPUBLIC

Sitting in the center of Europe, with Germany to the east, Poland to the north, Slovakia to the east and Austria in the south, the Czech Republic has one foot in Western Europe, and one in the Slavic East.

The Czech Republic, in Central Europe, is known for its ornate castles, native beers and long history – from the Celtic and Germanic tribes of its founding to the Protestant Reformation and Communism. Prague (Praha), the capital, is home to a 9th-century castle, preserved medieval Old Town and statue-lined Charles Bridge. 

The ancient land of Bohemia makes up the western two-thirds of the Czech Republic. The modern term ‘bohemian’ comes to us via the French, who thought that Roma came from Bohemia; the word bohémien was later applied to people living an unconventional lifestyle. The term gained currency in the wake of Puccini’s opera La Bohème about a community of poverty-stricken artists in Paris.

Historical, quirky, wild and sarcastic, Prague baffles visitors and charms them at the same time. Since the Iron Curtain fell in 1989, tourism and investment has poured in, turning the previously run-down Communist capital into a buzzing Western city.

Flowing from the east towards Germany, the Vltava River divides Prague in the center. The Hradčany and Malá Strana quarters, once home to the Austro-Hungarian elite, sit primly on the left bank, faced by the noisier commercial quarters, Staré Město, Josefov and Nové Město. Hradčany, which houses the castle and St Vitus’ Cathedral, tumbles into Malá Strana (Little Quarter), a maze of cobble-stoned streets, carved door handles and amazing rooflines. Over the river is Staré Město (Old Town), a delicate web of alleys and passages running towards Staroměstské náměstí, the old market square. Within Staré Město is the old Jewish quarter, Josefov, which now encloses a luxury shopping district. Nové Město (New Town), the most central part of the modern city, spans the largest area of old Prague, with blocks stretching south and east of the old town in long strides.

A Brief History

Prince Bořivoj, an early Christian, founded the first Czech dynasty in 870, and his grandson, Prince Václav (the Good King Wenceslas of the song), became the Czech patron saint before being killed off by his younger brother Boleslav I. Prague experienced a golden age under the emperor, Charles IV, a polylingual patron of the arts whose court was the heart of fourteenth-century Europe. Charles founded the university and as well as an entire new quarter, Nové Město, built the Charles Bridge and St Vitus’ Cathedral.

A long period of Austro-Hungarian rule gave Prague its Teutonic facades and high-minded coffeehouses, while the National Revival firmly established the Slavic identity of the city and the onion dome rose again. The short-lived First Republic, modelled on American democracy, crashed when Nazi troops marched into Czechoslovakia, and the Czech President’s decision to accept German ‘protection’ was a dark moment in the nation‘s history, but saved the city from decimation. In 1948 Communism arrived in a wave of stained concrete. The period since 1989 has seen rapid construction, but with a few exceptions it’s been conservative and timid. Not so the restaurants, hotels, bars and clubs, which have re-awoken Prague’s slumbering party atmosphere and some would say ‘decadence’- but for us, we like it just fine the way it is - decadence and all !