Majestic Plaza Prague

... tasty.<br><br> Our trip through beer land at an end, we climb into the van to go to the Koneprusy caves. They are living caves with three levels but we can only visit 2 levels. Lots of steps, around 500. My legs are quite irritated that I went through the whole cave. Thought to give my hip some rest today by going on a tour. Opps. Forgot walking in caves is never restful for arthritis.<br><br> Fun day

I seemed to have developed a taste for beer on this trip (partly b/c it's too hot to drink wine!!) and no tour to Czech republic would be complete with a tour of the Pilsner Urquell brewery...<br> <br><br>The town of Pilsner is fairly nondescript (ie/ it has no redeeming features, other than a summer installation of a pilsner beer garden and a bouncy ...

... those guys were not sweating in those uniforms out there. I was hot and sweating. We decided that we would go up to the Eiffel there. Its a tower on a hill that you can climb up. We thought it had an elevator!. Anyway, the 3 yr old was doing her thing, Constantly crying and then throwing herself down on the path. My friend and I kept walking while keeping her in site. That kid never got up. My friend went to get her ...

Today we went to the Pilsner Urquell brewery in Plzen. Pilsner, the type of beer, originated here, where Pilsner Urquell was brewed from local crops and local mineral water. The tour was awesome. We saw the traditional brew kettles and the modern ones, as well as a very modern new packaging plant. We also tasted some unpastuerized beer directly from fermenting barrels.<br>

... Old Town Square, Tyn Cathedral and Charles Bridge, and some not so well known ones like the John Lennon Wall and the Jewish Quarter. Afterwards the guide took a few of us to a local pub for beer and traditional goulash (pretty much just consisting meat and gravy but tasted great).<br><br> The evening I spent time with others from the hostel indulging in plenty of the cheap beverages that have made ...

... Vltava is known to people from practically the whole world and is regularly voted among the ten most beautiful cities in Europe. Those who want to get to know the Czech Republic more thoroughly, however, set out on a journey through the other beauties of the country, where an expedition into history, a ramble through nature, a challenge on the golf course or relaxation in a spa ...

... finally headed home, and packed up, ready to leave early the next morning for our train to Berlin. Mike: Prague was certainly one of those places I had always heard was amazing but hadn't yet got to.. and I wasn't disappointed. It is a truly stunning city, wonderful old buildings set gloriously along a river, with a majestic castle on the hill crowning it all, gorgeous. An ideal town just to wander, we meandered happily ...

... it. It was a good breakfast, and then Jake took us across the river on the Charles Bridge (filllllllled with people and little stalls selling art). Climbed the hill onto the church which overlooks the city, we bought tickets and explored the fort around the church. Got some unbelievable photos of the red thatched roofs of the city and the views going off for kilometers. I had the constant problem of financial problems... no where took travels checks and so when I found a place ...

Arrived in Karlstejn on the "City Elephant" train at 1.20pm and walked 2km to the Karlstejn Castle. Went on the 2.30pm English tour of the castle which took about an hour. No photography allowed inside the castle. Took in the views over the town before walking back to the train station and catching the train back to Prague.

... Charlie found us an interpretor and finally, we could talk and share our excitement over the music which we shared! They found it as strange to see me there with my mandolin as I found it to discover them playing bluegrass! We were treated so nicely by all of these people and we found that bars here are much different places than at home. They let loose and had fun together until closing time and one old guy gave us gifts of handmade ...